The success of the institutions named in Becker's Hospital Review's list of 30 Best Hospitals in America can be attributed to the talent, experience and know-how of top executives at each one. Here are the CEOs and CFOs who were the driving force behind achievements at the 30 best hospitals.
Vincent J. McCorkle, president and CEO. Mr. McCorkle, who takes his post on July 1, 2010, also heads the hospital's parent, Akron General Health System. He has been CEO of Sisters of Providence Health System in Springfield, Mass., where he led a financial turnaround, created joint ventures with physicians and carried out a comprehensive strategic planning process. He succeeds Alan Bleyer, who was CEO from 2003-2009 and initiated a thorough review of programs, expenses and new revenue opportunities to streamline Akron General in 2009.
Deborah L. Gorbach, vice president of accounting. Ms. Gorbach, appointed in March 2006, has been working with Michael Rindler, a Maine-based consultant who was hired in 2009 to turn the hospital around after Mr. Bleyer left. As a result, Akron General went from a $7 million operating loss in 2008 to $2.1 million in net operating revenue over expenses at the end of 2009.
Richard J. Liekweg, president. Mr. Liekweg, who assumed his post in Sept. 2009, previously served as CEO and associate vice chancellor for UCSD Medical Center in San Diego, managing its 549-bed academic medical center and before that, he spent more than 15 years at Duke University Health System. Mr. Liekweg reports to Steven Lipstein, president and CEO of BJC HealthCare, the parent company of the hospital. In view of health reform, Mr. Liekweg told the St. Louis Business Journal, "We have to figure out how we best deliver healthcare in whatever this new model looks like."
Mark Krieger, vice president and CFO. Before taking over as CFO in March 2004, Mr. Krieger had more than 20 years of experience in finance and strategic planning in the bakery business. He was CFO of the Earthgrains Company in St. Louis, vice president and CFO for Sara Lee Bakery Group in St. Louis and vice president & CFO at Campbell Taggart, the bakery division of Anheuser-Busch.
Gene F. Michalski, CEO. Mr. Michalski started work in June 2010, taking over from Kenneth J. Matzick, who worked at the hospital for 41 years, the last five as CEO. In addition to running the hospital, the position involves running Beaumont Hospitals, its parent. Mr. Michalski had been executive vice president and COO of Beaumont Hospitals since 2006. From 1992-1996, he was executive vice president and COO of St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, Ill. He started at Beaumont as senior vice president and hospital director at Beaumont Hospital in Troy.
Dennis R. Herrick, senior vice president of finance. Mr. Herrick has held his position since 1997. He joined the hospital in 1975 and served as a reimbursement analyst, director of reimbursement and internal audit and controller for the Royal Oak hospital. He was also corporate controller. In late 2009, Fitch Ratings said Beaumont had successfully implemented cost containment initiatives leading to profitability but warned erosion of the system's payor mix would continue, requiring further expense reduction initiatives.
Elizabeth G. Nabel, MD, president. In Jan. 2010, Dr. Nabel assumed leadership of Brigham and Women’s and Faulkner Hospitals, which is part of Partners HealthCare. She had previously been director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health. She has also been an editorial board member of the New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. Nabel's arrival at Brigham and Women's was actually a homecoming. She completed her internal medicine residency and a clinical and research fellowship in cardiovascular medicine there.
Michael Reney, CFO. Mr. Reney has been CFO of Brigham and Women’s and Faulkner Hospitals since 2000. He began his career there in 1990 as an accounting supervisor. With the formation of Partners HealthCare and the centralization of financial services for the member hospitals, he rose through the ranks as a senior manager and director over a 10-year stretch before coming back to Brigham as executive director/controller for BW/F Finance in 2000.
Thomas M. Priselac, CEO. Mr. Priselac has held the CEO position since January 1994. He came to Cedars-Sinai in 1979 and served as executive vice president from 1988 to 1993. Before that, he was on the executive staff of Montefiore Hospital in Pittsburgh. In Sept. 2009, Fitch Ratings said Cedars has a history of strong profitability and operating cash flow, with a high level of physician integration and leading share in the competitive Los Angeles market.
Edward Prunchunas, senior vice president of finance and CFO. Mr. Prunchunas has held his position since 1998. He served as associate director of finance and director of finance at Cedars-Sinai from 1981-1983 and after a 10-year absence rejoined the organization in 1993 as vice president of finance. He previously served as CFO at Northridge (Calif.) Hospital Medical Center and was a member of Ernst & Ernst, now part of Cap Gemini Ernst & Young.
Delos M. "Toby" Cosgrove, MD, president and CEO. Dr. Cosgrove leads a $4.6 billion healthcare system including the Cleveland Clinic, nine community hospitals, Cleveland Clinic Florida and Cleveland Clinic Toronto. He has initiated some basic changes since taking the reins in 2006, such as the clinic's reorganization into institutes, and has maintained a high profile in national affairs. A thoracic surgeon, Dr. Cosgrove has criticized the health reform law for doing little to improve efficiency in healthcare delivery. He has stopped hiring smokers, eliminated unhealthy foods from the campus and said he would not hire obese people if he could legally do so. Dr. Cosgrove was recently named as one of the most powerful people in healthcare by Becker's Hospital Review.
Steven C. Glass, CFO. Mr. Glass, who has held his position since 2005, was named CFO of the year by Crain's Cleveland Business in Oct. 2009. Crain's noted the Clinic's revenue had grown 37 percent and cash reserves have improved since 2004 and Moody's had raised its bond rating. He is also CFO of Cleveland Clinic Health System, overseeing financial operations at the Cleveland Clinic East and West Region hospitals, Marymount Hospital, Cleveland Clinic Florida and other subsidiaries. Mr. Glass spent 14 years with MedStar Health in Columbia, Md. He came to Cleveland Clinic in 2002 as its controller and chief accounting officer.
Kevin Sowers, CEO. Appointed CEO in June 2009, Mr. Sowers began his career at the hospital 25 years ago as an oncology nurse. He reports to William J. Fulkerson, MD, senior vice president for clinical affairs at Duke University Health System, the hospital's parent. Before taking the helm at the hospital, Mr. Sowers was COO and interim CEO. In those roles, he implemented the hospital's strategic objectives and managed the hospital's clinical service units. Mr. Sowers lectures and writes on the issues of leadership, organizational change, mentorship and cancer care.
Leigh Bleeker, interim CFO. Ms. Bleeker has been filling in until Sabrina Olsen starts on Aug. 2, 2010. The position was vacated in April by Mark Miller, who held it since 2004. Recruited from Arthur Anderson in 2000, Mr. Miller helped turn around the hospital from a $17 million loss in 2000 to a $3.3 million surplus in 2003. Ms. Olsen, his successor, has served as vice president for finance at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Ill. The proper title of the Duke position is divisional chief financial officer, which connotes responsibility for two other hospitals in Duke University Health System. The three hospitals have combined net revenue of nearly $1.9 billion.
J.P. Gallagher, president. Mr. Gallagher joined Evanston's parent, NorthShore University HealthSystem, in 2002 from the administrative team of Advocate Christ Medical Center. At NorthShore, he started at Glenbrook Hospital. In 2004, he was promoted to senior vice president for hospitals & clinics at Evanston Hospital, which is the system's flagship. He reports to Mark R. Neaman, president and CEO of NorthShore University HealthSystem.
Gary Weiss, CFO. As executive vice president, CFO and treasurer of NorthShore University HealthSystem, Mr. Weiss also has CFO duties for Evanston Hospital. He spent more than 25 years in banking and financial services before coming to NorthShore in 2001. In an interview with Becker's Hospital Review last year, he said the health system is well positioned to weather the recession. It had experienced a 17 percent topline revenue growth in 2009, partly due to its early investment in IT and its aggressive expansion in the prosperous North Shore suburbs of Chicago.
Pat Farrell, CEO. In addition to being CEO of the hospital, Mr. Farrell holds the position of market lead for the Central Virginia market of HCA's Capital Division. The Central Virginia market encompasses 6,700 employees, six hospital campuses, two ambulatory surgery centers and several outpatient diagnostic and treatment centers. Mr. Farrell is a member of the Virginia Health Care Association Regional Policy Council and a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Chris Denton, CFO. In addition to his role at the hospital, Mr. Denton is CFO for HCA Virginia Health System, whose central Virginia team is the largest healthcare provider in the area. Central Virginia HCA Virginia Health System operates six hospital campuses along with freestanding surgery, imaging and family health centers.
Garry Scheib, executive director. Mr. Scheib has held his post since 1999. He is also a member of the hospital's board of directors. In 2004, he was appointed COO of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, the parent organization, which also consists of Presbyterian Medical Center, Pennsylvania Hospital and Phoenixville Hospital. Before coming to the health system in 1997, he was executive director of Rancocas Hospital in Willingboro, N.J.
Diane Corrigan, CFO. Ms. Corrigan is CFO of the hospital, part of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which has revenues of $3 billion a year. In turn, the Health System and University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine are part of Penn Medicine, which had $5 billion in operating revenues, $4.7 billion in total operating expenditures and $8.7 billion in net assets in 2008.
Ronald R. Peterson, president. In addition to heading the hospital, Mr. Peterson has been president of its parent, Johns Hopkins Health System, since 1997. He came to Johns Hopkins in 1973. In 1982, when Johns Hopkins took over the troubled Baltimore City Hospital, he was part of the effort to turn it around. The system spent $100 million to redevelop the hospital, renamed Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. It went from a loss of $7 million a year to a positive bottom line performance of $5 million a year. He was president of Bayview from 1984-1999 and was named COO of Johns Hopkins Health System in 1995.
Ronald J. Werthman, vice president for finance. Since Mr. Werthman assumed his position in 1993, Johns Hopkins has achieved the highest operating margins in its history. He consolidated the health system and affiliates finance division under his direction and worked closely with the management team on a budget incorporating the health system and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Before joining Johns Hopkins, he was CFO of Hahnemann University in Philadelphia and held similar positions at St. Francis Regional Medical Center in Wichita, Kan., Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, N.Y., and Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh.
Elliot J. Sussman, MD, president and CEO. As president of Lehigh Valley Health Network since 1993, Dr. Sussman also heads the hospital. In his first five years in office, the hospital's costs fell, patient satisfaction rose and the mortality rate fell due to steps like giving nurses more time for hands-on care, establishing patient-centered care and and embracing IT and other technology. Dr. Sussman, an internist, previously was associate dean of medicine at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine.
Joseph G. Felkner, CFO. Before joining Lehigh Valley in Aug. 2009, Mr. Felkner was senior vice president and chief strategy officer at Baptist Health Care in Pensacola, Fla. Before that he was senior vice president of finance at OhioHealth in Columbus, Ohio, and CFO of Grant/Riverside Methodist Hospitals, a member of OhioHealth. In the 1980s, he was a senior consultant in the Columbus office of Ernst and Whinney, specializing in healthcare.
Peter Slavin, MD, president. Dr. Slavin, an internist, has been president of Massachusetts General Hospital since 2003. The hospital has one of the largest hospital-based research budgets in the world. Before Massachusetts General, Dr. Slavin was president of Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis from 1997-1999. He speaks widely on such topics as quality and utilization management, the economics of teaching hospitals and the state of physician practices.
Sally A. Mason Boemer, senior vice president for finance. Ms. Boemer has improved collections, shepherded payor contracts and organized cost-cutting teams at the hospital. She started at Massachusetts General in 1993 in an administrative fellowship, an educational program that allowed her to rotate through the hospital's entire operations and finance departments. In May, the hospital was $4.2 million ahead of budget. Ms. Boemer said that while volume was softening, the hospital had shown strong performance in indirect research revenue and management of hospital expenses.
John Noseworthy, MD, president and CEO. Dr. Noseworthy became president and CEO of Mayo Clinic in Nov. 2009. He joined Mayo in 1990 and served as chairman of the department of neurology. In June, he took HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on a tour of Mayo as a model under healthcare reform. Mayo has begun several pilot projects under the reform law, including one on the "medical home." Mr. Noseworthy was also recently named to Becker's Hospital Review's list of the 30 Most Powerful People in Healthcare.
Jeffrey W. Bolton, CFO. Mr. Bolton has been CFO at Mayo since 2003. The Mayo Clinic in Rochester brought in a profit of 4.4 percent in 2009. Mr. Bolton said after a slow start in the first quarter of 2009, the clinic successfully worked with staff to help drive down costs. "We had a long list of actions that were focused on quality improvement, streamlining and standardizing our work processes," he told Minnesota Public Radio. Previously, Mr. Bolton was CFO at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and worked in planning and financial analysis at the University of Pittsburgh.
Ron Girotto, president & CEO. Mr. Girotto is also CEO of the hospital's parent, the Methodist Hospital System. He was named acting CEO in 2001 and became full CEO in 2002. Before then, he served in a variety of executive positions in the system since he joined in 1977. He has a graduate degree in banking from Southern Methodist University, completed coursework in federal income tax from the University of Houston and took courses in financial management and strategy in healthcare from Harvard University.
John Hagale, CFO. Also CFO of the health system, Mr. Hagale was named best CFO for a large nonprofit by the Houston Business Journal in May 2010. Winners were selected from among several nominees in various categories for their outstanding performance in their roles as corporate financial stewards. The Methodist system has an annual operating budget of more than $1.6 billion and assets totaling $4.9 billion.
Dean M. Harrison, president and CEO. Mr. Harrison is also president and CEO of Northwestern Memorial HealthCare, the hospital's parent, and has held both titles since 2002. Before he joined Northwestern Memorial in 1998 as senior vice president for corporate operations, he was president and COO of the University of Chicago Health System. During 11 years in that system, he also served as president and CEO of the Louis A. Weiss Memorial Hospital.
Peter J. McCanna, CFO. Mr. McCanna is also executive vice president for administration at Northwestern Memorial Healthcare. He joined Northwestern Memorial in August 2002 as senior vice president, CFO and treasurer. Previously he had been senior vice president and CFO since 1998 of Presbyterian Healthcare Services in Albuquerque, N.M., and prior to that, he was senior vice president and CFO of the University of Colorado Hospital.
Robert I. Grossman, MD, CEO. Dr. Grossman is also dean of the NYU School of Medicine. He joined NYU in 2001 as chairman of the department of radiology. Previously he had been chief of neuroradiology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Reporting to Dr. Grossman at NYU are Kevin Hannifan, senior vice president for hospital operations, and Richard Donoghue, senior vice president for strategic planning and business development.
Michael T. Burke, CFO. As senior vice president, vice dean and corporate CFO of the organization, Mr. Burke also maintains CFO functions for the hospital. He joined the organization in 2008 from Tufts New England Medical Center, where he was senior vice president and CFO since 2004. Before that, he was CFO of Duke University Hospital from 2000-2004 and with KPMG Peat Marwick from 1995–2000. He also served as senior healthcare auditor for Price Waterhouse and senior auditor at the New York State Attorney General’s office for Medicaid fraud control.
Steven G. Gabbe, MD, CEO. Dr. Gabbe also holds the title of senior vice president for health sciences at the medical center. He took his position in July 2008, as the medical center was developing plans for the largest physical expansion in its history, a $1 billion project that will be completed in 2016. He had been dean of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine from 2001-2008. Prior to that, he was chair of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Washington Medical Center.
John B. Stone, CFO. Mr. Stone holds the titles of senior associate vice president for health sciences and chief administrative officer at the medical center but also functions as CFO. Before joining the medical center, he was managing director of the healthcare practice at Navigant Consulting. In that position, he served as CEO of UCLA Medical Center, CEO and COO of UCSF Medical Center and CFO of UCSD Medical Center. He has also served as president, CEO and CFO of the Western Reserve Care System, vice president of finance and CFO at Hamot Health in Erie, Pa., and CFO at Northern Michigan Hospitals.
John Koster, MD, president & CEO. Dr. Koster also has led Providence Health & Services, the medical center's parent, since 2003. He joined Providence in 1997 as vice president of clinical and physician services and held primary responsibility for system operations. Prior to Providence, he was senior vice president of targeted member services at VHA. He practiced internal medicine for 10 years.
Mike Butler, executive vice president and CFO. Mr. Butler joined Providence in 1998 to become CFO of the hospital as well as the health system. He added the position of executive vice president in 2002. Mr. Butler is responsible for the financial services and operational oversight of an organization with $7.6 billion in annual net revenue. His responsibilities include accounting and finance, treasury management, supply chain services, risk management, information services and strategic management services. Previously he was COO and CFO at Catholic Health Initiatives and Franciscan Health System.
David T. Feinberg, MD, CEO. Dr. Feinberg is also CEO of UCLA Health System and has held both positions since 2006. He is a psychiatrist, and he was previously medical director at Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital within the health system. He told Becker's Hospital Review in 2009 that when he became CEO, he had to change the culture from "Isn't it a privilege for you to see us?" to "It is a privilege for us to treat you." He added: "Physicians here also have to undergo training on how to enter a patient room, look [patients] in the eye and deliver good or bad news."
Paul Staton, CFO. Mr. Staton was named interim CFO in 2004 and became full CFO in 2005. He has emphasized helping employees understand the intricacies of healthcare finances. Even though the organization is not-for-profit, he told employees, "We need to generate a profit to reinvest in equipment for patient care, pay off our debt, provide academic support and maintain cost-of-living increases for our staff," according to UCLA Today. He added that any net income is put right back into the organization. Mr. Staton has been at the medical center for 14 years.
Larry J. Goodman, MD, president and CEO. Dr. Goodman became CEO in 2002. He is currently overseeing the $1 billion Rush Transformation project, which includes a 14-story facility opening in 2012 and a five-story ambulatory orthopedic building that opened in 2009. Dr. Goodman, an internist, was associate dean for medical student programs at the medical school in 1987. As director of the division of specialized training programs and as director of inter-institutional affairs, he crafted an academic affiliation agreement with Cook County Hospital. Directly before becoming CEO, he was senior vice president for medical affairs and dean of the medical school.
Catherine A. Jacobson, CFO and treasurer. Ms. Jacobson previously served as vice president for program evaluation, assistant to the president and chief compliance officer since beginning at Rush in 1996. She told Becker's Hospital Review last December even Medicaid payments can be workable if care is managed well and the hospital is paid a relatively good rate. She added lowering readmissions is rapidly becoming critical to protecting hospital profits. Ms. Jacobson has been national chair for the Healthcare Financial Management Association.
Kyle De Fur, president. Mr. De Fur has held his position since Dec. 2007. In addition to St.Vincent Indianapolis, he heads St.Vincent Women’s Hospital, St.Vincent Stress Center and Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital at St.Vincent. Mr. De Fur was previously president of Saint John’s Health System for more than four years, CEO of Arbor Hospital of Evansville and administrator of Charter Hospital of Rockford (Ill.). He also served as assistant administrator of North Hills Hospital in Kansas City, Mo., and Charter Ridge Hospital in Lexington, Ky.
Jeffrey P. Williams, CFO. Mr. Williams was named to his position in 2008. He is responsible for operational accounting, budgeting, performance improvement and joint venture support. Mr. Williams has more than 36 years of experience in financial management, including in the healthcare financial services consulting practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers and at V4 Consulting.
Alfred B. Knight, MD, president and CEO. Dr. Knight, an obstetrician-gynecologist, has been president and CEO of Scott & White Healthcare, the hospital's parent, for 10 years. He is also chairman of the board of the Scott & White Health Plan, which has 200,000 members. In his tenure, Scott & White has aggressively expanded through mergers, acquisitions and minority interest investments in central Texas. The biggest challenge for medicine, he said in 2005, is "the lack of coordination of healthcare, which creates redundancy and extra cost." He joined Scott & White in 1986.
Dennis Laraway, CFO. Mr. Laraway has been CFO of Scott & White Healthcare for several years, overseeing an operation with "robust volume growth and effective cost management [that] have supported very strong operating profitability and cash flow," according to Fitch Ratings. Mr. Laraway helped shepherd the sale of $348 million in bonds on the week of June 7, 2010, to be used to finance strategic capital projects and refinance outstanding debt. Mr. Laraway has also served as vice president and CFO at St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center in Syracuse, N.Y.
Martha H. Marsh, president and CEO. Ms. Marsh plans to retire at the end of August, after an eight-year tenure. When she took the helm in 2002, the organization had less than two weeks of cash on hand, while today it has 200 days cash on hand. She added a cancer center, a new outpatient center and an electronic medical record system that earned Stage 7 designation, the highest level, from HIMSS Analytics. Before coming to Stanford, Ms. Marsh headed the Matthew Thornton Health Plan in New Hampshire and was a senior healthcare analyst with Arthur Anderson in New York.
Daniel J. Morissette, CFO. Having assumed the CFO position in Sept. 2007, Mr. Morissette guides long-range financial planning and capital financing and coordinates financial planning with other parts of the system. On his watch, Fitch Ratings says Stanford's historical operating profitability has been "robust" and operating margins have ranged from 5.2-9.1 percent. Previously he was the top finance officer for University of Toledo Medical Center.
Kevin Burns, president and CEO. Before stepping into the CEO job in Feb. 2010, Mr. Burns had been CFO since 2002. In that time, he shepherded the medical center through three bond issues totaling $254 million to support expansions. "We're well-positioned to go into this decade. We have a great organization with excellent staff," he told the Arizona Daily Star in February. Before joining UMCC, Mr. Burns spent 17 years with Arthur Andersen. The previous CEO, Greg Pivirotto, also had a background in finance.
Misty Darling Hansen, CFO. Ms. Hansen had been the hospital’s chief accounting officer before being named CFO in Jan. 2010. After joining the medical center in 2001, she worked on a variety of financial initiatives. She oversees an annual operating budget of $530 million. The hospital has a high number of patients enrolled in the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment system, the state Medicaid program, which could face more state budget cuts.
Mark R. Laret, CEO. Mr. Laret took the reins in 2000, when the medical center was recovering from a failed merger with Stanford Hospitals & Clinics and was racking up losses of $1.5 million a week. He organized a management team with the common values and then worked to get employee buy-in, he told Becker's Hospital Review. The medical center turned around and has been making $60 million-$100 million in the past several years. In his first stint at the medical center from 1980-1995, he served in a variety of executive posts and then became CEO of UC Irvine Medical Center from 1995-2000, where he also led a successful turnaround.
Susan B. Moore, interim CFO. Formerly director of finance for the medical center, Ms. Moore became interim CFO in early 2009, replacing Ken Jones, who was promoted to COO. Former COO Tomi Ryba left to become president of United Hospital in St. Paul, Minn. On Ms. Moore's watch, the medical center has logged "a significant improvement in operating income," due to focusing on contracting, reducing operating costs and revenue cycle improvements, a Standard&Poor's credit analyst said in May.
Douglas L. Strong, CEO. Since taking over as CEO in 2006, Mr. Strong has focused on tighter integration of the missions and units of the University of Michigan Health System. The Hospitals and Health Centers unit of the University of Michigan Health System is expected to finish its fiscal year in strong financial shape, with a positive operating margin nearly twice the size predicted a year ago. Mr. Strong had been CFO of the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago and associate dean for administration and finance at the School of Medicine at SUNY Stony Brook.
David Morlock, CFO. In 2010, the financial departments of the two major units of UMHS were brought together to increase efficiencies, and Mr. Morlock was chosen as CFO for the new entity. He has been using a new "rolling forecast" approach to budgeting and planning, meant to help all areas of UMHS stay on top of factors that affect the bottom line. UMHHC has logged 14 straight years of positive operating margins and is expected to do so again this year.
Jeffrey A. Romoff, president and CEO. Mr. Romoff was named president of UPMC in 1992 and added the title of CEO in 2006. He took a 24 percent pay cut in 2009, as part of a reduction in senior management compensation "to ensure the organization's continued pursuit of its healthcare and research mission during the economic downturn," UPMC stated. Mr. Romoff came to the University of Pittsburgh in 1973. From 1986-1992, he was executive vice president of UPMC and vice president for health sciences of the University of Pittsburgh, and he assumed the role of interim senior vice president of business and finance for the university in 1991.
Robert A. DeMichiei, senior vice president and CFO. Mr. DeMichiei has shepherded the organization through a challenging economy. In February, Moody's praised UPMC management for it "pro-active initiatives to improve operational efficiencies, including management’s ability to balance capacity with community need to meet clinical demands while justifying clinical expenditures." Previously, Mr. DeMichiei held various executive finance roles at General Electric and worked for Price Waterhouse in Pittsburgh for 10 years.
Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, vice chancellor for health affairs. Dr. Balser also serves as dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He became interim dean in July 2008, replacing Steven G. Gabbe, MD, who left to become senior vice president for health sciences and CEO of Ohio State University Medical Center. Dr. Balser, whose specialty is critical care medicine, oversaw the completion of the medical center's Critical Care Tower last fall. Dr. Balser is proud of having to lay off only a limited number of employees so far in the recession while adding employees in many other areas.
Warren Beck, senior vice president of finance. Mr. Beck also holds the title of associate vice chancellor for health affairs at Vanderbilt. He has been in his current role for 13 years. Before Vanderbilt, he was with KPMG Peat Marwick in the New York City area. Vanderbilt had more than $250 million in uncompensated care last year and is forecasting $325 million in uncompensated care this year. Nonetheless, operating margins have remained at the median or slightly above compared to other academic teaching hospitals.
Marna P. Borgstrom, president and CEO. Ms. Borgstrom also heads Yale-New Haven Health System, the hospital's parent. In office since 2005, she is the first woman to run the organization. From 1993-2005, she was executive vice president and COO. She was senior vice president of administration from 1992-1993 and vice president of administration from 1985 to 1992. Ms. Borgstrom joined Yale-New Haven Hospital in 1979 as an administrative fellow. She has been a Director of VHA since May 2009 and is chair of the Connecticut Hospital Association Board of Trustees.
James M. Staten, CFO. As executive vice president for corporate and financial services of the health system, he also functions as CFO of the hospital. Before joining the system in 2000, Mr. Staten was a senior vice president in charge of finance for New York Presbyterian Hospital and New York Presbyterian Health Care System. He previously served as Ernst & Young's director of New York State Reimbursement Consulting Services and was a partner with Pannell Kerr Forster in its healthcare management consulting and auditing practices.
Akron General Medical Center (Akron, Ohio)
Vincent J. McCorkle, president and CEO. Mr. McCorkle, who takes his post on July 1, 2010, also heads the hospital's parent, Akron General Health System. He has been CEO of Sisters of Providence Health System in Springfield, Mass., where he led a financial turnaround, created joint ventures with physicians and carried out a comprehensive strategic planning process. He succeeds Alan Bleyer, who was CEO from 2003-2009 and initiated a thorough review of programs, expenses and new revenue opportunities to streamline Akron General in 2009.
Deborah L. Gorbach, vice president of accounting. Ms. Gorbach, appointed in March 2006, has been working with Michael Rindler, a Maine-based consultant who was hired in 2009 to turn the hospital around after Mr. Bleyer left. As a result, Akron General went from a $7 million operating loss in 2008 to $2.1 million in net operating revenue over expenses at the end of 2009.
Barnes-Jewish Hospital (St. Louis)
Richard J. Liekweg, president. Mr. Liekweg, who assumed his post in Sept. 2009, previously served as CEO and associate vice chancellor for UCSD Medical Center in San Diego, managing its 549-bed academic medical center and before that, he spent more than 15 years at Duke University Health System. Mr. Liekweg reports to Steven Lipstein, president and CEO of BJC HealthCare, the parent company of the hospital. In view of health reform, Mr. Liekweg told the St. Louis Business Journal, "We have to figure out how we best deliver healthcare in whatever this new model looks like."
Mark Krieger, vice president and CFO. Before taking over as CFO in March 2004, Mr. Krieger had more than 20 years of experience in finance and strategic planning in the bakery business. He was CFO of the Earthgrains Company in St. Louis, vice president and CFO for Sara Lee Bakery Group in St. Louis and vice president & CFO at Campbell Taggart, the bakery division of Anheuser-Busch.
Beaumont Hospital (Royal Oak, Mich.)
Gene F. Michalski, CEO. Mr. Michalski started work in June 2010, taking over from Kenneth J. Matzick, who worked at the hospital for 41 years, the last five as CEO. In addition to running the hospital, the position involves running Beaumont Hospitals, its parent. Mr. Michalski had been executive vice president and COO of Beaumont Hospitals since 2006. From 1992-1996, he was executive vice president and COO of St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, Ill. He started at Beaumont as senior vice president and hospital director at Beaumont Hospital in Troy.
Dennis R. Herrick, senior vice president of finance. Mr. Herrick has held his position since 1997. He joined the hospital in 1975 and served as a reimbursement analyst, director of reimbursement and internal audit and controller for the Royal Oak hospital. He was also corporate controller. In late 2009, Fitch Ratings said Beaumont had successfully implemented cost containment initiatives leading to profitability but warned erosion of the system's payor mix would continue, requiring further expense reduction initiatives.
Brigham and Women's Hospital (Boston)
Elizabeth G. Nabel, MD, president. In Jan. 2010, Dr. Nabel assumed leadership of Brigham and Women’s and Faulkner Hospitals, which is part of Partners HealthCare. She had previously been director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health. She has also been an editorial board member of the New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. Nabel's arrival at Brigham and Women's was actually a homecoming. She completed her internal medicine residency and a clinical and research fellowship in cardiovascular medicine there.
Michael Reney, CFO. Mr. Reney has been CFO of Brigham and Women’s and Faulkner Hospitals since 2000. He began his career there in 1990 as an accounting supervisor. With the formation of Partners HealthCare and the centralization of financial services for the member hospitals, he rose through the ranks as a senior manager and director over a 10-year stretch before coming back to Brigham as executive director/controller for BW/F Finance in 2000.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles)
Thomas M. Priselac, CEO. Mr. Priselac has held the CEO position since January 1994. He came to Cedars-Sinai in 1979 and served as executive vice president from 1988 to 1993. Before that, he was on the executive staff of Montefiore Hospital in Pittsburgh. In Sept. 2009, Fitch Ratings said Cedars has a history of strong profitability and operating cash flow, with a high level of physician integration and leading share in the competitive Los Angeles market.
Edward Prunchunas, senior vice president of finance and CFO. Mr. Prunchunas has held his position since 1998. He served as associate director of finance and director of finance at Cedars-Sinai from 1981-1983 and after a 10-year absence rejoined the organization in 1993 as vice president of finance. He previously served as CFO at Northridge (Calif.) Hospital Medical Center and was a member of Ernst & Ernst, now part of Cap Gemini Ernst & Young.
Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland)
Delos M. "Toby" Cosgrove, MD, president and CEO. Dr. Cosgrove leads a $4.6 billion healthcare system including the Cleveland Clinic, nine community hospitals, Cleveland Clinic Florida and Cleveland Clinic Toronto. He has initiated some basic changes since taking the reins in 2006, such as the clinic's reorganization into institutes, and has maintained a high profile in national affairs. A thoracic surgeon, Dr. Cosgrove has criticized the health reform law for doing little to improve efficiency in healthcare delivery. He has stopped hiring smokers, eliminated unhealthy foods from the campus and said he would not hire obese people if he could legally do so. Dr. Cosgrove was recently named as one of the most powerful people in healthcare by Becker's Hospital Review.
Steven C. Glass, CFO. Mr. Glass, who has held his position since 2005, was named CFO of the year by Crain's Cleveland Business in Oct. 2009. Crain's noted the Clinic's revenue had grown 37 percent and cash reserves have improved since 2004 and Moody's had raised its bond rating. He is also CFO of Cleveland Clinic Health System, overseeing financial operations at the Cleveland Clinic East and West Region hospitals, Marymount Hospital, Cleveland Clinic Florida and other subsidiaries. Mr. Glass spent 14 years with MedStar Health in Columbia, Md. He came to Cleveland Clinic in 2002 as its controller and chief accounting officer.
Duke University Hospital (Durham, N.C.)
Kevin Sowers, CEO. Appointed CEO in June 2009, Mr. Sowers began his career at the hospital 25 years ago as an oncology nurse. He reports to William J. Fulkerson, MD, senior vice president for clinical affairs at Duke University Health System, the hospital's parent. Before taking the helm at the hospital, Mr. Sowers was COO and interim CEO. In those roles, he implemented the hospital's strategic objectives and managed the hospital's clinical service units. Mr. Sowers lectures and writes on the issues of leadership, organizational change, mentorship and cancer care.
Leigh Bleeker, interim CFO. Ms. Bleeker has been filling in until Sabrina Olsen starts on Aug. 2, 2010. The position was vacated in April by Mark Miller, who held it since 2004. Recruited from Arthur Anderson in 2000, Mr. Miller helped turn around the hospital from a $17 million loss in 2000 to a $3.3 million surplus in 2003. Ms. Olsen, his successor, has served as vice president for finance at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Ill. The proper title of the Duke position is divisional chief financial officer, which connotes responsibility for two other hospitals in Duke University Health System. The three hospitals have combined net revenue of nearly $1.9 billion.
Evanston Hospital (Evanston, Ill.)
J.P. Gallagher, president. Mr. Gallagher joined Evanston's parent, NorthShore University HealthSystem, in 2002 from the administrative team of Advocate Christ Medical Center. At NorthShore, he started at Glenbrook Hospital. In 2004, he was promoted to senior vice president for hospitals & clinics at Evanston Hospital, which is the system's flagship. He reports to Mark R. Neaman, president and CEO of NorthShore University HealthSystem.
Gary Weiss, CFO. As executive vice president, CFO and treasurer of NorthShore University HealthSystem, Mr. Weiss also has CFO duties for Evanston Hospital. He spent more than 25 years in banking and financial services before coming to NorthShore in 2001. In an interview with Becker's Hospital Review last year, he said the health system is well positioned to weather the recession. It had experienced a 17 percent topline revenue growth in 2009, partly due to its early investment in IT and its aggressive expansion in the prosperous North Shore suburbs of Chicago.
Henrico Doctors' Hospital (Richmond, Va.)
Pat Farrell, CEO. In addition to being CEO of the hospital, Mr. Farrell holds the position of market lead for the Central Virginia market of HCA's Capital Division. The Central Virginia market encompasses 6,700 employees, six hospital campuses, two ambulatory surgery centers and several outpatient diagnostic and treatment centers. Mr. Farrell is a member of the Virginia Health Care Association Regional Policy Council and a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Chris Denton, CFO. In addition to his role at the hospital, Mr. Denton is CFO for HCA Virginia Health System, whose central Virginia team is the largest healthcare provider in the area. Central Virginia HCA Virginia Health System operates six hospital campuses along with freestanding surgery, imaging and family health centers.
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia)
Garry Scheib, executive director. Mr. Scheib has held his post since 1999. He is also a member of the hospital's board of directors. In 2004, he was appointed COO of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, the parent organization, which also consists of Presbyterian Medical Center, Pennsylvania Hospital and Phoenixville Hospital. Before coming to the health system in 1997, he was executive director of Rancocas Hospital in Willingboro, N.J.
Diane Corrigan, CFO. Ms. Corrigan is CFO of the hospital, part of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which has revenues of $3 billion a year. In turn, the Health System and University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine are part of Penn Medicine, which had $5 billion in operating revenues, $4.7 billion in total operating expenditures and $8.7 billion in net assets in 2008.
Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore)
Ronald R. Peterson, president. In addition to heading the hospital, Mr. Peterson has been president of its parent, Johns Hopkins Health System, since 1997. He came to Johns Hopkins in 1973. In 1982, when Johns Hopkins took over the troubled Baltimore City Hospital, he was part of the effort to turn it around. The system spent $100 million to redevelop the hospital, renamed Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. It went from a loss of $7 million a year to a positive bottom line performance of $5 million a year. He was president of Bayview from 1984-1999 and was named COO of Johns Hopkins Health System in 1995.
Ronald J. Werthman, vice president for finance. Since Mr. Werthman assumed his position in 1993, Johns Hopkins has achieved the highest operating margins in its history. He consolidated the health system and affiliates finance division under his direction and worked closely with the management team on a budget incorporating the health system and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Before joining Johns Hopkins, he was CFO of Hahnemann University in Philadelphia and held similar positions at St. Francis Regional Medical Center in Wichita, Kan., Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, N.Y., and Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh.
Lehigh Valley Hospital (Allentown, Pa.)
Elliot J. Sussman, MD, president and CEO. As president of Lehigh Valley Health Network since 1993, Dr. Sussman also heads the hospital. In his first five years in office, the hospital's costs fell, patient satisfaction rose and the mortality rate fell due to steps like giving nurses more time for hands-on care, establishing patient-centered care and and embracing IT and other technology. Dr. Sussman, an internist, previously was associate dean of medicine at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine.
Joseph G. Felkner, CFO. Before joining Lehigh Valley in Aug. 2009, Mr. Felkner was senior vice president and chief strategy officer at Baptist Health Care in Pensacola, Fla. Before that he was senior vice president of finance at OhioHealth in Columbus, Ohio, and CFO of Grant/Riverside Methodist Hospitals, a member of OhioHealth. In the 1980s, he was a senior consultant in the Columbus office of Ernst and Whinney, specializing in healthcare.
Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston)
Peter Slavin, MD, president. Dr. Slavin, an internist, has been president of Massachusetts General Hospital since 2003. The hospital has one of the largest hospital-based research budgets in the world. Before Massachusetts General, Dr. Slavin was president of Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis from 1997-1999. He speaks widely on such topics as quality and utilization management, the economics of teaching hospitals and the state of physician practices.
Sally A. Mason Boemer, senior vice president for finance. Ms. Boemer has improved collections, shepherded payor contracts and organized cost-cutting teams at the hospital. She started at Massachusetts General in 1993 in an administrative fellowship, an educational program that allowed her to rotate through the hospital's entire operations and finance departments. In May, the hospital was $4.2 million ahead of budget. Ms. Boemer said that while volume was softening, the hospital had shown strong performance in indirect research revenue and management of hospital expenses.
Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minn.)
John Noseworthy, MD, president and CEO. Dr. Noseworthy became president and CEO of Mayo Clinic in Nov. 2009. He joined Mayo in 1990 and served as chairman of the department of neurology. In June, he took HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on a tour of Mayo as a model under healthcare reform. Mayo has begun several pilot projects under the reform law, including one on the "medical home." Mr. Noseworthy was also recently named to Becker's Hospital Review's list of the 30 Most Powerful People in Healthcare.
Jeffrey W. Bolton, CFO. Mr. Bolton has been CFO at Mayo since 2003. The Mayo Clinic in Rochester brought in a profit of 4.4 percent in 2009. Mr. Bolton said after a slow start in the first quarter of 2009, the clinic successfully worked with staff to help drive down costs. "We had a long list of actions that were focused on quality improvement, streamlining and standardizing our work processes," he told Minnesota Public Radio. Previously, Mr. Bolton was CFO at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and worked in planning and financial analysis at the University of Pittsburgh.
Methodist Hospital (Houston)
Ron Girotto, president & CEO. Mr. Girotto is also CEO of the hospital's parent, the Methodist Hospital System. He was named acting CEO in 2001 and became full CEO in 2002. Before then, he served in a variety of executive positions in the system since he joined in 1977. He has a graduate degree in banking from Southern Methodist University, completed coursework in federal income tax from the University of Houston and took courses in financial management and strategy in healthcare from Harvard University.
John Hagale, CFO. Also CFO of the health system, Mr. Hagale was named best CFO for a large nonprofit by the Houston Business Journal in May 2010. Winners were selected from among several nominees in various categories for their outstanding performance in their roles as corporate financial stewards. The Methodist system has an annual operating budget of more than $1.6 billion and assets totaling $4.9 billion.
Northwestern Memorial Hospital (Chicago)
Dean M. Harrison, president and CEO. Mr. Harrison is also president and CEO of Northwestern Memorial HealthCare, the hospital's parent, and has held both titles since 2002. Before he joined Northwestern Memorial in 1998 as senior vice president for corporate operations, he was president and COO of the University of Chicago Health System. During 11 years in that system, he also served as president and CEO of the Louis A. Weiss Memorial Hospital.
Peter J. McCanna, CFO. Mr. McCanna is also executive vice president for administration at Northwestern Memorial Healthcare. He joined Northwestern Memorial in August 2002 as senior vice president, CFO and treasurer. Previously he had been senior vice president and CFO since 1998 of Presbyterian Healthcare Services in Albuquerque, N.M., and prior to that, he was senior vice president and CFO of the University of Colorado Hospital.
NYU Langone Medical Center (New York)
Robert I. Grossman, MD, CEO. Dr. Grossman is also dean of the NYU School of Medicine. He joined NYU in 2001 as chairman of the department of radiology. Previously he had been chief of neuroradiology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Reporting to Dr. Grossman at NYU are Kevin Hannifan, senior vice president for hospital operations, and Richard Donoghue, senior vice president for strategic planning and business development.
Michael T. Burke, CFO. As senior vice president, vice dean and corporate CFO of the organization, Mr. Burke also maintains CFO functions for the hospital. He joined the organization in 2008 from Tufts New England Medical Center, where he was senior vice president and CFO since 2004. Before that, he was CFO of Duke University Hospital from 2000-2004 and with KPMG Peat Marwick from 1995–2000. He also served as senior healthcare auditor for Price Waterhouse and senior auditor at the New York State Attorney General’s office for Medicaid fraud control.
Ohio State University Medical Center (Columbus, Ohio)
Steven G. Gabbe, MD, CEO. Dr. Gabbe also holds the title of senior vice president for health sciences at the medical center. He took his position in July 2008, as the medical center was developing plans for the largest physical expansion in its history, a $1 billion project that will be completed in 2016. He had been dean of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine from 2001-2008. Prior to that, he was chair of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Washington Medical Center.
John B. Stone, CFO. Mr. Stone holds the titles of senior associate vice president for health sciences and chief administrative officer at the medical center but also functions as CFO. Before joining the medical center, he was managing director of the healthcare practice at Navigant Consulting. In that position, he served as CEO of UCLA Medical Center, CEO and COO of UCSF Medical Center and CFO of UCSD Medical Center. He has also served as president, CEO and CFO of the Western Reserve Care System, vice president of finance and CFO at Hamot Health in Erie, Pa., and CFO at Northern Michigan Hospitals.
Providence St. Vincent Medical Center (Portland, Ore.)
John Koster, MD, president & CEO. Dr. Koster also has led Providence Health & Services, the medical center's parent, since 2003. He joined Providence in 1997 as vice president of clinical and physician services and held primary responsibility for system operations. Prior to Providence, he was senior vice president of targeted member services at VHA. He practiced internal medicine for 10 years.
Mike Butler, executive vice president and CFO. Mr. Butler joined Providence in 1998 to become CFO of the hospital as well as the health system. He added the position of executive vice president in 2002. Mr. Butler is responsible for the financial services and operational oversight of an organization with $7.6 billion in annual net revenue. His responsibilities include accounting and finance, treasury management, supply chain services, risk management, information services and strategic management services. Previously he was COO and CFO at Catholic Health Initiatives and Franciscan Health System.
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center (Los Angeles)
David T. Feinberg, MD, CEO. Dr. Feinberg is also CEO of UCLA Health System and has held both positions since 2006. He is a psychiatrist, and he was previously medical director at Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital within the health system. He told Becker's Hospital Review in 2009 that when he became CEO, he had to change the culture from "Isn't it a privilege for you to see us?" to "It is a privilege for us to treat you." He added: "Physicians here also have to undergo training on how to enter a patient room, look [patients] in the eye and deliver good or bad news."
Paul Staton, CFO. Mr. Staton was named interim CFO in 2004 and became full CFO in 2005. He has emphasized helping employees understand the intricacies of healthcare finances. Even though the organization is not-for-profit, he told employees, "We need to generate a profit to reinvest in equipment for patient care, pay off our debt, provide academic support and maintain cost-of-living increases for our staff," according to UCLA Today. He added that any net income is put right back into the organization. Mr. Staton has been at the medical center for 14 years.
Rush University Medical Center (Chicago)
Larry J. Goodman, MD, president and CEO. Dr. Goodman became CEO in 2002. He is currently overseeing the $1 billion Rush Transformation project, which includes a 14-story facility opening in 2012 and a five-story ambulatory orthopedic building that opened in 2009. Dr. Goodman, an internist, was associate dean for medical student programs at the medical school in 1987. As director of the division of specialized training programs and as director of inter-institutional affairs, he crafted an academic affiliation agreement with Cook County Hospital. Directly before becoming CEO, he was senior vice president for medical affairs and dean of the medical school.
Catherine A. Jacobson, CFO and treasurer. Ms. Jacobson previously served as vice president for program evaluation, assistant to the president and chief compliance officer since beginning at Rush in 1996. She told Becker's Hospital Review last December even Medicaid payments can be workable if care is managed well and the hospital is paid a relatively good rate. She added lowering readmissions is rapidly becoming critical to protecting hospital profits. Ms. Jacobson has been national chair for the Healthcare Financial Management Association.
St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital (Indianapolis)
Kyle De Fur, president. Mr. De Fur has held his position since Dec. 2007. In addition to St.Vincent Indianapolis, he heads St.Vincent Women’s Hospital, St.Vincent Stress Center and Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital at St.Vincent. Mr. De Fur was previously president of Saint John’s Health System for more than four years, CEO of Arbor Hospital of Evansville and administrator of Charter Hospital of Rockford (Ill.). He also served as assistant administrator of North Hills Hospital in Kansas City, Mo., and Charter Ridge Hospital in Lexington, Ky.
Jeffrey P. Williams, CFO. Mr. Williams was named to his position in 2008. He is responsible for operational accounting, budgeting, performance improvement and joint venture support. Mr. Williams has more than 36 years of experience in financial management, including in the healthcare financial services consulting practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers and at V4 Consulting.
Scott & White Memorial Hospital (Temple, Texas)
Alfred B. Knight, MD, president and CEO. Dr. Knight, an obstetrician-gynecologist, has been president and CEO of Scott & White Healthcare, the hospital's parent, for 10 years. He is also chairman of the board of the Scott & White Health Plan, which has 200,000 members. In his tenure, Scott & White has aggressively expanded through mergers, acquisitions and minority interest investments in central Texas. The biggest challenge for medicine, he said in 2005, is "the lack of coordination of healthcare, which creates redundancy and extra cost." He joined Scott & White in 1986.
Dennis Laraway, CFO. Mr. Laraway has been CFO of Scott & White Healthcare for several years, overseeing an operation with "robust volume growth and effective cost management [that] have supported very strong operating profitability and cash flow," according to Fitch Ratings. Mr. Laraway helped shepherd the sale of $348 million in bonds on the week of June 7, 2010, to be used to finance strategic capital projects and refinance outstanding debt. Mr. Laraway has also served as vice president and CFO at St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center in Syracuse, N.Y.
Stanford Hospital & Clinics (San Jose, Calif.)
Martha H. Marsh, president and CEO. Ms. Marsh plans to retire at the end of August, after an eight-year tenure. When she took the helm in 2002, the organization had less than two weeks of cash on hand, while today it has 200 days cash on hand. She added a cancer center, a new outpatient center and an electronic medical record system that earned Stage 7 designation, the highest level, from HIMSS Analytics. Before coming to Stanford, Ms. Marsh headed the Matthew Thornton Health Plan in New Hampshire and was a senior healthcare analyst with Arthur Anderson in New York.
Daniel J. Morissette, CFO. Having assumed the CFO position in Sept. 2007, Mr. Morissette guides long-range financial planning and capital financing and coordinates financial planning with other parts of the system. On his watch, Fitch Ratings says Stanford's historical operating profitability has been "robust" and operating margins have ranged from 5.2-9.1 percent. Previously he was the top finance officer for University of Toledo Medical Center.
University Medical Center (Tucson, Ariz.)
Kevin Burns, president and CEO. Before stepping into the CEO job in Feb. 2010, Mr. Burns had been CFO since 2002. In that time, he shepherded the medical center through three bond issues totaling $254 million to support expansions. "We're well-positioned to go into this decade. We have a great organization with excellent staff," he told the Arizona Daily Star in February. Before joining UMCC, Mr. Burns spent 17 years with Arthur Andersen. The previous CEO, Greg Pivirotto, also had a background in finance.
Misty Darling Hansen, CFO. Ms. Hansen had been the hospital’s chief accounting officer before being named CFO in Jan. 2010. After joining the medical center in 2001, she worked on a variety of financial initiatives. She oversees an annual operating budget of $530 million. The hospital has a high number of patients enrolled in the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment system, the state Medicaid program, which could face more state budget cuts.
UCSF Medical Center (San Francisco)
Mark R. Laret, CEO. Mr. Laret took the reins in 2000, when the medical center was recovering from a failed merger with Stanford Hospitals & Clinics and was racking up losses of $1.5 million a week. He organized a management team with the common values and then worked to get employee buy-in, he told Becker's Hospital Review. The medical center turned around and has been making $60 million-$100 million in the past several years. In his first stint at the medical center from 1980-1995, he served in a variety of executive posts and then became CEO of UC Irvine Medical Center from 1995-2000, where he also led a successful turnaround.
Susan B. Moore, interim CFO. Formerly director of finance for the medical center, Ms. Moore became interim CFO in early 2009, replacing Ken Jones, who was promoted to COO. Former COO Tomi Ryba left to become president of United Hospital in St. Paul, Minn. On Ms. Moore's watch, the medical center has logged "a significant improvement in operating income," due to focusing on contracting, reducing operating costs and revenue cycle improvements, a Standard&Poor's credit analyst said in May.
University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers (Ann Arbor, Mich.)
Douglas L. Strong, CEO. Since taking over as CEO in 2006, Mr. Strong has focused on tighter integration of the missions and units of the University of Michigan Health System. The Hospitals and Health Centers unit of the University of Michigan Health System is expected to finish its fiscal year in strong financial shape, with a positive operating margin nearly twice the size predicted a year ago. Mr. Strong had been CFO of the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago and associate dean for administration and finance at the School of Medicine at SUNY Stony Brook.
David Morlock, CFO. In 2010, the financial departments of the two major units of UMHS were brought together to increase efficiencies, and Mr. Morlock was chosen as CFO for the new entity. He has been using a new "rolling forecast" approach to budgeting and planning, meant to help all areas of UMHS stay on top of factors that affect the bottom line. UMHHC has logged 14 straight years of positive operating margins and is expected to do so again this year.
UPMC-University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (Pittsburgh)
Jeffrey A. Romoff, president and CEO. Mr. Romoff was named president of UPMC in 1992 and added the title of CEO in 2006. He took a 24 percent pay cut in 2009, as part of a reduction in senior management compensation "to ensure the organization's continued pursuit of its healthcare and research mission during the economic downturn," UPMC stated. Mr. Romoff came to the University of Pittsburgh in 1973. From 1986-1992, he was executive vice president of UPMC and vice president for health sciences of the University of Pittsburgh, and he assumed the role of interim senior vice president of business and finance for the university in 1991.
Robert A. DeMichiei, senior vice president and CFO. Mr. DeMichiei has shepherded the organization through a challenging economy. In February, Moody's praised UPMC management for it "pro-active initiatives to improve operational efficiencies, including management’s ability to balance capacity with community need to meet clinical demands while justifying clinical expenditures." Previously, Mr. DeMichiei held various executive finance roles at General Electric and worked for Price Waterhouse in Pittsburgh for 10 years.
Vanderbilt University Medical Center (Nashville, Tenn.)
Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, vice chancellor for health affairs. Dr. Balser also serves as dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He became interim dean in July 2008, replacing Steven G. Gabbe, MD, who left to become senior vice president for health sciences and CEO of Ohio State University Medical Center. Dr. Balser, whose specialty is critical care medicine, oversaw the completion of the medical center's Critical Care Tower last fall. Dr. Balser is proud of having to lay off only a limited number of employees so far in the recession while adding employees in many other areas.
Warren Beck, senior vice president of finance. Mr. Beck also holds the title of associate vice chancellor for health affairs at Vanderbilt. He has been in his current role for 13 years. Before Vanderbilt, he was with KPMG Peat Marwick in the New York City area. Vanderbilt had more than $250 million in uncompensated care last year and is forecasting $325 million in uncompensated care this year. Nonetheless, operating margins have remained at the median or slightly above compared to other academic teaching hospitals.
Yale-New Haven Hospital (New Haven, Conn.)
Marna P. Borgstrom, president and CEO. Ms. Borgstrom also heads Yale-New Haven Health System, the hospital's parent. In office since 2005, she is the first woman to run the organization. From 1993-2005, she was executive vice president and COO. She was senior vice president of administration from 1992-1993 and vice president of administration from 1985 to 1992. Ms. Borgstrom joined Yale-New Haven Hospital in 1979 as an administrative fellow. She has been a Director of VHA since May 2009 and is chair of the Connecticut Hospital Association Board of Trustees.
James M. Staten, CFO. As executive vice president for corporate and financial services of the health system, he also functions as CFO of the hospital. Before joining the system in 2000, Mr. Staten was a senior vice president in charge of finance for New York Presbyterian Hospital and New York Presbyterian Health Care System. He previously served as Ernst & Young's director of New York State Reimbursement Consulting Services and was a partner with Pannell Kerr Forster in its healthcare management consulting and auditing practices.