In the past weeks, U.S. and international health agencies have issued urgent and dire warnings of ransomware and other cybersecurity threats for the healthcare industry. Last month at the Congress on Healthcare Leadership, Rachel Wilson, who heads cyberse...

Environmental and climate concerns continue to make headlines across the country and around the globe. The healthcare industry accounts for approximately 10% of greenhouse gas emissions, and our facilities represent around 10% of commercial energy usage i...

We are proud to recognize National Volunteer Week. ACHE is grateful for the service and support of our volunteers, including chapter leaders, elected leaders, and Career Resource Center mentors and coaches. Your involvement helps us all serve our patients...

While the COVID-19 pandemic has shone a spotlight on burnout in the healthcare community, it is a “preexisting condition.” Burnout is defined as a work-related stress reaction that leads to emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and a lack of sense of pe...

Check out this month’s selections for our “What’s On Your Bookshelf?” series from Health Administration Press, the publishing division of the Foundation of the American College of Healthcare Executives. As one of the largest publishers in the field of hea...

The U.S. public health system has faced challenges such as inadequate funding and staffing shortages for years. Prior to COVID, these shortcomings were hiding in plain sight. Now, they are evident to all and exacerbated as the nation tries to protect the ...

When I think about why we, as senior executives, must focus much more of our time and resources on our workforce, it’s not a complicated discussion. We must do so because it’s the right thing to do for our people and it’s the right thing to do for our org...

During this pandemic, we have all reverted to more do-it-yourself projects. Being self-sufficient has long been considered an asset in our culture but, during the pandemic, such independence has sapped many healthcare workers of energy and resolve. If the...

March 8 is International Women’s Day! The World Health Organization estimates that women account for 70% of the global health and social care workforce, yet hold only about 25% of leadership roles in the industry. ACHE is happy to participate in the Inter...

The 2022 Congress on Healthcare Leadership, March 28–31, is a prime opportunity for healthcare leaders from across the care continuum to come together in person to network, share best practices and gather solutions, tools and resources to advance healthca...

Check out this month’s selections for our “What’s On Your Bookshelf?” series from Health Administration Press, the publishing division of the Foundation of the American College of Healthcare Executives. As one of the largest publishers in the field of hea...

The quality-cost trade-off is a fundamental challenge for healthcare providers. While cost is readily quantifiable, the measurement of quality is considerably more challenging. Quality is sometimes defined in terms of structure, process and outcomes. Howe...

Enforcement of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ COVID-19 vaccine mandate began January 27. Here's an explanation of the mandate and useful information for healthcare leaders about enforcement deadlines.

ACHE has been dedicated to advancing members and leadership excellence ever since being chartered on Feb. 13, 1933. To celebrate more than 85 years of supporting healthcare leaders through resources, education and networking, the association is excited to...

The 2022 Congress on Healthcare Leadership, March 28–31, is a prime opportunity for healthcare leaders from across the care continuum to come together in person to network, share best practices and gather solutions, tools and resources to advance healthca...

In honor of Black History Month, ACHE celebrates the trailblazing Black clinicians, scientists and healthcare leaders who have left their mark on history. Here are eight pioneers who broke barriers, developed innovative medical tests and treatments, impro...

Check out this month’s selections for our “What’s On Your Bookshelf?” series from Health Administration Press, the publishing division of the Foundation of the American College of Healthcare Executives. As one of the largest publishers in the field of hea...

Healthcare organizations are experiencing unprecedented levels of exhaustion, burnout and organizational trauma, but creating a culture of replenishment can help combat these challenges. Not only are hospitals and health systems facing unsustainable st...

Growth from a stand-alone hospital to a multifunctional health system has been a common storyline in U.S. healthcare over the past 40 years. But while mergers, acquisitions, affiliations and partnerships have been abundant, the path to systemness has not ...

The 2022 Congress on Healthcare Leadership, March 28–31, is a prime opportunity for healthcare leaders from across the care continuum to come together in person to network, share best practices and gather solutions, tools and resources to advance healthca...

In March 1966, Martin Luther King Jr., delivered a speech at a convention of the Medical Committee for Human Rights. He said, “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in healthcare is the most shocking and inhumane.” At the time, King was conducting dir...

Amid new variants, surges and vaccination resistance, front-line healthcare workers are exhausted, with many stressed to the breaking point. In fact, the industry has lost nearly half a million workers since February 2020—as much as 18% of the workforce. ...

Embarking on a new strategic plan is an opportunity to amplify strengths and identify new opportunities. This moment is particularly important as we chart a course for our profession in a post-pandemic world. For ACHE, this means elevating what makes us u...

Check out this month’s selections for our “What’s On Your Bookshelf?” series from Health Administration Press, the publishing division of the Foundation of the American College of Healthcare Executives. As one of the largest publishers in the field of hea...

So many different areas of healthcare—including patient safety, throughput and supply chain management—can be measurably improved by implementing replicable, scalable, evidence-based best practices. That said, healthcare is incredibly complicated and not ...

Healthcare leaders know ensuring the safety and well-being of caregivers is imperative to ensuring the safety and well-being of patients. That said, efforts to mitigate clinician burnout and build workforce resilience will be an important part of any pand...

In emerging research on the value of belonging in the workplace, University of Virginia scholars Natalie May, PhD, and Julie Hazelip, MD, studied behaviors of faculty that engender a sense of inclusion among medical students. Their forthcoming publication...

The 2022 Congress on Healthcare Leadership, March 28–31, is a prime opportunity for healthcare leaders from across the care continuum to come together in person to network, share best practices and gather solutions, tools and resources to advance healthca...

Editor’s Note: This content has been excerpted from the book Navigating the Healthcare Workforce Shortage: How to Safeguard Your Organization’s Most Important Asset, by Tresha D. Moreland, FACHE, and Lori Wightman, DNP, RN, NEA-BC. The content has been ed...

Much has changed in the healthcare leadership field in the last two years, and ACHE has been rapidly evolving our education, networking and member benefits to ensure you have the resources you need. The annual Congress on Healthcare Leadership is the can’...

This year, I was honored to have been chosen as a Thomas C. Dolan Executive Diversity Program Scholar. This was a hugely exciting achievement for me, as I have admired Dolan Scholars from afar since the program’s inception in 2014 and I aspired to eventu...

Check out this month’s selections for our “What’s On Your Bookshelf?” series from Health Administration Press, the publishing division of the Foundation of the American College of Healthcare Executives. As one of the largest publishers in the field of hea...

When the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the country, hospital CEOs had no playbook to follow to navigate through the worst public health threat in more than a century. Hospitals relied on their leaders’ experience and skills to help suppress a mounting c...

I am a U.S. Air Force veteran who sustained a severe traumatic brain injury in 1990. I am an employee of the Veterans Health Administration, and I am a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. On this Veterans Day, I believe it is imperati...

As we approach the final months of 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic is still shaping healthcare around the world. Many organizations and communities continue to battle patient surges caused by the delta variant, while also managing vaccination efforts and tryi...

In nearly every conversation I have with leaders, the topic of workforce is top of mind. These concerns are not new—in fact, in 2019 participants in ACHE’s Top Issues Confronting Hospitals survey rated personnel shortages second only to their financial ch...

I have often been asked what steps I took to successfully pivot from being a practicing physical therapist to a healthcare executive leading multiple business units and divisions. While my path in healthcare leadership was not perfectly planned, there ...

Check out this month’s selections for our “What’s On Your Bookshelf?” series from Health Administration Press, the publishing division of the Foundation of the American College of Healthcare Executives. As one of the largest publishers in the field of hea...

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals and health systems struggled to manage inpatient excess capacity while additional procedures were shifting to an outpatient setting. Today, hospitals are faced with even greater struggles as they address daily chall...

Most hospital executives probably know that one of the most frequent patient complaints relates to noise. For many years, nationwide, HCAHPS “quiet at night” scores have shown that noise in acute healthcare settings impacts patient satisfaction—and, there...

There is a fundamental shift happening in healthcare. Increasingly, patients are becoming active, empowered consumers, shopping for care just like they do for any other good or service. They’re looking for quality and value. As an industry, we have the op...

As National Hispanic Heritage Month comes to a close, I am pleased to have the opportunity to share my unique perspective on how we, as Latino leaders, can mentor, support and inspire future generations in healthcare. I was born and raised in El Paso,...

In recognition of National Hispanic Heritage Month, which was designed to acknowledge the contributions of Hispanic Americans to the history and culture of the United States, I was inspired to take some time to reflect upon heritage, as well as all the pe...

On May 21, 2020, the San Carlos Apache community in Arizona saw its first patient who tested positive for COVID-19. The tribe was one of the hardest hit in the country with an overall incidence of COVID-19 infections at 30% and the death rate at 1.4% at i...

Transitioning jobs is not a matter of if, but when, for most healthcare leaders. In today’s work climate it is rare for any professional to stay with one employer for the duration of their entire career, and healthcare is no exception. In fact, a U.S. Bur...

Since the launch of our Healthcare Executive Podcast in early 2019, we have connected with numerous healthcare professionals, innovators and industry leaders from across the country. In each episode, these experts share their insights on topics ranging fr...

Check out September's selections for our “What’s On Your Bookshelf?” series from Health Administration Press, the publishing division of the Foundation of the American College of Healthcare Executives. As one of the largest publishers in the field of heal...

Over the last 18 months I have been thinking about the social, moral and financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. I am seeing historic levels of workforce shortages, clinical burnout and moral injury, as well as continued cost escalation. The pandemic i...

Over the years, so many leaders have shared that one of the most meaningful and powerful benefits of ACHE is its wide-reaching professional network. The lifeblood of this network is the system of 77 chapters that provide significant additional value to he...

Since Leading a Culture of Safety: A Blueprint for Success was published in 2017, it has been a powerful tool for healthcare systems to improve patient safety. To reach our obligation of eliminating all patient harm, we must acknowledge that the environme...

Due to its significant increase over the last several years, gun violence is now being recognized as a public health crisis by many healthcare organizations and medical professionals. Additionally, social determinants of health and the cycle of gun violen...

As the pace of change in healthcare continues to accelerate, leaders must be adept at navigating the changing consumer and regulatory landscapes. To succeed—and to continue advancing in your career—you’ll have to anticipate needs and act quickly and confi...

Mentoring can be an invaluable professional and personal resource for healthcare leaders at every age and career stage. To that end, ACHE actively supports formal and informal mentoring activities in many ways. But frequently the benefits of mentoring are...

Check out August 2021's selections for our “What’s On Your Bookshelf?” series from Health Administration Press, the publishing division of the Foundation of the American College of Healthcare Executives. As one of the largest publishers in the field of he...

Around the world, far too many women and babies are suffering the sometimes fatal consequences of preeclampsia. This dangerous pregnancy complication—characterized by high blood pressure and signs of damage to another organ system, most often the liver an...

When he left the Air Force, David Perry didn’t know where to go with his career. He didn’t consider a career at the Department of Veterans Affairs, thinking they only hired healthcare professionals. Perry quickly discovered there is a world of opportuniti...

The COVID-19 pandemic caught our hospital, our nation and the entire world by surprise. Even though Adventist Health White Memorial faced many of the same pandemic-related obstacles as other hospitals and health systems—including staffing and resource sho...

How do we bridge the gap between the value and need for data with its lack of approachability and accessibility? First, let’s start by clarifying what data is not; data is not everything, it is not a substitute for personal anecdotes, professional experie...

Traditionally, concepts related to sustainable design focus on the co-existence of both the natural and the built environments, often conjuring up images related to saving our earth: planting trees, building wind farms, collecting pollution from the ocean...

Check out July 2021's selections for our “What’s On Your Bookshelf?” series from Health Administration Press, the publishing division of the Foundation of the American College of Healthcare Executives. As one of the largest publishers in the field of heal...

Increasingly, those in the healthcare field and beyond are embracing the fact that mental health is health. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the country was already experiencing a mental health crisis. In fact, the State of Mental Health in America 2021 Re...

The rapid onset, scale and disparate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has tested healthcare leaders in new ways. We have had to leverage all that we know, while also being agile enough to make decisions at record-breaking speeds—not to mention being mindfu...

The COVID-19 pandemic has radically changed the way we live, work, learn and play. Our new reality poses a unique set of challenges for all of us, especially as healthcare leaders as we focus on improving staff wellness while running high reliability orga...

The COVID-19 pandemic has radically changed the way we live, work, learn and play. Our new reality poses a unique set of challenges for all of us, especially as healthcare leaders as we focus on improving staff wellness while running high reliability orga...

Health equity, as defined by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, “means that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible. This requires removing obstacles to health such as poverty, discrimination, and their consequences, includi...

The COVID-19 pandemic created countless challenges for healthcare providers, but some silver-linings-minded leaders believe the health crisis also accelerated innovation in quality and safety. In a March/April 2021 Healthcare Executive column, Richard Bra...

Health equity, as defined by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, “means that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible. This requires removing obstacles to health such as poverty, discrimination, and their consequences, includi...

A vast trove of news articles and academic publications describe the earned distrust of historically marginalized populations in our healthcare system. However, we have a much smaller supply of suggestions for building trustworthiness in health and addres...

President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. The proclamation declared that “all slaves held in states in rebellion against the United States would be forever free.” News slowly spread across the country, finally reac...

Hospitals across the country are experiencing high levels of patient boarding in the ED, even though ED patient volume has not fully returned to levels typically seen prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. If most hospitals have not yet returned to 100% of their...

Like many health systems, Mon Health’s employed provider network has created new challenges. Mon’s network grew substantially over the past decade through practice acquisition and incremental recruitment. However, due to the nature of the medical group’s ...

As we enter Pride Month, and as we move forward with vaccinations to protect our communities through the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, there are more opportunities to celebrate in-person. Many people associated Pride Month for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, ...

It can be a challenge for our uniformed services members to transition from the military to civilian roles. Learn more from our colleagues at the Department of Veterans Affairs about how to move forward in your job search when you receive a rejection lett...

As vaccine numbers continue to climb and organizations tentatively, optimistically schedule in-person gatherings, we’ve been reflecting on what it means to “go back to normal.” Thus far, going back to normal in America appears to be a resumption of battle...

Actively addressing resilience has never been more important, and for good reason. The rate of burnout among physicians was over 40% prior to COVID-19, according to a Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine article: “Burnout of healthcare providers during CO...

Though it appears a light is finally emerging at the end of the long COVID-19 tunnel, there is no denying that healthcare organizations and systems have been forever changed by the coronavirus pandemic. While the health of patients and communities was und...

The impact of racism in healthcare must become real to cultivate change. We need to achieve health equity, instill cultural competence and earn trust. What is the health equity road map at your hospital? Does your community trust your healthcare providers...

Despite the turbulence we’ve seen in 2020, healthcare professionals have met the challenges presented by the pandemic with perseverance, innovation and empathy. Direct care clinicians have come together to handle unprecedented surges of sick patients and ...

Amid the mental health messages emerging this month on social media feeds, music platforms and billboards, it’s important that we recognize the existence, origin and importance of this national awareness effort. Mental Health America created Mental Health...

“Healthcare leadership is more than a profession, it’s a calling.” It’s a simple but profound statement that kicked off the 2021 ACHE Congress on Healthcare Leadership. As a healthcare leader and educator of color, I feel called in this moment to respond ...

The following is an excerpt from the Spring 2021 Regent Message for the California—Northern & Central area. The agony, anguish, anxiety and anger felt within our Asian American and Pacific Islander community is the catastrophic result of a long history of...

ACHE is proud to recognize National Volunteer Week. We are grateful for the service and support of ACHE’s volunteers, including our chapter leaders, elected leaders and Career Resource Center mentors and coaches. Your involvement helps us serve our member...

More than 9,000 professionals attended the 2021 Congress on Healthcare Leadership in March. In addition to taking part in education sessions and networking with peers, attendees had the opportunity to connect with thought leaders and industry experts duri...

Between the global COVID-19 pandemic, an economic recession and renewed conversations about inequity across the country, the last year has shown us that the state of public health will inevitably be reflected inside hospital and health system walls. That ...

Some of the most vivid images I have from this past year are of my physicians, barely recognizable as they were covered from head to toe in PPE. They wore wary expressions early in the pandemic when so much was unknown. When they walked into a COVID-19 pa...

Don Berwick, IHI president emeritus and senior fellow, has characterized our current healthcare system as "repair shops" where we rise to the challenge of fixing and correcting the damage for what’s broken. Often work gets accomplished without deeply unde...

We’ve all heard of Six Sigma. It’s familiar terminology to any healthcare leader focused on quality improvement. Surely, however, there are some of you out there who know only that it is a methodological tool used to recognize variability, prevent error a...

The announcement last month that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos would step down from the e-commerce business was the latest in a tumultuous year of global CEO turnover. Whether due to the pandemic crisis, the resulting financial recession or previous, planned depa...

We reflect on 500,000 lives lost in the worst pandemic in American history, with Black, Latino and Indigenous Americans suffering at least double the death rate compared to whites. We remember Manuel Ellis, a Black man killed in police custody whose last ...

The movement to community-based care had momentum even prior to the pandemic but never has the opportunity for change been more ripened than present day. At Chapters Health System, this change was really an expansion of the mission we’ve always served. Wh...

Inaccurate or delayed diagnoses are the most common, most catastrophic and most costly of serious medical errors. The National Academy of Medicine believes improving the diagnostic process is not only possible, but also represents a moral, professional an...

As we recognize Black History Month in 2021, I can’t help but reflect on the significant advances people of African descent have made in the United States, especially given that not until 2107 will African Americans hit the milestone of living more years ...

The beginning of a new administration always brings apprehension and anticipation. How dramatically will the President change the trajectory of the country, if at all? Who will take leadership roles in the Executive Branch, and will Congress enhance or de...

ACHE has been dedicated to advancing members and leadership excellence ever since being chartered on Feb. 13, 1933. To celebrate more than 85 years of supporting healthcare leaders through resources, education and networking, the association is excited to...

ACHE has been dedicated to advancing members and leadership excellence ever since being chartered on Feb. 13, 1933. To celebrate more than 85 years of supporting healthcare leaders through resources, education and networking, the association is excited to...

The inauguration of President Biden in the middle of a pandemic raises many questions about how the new administration will alter the direction of healthcare in 2021 and what those changes will mean for healthcare executives. Addressing the COVID-19 Pande...

As leaders, we represent more than the roles we play. We belong to a profession centered on an important calling: to care for those who put their trust in us and to model the values for which we stand. We work tirelessly to advance health for our patien...

Martin Luther King Jr. stated in his book Strength to Love, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” This specific quote has been a core princip...

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic called into question our nation’s readiness to protect our medical staff with the most basic personal protective equipment, even as we required new levels of stamina and endurance from them every day. It also brought to a ne...

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered an abrupt suspension of elective surgeries in 2020, and ultimately contributed to a significant decline in patient volumes and hospital revenue. These challenging circumstances make it more important than ever for hospital ...

A growing body of research shows social determinants of health have a significant impact on health outcomes and the cost of care delivery. The root causes of many disparities in patient outcomes can be traced back to social determinants of health, with ma...

For most of us, 2021 cannot get here soon enough. The mess that has been 2020 has seen executive time absorbed with COVID-19. Strategic issues at the core of your health system’s long-term success, including building an employed physician network that can...

Improving safety has been a top priority at healthcare organizations across the country for the last two decades, but preventable harm is still an issue. To help tackle this problem, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement-convened National Steering Comm...

In this season of giving thanks, I wanted to take a moment to recognize the incredible courage and determination our field has shown this year. Our leaders and front-line teams have been extending themselves more than ever before—working longer hours, lea...

After years of steady progress for women in the workplace, the COVID-19 pandemic represents a moment of both inflection and crisis. Between February and August, mothers of children 12 years old and younger lost 2.2 million jobs, with Black and Latina wome...

Change Healthcare provides solutions to connect payers, providers and patients across the healthcare system. Here, Change Healthcare President/CEO Neil de Crescenzo discuss the challenges they’ve faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how they’ve continu...

ACHE’s gratitude and respect for members who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces knows no bounds. On Veterans Day, we show special appreciation for these members’ courage, service and dedication to our country. To our uniformed services and veteran membe...

COVID-19 brought out the best in many healthcare leadership teams. They ramped up telehealth services in record time, erected field hospitals to care for a surge of patients and moved non-clinical staff into remote settings. They became master innovators,...

Healthcare administration in the United States, particularly in the senior ranks, has been a male-dominated field for decades. But the demand for capable healthcare administrators is as high now as ever. Women make up more than half of the U.S. population...

We’re witnessing a dramatic shift in healthcare away from standardization—the ideology that the business defines the individual. This change was well underway even before the pandemic and rising social unrest, but the events of 2020 have certainly acceler...

Artificial intelligence and machine learning have the potential to transform patient care, quality and outcomes. But, there are also concerns about the negative impact these technologies could have on human interaction and patient safety, including gender...

For populations experiencing the preexisting conditions of poverty and all its related social inequalities, the COVID-19 pandemic further complicates the delivery of healthcare. Lynette Bonar, RN, FACHE, deals with these complications daily as the CEO of ...

On July 24, 2019, President Trump announced an executive order to improve price transparency in healthcare. On Nov. 15, 2019, CMS released a final rule on hospital price transparency. Within a month, hospital associations and hospitals filed a lawsuit to ...

Since the launch of our Healthcare Executive Podcast in early 2019, we have connected with numerous healthcare professionals, innovators and industry leaders from across the country. Each episode, these experts share their insights on topics ranging from ...

The past several months have underscored our connections and somewhat painfully tested who we are as a country, as we fight a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic while grappling with the systemic racism in America. These times have also made us ask ourselves, “Ho...

ACHE Members: Check out the Oct. 12 edition of ACHe-news for a special discount code before registering. In a relatively short amount of time, the coronavirus pandemic has drastically altered healthcare on a global scale. While not all countries have b...

Innovation within the Department of Veterans Affairs is not a new concept. The pacemaker, nicotine patch, bar coding for medication administration, and many other veteran and public lifesaving breakthroughs have origins within the VA. Accelerated operatio...

Editor’s Note: This excerpt is from the Frontiers of Health Services Management article, “Moving Forward to Nurture Workforce Resilience in Crisis,” by Katie M. Owens, CEO, Healthcare Experience Foundation, Pensacola, Fla. The content has been edited down...

Ample research is available on race disparity in the healthcare workforce, particularly in our highest levels of leadership. ACHE’s own data show that, while racial and ethnic minorities make up 32% of our U.S. hospital patients and 36% of the population,...

The COVID-19 pandemic has led hospitals across the globe to rethink safety and implement new processes and protocols to protect the health of patients, visitors, staff and anyone else who might enter a healthcare organization. Such measures include creati...

In July, Norwegian American Hospital in Chicago released its policy paper, “Responding to COVID-19 Challenges as a Safety Net Hospital: Lessons from Norwegian American Hospital in Chicago’s Humboldt Park.” NAH predominantly serves Black and Latino/a popul...

In a job search, your resume can be considered as your first job interview. Beyond the basics of a properly formatted and truthful resume, it’s especially important to stand out in the marketplace. ACHE’s Resume Review consultants presented complimentary ...

When looking for a new job, it’s important to build a strong professional brand to show future employers who you are, how you stand out and what you bring to the position. This is especially crucial when you reach the interview stage of your job search. I...

We’re going to delve into the role of governing boards in creating and maintaining safety cultures. In every healthcare organization, the ultimate responsibility for system-based errors and their resulting costs rests with the CEO and Board of Directors. ...

As the CEO of Genevieve, a geriatric medical practice in Minnesota, the COVID-19 global pandemic was not something to which I could slowly adjust. COVID-19 hit the geriatric community hard and fast. Genevive’s specialty is in providing medical care and ca...

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed many things about America. It has cast a particularly harsh light on the failings of some U.S. systems, and the deficiencies of our healthcare system have been especially exposed. An unfortunate realization is that our h...

For many weeks, the healthcare community has been immersed in taking care of patients and families and getting through the pandemic. While we are slowly emerging and the rise of COVID-19 incidences lessens for many, we have a more enduring toll to face in...

Summer is here and it’s been an eventful year thus far. The COVID-19 pandemic has held its grip on the nation and the world over the past four months, although the death of George Floyd and protests against systemic racism has eclipsed its importance in r...

I’ve found myself asking this question a lot during the COVID-19 pandemic, and on its surface, it seems like a simple and simplistic question. We’re waiting to see if cases ramp-up as states open up, or to see how bad that ramp-up will be; we’re waiting f...

Pride Month has always been special for me as an adult. Having grown up in a conservative Black family in the Midwest, I was raised to believe that being gay was morally wrong, and I was required by my parents to attend correction therapy in effort to alt...

Welcome back, class. Since posting our last lesson, the COVID-19 pandemic has spread across the globe and presented the healthcare field with new, never before seen obstacles. Between the high contagiousness and rapid spread of the virus, patient surges, ...

In the healthcare job market, the experience gained through participation in a postgraduate fellowship can provide a competitive advantage to an early careerist. Through these experiences, fellows can put theory into practice to develop practical professi...

For the past several months, addressing immediate issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic has been the dominant focus of the healthcare field. While medical professionals are still working to understand and mitigate the impact of this virus, many of the d...

Life beyond the COVID-19 pandemic is taking shape. Businesses are adapting to virtual meetings and working from home. Kids are adapting to life away from their schools and friends. All are contemplating how sporting events, malls and restaurants will oper...

The unprecedented events caused by COVID-19 have generated a lot of uncertainty within the job market, especially in healthcare. Fortunately, many organizations that have shifted to a virtual working environment are using more innovative ways to hire new ...

The unprecedented events caused by COVID-19 have generated a lot of uncertainty within the job market, especially in healthcare. Fortunately, many organizations that have shifted to a virtual working environment are using more innovative ways to hire new ...

Most well-managed healthcare supply chains have a disaster plan. More advanced supply chains have business continuity plans for a wide range of third-party risks in today’s operating environment. One best practice included within business continuity plans...

Since 1974, National Nurses Week has kicked off every May 6 and ended on May 12, Florence Nightingale’s birthday. We take this time every year to recognize the many contributions of nurses and to honor the sacrifices they make to keep our communities heal...

Demonstrating strength and solidarity. Deborah J. Bowen, FACHE, CAE, president and CEO of the American College of Healthcare Executives, addresses the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in her recent column in Healthcare Executive Magazine. To see more from the M...

As healthcare CEOs, the COVID-19 crisis has provided a rare opportunity—small pockets of time to think and reflect. While we’re closely monitoring our organization’s situation and huddling with local, state and national authorities, our routine of going f...

As hospitals face shortages of personal protective equipment, it is important to know what is regulated, what is not regulated and how to navigate the gray area in between. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control & Prevention...

Due to the many career paths available to those in the healthcare profession, it is not uncommon for emerging leaders to develop long-term plans to help them reach their goals. However, as the old adage goes, even the best laid plans can go awry. This has...

This week, we are waiting for COVID-19 in my town in Central Texas, population 10,140 (2019). As of April 12, we have one confirmed case of the virus in our county. Gov. Andrew Cuomo is projecting a plateau in New York, National Institute of Allergy an...

When I agreed to share leadership lessons on transformation, COVID-19 was on our radar, but its magnitude and profound implications have exceeded what we fathomed as healthcare executives. With the single aim of saving lives, we’re in the trenches with me...

The front-line, immediate impact of COVID-19 is being felt daily, hourly, by health systems across the country. From the perspective of the employed ambulatory network of providers within a health system, there has been tremendous disruption not only in d...

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to strain—and in some instances break—our political, economic and healthcare institutions’ capacities to effectively deal with a crisis. Unfortunately, I do not have anything substantive to add to this audience’s knowledge ...

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to strain—and in some instances break—our political, economic and healthcare institutions’ capacities to effectively deal with a crisis. Unfortunately, I do not have anything substantive to add to this audience’s knowledge ...

On Sept. 1, 2019, I heard a news report of an alarming statistic stating that more individuals died this year from mass shootings than there were days in the year. In fact, the total number of deadly mass shootings comes out to an average of one every 15 ...

On Sept. 1, 2019, I heard a news report of an alarming statistic stating that more individuals died this year from mass shootings than there were days in the year. In fact, the total number of deadly mass shootings comes out to an average of one every 15 ...

What does it take to truly establish a culture of safety in your hospital? According to Mark P. Jarrett, MD, senior vice president and chief quality officer at Northwell Health in New York, the secret to success is none other than leadership. And, he clai...

As healthcare leaders we gather data and use the numbers to guide our decisions and make strategic plans for our organization’s future. Sometimes, however, we come across a patient story so revealing and so humbling that it compels us to act now. The all-...

Laura S. Kaiser, FACHE, leads a large, multistate health system. She strives to never lose sight of her focus on meeting the needs of the individuals in each of her organization’s communities. Kaiser is president/CEO of SSM Health, an integrated health...

We have an opportunity to learn a great deal from racially and ethnically diverse healthcare executives. Therefore, it is important to include them in leadership research. That’s the reason why I conducted a study to learn how they navigated the executive...

The opioid crisis is one of the most pressing public health issues of our time, but hospitals and health systems are rising to the challenge with exciting developments and innovative solutions. The Hospital for Special Surgery in New York has been a leade...

According to the results of the 2019 Kaufman Hall Healthcare Consumerism Index, healthcare providers struggle to meet and exceed consumer needs and expectations. Only eight percent of top tier healthcare organizations are focusing on a consumer-centric in...

Whether it’s an initiative in our strategic plan that has languished for months, or an item on our to-do list that never makes it to the top, many of us are vulnerable to the distractions abundant in healthcare. And while the problem is widespread, if you...

This blog post is adapted from “Transformation and Disruption,” by Ian Morrison, PhD, originally published in Futurescan 2020-2025: Healthcare Trends and Implications. The Society for Health Care Strategy & Mar­ket Development (SHSMD) and the American ...

Patient safety continues to be a leadership imperative for the healthcare industry. ACHE members recognize the importance of that, with CEOs consistently citing patient safety among the Top Issues Confronting Hospitals. At Nemours Children’s Health Sys...

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics expects healthcare occupations to be among the fastest growing between 2016 and 2026. Even with technology’s increasing importance, it is therefore not just a cliché that human capital is healthcare’s greatest asset.

The axiom “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” seems even more relevant in a world where everyone you know is at your fingertips 24-7. However, data shows that simply racking up contacts and business cards may not be enough. Diversifying your ne...

Whether you’re a student with C-suite aspirations, an employee seeking advancement opportunities or someone already working at the executive level, it is crucial to be able to evaluate and recognize the traits guiding organizations and teams to long-term ...

At 4 a.m., a nurse walked into the surgical waiting area and told me my dad had died on the operating table during heart surgery. I asked her the cause of death and she replied, matter-of-factly, “Your father bled out. He just couldn’t seem to hold the su...

Fayola Edwards-Ojeba, MD, is the founder/CEO of RechargedMD, in Oakland, Calif. She graduated from Harvard College with honors, attended Yale Medical School and completed her internal medicine residency training at the University of California, San Franci...

The opportunity for consultants in healthcare to make a difference has never been greater than it is today. Regardless of motivation or career stage, consulting can be an exciting career path for those interested in leading and supporting the transformati...

According to Tom Atchison, EdD, whose stated mission is to assist healthcare leaders manage change, “the role of a leader is to facilitate change and build a strong culture by modeling the organization’s mission, values, and vision. The primary goal is to...

Across the U.S., there is great variation in life expectancy and other health outcomes based on numerous social determinants. It is impossible to envision a healthcare organization driving toward zero harm that is not also consciously focused on addressin...

As summer turns to fall and students of all ages return to school, now is the perfect time to revisit the building blocks that create a sustainable culture of safety. No big, yellow school bus necessary—this blog is our classroom. In this six-part blog se...

In 2011, healthcare consultant and futurist James E. Orlikoff was quoted as saying, “We have to move away from fee-for-service. The focus will now be on value, efficiency and safety. Put another way—it’s about the patient.” Orlikoff’s prediction then was...

As inherent leaders, more physicians are entering the C-suite or joining administrative teams as change agents and strategic decision makers. As healthcare moves from fee-for-service to value-based reimbursement and to a value-based delivery system, it is...

In the March/April 2019 issue of Healthcare Executive, the cover story opens with “Changing a culture can be one of the most challenging undertakings for any organization—especially those in the complex, high-stakes world of healthcare.” The article intro...

“The Toyota Way,” “Lean”—we’ve all heard the terms and been exposed to the buzz. We know that the Toyota Production System model is admired and emulated the world over by management experts and gurus. But it’s not news—it’s not the latest-and-greatest—so,...

As healthcare executives, we are all aware of and striving toward the broad and common goal of reducing preventable harm to patients. But did you know that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have your back? Yes, lest we think we are doing ...

In collaboration with ASA and ACHE, this podcast discusses leadership’s role in establishing a patient safety culture that extends beyond a grassroots conversation. Adoption of high-reliability safety by senior leadership and board members is an absolute ...

We’ve said it here before: leading for safety is a marathon, not a sprint! Like all good marathoners, we’re prepared for the long haul and are determined to go the distance. With that in mind, it may not surprise you that it has been a full year since the...

What can you, as a healthcare executive, do to aid your organization’s transformation into a high-reliability organization that delivers safer care and saves lives? Whether you’re a middle manager or a member of the C-suite, there is a role for you in bui...

As healthcare leaders, we all want to create and sustain a culture of safety in our organizations. This goal is so crucial and timely that ACHE and the Institute for Healthcare Improvementare partnering to increase the focus on and commitment to safety. T...

Leading a culture of safety in your organization will enable you to check off another goal on your to-do list: reducing the readmission rate. At the 2018 Congress on Healthcare Leadership, participants had two opportunities to hear from forward thinker an...

How can safety and quality care in our healthcare institutions depend upon equity? It has long been true that every patient deserves safe and high-quality care, but today’s diverse population demands that we focus now on eliminating healthcare disparities...

There is nothing more important for healthcare providers than ensuring the safety of their patients and workforce. And, ACHE is committed to catalyzing healthcare leaders around safety.

The patient experience extends beyond an intake center or an imaging lab. It can involve follow-up appointments, outpatient treatment, testing and so on, and Ghandi says healthcare leaders need to be thinking about delivering “safety across the entire car...

Leadership is a choice. It takes a purpose-driven, passionate and forward-thinking leader to truly embrace the multi-faceted role of inspiring, guiding and being responsible for ensuring the safety of a healthcare workforce and its patients. In leading by...