Becker’s asked C-suite executives from hospitals and health systems across the U.S. to share how their workforce strategies are evolving.
The 30 executives featured in this article are all speaking at the Becker’s Healthcare 13th Annual CEO+CFO Roundtable on November 3 – 6, 2025 at the Hilton Chicago.
To learn more about this event, click here.
If you would like to join as a speaker or a reviewer, contact Mariah Muhammad at mmuhammad@beckershealthcare.com or agendateam@beckershealthcare.com.
For more information on sponsorship opportunities, contact Jessica Cole at jcole@beckershealthcare.com.
As part of an ongoing series, Becker’s is talking to healthcare leaders who will speak at our conference. The following are answers from our speakers at the event.
Question: How is your health system’s workforce evolving?
Craig Albanese, MD. CEO of Duke University Health System (Durham, N.C.): As consumer expectations reshape healthcare, we’re piloting new access models — weekend services, expanded locations, and virtual care — enabled by scalable technologies and a workforce equipped to adapt. Our workforce evolution ensures we meet patients where they are, while giving our teams the flexibility, tools, and support they need to perform at their best.
The care we provide to our patients is inseparable from the care, respect, and inclusion we extend to our team members — and how well we reflect, understand, and serve our communities. Our workforce evolution is rooted in a culture of belonging and interprofessional collaboration, supported by flexible scheduling, AI-driven efficiencies, well-being programs, and meaningful recognition. When team members feel seen, supported, and included, they are significantly more likely to stay, thrive, and provide outstanding service to those who come to us for hope, health and healing.
Biju Samkutty. Chief Operating Officer of Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minn.): Our workforce is evolving to embrace intelligent automation and AI as essential tools for enabling more personalized, efficient, and transformative care. We are prioritizing the development of skills in data literacy, digital collaboration, and AI-driven decision support across clinical and operational roles. Functions that have traditionally relied on manual or routine work are evolving to include more strategic, analytical, and tech-enabled responsibilities. This shift is creating a more agile, empowered workforce ready to lead in the future of healthcare.
Maneesh Goyal. Chief Operating Officer of Mayo Clinic Platform (Rochester, Minn.): At Mayo Clinic, our mission for more than 160 years has been to deliver the best care to patients. A vital part of that mission is advancing the way conditions are diagnosed, treated, cured – and even prevented. To support this evolution, we are preparing our workforce by providing opportunities to learn new skills, enhance existing ones, and create new opportunities. This includes tailored educational programs in data analytics, machine learning, and AI ethics. We are adding data scientists, AI specialists, and technologists who work hand-in-hand with our clinicians. By bridging the gap between clinical expertise and technological proficiency and ensuring continuous upskilling we’re augmenting support for our staff and the care we deliver to our patients.
Lisa M. Goodlett. Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer at Duke University Health System (Durham, N.C.): At Duke, we innovate to be elite. With the evolution of AI, machine learning and predictive modeling; we are systemically working through our revenue cycle, supply chain and core finance activities to elevate the work and experience of our human workforce to the highest level of thinking, input, and influence to drive value. As we replace time spent on repetitive and data transferring activities; we expect to create a more fulfilled workforce that has time to think, create and feel connected to meaningful work. We are pursuing a path of inclusion and transparency to gather the best thinking of our teams and partnerships as we redesign workflow and the workforce.
Albert L. Wright, Jr. President and CEO of West Virginia University Health System (Morgantown, W.V.): The biggest evolution in our health system’s workforce is the way we’re going about addressing the national nursing shortage. We recognized the need for additional programs to get new nurses into the pipeline, so we created them. First is our aspiring nurse program, through which we’ve partnered with more than 20 nursing schools to provide up to $25,000 per student over the course of their studies with the final payment upon hire in exchange for a three-year work commitment at one of our hospitals.
Most recently, we cut the ribbon in April on our Center for Nursing Education, which is a state-of-the-art, hospital-based nursing diploma program. Students enrolled in the 21-month program will be provided a full tuition waiver, free books, and extensive support services in exchange for a three-year bedside employment commitment at a WVU Medicine hospital. There’s obviously an interest and desire because we received more than 650 applications for our initial 24-student cohort, which we will welcome to campus in August. As part of our long-term strategic plan, we will expand enrollment at the CNE, and we’ll establish similar programs for other healthcare professions.
Gerard Colman, PhD. CEO of Baptist Health (Louisville, Ky.): Our workforce is evolving alongside advancements in technology to create a more seamless and responsive care experience. We’re enhancing integration within Epic, including MyChart patient history responses and physician workflows, to ensure relevant information is readily accessible at the point of care. Teams are supporting ambulatory services in refining patient questionnaires and improving how appointment requests and messages are routed, resulting in more efficient follow-up. At the same time, we’re expanding digital health capabilities such as video visits and e-visits to offer patients flexible, timely access to care. As these tools become more embedded in care delivery, our workforce continues to be equipped and engaged in leveraging them to enhance both efficiency and the overall patient experience.
Jeffrey Gold, MD. President of University of Nebraska System (Lincoln, Neb.): As the clinical complexity and increasing demand for Academic Medical Center services increases across the broad region that we serve, so do the demands on our very skilled and experienced workforce. We continue to recruit and retain talent who are focused on our core mission objectives of quality, safety, and patient experience, and at the same time understand that the team is stronger than the individual in all settings. We have broadly embraced the use of augmented and virtual reality advanced simulation training to not only enhance quality and safety but build meaningful teamwork and focus on the critical outcomes of ‘patient centered care.’ As the incoming new generation workforce focuses on work-life balance, flexibility, and scheduling, so does our ability to provide a meaningful balanced work-life and the maximum flexibility of time, skill set, and leadership advancement within the broad capabilities of our large academic medical center within the academic and clinical domain.
Marschall Runge, MD, PhD. Executive Vice President of Medical Affairs at the University of Michigan; CEO of Michigan Medicine (Ann Arbor, Mich.): Our health system’s workforce is evolving in response to unprecedented challenges, with a continued focus on supporting the experience and well-being of our faculty and staff. We’ve increased the cadence of meetings across all levels to strengthen communication, teamwork, and shared purpose. In this dynamic environment, we are also emphasizing wellness, civility, and mutual respect across a diverse community with wide-ranging views. The formation of new labor unions, strongly supported by our Regents, reflects the changing expectations of our workforce. As labor negotiations grow more complex amid fiscal pressures, particularly within university-based systems, we remain committed to constructive dialogue and partnership.
James F. Dover. President and CEO of Avera Health (Sioux Falls, S.D.): As a nationally leading rural integrated healthcare delivery network, Avera seeks to maximize the number of people and communities served. To do that, our workforce must continue to evolve, adapt and grow to meet the needs of our health ministry. Avera is faced with additional complications of being in a rural area. We’re addressing our workforce challenges through strong partnerships with educational institutions to develop and strengthen pipelines for future healthcare workers, as well as clinical training programs. We are also working on telehealth offerings, virtual nursing and virtual patient monitoring programs to look at new and innovative ways to remove some administrative burden off our workforce so they can truly focus on high quality patient care.
Anthony Hilliard, MD. CEO of Loma Linda University Health Hospitals (Calif.): Our 19,500-member workforce, which includes eight schools and six hospitals, has doubled in size over the past 10 years, expanding our reach across Southern California. We’ve improved workforce engagement from the 41st to the 58th percentile by offering competitive pay and benefits, tuition reimbursement, loan forgiveness, flexible work schedules, and enhanced belonging and wellbeing initiatives. We’ve also reduced contract labor by 80% through the creation of an internal supplemental staffing department, hybrid and remote work options, a seasonal workforce, and our summer flex program. As part of a faith-based academic health system, we’re also developing future healthcare professionals through Loma Linda University’s 4,400 students across eight schools, including medicine, nursing, dentistry, and public health.
David Lubarsky, MD. President and CEO of Westchester Medical Center Health Network (Valhalla, N.Y.): Gone are the days of fragmented departments and transactional roles. We’re building an ecosystem where nurses, doctors, technologists, and administrators don’t just collaborate — they co-create the future of health. We are dismantling silos, redesigning leadership pipelines, and nurturing a culture where bold thinking is not just welcomed — it’s becoming the norm.
Our people are more than employees — they are mission-driven architects of community health, empowered by data, driven by compassion, and united by a shared commitment to lead the next era of care. By leveraging technology to reduce low-value tasks and enhance clinical workflows, we’re making space for what matters most: meaningful, judgment-driven, and compassionate care.
From AI integration to human-centered leadership, we’re investing in the skills and mindsets our workforce will need — not just for today’s challenges, but for those we can’t yet see. This isn’t just workforce evolution. It’s the beginning of a transformation — and we’re building toward it, together.
Trampas Hutches. Regional President of Mountain Region, MaineHealth (Portland, Maine): Our workforce is evolving through bold investments in leadership development, designed to unlock the full potential of every team member. We’re igniting a growth mindset across the system — one that challenges the status quo and prepares leaders to drive change, not just manage it. Each leader builds a personalized development plan tied to core competencies, with their leader held responsible for coaching them and helping them achieve those goals. This work is essential in a time when innovation must take root within deeply entrenched systems — and it’s our leaders who will pave the way. We’re not just preparing for the future of healthcare — we’re shaping it, one transformational leader at a time.
Andrew Molosky. President and CEO of Chapters Health System (Tampa, Fla.): Chapters Health considers its primary mission to be taking care of patients or taking care of those who do. When you have that level of commitment to an exceptional service environment you realize that an evolving workforce is an everyday experience. It is not a project or a task to be ‘finished with.’ It is a dynamic informed by adding new geographies, new service lines, reacting to market shifts, responding to societal movements, etc. Too many think of workforce caring as a function of pay and benefits when they should be thinking of it the same way they do patient care. Each team member is a story. They all have talents far beyond their name badge or professional credentials. When you harness those skills then you are truly in touch with the dynamic (read: evolving) nature of a workforce.
John M. Fogarty. President of Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital–Needham (Mass.): Since the pandemic, our workforce has evolved in substantial ways. First of all, it is younger. Many nurses and other longer service staff retired during the pandemic or moved to per diem status if they could. Secondly, as is the case in many industries, the workforce is far more mobile and transient. Gone are the days when an employee would sign on at a hospital and stay for their entire career or multiple years. Lastly, we find that with changes in family life, the current workforce is much more focused on maintaining a work-life balance to a higher degree than several years ago. A significant focus of our system employee engagement effort has been to meet the needs of this new workforce with innovative retention strategies.
Rick Carrico. CFO of Baptist Health (Louisville, Ky.): To support our commitment to accessible, cost-effective care, we are equipping our workforce with the tools and training needed to meet patients where they are. In addition, we continue to expand freestanding emergency and urgent care facilities, enhance home-based services and grow our primary care network, which plays a critical role in connecting patients to the care they need, while investing in technology that enables real-time patient monitoring and timely intervention – improving outcomes while reducing unnecessary hospital visits. Additionally, Baptist Health has partnered to build a new hybrid emergency and urgent care center on a local community college campus in Southern Indiana, with construction set to begin this spring. The facility will also serve as a clinical training site for community college nursing and health sciences students, further strengthening the community-based healthcare workforce.
Gemma Fletcher. CEO of Encompass Health (Birmingham, Ala.): Our workforce is evolving in exciting and meaningful ways as we adapt to changing expectations and needs. Flexibility has become a major focus both in terms of work schedules and employment models. We’re seeing a growing demand for part-time and PRN roles, and we’re embracing creative staffing solutions that support work-life balance while still delivering high-quality care.
Equally important is our commitment to employee engagement and development. While we’ve always believed in creating a positive workplace culture, we’re now placing even greater emphasis on recognition, career growth, and talent development. Engaged employees deliver better care, and we want every team member to feel valued, heard, and supported in their professional journey.
Finally, we’re embracing the diversity of our multigenerational workforce. From early-career professionals to seasoned team members, we celebrate our differences and intentionally look for ways to learn from one another. By harnessing each generation’s unique strengths, we’re building a more collaborative, innovative, and resilient workforce.
Paul Richard T. Camangian. President and CEO of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital (Manila, Philippines): After the pandemic, we saw a clear need to support our workforce, especially new nurses who trained mostly online. At Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, we spend the first six months giving them hands-on, real-world experience so they feel confident and ready. We expect this kind of structured training to continue, even for future graduates who weren’t directly affected by the pandemic, though likely in shorter periods, to make sure all nurses meet our standards of professional readiness. Our recruitment strategy for nurses, doctors, and other medical professionals now focuses on engagement, recognition, growth, and building a strong, supportive culture. We’re not just hiring for skills — we’re bringing in people who are resilient, eager to learn, and who truly fit into the Lourdes Hospital way of care.
Britt Tabor. Executive Vice President and CFO of Brooks Rehabilitation (Jacksonville, Fla.): Brooks Rehabilitation, a nonprofit headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., has been a comprehensive system of care for physical rehabilitation for more than 50 years. Brooks is known for excellence in caring for patients after life-altering brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, strokes and other complex conditions. Ensuring our workforce is providing the latest, evidence-based care is crucial for patient outcomes, and it often happens in several ways:
- Recruitment and retention: Brooks is focused on improving recruitment strategies and enhancing retention rates to ensure that we have the most skilled clinicians.
- Training and development: Brooks is investing in ongoing education for our staff through our residency programs, clinical practice enhancement programs and transition to nursing practice to ensure clinicians are up-to-date with the latest research, treatment protocols and technologies.
- Team collaboration: Brooks believes a key factor in improving clinical care is fostering collaboration between different types of clinicians (doctors, therapists, nurses, etc.). A team-oriented approach can increase job satisfaction and improve patient outcomes.
- Technology integration: Through our Center for Innovation, Brooks tests and incorporates new technologies that improve patient outcomes. Brooks also encourages staff to implement new technology that improves efficiency, reduces costs and increases job satisfaction.
- Leadership and culture: The culture of an organization, including how leadership supports staff, can make a significant difference in whether the clinical workforce is thriving. We’ve dedicated time and resources to create a positive organizational culture, provide mentorship opportunities and create various leadership development programs to enhance the environment for clinicians at Brooks.
Mark G. Moseley, MD. President of USF Tampa General Physicians; Executive Vice President of Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital: We have been investing in our existing team members with opportunities for “upskilling” based on our system’s innovative People Development Institute. This internal educational resource enables our team members, physicians and providers to take courses taught by thought leaders from industry and academia, aimed at achieving certifications and enhancing career credentials. We have developed innovative leadership cohort experiences that develop foundational leadership competencies, as well as social network development for emerging leaders.
We also offer a well-developed executive coaching and mentorship program, which trains senior leaders to become effective mentors. Senior leaders, in turn, are assigned mentees from the leadership team to invest in and develop their relationships. This investment in our teams and leadership skill development has enabled us to cultivate excellence more intentionally and promote from within, first and foremost. This has resulted in consistently high team member engagement scores, historically low turnover rates, and a strongly positive leadership culture.
Finally, we are investing in how technology can help our existing team members extend their work product. In many areas, we have a technology roadmap that is designed to augment the workforce and provide our team members with the necessary tools to be more efficient and effective in their work. From AI-transcribed clinical notes for our clinicians to technology-enabled revenue cycle coding and claims denial management, we are leveraging existing partnerships and forging new ones to ensure that we maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of our teams.
Wayne Gillis. President and CEO of Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services (Gallup, N.M.): Our health system’s workforce is evolving in several significant ways. We are increasingly adapting to the demand for telehealth services, which requires training our staff in new technologies and patient interaction methods. Employee well-being is a top priority; we have implemented various programs to support mental health and work-life balance. Additionally, we are committed to retaining our talented workforce by offering opportunities for professional development and cultivating a positive workplace culture. We believe that investing in our employees is essential for delivering the highest quality of care to our patients.
We’re not just evolving our workforce — we’re aiming to engineer a seismic shift in what it means to work in healthcare. Our health network is reimagining the very architecture of care delivery by cultivating a workforce that aspires to be not only clinically exceptional but strategically indispensable.
Bob Sehring. CEO of OSF HealthCare (Peoria, Ill.): At the heart of what OSF HealthCare is doing to strengthen and evolve workforce strategies is a focus on our Mission Partners (employees) as our greatest strength. We are committed to building a workplace that is agile, understands clear pathways for building skills, and is future ready. This means enabling and encouraging talent mobility, creating flexibility, and expanding skillsets to address alternative advancements in work such as AI, automation, and telehealth.
Additionally, OSF leverages data and digital tools to enhance employee experience while also fostering a culture that embraces continuous learning and innovation. OSF HealthCare has responded to changing workforce trends by creating a personalized development experience which provides significant financial investments through fully and partially paid education and learning, development coaching and holistic well-being approaches. We have committed to foundational avenues such as OSF Corporate University, College of Health Science, and OSF innovation programs.
Abhi Rastogi. President and CEO of Temple University Hospital; Executive Vice President of Temple University Health System (Philadelphia): We’re seeing a significant shift towards a more interdisciplinary workforce. Our focus is on empowering our team through continuous learning and development and fostering stronger collaboration across different roles and campuses to enhance patient care coordination. We integrate clinical services and programs across our health system, giving our clinicians and staff the collaborative support and resources they need to adapt to the continually growing and complex needs of our patients. We also continually recruit new talent. Recognizing the critical importance of our nurses, we’re investing in retention and professional development programs to support their growth and well-being. Our goal is to maintain a resilient and agile workforce that works collaboratively to provide the highest quality of care to our community.
Deborah Visconi. President and CEO of Bergen New Bridge Medical Center (Paramus, N.J.): At Bergen New Bridge Medical Center, our workforce is evolving to meet the complex and growing needs of our community while aligning with the future of healthcare delivery. As New Jersey’s largest hospital and a safety-net institution, we are expanding and diversifying our workforce to reflect the communities we serve, prioritizing cultural competency, behavioral health expertise, and integrated care capabilities.
We are deeply focused on developing a multidisciplinary workforce that can effectively address both physical and behavioral health needs. With the expansion of our emergency department—where 80% of the additional beds are dedicated to behavioral health—we are recruiting clinicians and support staff with specialized training in crisis stabilization and trauma-informed care.
At the same time, we are investing in workforce resilience through wellness initiatives, flexible staffing models, and leadership development. Embracing technology is also key to our evolution — we are implementing a new Epic EMR system, and preparing our team with the digital literacy and interoperability skills required to thrive in a data-driven environment.
Most importantly, we see our workforce not just as employees, but as mission-driven partners in transforming care for vulnerable populations. This means fostering a culture of innovation, compassion, and inclusion as we grow Bergen New Bridge into a model for public health and equity.
Tim Riddell, MD. Chief Medical Officer of Northshore, Mississippi, Gulf Coast, Baton Rouge, Acadiana and Rush regions at Ochsner Health (New Orleans): Ochsner Health’s workforce is evolving through creative and strategic partnerships and investments in education and training initiatives. The health system is collaborating with institutions such as the University of Queensland and Xavier University to address future needs and grow its workforce, including the development of the Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine and the expansion of the nurse scholars program. Additionally, Ochsner Health is utilizing a $1.1 million grant to support transitioning military and underemployed veterans, while advancing existing employees and increasing the supply of healthcare professionals through ‘earn as you learn’ programs.
Ethan Chernin. President of Health Services at Ardent Health (Nashville, Tenn.): Our workforce is evolving through the integration of new care models and technology-driven solutions. We’ve implemented virtual nursing to enhance care delivery and reduce burdens on clinicians. We’re also piloting ambient listening tools to streamline documentation, improve provider-patient interactions and reduce cognitive burden on providers. New care team models and digital tools are helping expand our talent reach, enabling clinicians to practice at the top of their license and improving workplace satisfaction. To support these initiatives, we invest in upskilling programs focused on digital fluency and care coordination – building a workforce that is more engaged and ready to meet the changing needs of the communities we serve.
Saad Ehtisham. Senior Vice President and President, Acute Care Operations of Novant Health (Winston-Salem, N.C.): At Novant Health, we’re evolving our workforce by moving away from a ‘shortage mindset’ and instead focusing on how to make better use of the talented clinicians we have. With clinician unemployment below 2%, the real opportunity lies in increasing the time they spend with patients and investing in support roles to elevate their impact. We’re also embracing the shift toward a wellbeing economy, recognizing that caring for our team members is key to retention, upward mobility, and long-term competitive advantage. Central to our strategy is investing in our people through upskilling, clear career pathways, ensuring a more resilient and empowered workforce.
Shlomit Schaal, MD, PhD. President and CEO of Houston Methodist Physician Organization; Executive Vice President and Chief Physician Executive of Houston Methodist: At Houston Methodist, as our physician organization grows across the Greater Houston area, we are focused on delivering an unparalleled care and experience for both our patients and our physicians. We are embracing technology that brings us closer to the people we serve. In our outpatient clinics, self-check-in kiosks make visits easier, and ambient listening tools help capture the clinical notes so our physicians can be fully present with our patients. That means less time charting after hours and more time connecting face-to-face during the visit.
More than anything, we are building a strong culture where our clinicians feel supported, valued and able to do their best work.
Conor Delaney, MD, PhD. CEO and President of Florida Region at Cleveland Clinic: Our workforce is evolving to meet the needs of modern healthcare by focusing on efficiency, innovation and long-term sustainability. Here are a few key ways we’re driving that change:
- We’ve embraced lean transformation to streamline care delivery. Programs like Hospital Care at Home are extending acute-level care beyond hospital walls, improving outcomes, shortening hospital stays, and enhancing patient satisfaction. We’ve also launched the Clinical Access Team Program across our Florida hospitals, pairing physicians with advanced practice providers to improve access to care. In just a few months, patient wait-times dropped from over 60 days to 17, which is a clear sign that thoughtful redesign can drive real impact.
- We’re advancing care by integrating AI tools that support our teams. AI scribe technology is now being rolled out across ambulatory sites to reduce administrative burden and burnout. Early feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with physicians reporting more time for meaningful patient interactions.
- We’re investing in the long-term strength of our workforce. This includes well-being initiatives and workplace safety measures to apprenticeship programs that nurture future talent. At the heart of our effort is our commitment to fostering an environment where caregivers in every role feel supported, valued and prepared to lead the next era of healthcare.
As our workforce evolves, so does our ability to deliver smarter, safer and more compassionate care – today and into the future.
Derek Goebel. CFO of Altru Health System (Grand Forks, N.D.): Altru’s workforce continues to evolve as the needs of our patients and customers change. We see more interest in services ‘on demand’ both in our Express clinic model and via virtual visits, resulting in our workforce models adapting to meet that need.
Additionally, we continue to leverage technologies such as AI for provider documentation and computer assisted coding, allowing us to close gaps in staffing that go unfilled due to shortages in support areas. In addition, we carefully evaluate each job opening to ensure we are maintaining a lean, efficient workforce.
To attract talent, we offer a variety of healthcare immersion opportunities, including nursing co-ops, apprenticeships, and scrubs camps, helping us build relationships with potential recruits. Strategic partnerships support efforts to fill hard-to-staff positions and include initiatives such as loan repayment programs and immigration support. We’re doing all we can to make Altru a place where people want to build their careers.
Kellan Tittle. CFO of People Incorporated Mental Health Services (Eagan, Minn.): Our health system workforce is evolving to embrace technology and data-driven decision-making. With an integrated system, staff must leverage technology to minimize administrative burdens and focus on direct client care, while automation reduces repetitive tasks handled by administrative staff. Digital literacy at all levels is essential to deliver consistent, high-quality care within a coordinated treatment model.
Marie Langley. CEO of Desert Valley Medical Group (Victorville, Calif.): Our health system’s workforce is evolving in alignment with both historical trends and emerging innovations. Just as in centuries past, where technological progress shifted manual tasks to machines, we continue to see automation and digital tools assume responsibility for routine or administrative functions. This allows clinical teams to focus more intently on patient care and complex decision-making.
As medicine advances, so too does the scope of work for our providers. Physicians and advanced practice providers are increasingly focused on higher-level, evidence-based interventions, supported by data analytics and precision medicine. Simultaneously, we are expanding roles for allied health professionals, such as care coordinators, medical assistants, and community health workers, who are now integral in improving care delivery and patient outcomes, especially in value-based care models.
Moreover, workforce evolution is also driven by cost-efficiency and accessibility. We continue to explore opportunities where tasks can be safely and effectively performed at a lower cost without compromising quality — such as shifting certain responsibilities to non-physician providers or leveraging telehealth for appropriate visits.
At the same time, we are investing in ongoing training, leadership development, and well-being initiatives to ensure our workforce remains agile, resilient, and prepared for the future demands of healthcare.
