Becker’s asked C-suite executives from hospitals and health systems, along with academic medical centers and universities across the U.S., to share what they’re most focused on for H2 2026.
The 60 executives featured in this article are all speaking at the Becker’s 14th Annual CEO + CFO Roundtable, set for Nov. 2-5 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.
To learn more about this event, click here.
If you would like to join as a speaker or a reviewer, please contact Mariah Muhammad at mmuhammad@beckershealthcare.com or agendateam@beckershealthcare.com.
For more information on sponsorship opportunities, please contact Jessica Cole at jcole@beckershealthcare.com.
As part of an ongoing series, Becker’s is talking to healthcare leaders who will speak at the conference. The following are answers from our speakers at the event.
Question: What is your No. 1 priority heading into the 2nd half of 2026?
Roberta Schwartz, PhD. Executive Vice President of Houston Methodist Hospital and Chief Innovation Officer of Houston Methodist: Heading into the second half of 2026, we aim to advance our solutions from point-based capabilities into more scalable, integrated platforms that address a broader set of operational and clinical challenges.
We are challenging both ourselves and our partners to expand beyond single-use applications and identify adjacent opportunities where existing capabilities can drive additional value. For example, our OR visualization partner is exploring ways to support surgical block utilization through “time boost” offerings that help fill gaps in the schedule. Similarly, our predictive analytics partner is leveraging the same underlying chart data to identify present-on-admission conditions, extending the value of that solution beyond its original use case.
At the same time, we continue to focus on simplifying and rationalizing our technology ecosystem. As new capabilities become available, and as our electronic medical record continues to mature, we are intentionally evaluating opportunities to consolidate disparate systems and reduce redundancy.
Ultimately, our goal is to create a more cohesive, efficient, and scalable environment that supports both clinical excellence and operational performance.
Albert L. Wright, Jr. President and CEO of West Virginia University Health System (Morgantown, W.Va.): Our immediate focus is on the acquisition of a five-hospital health system in southwest Pennsylvania, Independence Health System, and its subsequent integration into our organization. We expect to close that transaction on Oct. 1. We also expect to welcome two additional hospitals into our health system by year’s end: a critical access hospital in central Pennsylvania, FultonCounty Medical Center, and an acute care pediatric behavioral medicine hospital in Wheeling, West Virginia, Orchard Park Hospital.
Beyond acquisitions, we remain heavily focused on expanding capacity at our existing facilities. We are now executing a board-approved package of hospital expansion projects totaling $350 million that was approved in April of this year, bringing WVU Medicine’s three-year total of capital improvement projects to more than $1.2 billion. Together, these investments will transform many of our hospitals and outpatient facilities.
Erik Wexler. President and CEO of Providence (Renton, Wash.): At Providence, one of our top priorities for the rest of this year is continuing our staunch support for the Medicare Advantage Prompt Pay Act, a reasonable, bipartisan solution to help ensure patients get timely care and providers receive timely payment.
Medicare Advantage payers owe many billions of dollars to hospitals and physicians throughout the country for care already provided. Rural hospitals are most at risk and face closure without financial stability. Our organization alone is owed more than $1 billion from commercial payers for Medicare patients, with nearly $600 million outstanding for more than five months.
When payments are delayed or denied, it is financially destabilizing for hospitals, clinics and physicians, with the potential to limit access to the care patients need.
In June, I joined several lawmakers, and hospital and rural health leaders on Capitol Hill to highlight this systemic issue. I am encouraged by the groundswell of support behind this effort, which now has 19 bipartisan co-sponsors, reflecting a growing recognition that this legislation will protect patients and support the sustainability of care delivery.
I am grateful to the many lawmakers working to make that a reality.
Shelly Schorer. CFO of South Region at CommonSpirit Health (Chicago): As the CFO for CommonSpirit’s South Region, my top priority next fiscal year is ensuring the success of the many initiatives we have in place that will reshape our operating model and improve our financial position. These initiatives are part of a multi-year journey that will improve our performance by focusing on optimizing clinical operations, responsible spending, and team collaboration. Ultimately, this work strengthens our financial stability, allowing us to continue providing excellent care, investing in our people and facilities, and advancing our mission for generations to come.
Emily Moorhead. President of Macomb Market at Henry Ford Health (Detroit): My No. 1 priority heading into the second half of 2026 is leadership development. Healthcare cannot achieve transformational results with the same thinking and operating models that produced today’s outcomes; ambitious goals require new ways of working, not simply more people, bricks and mortar or resources. As leaders, our responsibility is to set goals that change behavior, not just measure performance.
Martha Henley. CEO of Unity Medical Center (Manchester, Tenn.): My number one priority heading into the second half of 2026 is ensuring that independent rural hospitals not only survive but thrive. Having spent my entire career in community healthcare, I know a hospital is much more than a building or a balance sheet. It’s where patients receive lifesaving care, where families turn during life’s most difficult moments, and where communities find stability in times of uncertainty.
The financial and workforce pressures facing healthcare today are significant and meeting them requires us to operate on two timelines at once. We hold a long-term strategic vision, but we adapt every month, sometimes every week, based on what the trends and numbers are telling us. That discipline is what keeps the doors open. Our focus remains clear: strengthen our organizations, invest in our people, embrace innovation, and keep care local whenever possible.
At Unity Medical Center, we’ve seen firsthand how the right technology changes outcomes. Our telecardiology program brought specialty care into our community, improved patient outcomes, and reduced unnecessary transfers. This allows us to keep patients closer to home and easing pressure on both families and our system. Those results reinforce my belief that innovation isn’t optional in rural America; it’s how we preserve access. The next frontier—remote monitoring, smarter triage, and the right partnerships will only deepen that impact.
We must also invest in the next generation of healthcare professionals. That means increasing our presence in local schools and giving students real exposure to the many rewarding careers healthcare offers, from clinical roles to operations. If rural healthcare is going to thrive in the future, we must start building that workforce today.
None of this comes without hard choices. Success in our world isn’t measured solely by financial performance. It is measured by whether the people who trust us can continue to receive exceptional care close to home. That’s the responsibility we carry as rural healthcare leaders, and it’s what motivates me every day.
Margaret Dimond, PhD. President of UM Health Regional Network (Ann Arbor): The U of M Regional Network is on a June-July fiscal year. The latter part of 2026 will be a combination of:
-Integration efforts with key Ann Arbor based specialty clinical service lines that could be expanded to regional hospitals.
-Continued growth, while simultaneously evaluating cost optimization and reduction of ‘waste’.
-Continued recruitment of the ‘best and brightest’ clinical and business oriented professionals, who will be crucial for the system’s future.
-Focus on ‘One Epic’ for UM system-wise creation of one platform for our electronic medical record.
-Continue to provide care to both the urban and rural communities the region serves. Access to care closer to home is our goal for our patients and families!
Roger Mitty, MD. President of Care New England Medical Group (Providence, R.I.): Our busy obstetric service across two of our hospitals account for roughly 85% of all babies born in Rhode Island, and thus we are very focused on preparing for the significant changes in the payment framework for professional-side obstetrics services coming on January 1. These changes essentially shift from a bundled payment model to a fee-for-service model for OB services. This shift will affect everything from RCM to clinician on-call schedules, and may result in significant changes to our clinician workforce in terms of where and how they are deployed. Given all of the stakeholders involved in this change, we will be concentrating on this for the next six months.
Darin Roark, BSN. President and Chief Operating Officer of Wentworth Douglass Hospital, Mass General Brigham (Somerville, Mass.): Our number one priority heading into the 2nd half of 2026 is to continue the focus on superior quality patient outcomes, enhancing efficiency in our care models and continuing our march toward optimizing patient length of stay.
Marie Langley. CEO of Desert Valley Medical Group (Victorville, Calif.): My top priority heading into the second half of 2026 is achieving financial stability and sustainability. This year has presented significant challenges, including unexpected capitation adjustments from health plans, fluctuations in Medi-Cal membership, and continued increases in labor costs.
In addition, several major strategic initiatives did not launch as anticipated, resulting in substantial resource expenditures and financial strain on the organization. As we move forward, it is critical that we refocus on our core priorities, strengthen operational efficiency, and ensure that investments are aligned with measurable outcomes and organizational goals.
Based on discussions across the industry, I believe many medical groups and healthcare systems are facing similar headwinds. Navigating reimbursement uncertainty, workforce pressures, and rising operating costs has become a common challenge, making financial discipline and strategic execution more important than ever.
Jay Dennard. President of Gwinnett Hospital Foundation; System Vice President of Governmental and Community Affairs at Northside Hospital (Atlanta): Our No. 1 priority in the second half of 2026 is to translate growth into reliable access for patients and families. At Northside, that means opening new capacity thoughtfully, strengthening our workforce pipeline, and making sure every new service line is supported by the right clinical and operational infrastructure. We are focused on delivering care that is high-quality, person-centered, and efficient, even as demand continues to rise. Just as importantly, we want our teams to have the tools and development opportunities they need to grow with the organization. In a market where staffing, affordability, and access remain top issues, our priority is to grow in a way that protects both patient experience and long-term sustainability. For us, that is what operational excellence looks like in 2026.
Brad Bivens. CFO Parkside Psychiatric Hospital & Clinic (Tulsa, Okla.): My No. 1 priority heading into the second half of 2026 is creating sustainable profitability while continuing to improve access to behavioral healthcare in our community.
At Parkside, we’ve spent the last year strengthening our financial foundation through revenue cycle improvements, expense management, operational accountability, and better use of data to drive decisions. While those efforts have produced meaningful progress, the focus now is ensuring those gains are sustainable and scalable.
Behavioral health organizations continue to face significant reimbursement, workforce, and regulatory challenges. Because of that, I believe finance leaders must move beyond simply reporting results and become active partners in operational strategy. Every dollar saved, every process improved, and every barrier removed allows us to reinvest more resources into patient care and future growth.
As we move through the remainder of 2026, my focus is on aligning financial performance, operational excellence, and strategic growth so that we can continue expanding services while maintaining long-term financial stability. Success isn’t about a single good month or quarter. It’s about building an organization that can consistently serve patients, support employees, and fulfill its mission for years to come.
Robert Wiehe. Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of UC Health (Cincinnati): My top priority for the second half of 2026 is access. As the region’s only academic health system, we offer a level of specialized care that is unique in our market, but growth only happens if patients can get to us when they need us. We are aggressively focused on removing friction from the system, making it easier for patients to enter our network, easier for providers to refer to us, and easier to move patients efficiently through the continuum of care. Demand for advanced therapies continues to grow, particularly in areas such as cancer, neuroscience, transplant, and cardiovascular care. Our challenge is not creating demand; it is ensuring we have the operational capacity and access points to meet it. If we execute well on access, we will improve the patient experience, strengthen relationships with referring providers, and continue to grow our market share across the region.
Frank Corcoran. CEO of Lane Regional Medical Center (Zachary, La.): The number one priority for Lane Regional Medical Center the back half of 2026 continues to focus on lobbying efforts and strategies to plan for State Directed Payments reductions projected in 2028. Lane is working to grow services which are needed in the community but currently out-migrated to the larger tertiary centers. Specifically, developing new service lines in neurology, nephrology, urology, pulmonology, and interventional radiology.
We also continue to focus efforts to lobby with our Louisiana senators and Congressional leaders to look at options to continue state directed payments and look at payer reform. We continue to see an increase in back end denials, which are denials for services rendered after receiving a prior authorization. I would like to see legislation to eliminate denials once a prior authorization has been granted by the payer. Hospitals are left on the hook for denied claims and the appeals process can take up to a year.
Craig Cheifetz, MD, President of Primary Care Service Line at Inova (Fairfax, Va.): Heading into the second half of 2026, our top priority for our primary care service line is advancing our access work. We are deeply committed to making care more accessible, convenient, and equitable for the communities we serve. Our team has been rolling out several key initiatives, including tiered scheduling via Epic MyChart for acute primary care appointments, optimizing telehealth options, creating streamlined referral pathways, and launching our after-hours virtual primary care clinic. We are also looking forward to advancing our work around intraservice line consultations for primary care. Primary care at Inova will soon be 24/7/365. Each of these efforts is guided by our comprehensive access playbook, which helps us consistently deliver patient-centered solutions while maintaining high-quality standards.
Caswell Samms. Executive Vice President and CFO of Nemours Children’s Health (Jacksonville, Fla.): Heading into the second half of 2026, one of the top priorities for Nemours Children’s Health is advancing our Whole Child Health strategy by creating health and not just treating health. To achieve this, we’re optimizing operational excellence and refining our revenue portfolio across the enterprise with a heightened focus on sharpening organizational efficiency while expanding access to care in our service areas so more children can benefit from our expertise. In parallel, we’re enhancing our capital plan to prioritize agility and solidify a clear road map for continued success. This approach will enable us to quickly recognize and address challenges, elevate care quality, invest in innovation, and strengthen a foundation that supports our mission well into the future.
Amber Price. Enterprise Chief Nursing Officer of Sentara (Norfolk, Va.): Heading into the second half of 2026, our number one focus is redesigning care delivery to give time back to frontline acute care nurses while expanding access for patients. That means scaling virtual nursing, AI-enabled workflows, and nurse-led models that reduce administrative burden and allow clinicians to practice at the top of their license. We measure this in hours given back to nursing.
At the same time, we’re intentionally reducing change fatigue and generating excitement by increasing meaningful team member touchpoints — through more frequent town halls, symposiums, and leadership visibility — while maintaining a clear and consistent focus on the ‘why’ behind our transformation.
We are also strengthening shared governance so our nurses have a direct voice in shaping the future of care delivery. Our goal is simple but powerful: remove friction from the system, re-engage our teams, and give nurses the time, support and influence they need to do what they do best — care for patients.
Angelo Milazzo, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Duke Health Integrated Practice (Durham, N.C.); Chief Clinical Officer of North Carolina Children’s Hospital and Health System: In the second half of the year, the overwhelming priority for my work is sustaining the momentum that has been developed with the application of new tools that enhance the experience of clinicians at the point of care delivery. Ambient listening technology has restored much of the joy of practice by reducing some of the non-value additive administrative burden of practice. Now, with the added functionality of clinical decision support linked to ambient listening, our clinicians can access validated insights to supplement their diagnostic insights and therapeutic skills. We are also embedding tools which can survey and mine the enormous trove of patient data in our electronic health record for the purpose of rapid review, filtering, summarization, and organization. This will improve the work of face-to-face care and buoy functions — prior authorization, responses to inbound patient messages, preparation of cases for clinical team review — that are essential but perceived by clinicians as burdensome and inefficient. While our clinician retention rate is strong, the well-being of our workforce remains under threat, and the less sophisticated accommodations we have installed in the past will not meet the expectations of the talented physicians and advanced practice providers we seek to recruit.
John W. Wood II. CEO of Sugar Land Rehabilitation Hospital, PAM Health (Enola, Pa.): My priorities for the second half of 2026 focus on organizational culture, employee engagement, and staff retention. Organizational culture and employee engagement have a direct correlation to several aspects of health care operations. Culture and engagement affect quality outcomes, patient satisfaction scores, and financial outcomes. As health care leaders, we must ensure our staff are supported and heard so they can provide the best care to patients and their families. Culture and engagement start at the top and cascade down through the hierarchy. A positive organizational culture with engaged employees helps establish a unified team that drives organizational success.
Marjorie Bessel, MD. Chief Clinical Officer of Banner Health (Phoenix): The healthcare landscape appears to have never been as fast-changing and dynamic as it is now. This creates enormous opportunities for leaders and organizations as well as uncertainty. For the second half of 2026, I am hyper-focused on prioritizing work for teams so they can create value, excel at care delivery and better serve our diverse patient populations. At Banner Health, we are bringing new technologies to our clinical care teams’ fingertips, and it’s part of my responsibility to ensure they are augmented, not overwhelmed by this transformative time.
Rob Chestnut. Senior Vice President and CFO LMH Health (Lawrence, Kan.): Our No.1 priority is improving efficiency in our clinic enterprise through the remainder of 2026. We are looking at all elements of the clinic enterprise including registration, scheduling, coding, improved access and physician compensation. LMH Health employs over 90% of all the providers in our service area. The ability to create more access and a better patient experience is essential to our long-term success.
Matthew Love. President and CEO of Nicklaus Children’s Health System (Miami): Heading into the second half of 2026, we are prioritizing expanding access to world-class pediatric care in a way that is guided by the needs of the communities we serve. For Nicklaus Children’s Health System, that includes continuing to build on our expansions into Broward, Palm Beach and Collier counties, and ensuring families there have greater access to the specialized pediatric expertise they know and trust.
As a pediatric health system, we must think beyond the walls of our hospital and look carefully at where children and families need us most. That means strengthening our presence across South Florida while identifying the right partnerships and care models to bring more services closer to home. Purposeful growth must be intentional and thoughtful. Our goal is not simply to expand, but to make it easier for families to access the care their children need, closer to where they live. No child should have to leave Florida for great pediatric care.
Kathy Parrinello, RN, PhD. President and CEO of Strong Memorial Hospital and Highland Hospital, University of Rochester Medicine (N.Y.): No.1 priority heading into the 2nd half of 2026 – capacity management with long term care/home health/hospital at home and other out of hospital services
Many patients in our hospitals are medically ready for discharge but remain hospitalized because of limited availability of nursing homes and other post-acute care settings including supportive housing. Strengthening those parts of the healthcare system is essential to improving patient flow and ensuring patients receive the care they need in the most appropriate setting. Ultimately, improving discharge options and out-of-hospital capacity improves access for everyone. When patients cannot move efficiently to the next level of care, it creates bottlenecks throughout the healthcare system, contributing to emergency department crowding and delays in access to inpatient beds. A priority for URochester Medicine is the ongoing work developing partnerships with post-acute partners such as long term care, home care, assisted living organizations as well as continuing to develop our hospital at home program.
John M. Fogarty. President of Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital–Needham (Mass.): The remainder of 2026 will for our organization include both routine and in some cases unique strategic priorities. The standard efforts of maintaining a stable financial operation, continued growth and strategically a number of important campus expansion projects will absorb a good deal of our focus. However, our top priority will need to remain in the area of improving employee engagement. We are in the midst of an organization-wide “pulse” survey, a brief questionnaire that is a follow-up to an employee extensive survey in 2025. The pulse survey will rate our overall progress on engagement initiatives over the past year and the results will determine our focus for the remainder of 2026. Since change and external uncertainty will be a constant in healthcare’s future, we believe strong engagement levels are the best foundation for continued success.
Charles Powell, MD. CEO of Mount Sinai Respiratory Institute; Regional Medical Director of Mount Sinai Hospital Doctors Faculty Practice; System Division Chief of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at Mount Sinai Health System (New York City): After navigating meaningful headwinds in the first half of 2026, including a labor dispute and a significant payor challenge, our Respiratory Institute is ready to direct its full energy toward the initiatives we have been building toward.
Central to this effort is the rollout of a multi-platform imaging AI package that generates comprehensive chest health assessments and delivers them directly to clinicians and patients at the point of care. Rather than a back-office tool, this is AI embedded in the clinical encounter, where it can meaningfully support clinical decision-making in real time.
We are also advancing clinical decision support tools designed for the full range of clinicians across our health system who manage respiratory disease, from ambulatory care to the inpatient setting. The aim is to make high-quality, evidence-informed guidance broadly accessible, not just to specialists, but to every provider involved in respiratory care.
The second half of 2026 is an opportunity to experience the impacts of thoughtful AI-integrated respiratory care models on care delivery for our patients and our clinicians.
Andrea Turner, PhD, JD. CEO of Harbor UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles County Health Services (Calif.): My No.1 priority heading into the 2nd half of 2026 continues to be financial sustainability. This is a compilation of several efforts: (1) cost containment, (2) staff wellness, (3) reduction in programs external to the core strategic focus, (4) patient satisfaction, (5) excellent quality outcomes. Cost containment is exceptionally relevant because of the amount of waste that occurs in healthcare. Working efficiently and effectively with a lean perspective helps to track gaps and waste that can be mitigated. Staff wellness is also equally relevant for financial sustainability, because when staff are extremely stressed, they are likely to go out on some type of medical/psychological leave, of which productivity suffers. Core strategic focus – over the years many of the programs evolved from being grant funded to budget funded that were external to the core/principal reasons for our existence. While many of those programs are perfectly aligned with our mission, they are not intricate to the mission. Patient satisfaction is the most dominant reason for our existence. Our patients deserve and require the best of us to ensure the quality of care they receive is excellent; and our obligation to our patients is to ensure that the care provided is appropriate and safe; therefore, mitigating any foreseeable harm. Lastly, excellent quality outcomes set us apart from other hospitals, which makes us a contender for patients with private insurance to choose our facility to receive their care for themselves, family members, and is likely to share their wonderful experience with others.
Zachary Yoder, RN. President of St. Mary Medical Center, Holy Family Medical Center and St. Luke Medical Center, OSF HealthCare (Peoria, Ill.): My number one priority this year is to expand services and fully integrate our new three hospital markets to deliver seamless, high-quality care close to home. This includes strengthening access to specialty care, growing our surgical capabilities, and advancing the use of robotic-assisted procedures to provide patients with leading-edge treatment options without requiring travel outside our market. By aligning clinical programs, physician expertise, and care pathways across all three hospitals, we will create a more connected continuum of care that supports patients at every stage of their healthcare journey. Our focus is to keep care local whenever possible, improve patient outcomes, and ensure that residents throughout our region have access to the right care, at the right time, in the right setting.
Marc Augsburger, BSN. President and CEO of Edgerton Hospital and Health Services (Wis.): Our number one priority is the building and implementation of our new electronic health record. We have started the process of changing our Epic Community Connect from one hospital system to another, and this will take quite a bit of time and retraining for our staff.
As the project moves from discovery mode (completed) to build, implementation and the sequence of go-live activities, we will need to utilize significant staff time for the training of super users and finally, the full staff. While moving from one instance of Epic (or any EHR) to another may seem easy, we know that at the end of the day, it will have a new and different look/feel.
Erik Mikaitis, MD. CEO of Cook County Health (Chicago): Protecting Medicaid coverage for eligible individuals must be a top priority this year. Nationally, proposed changes are expected to result in 5 million people losing health coverage and nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid funding reductions over the next decade. The fiscal impact alone is a major concern of nearly every hospital CEO. But we have an opportunity to act now.
Collaborating with partners and educating members before new requirements take effect in 2027 will be critical to helping people maintain their coverage. That’s why Cook County Health and our partners launched Get Medicaid Facts, a free, open-source communications toolkit. The need is clear: a recent survey shows that nearly half of Medicaid enrollees are unaware of the upcoming changes. By working together now, we can help eligible individuals stay covered to protect not only their own health, but the health and sustainability of our healthcare delivery ecosystem.
Bob Honeycutt. President of Christus Santa Rosa Hospital – San Marcos (Texas): Our number one priority heading into the second half of 2026 is to stabilize and strengthen our clinical workforce so we can continue delivering safe, high-quality, patient-centered care. Across our market, ongoing staff shortages, competitive pressures, and turnover continue to impact patient outcomes and operational reliability.
To succeed, we must move beyond reactive hiring and adopt a more sustainable, integrated workforce strategy focused on consistency, accountability, and long-term engagement. Building a workforce that is reliable and resilient is essential to meeting the needs of our community.
At the same time, we must navigate ongoing financial pressures with a disciplined focus on efficiency and productivity, ensuring care remains accessible without compromising quality or affordability.
Ultimately, our goal is to support our associates so they can deliver care that is not only clinically excellent, but also personal, because that is what our patients and families expect and deserve.
Peter D. Banko. President and CEO of Baystate Health (Springfield, Mass.): Access is not just the No. 1 priority for the 2nd half of 2026. It is our top three priorities. Members in our health plan and patients in core service lines leave Western Massachusetts for competitors in Boston and Hartford. Improving access to our physicians and hospitals improves community health trust by establishing us as a reliable community partner close to home. It is not an easy fix. We have significant work over the next six months in redesigning the process to be consumer-driven, reducing provider-health plan friction, addressing workforce challenges, expanding digital and virtual care, and enhancing our new Oracle Health platform.
Douglas Kreis. CFO of Thunder Bay Community Health Service (Alpena, Mich.): My number one priority heading into the second half of 2026 is decisively leading our organization through a fundamentally reshaped pharmacy landscape — one that has significantly disrupted 340B covered entities — and using this moment to strengthen our long-term financial and operational resilience.
From a combined CEO and CFO lens, this environment demands bold leadership, disciplined capital stewardship, and an unwavering focus on sustainability. Declining revenues and rapidly escalating costs require us to challenge legacy assumptions, rigorously evaluate every service line, and align resources with strategies that best advance our mission and maximize impact for the communities we serve. Just as critical is maintaining transparency and trust with our board, our workforce, and our patients as we make difficult but necessary decisions.
At the same time, we are keeping upcoming Medicaid changes front and center. Proactive planning to drive maximum enrollment is essential—not only to stabilize our financial foundation, but to ensure continued access to care for our most vulnerable patients in an increasingly constrained healthcare environment.
Ultimately, this moment calls for leaders who are willing to make hard choices, invest with intention, and emerge stronger — financially sound, mission-focused, and positioned to thrive in the next era of healthcare.
Arsenial Runion. CEO of East Liberty Health Care Center (Pittsburgh): As the CEO of East Liberty Family Health Care Center, my top priority for the second half of 2026 is ensuring the long-term sustainability and growth of our organization while expanding access to high-quality care for the communities we serve.
The healthcare landscape is rapidly changing, with reimbursement pressures, workforce challenges, and policy shifts posing significant obstacles for community health centers. To address these challenges, I am focused on strengthening our financial position, optimizing operations, and strategically investing in services that enhance patient outcomes. This includes expanding access points, expanding key clinical programs, ensuring workforce stability, responsibly leveraging technology, and continuing to address the social determinants of health that impact our patients daily.
Above all, I want to ensure that East Liberty Family Health Care Center remains a strong, mission-driven organization that can continue serving our community for generations to come. Success in the second half of 2026 will be measured by providing exceptional care, supporting our team, deepening community partnerships, and positioning the organization for sustainable growth in an increasingly complex healthcare environment.
Wyatt Brieser. CEO of Hammond-Henry Hospital (Geneseo, Ill.): At Hammond-Henry, our fiscal year runs from June 1 through May 31, and the year that just concluded was one of significant transformation. We expanded access by adding orthopedics and rheumatology, welcomed two new family practice physicians, and completed major system transitions including a new EMR, payroll vendor, and general ledger platform.
As we enter the new fiscal year, our top priority is stability. After a period of intentional change and investment, our focus is on allowing these new service lines and systems to mature while ensuring our teams feel confident and supported in their day-to-day work. We have been very clear with our staff that this is a time to strengthen foundations rather than introduce additional disruption.
Our administrative team is intentionally working to absorb as much of the implementation burden as possible so frontline staff can regain their footing and operate at a sustainable pace. The goal is to return to a cadence of change management that is thoughtful, measured, and aligned with long-term organizational success.
At the same time, we are not standing still strategically. We are actively preparing for upcoming Rural Health Transformation Program funding opportunities, ensuring we are well-positioned to leverage those resources. This fall, we will also engage our board and key stakeholders in a comprehensive strategic planning process focused on optimizing these investments and identifying the next phase of sustainable growth for our organization.
Ultimately, our priority is balancing stability with strategic momentum in order to ensure that our team is supported today while thoughtfully positioning Hammond-Henry for the future.
Helen Johnson, RN. CEO of Helen Newberry Joy Hospital & Healthcare Center (Mich.): The first part of the year for Helen Newberry Joy Hospital was all about cascading and enacting our strategic plan. The next six months we will be working to stabilize our growth and planning for 2027. One source I like to use is the Future Today Strategy Group as a litmus test for our thinking. Rural healthcare providers are in the spotlight across the country and we can be fantastic learning labs for our larger neighbors.
Kathy McCollum. President of University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center: As the president of a hospital in the state of Maryland, my top priority is positioning my organization and our entire University of Maryland Medical System for success under the new federal AHEAD model. Maryland is currently the only Medicare waiver state with an all payer total cost of care hospital payment system. And we are the first state to enter into the CMS AHEAD model which has different incentives and policy guidance than the current state model. While the goals are largely the same, improve population health, reduce unnecessary utilization and reduce the total cost of care, there are nuances which require focused strategies for us to be financially successful and continue to serve our communities.
Benjamin M. Schwartz, MD. President of Academic Delivery at Banner University Medicine (Phoenix): Our top priority is proving that value-based care works at scale. We’re one of the nation’s few fully integrated nonprofit health systems, delivering care and insuring approximately 1 million members. That means we can demonstrate that world-class outcomes and affordability can coexist. Through our decade-long partnership with the University of Arizona, we’re bringing breakthrough research and advanced medicine directly to the communities that need it most. Our prevention-focused health plans reward staying healthy, not just treating illness. We’re seeing real results: targeted outreach programs have more than doubled colorectal screenings and tripled preventive care engagement in underserved populations. This is the sustainable model American healthcare needs, and we’re building it right here in Arizona.
Perry Sham. CFO of Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center (N.Y.): Unfortunately for many safety net hospitals – including mine – managing cash flow is top priority. Any disruption here could adversely impact operations, patient care, or safety. We monitor and manage cash on almost a daily basis, but the goal for the second half of 2026 is to roll out performance improvement measures to improve cash flow and build up our days of cash on hand.
Mark G. Moseley, MD. President of USF Tampa General Physicians (Fla.); Executive Vice President ofTampa General Hospital: Strategic planning and budgetary rigor are certainly necessary ingredients for a successful year. But resiliency and strategic execution also require that leaders take what they have anticipated and adapt to meet the reality of their present circumstances in the last half of the year. Plans change. Full stop. Given the uncertainty in our industry and the broader healthcare ecosystem, it is all too easy to become distracted by that change. There is simply too much noise. This often leads us, as leaders, to react emotionally rather than pausing to consider a more reasoned response to things that are frequently beyond our individual control.
In the second half of the fiscal year, it is the perfect time to refocus and switch on our leadership version of “noise-canceling headphones.” How do we do that? We can build trust by establishing a steady cadence of intentional communication about where we are, where we are headed, and the priorities we should focus on right now. We can accept that obstacles are an inevitable consequence of changing terrain and organize our teams to navigate them effectively. And we can exercise our own agency to actively encourage our people to stay focused on the work in front of them. That encouragement and support are never timelier than right now.
Megan Remark. Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of HealthPartners Care Group (Bloomington, Minn.): Our top priority heading into the second half of 2026 is transforming access to care in ways that work better for both patients and care teams.
We’re focused on moving beyond simply adding appointments and instead redesigning how care is delivered. That means scaling proven models such as virtual care, advanced triage and same-day resolution of many patient needs, often without requiring an in-person visit.
We’re also accelerating the use of AI to identify risk earlier and proactively connect patients with care, and we’re reducing barriers that can delay treatment. A key example is our second-level triage program, which connects nurses with clinicians to help patients find the most appropriate care setting before they visit the emergency department. Since launching, about 65% of patients have avoided an unnecessary ED visit and received care through alternatives such as urgent care, primary care or virtual visits.
Our focus now is taking innovations like these from isolated successes to systemwide solutions. When we do that well, we improve the patient experience and build a more sustainable model of care.
Shane Strum. President and CEO of Broward Health (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.): My number one priority heading into the second half of 2026 is to continue expanding access to care through growth, collaboration, and workforce development.
In the first half of the year, Broward Health achieved exceptional financial performance, recognized with upgrades from S&P, Moody’s and Fitch, positioning us to continue investing in the future of healthcare in Broward County. That momentum provides a strong foundation for what comes next.
We anticipate opening additional freestanding emergency rooms, medical office buildings, clinics, and physician practices, while continuing to invest in innovative technology and infrastructure. We also look forward to welcoming our largest graduate medical education class to date as we strengthen the healthcare workforce of the future.
Equally important is our commitment to collaboration. Through Better Together, our partnership with Memorial Healthcare System, we are already making meaningful progress in improving care coordination, addressing community health needs, and developing innovative solutions that expand access for the nearly 2 million residents we collectively serve.
Ultimately, we remain focused on identifying new opportunities to collaborate, improve health outcomes, and ensure every resident has access to the care they need, when, and where they need it.
Boris Pasche, MD, PhD. President and CEO of Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute; Oncology Department Chair of Wayne State University (Detroit): My number one priority heading into the second half of 2026 is strengthening Karmanos’ financial position as we navigate continued uncertainty around federal research funding. While Congress did not approve the deepest cuts proposed last year, government research support remains flat and cannot be counted on as a growth engine. As a result, our focus is on expanding other revenue streams, particularly through continued growth in patient volume and selective opportunities in industry-sponsored clinical research, while also improving operational efficiency. We are implementing AI and other process improvements in areas such as insurance verification and billing collections to help reduce costs and improve performance. Taken together, these efforts are aimed at offsetting pressure on research funding and maintaining the organization on a strong growth trajectory.
Heitham Hassoun, MD. Chief Executive of Cedars-Sinai International (Los Angeles): As I look ahead to the second half of 2026, my top priority remains our patients. With the opening of our London Clinic and our growing international patient volumes and case complexity, our efforts around enhancing continuity of care and really wrapping our hands around the person, not just the patient, is more important than ever.
Second, expanding our footprint from local to global through consulting, advisory, affiliations and management services which allow us to develop new patient care models and come closer to patients wherever they are is another priority.
Lastly and critically, we are increasingly focused on wellness and prevention as a strategic priority. Moving towards evidence-based screening and diagnostic services where we are now able to transition from caring for patients in the traditional ‘at illness’ moments to a much earlier moment in their lives. We are now looking to provide care to people through a more holistic approach that encompasses wellness, healthspan medicine, and primary care through a high-touch personalized approach.
As mentioned, we have already embarked on this journey through the recent opening of the Cedars-Sinai Clinic London. This facility, along with future expansions in major cities such as Singapore and Mexico City, reflects our commitment to being people-centric, not just patient-centric.
Timothy Layman, DNP, MSN, RN. President and Chief Administrative Officer of St. Mary’s Hospital, Hospital Sisters Health System (Decatur, Ill.): As we head into the second half of 2026, my number one priority is sustaining exceptional patient outcomes while building a healthcare system prepared for the future. That means continuing to strengthen access, improve throughput, and ensure every patient receives safe, timely, and compassionate care. We will remain disciplined in balancing operational performance with strategic investment so we can meet growing community needs without compromising quality. Equally important is supporting and retaining our colleagues—because engaged, empowered teams are the foundation of every great patient experience. We will continue advancing innovation and modernization efforts that remove friction for patients and caregivers and improve how care is delivered. Our focus will remain on creating measurable value through quality, experience, growth, and financial stewardship. Success in the second half of this year will not be defined by a single metric, but by our ability to deliver consistently excellent care while positioning HSHS St. Mary’s Hospital for long-term strength and sustainability.
Shawn Martin. Executive Vice President and CEO of American Academy of Family Physicians (Leawood, Kan.): My top priority heading into the second half of 2026 is ensuring that family medicine/family physicians are positioned to meet the needs of patients and communities and thrive in a rapidly changing healthcare environment. For me, this starts with three goals: increase the investment in primary care, grow the family medicine workforce, and ensure that more Americans have a usual source of care with a family physician.
The pressures on primary care continue to grow — from workforce shortages and physician burnout to increasing patient complexity and fragmentation across the health care system. At the same time, there is a growing recognition that better health outcomes and lower costs depend on a strong primary care foundation.
Ultimately, if we want better outcomes for patients and healthier communities, we have to make it easier for family physicians to do what they do best: care for people across the lifespan.
Michael Antoniades. President of UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial: As our fiscal year comes to an end, our focus for the second half of 2026 is activating our recently completed 10-year strategic plan, which leverages the University of Chicago Medicine academic health system to expand access to high-quality care and bring additional clinical expertise to communities across the Southland.
This plan builds on 103 years of service to our communities and a decade of growth as part of UChicago Medicine. Through our integrated model, we are uniquely positioned to connect patients with advanced diagnostic and treatment services close to home — whether at our family care centers, ambulatory locations in Beverly and South Holland, or our main campus in Harvey. We can do this while also providing seamless access to the specialized expertise available at the University of Chicago Medical Center in Hyde Park, which anchors the health system, when needed.
This integrated approach has strengthened care delivery across the Southland over the last decade, and we will continue to invest in programs and services that improve the health of the communities we serve. Our new strategic plan provides a roadmap for advancing that work in the years ahead.
While we are mindful of ongoing healthcare reimbursement challenges affecting providers nationwide, our commitment remains unchanged: ensuring access to exceptional care and maintaining a strong safety net for our patients and communities. We’re proud of the progress we have made, energized by the opportunities ahead, and excited to begin turning our strategic vision into action.
Aimee Brewer. President and CEO of Sturdy Health (Attleboro, Mass.): As we move into the latter half of 2026, our top priority remains expanding access to high-quality care for the communities we serve. The significant transformation underway across the Sturdy Health campus is ultimately about ensuring that patients can receive more advanced specialty, cancer, and emergency care close to home – particularly at a time when healthcare access is becoming increasingly strained and demand for care continues to grow. These investments are helping us increase capacity, reduce barriers to care, and strengthen our ability to meet the evolving needs of our region for decades to come.
A major milestone this year will be the opening of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s regional campus within our Specialty Care Building, bringing world-class cancer care to our community. Next year, we will open our new, expanded emergency department, designed to better meet the growing needs of our patients and provide dedicated space for individuals experiencing behavioral health crises. The new department will also strengthen our ability to respond to regional surge events and emergencies, an important capability as we prepare and respond to increased patient demand associated with FIFA World Cup events at nearby Gillette Stadium. Together, these initiatives reflect our commitment to expanding access to advanced, compassionate care throughout our region.
James Timpe. CEO of Salem Township Hospital (Ill.): Heading into the second half of 2026, our top priority is maintaining access to care for the growing number of patients seeing reduced or eliminated benefits. This may include assistance with signing up for benefits, but it also includes anticipating greater charity care needs, enhancing our self-pay models and discounts, and looking at lower cost community health initiatives such as lab vouchers and matching of urgent care patients to available primary care resources.
Tanner White. CEO of Altru Devils Lake (Grand Forks, N.D.): At Altru Devils Lake in Devils Lake, N.D., we recently completed a transition that occurred on March 1, 2026, when Altru acquired the hospital from CommonSpirit. Everything we are doing is focused on the well-being of the Lake Region. Our goal is to continue expanding services where possible and always improve care. Podiatry and hand services have already expanded to include same-day surgical procedures at the hospital. As we assess patients’ needs now that we are a unified health system, we will be able to effectively and appropriately develop care here. We are also participating in the rural health transformation process and are confident these efforts will improve care for our patients.
Douglass Harrison. Regional President of WVU Medicine (Morgantown, W.Va.); President and CEO of WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital: WVU Medicine is continuing to grow as a health system. We will be adding 6 new hospitals to our System by the end of the year. Our focus will be on integration work for these new hospitals. At WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital and the North Region, we will continue to focus on quality and securing max reimbursement from our State DPP program and other payors. Another focus is on staffing and getting our Center for Nursing Education program started to address the shortage of bedside nursing. We will focus our efforts on building a sustainable delivery of care model despite the constant regulatory changes that come from the State and Federal Governments.
Debra F. Sukin, PhD. President and CEO of Texas Children’s (Houston): In the second half of 2026, my number one goal is to position Texas Children’s as an adaptable organization that works proactively to meet our patients’ evolving needs within a rapidly shifting health care landscape. Specifically, that means we are focusing on a handful of priorities, including exploring new partnership models to extend our reach to all patients who need our expertise; focusing on preventive care, wellness, and disease prevention; advancing breakthrough discoveries at an unprecedented pace and scale; and attracting and retaining top talent.
To accomplish these goals, we are embedding artificial intelligence and machine learning into our DNA at an enterprise level to accelerate our clinical, research, and administrative work. We are uniting our patient care and research missions by improving access and convenience so more patients can benefit from our clinical trials. And we are aligning our talent strategy with our financial planning and care transformation strategies to ensure that we remain an employer of choice. Together, these efforts will enable us to remain agile, adopt new ways to serve our patients, deliver better outcomes, and ultimately create healthier futures for women and children in our global community.
Ray Vara. President and CEO of Hawai‘i Pacific Health (Honolulu): Our top priority for the rest of 2026 is advancing One Health Hawaiʻi the right way, strengthening healthcare for patients, providers, employers, and communities here at home.
Hawaiʻi families feel the pressure of rising costs everywhere they turn, and healthcare needs to be part of the solution. At Hawaiʻi Pacific Health, we believe this is the time to build a more connected, sustainable model of care, one that actually meets our communities’ needs, as well as supports the physicians and care teams.
One Health Hawaiʻi is how we get there. The idea is an integrated, value-based approach to how care gets coordinated, delivered, and paid for. Our vision is a system that is easier for patients to access, better connected for providers, and more affordable for families. When we reduce fragmentation, eliminate the administrative burden, strengthen care coordination and invest in primary care, outcomes improve and care teams will spend more time caring for their patients. This must happen in an open system, with real safeguards, regulatory oversight, and a health care market that stays competitive and collaborative.
Ultimately, One Health Hawai‘i is about creating healthier communities for our state – one where we can expand access to primary care, strengthen services in rural and neighbor island communities, support our workforce and ensure that high-quality care remains affordable for the people of Hawai‘i for generations to come.
John Whitlock. CFO and Diana Richardson, President and CEO of Merrimack Health (Lawrence, Mass.): Our priority remains ensuring access to safe, high-quality, local care for the communities we serve by balancing two strategic priorities: advancing integration across our health system and navigating significant financial headwinds.
As our region’s only healthcare system, Merrimack Health plays an important role in connecting patients with the care they need close to home. To fulfill that responsibility, our focus remains on strategic integration efforts that strengthen our system of care by aligning our clinical, operational, and support services with the needs of our patients, while supporting the dedicated care teams who deliver that care every day.
However, this work is at risk as we, like health systems across the country, navigate mounting financial pressures that threaten to upend the progress we’ve made in keeping care accessible for our communities.
By staying focused on these priorities, we work to build a stronger, more sustainable health system that preserves access to care, supports our workforce, and ensures we continue meeting the needs of the communities that rely on us.
John Harding. Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Children’s Minnesota (Minneapolis): I am committed to preparing our organization to thrive in times of uncertainty. My main priority is to enhance our management system, so we can work to continuously improve the effectiveness and efficiency of our operations. We’ll also be looking at our workforce strategy and how AI can augment our team’s work. Finally, I think it is critically important that we develop leaders at all levels so they can be at their best to serve patients, families, and team members.
Todd Conklin. Executive Vice President and CFO of Care New England Health System (Providence, R.I.): My No. 1 priority heading into the second half of 2026 is operating margin recovery. The first half of 2026 was impacted by soft regional and national patient volumes and acuity. Achieving “recovered” volumes and revenue, as well as achieving greater expense efficiency, are critical for goal achievement in 2026 as well as for strategic planning/sustainability reasons as healthcare organizations prepare for probable, unprecedented decreases in government reimbursement in 2027 and beyond.
Daniel T. Pickett III. President and CEO of Albany Med Health System (N.Y.): My No. 1 priority heading into the second half of 2026 is disciplined execution of First Choice 2030.
Albany Med Health System serves 3 million people across 25 counties, and as the only academic health system in northeastern New York and western New England, we have an obligation to deliver care that is high-quality, accessible, and coordinated across the full system. For the remainder of the year, that means focusing on the fundamentals: improving access, expanding our ambulatory footprint, supporting better hospital throughput, aligning service lines, and making the system easier for patients, physicians, employees, and partners to navigate.
First Choice 2030 is our roadmap, but the work now is execution. We are focused on building a more integrated academic health system that delivers exceptional care today while also strengthening education, research, and innovation for the future.
Naveen Mehrotra, MD. President of Medical Staff, Saint Peter’s HealthCare System (New Brunswick, N.J.): Our primary focus for the second half of 2026 is to leverage technological innovation to enhance operational efficiency across healthcare workflows while improving the overall patient experience. A fundamental challenge in healthcare remains access: how patients identify and connect with the most appropriate healthcare provider to address their needs. In response, numerous artificial intelligence–driven solutions have emerged to facilitate communication, streamline access, and improve patient engagement.
Beyond initial access, patients often face the equally important challenge of navigating an increasingly complex healthcare system. Ensuring that individuals receive timely, evidence-based, and state-of-the-art care requires effective coordination, clear guidance, and continuous support throughout their healthcare journey. Furthermore, patients must balance the demands of daily life with the responsibilities associated with managing their health and adhering to treatment recommendations provided by their healthcare professionals.
Successfully supporting patients throughout the entire continuum of care — from their entry into the healthcare system to the achievement of improved health outcomes — represents both our highest priority and our greatest reward. This commitment extends beyond the second half of 2026 and remains a central objective of our mission moving forward.
Dev Sangvai, MD, JD. Secretary of North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services: Rising health care and pharmacy costs are impacting all of us, making it difficult for nearly everyone to access and afford quality care. As the implementation of H.R. 1 will cause setbacks, my biggest priority for the rest of 2026 and beyond is ensuring that everyone, regardless of where they live or how much money they make, can access and afford the care they need to thrive.
Impacts to North Carolina Medicaid as required by federal legislation in H.R. 1, include work requirements for Medicaid expansion beneficiaries and other changes that threaten access to care for hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians. Through this work, our team at NCDHHS remains steadfast and resilient in our focus on rural communities, strengthening value-based care, managing pharmacy costs and investing in long-term stability.
With the rollout of North Carolina’s Rural Health Transformation Program, expansion of value-based purchasing models and the innovative Medical Debt Relief Program, we are facing these challenges head-on to improve the lives of more than 11 million people who call North Carolina home.
To realize our mission to build a healthier North Carolina for all, we remain focused on supporting a system of care that is person-centered, helps children and families find stability, cares for our vulnerable populations, strengthens mental health systems, and promotes healthier communities across our state.
Jason Foland, MD. President of Studer Family Children’s Hospital (Pensacola, Fla.): Heading into the second half of 2026, our top priority at Studer Family Children’s Hospital is ensuring we can continue delivering high-quality pediatric care while navigating the financial realities of serving a patient population with a high share of Medicaid coverage. We are actively pivoting toward value-based care models, clinically integrated networks and innovative care delivery — including hospital-at-home programs, after-hours clinics, and partnerships with FQHCs — to better serve our pediatric population while sustaining the system that cares for them.
A core part of that shift means working alongside insurance companies to move from reactive to preventive care, with intentional focus on social determinants of health and nutrition. When we address root causes — food security, housing stability, access to preventive services — we keep kids healthier and out of the hospital. As pediatricians first and a hospital second, that is exactly where we want to be.
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