Becker's asked hospital and health system presidents and CEOs to describe their organization's 2022 using one word. None of them used the word "easy," but "grateful" came up more than once.
From rural hospitals to academic health systems, from safety-nets to children's hospitals, here is how 12 healthcare leaders defined the past year:
"Sobering" — Nancy Howell Agee. President and CEO of Carilion Clinic (Roanoke, Va.)
In the face of the pandemic, supply chain issues, staffing concerns, the financial crisis and more, we were resilient, persevered and focused. I could not be prouder and am truly humbled by the incredible accomplishments of our Carilion employees.
"Grateful" — Madeline Bell. President and CEO of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
2022 was another very busy year for CHOP: We opened four new facilities — including our second hospital, the Middleman Family Pavilion, and the Center for Advanced Behavioral Healthcare — while continuing to expand our commitment to health equity, clinical and research programs. The healthcare industry, especially children's hospitals, has faced many challenges, and I am deeply grateful to the CHOP team for meeting these challenges with creativity and compassion — and for providing crucial care and support for our patients and families.
"Healing" — Marc Boom, MD. President and CEO of Houston Methodist
This past year we began a transition into a post-pandemic world and refocused our efforts to move our institution toward healing and away from the sorrow and exhaustion we all experienced as a health care family. We leaned on each other and never wavered in providing our patients unparalleled care, and now we continue supporting each other as we help our community heal and recover from the past two years.
"Growth" — Chad Brown, DrPH. President of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Wilkes Medical Center (North Wilkesboro, N.C.)
We have seen unprecedented growth in our health system — from localized clinical service expansion to larger system M&A activity. Healthcare is changing rapidly, and it's exciting to be a part of this as we explore new and innovative ways to deliver care. It's also a reminder that healthcare is still delivered locally. As health care leaders, we should always be mindful of the impact our local caregivers have in our communities and continue to support them along the way.
"Together" — Kevin Churchwell, MD. President and CEO of Boston Children's Hospital
From the omicron variant at one end of the calendar, and the national surge in respiratory virus at the other, 2022 was a year of the unpredictable. The one thing we could absolutely count on was that our team, our patients and our families would get through it together.
"Grateful" — John Haupert. President and CEO of Grady Health System (Atlanta)
At Grady, we’re grateful to work shoulder-to-shoulder with amazing people who truly care and stick together through the good and bad times. We’re grateful to work for a community that feels more like family – and to play a role in improving the health and well-being of our family.
"Inflation" — Kevin McRoberts. CEO of Lake Regional Health System (Osage Beach, Mo.)
The pandemic has taught us that hospitals may be recession-proof but not inflation-proof. Surging costs for labor, drugs and supplies during the past year have tested hospitals nationwide.
"Resilience" — Cliff Megerian, MD. CEO of University Hospitals (Cleveland)
The word of the year for 2022 at University Hospitals is resilience. Our caregivers have risen to the occasion with every challenge they confronted — from the surge in COVID-19 early in the year, to unprecedented staffing shortages, to un-reimbursed inflation — causing us to demonstrate tremendous flexibility, in which we quickly reevaluated our cost structure and accelerated our strategic plan. In fact, these challenges — and our caregivers' resolve in the face of them — have only made us more nimble and innovative as an organization, positioning us well to be the healthcare leader of the future.
"Creativity" — Kurt Newman, MD. President and CEO of Children's National Hospital (Washington, D.C.)
Healthcare workers have been pushing themselves well beyond the usual pace for close to three years. We now understand this is the new normal. Health system leaders must develop new ways to support their teams. Children's National Hospital leaders and front-line workers have tapped their creativity to alleviate barriers for their teams so that they can focus on patients and families. I'm proud of our teams and our progress and optimistic about all the innovative ideas that will be developed in 2023 and beyond.
"Equity" — David Perlstein, MD. President and CEO of SPH Health System (New York City)
Equity is at the core of everything we do at SBH Health System. We serve everyone who comes through our doors regardless of what language they speak, who they love or how they pray.
"Pride" — Johnese Spisso, RN. President of UCLA Health and CEO of UCLA Hospital System (Los Angeles)
I'm extraordinarily proud of the resilience and collaboration of UCLA Health clinical teams. Their skill and dedication to patients and to each other continue to shine brightly during extraordinary times.
"Challenging" — Chris Van Gorder. President and CEO of Scripps Health (San Diego)
While every year in healthcare has been exciting and rewarding, 2022 will rank along with the previous couple of years as challenging for all of us in hospitals and health care delivery — COVID continuing this year combined with influenza and RSV; inflation, cost increases without any real revenue increases; staffing shortages, burnout and stress; and little to no government support this year. But every day, doctors, nurses, technicians, support staff and administrators come in to deliver care, support their organizations and help their communities. I still want to stand on my balcony and make noise to honor all these health care heroes — willing to take on the challenges.