As leaders of their organizations, hospital and health system CEOs are tasked with maintaining a public presence to communicate transparently with staff and the broader community. This has grown more crucial amid today’s political and economic uncertainty.
One tool at their disposal: social media — particularly LinkedIn — where they share leadership lessons, strategy insights and personal reflections from their experiences with patients. CEOs are also increasingly engaged in advocacy work or choose to address key topics during speaking engagements or in op-eds.
No matter the issue, the decision to speak out or stay quiet follows a different path for each leader — or, as Kerry L. Heinrich, president and CEO of Roseville, Calif.-based Adventist Health, puts it, “takes the wisdom of Solomon at times.”
Becker’s recently spoke with Dennis Pullin, president and CEO of Virtua Health, and Mr. Heinrich to gain their perspectives on the role a CEO’s public presence should play in guiding an organization through disruption or transformation — and how they decide which issues to address publicly.
A CEO’s public role
Whether posting about a personal experience or addressing larger industry issues, Mr. Pullin emphasized the importance of leaders speaking out and speaking up amid good and bad circumstances.
“I speak about ‘the power of the pen,’ and it has its advantages,” said Mr. Pullin, who leads a five-hospital system based in Marlton, N.J. “Because when you write about things or you call attention to things, people tend to pay attention because of your position and your platform.
“But it also has consequences. We have to be purposeful about what we call attention to, and we have to realize that there is value in how we consider our personal experience and how we decide to raise our hand on things.”
For example, view Mr. Pullin’s professional profile on LinkedIn, and there are a number of posts, including one promoting his book about leadership and another noting a speech he gave highlighting Virtua’s “everybody, always” approach to care and equity.
He also recently spoke at the Congress on Healthcare Leadership, the American College of Healthcare Executive’s annual event, about being “champions of humanity.”
“When I look at being a champion of humanity, that’s about taking care of everybody,” Mr. Pullin said. “And that’s about looking at the colleagues that I work with every day — everybody is dedicated to improving the lives of people around them. And this is not just me — this is all of us in healthcare.”
Mr. Heinrich also noted the importance of a CEO’s public presence, particularly during disruption and transformation. He said during these times, a CEO’s public presence “becomes more than symbolic. It becomes, in many ways, strategic.”
For Adventist, a faith-based, nonprofit, integrated health system with more than 440 care sites on the West Coast and in Hawaii, that presence and platform should embody clarity and compassion as he communicates, he said.
On his LinkedIn page, Mr. Heinrich has posted about topics ranging from leadership appointments to American Heart Month. He also posted about the Los Angeles County wildfires earlier this year and in 2024 highlighted when Adventist signed a contract with Epic to use the platform across the system.
But “it’s not just about making announcements,” Mr. Heinrich said. “It’s about my opportunity to model values, to in many ways, instill hope and also provide direction.
“A CEO’s voice helps steady the narrative with our workforce, reinforces trust, and it reminds our workforce of why they do their work and the mission driven nature of the organization they work for. And I would say during times of rapid change, people aren’t just looking for decisions. They’re looking for someone who reflects their shared purpose, who leads them with both strength and humility. I hope my posts communicate that level of engagement and that desire to be both a voice of purpose and a voice of strength and humility.”
In terms of drafting posts, he also noted the help he receives from his communications team.
“We try to set goals, objectives and the message we want to communicate,” Mr. Heinrich said. “We talk about that, and then we work together to craft a message that will hopefully effectively communicate that in an authentic way.”
Deciding when to speak up
In determining whether to speak up, Mr. Pullin and Mr. Heinrich pointed to the missions, visions and values of their respective organizations as driving forces.
Virtua leans on the guiding philosophy “everybody, always.”
“It’s our commitment to not leave anybody behind,” Mr. Pullin said. “No matter who you are — forget about race, ethnicity, gender, religion — we are committed to taking care of everybody. And then the ‘always’ part of it is, it’s about being consistent. It’s about taking care of people that are in need — not just when it’s convenient, and not just when they show up at our doorstep. We embrace them when they do, but we also have to reach out to them when they don’t. And so, that’s about ‘everybody always.’ So if there is something that conflicts with that, I feel it’s important that I speak out.”
Mr. Pullin also said he feels it is important for healthcare leaders to be viewed as a trusted source and to counter misinformation, lean into the science, and lean into best practices. Additionally, he considers how he can leverage his personal and professional experience when speaking about an issue to ensure credibility.
“That’s why I don’t have issues talking about health equity and health disparities,” said Mr. Pullin, who is Black and has helmed Virtua since 2017. “Those are things that I have known in my lifetime. Those are things that I see up close. And so, I can speak to them with a certain amount of authenticity — which is another term I would use for us as leaders.”
For Mr. Heinrich, as the leader of a faith-based nonprofit organization, such decisions involve discernment, which he views as just as important as boldness.
“Frankly, not every issue demands a public statement, nor should it get one from someone like me,” he said. “But I hope that every statement that I issue is grounded in our values.”
When thinking about engaging in public discourse, he and his communications team consider a range of factors, such as whether the issue aligns with Adventist’s mission to inspire our statement of health, wholeness and hope. They also consider whether speaking up on that particular issue will bring clarity or unity.
“My goal isn’t to chase every headline, every public issue that sits out there. It is to stay grounded in our identity and to communicate with authenticity,” Mr. Heinrich said. “And I use the words humility and purpose. That’s the role and the responsibility of a nonprofit organization, our mission has to shine through in the public statements we make and the issues we choose to engage in.”
One thing in which he does not engage: comments about partisanship. But he does engage in policy. He is not alone. Amid heightened economic and political uncertainty, hospital and health system leaders are intensifying advocacy efforts on Medicaid cuts, research funding and rising tariffs — and the effects they could have on healthcare operations and patient access.
“There is a significant policy debate occurring right now,” Mr. Heinrich said. “[Recently], I met with elected officials and weighed in heavily on the policy issues that affect in so many ways, the care and treatment of the underserved, those who have no voice for themselves. It’s my responsibility to give voice to the needs that they have for access to care.”
He said changes coming out of Washington, D.C., and their potential effects are on the minds of employees, and “my role is to be a consistent voice of our mission, a consistent voice to honor our values and to advocate for those who have no voice of their own.
“There’s so much partisanship, but I think our role as healthcare leaders should be: How do we advocate a way that allows for our system to continue to provide access to all people that we serve, particularly focusing on those that are challenged to get access to quality healthcare? That’s a mission, a message that will absolutely resonate in Washington. It’s easy to talk about budgets in the abstract. The real message has to be: How do these discussions around budget impact the lives of real people with real clinical issues on the ground?”
