August 2026 Issue of Becker’s Hospital Review
On The Cover
Chad Lefteris, President & CEO, UCI Health
UCI Health’s journey as an organization began decades ago as the University of California regents discussed the need for a new hospital. Questions lingered, such as where the hospital would be, before ultimately deciding on a new campus in Irvine in Orange County. They also purchased Orange County Medical Center and renamed it UCI Medical Center, now known as UCI Health — Orange.
Erik Wexler, President & CEO, Providence
Amid industrywide uncertainty, health system CEOs are not shelving their five-year plans. They are reprioritizing them.
Katerina Guerraz, COO, Aetna
When Katerina Guerraz, Aetna’s COO, stepped into her role in mid-2024, the company was having, by her own admission, a really tough year. Rather than look for incremental fixes, she and her team decided to set a new direction entirely — one focused on fundamentally redesigning how Aetna operates, not just for the company, but for the providers and members it serves.
Holly Muller, DNP, RN, SVP & System CNO, Presbyterian Healthcare Services
There’s a widening gap between what a nursing degree certifies and what a hospital unit actually demands in practice, nursing leaders say.
Raza Fayyaz, CIO, Aultman Health System
When an AI agent goes off script, how do health systems react? And what is the script for such a new technology?
Tracy Peffley, System VP, Revenue Cycle Management, Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland Clinic’s revenue cycle team collected more than $15 billion in U.S. net patient revenue in 2025, employs more than 3,800 FTEs and operates at a cost to collect of 2.92%.
Why 720 rural hospitals are at risk of closing
Private insurance — not Medicare or Medicaid — is the biggest reason 720 rural hospitals are at risk of closing, according to the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform.
Cleveland Clinic’s $15B revenue cycle and the ‘unsustainable’ problem it hopes to solve
Cleveland Clinic’s revenue cycle team collected more than $15 billion in U.S. net patient revenue in 2025, employs more than 3,800 FTEs and operates at a cost to collect of 2.92%.
AI agents are going off script. Health systems are figuring it out in real time
When an AI agent goes off script, how do health systems react? And what is the script for such a new technology?
Healthcare burnout looks different now — 5 leaders explain what’s driving it
When the COVID-19 pandemic receded, clinical workers expected three things: sustained recognition for what they had endured, a period of respite and a return to some version of normalcy. Most got none of them.
3 skills new nurses are missing on day 1, per nurse execs
There’s a widening gap between what a nursing degree certifies and what a hospital unit actually demands in practice, nursing leaders say.
The title CIOs actually want
Is “chief information officer” still the right title for the job?
‘The fight is worth it’: How rural hospitals can recover from the brink of closure
Hospital. Closure. Two words many healthcare leaders try to avoid but are increasingly faced with considering.
CFOs are becoming the go-to pick for COO, CEO roles. Here’s why
As the healthcare industry continues to shift amid increased financial and policy pressures, more hospital and health system CFOs are making their way to the top operational and leadership seats: COO and CEO.
Health system CEOs aren’t shelving growth plans. They’re re-sequencing them.
Amid industrywide uncertainty, health system CEOs are not shelving their five-year plans. They are reprioritizing them.
What CEOs can learn from children’s hospitals on ‘mission’
At children’s hospitals, “mission” tends to be built into the architecture of daily operations: play folded directly into clinical treatment, leaders who treat the whole family, not just the patient, as the unit of care, and a baseline expectation of urgency that most adult medicine reserves for its highest-stakes diagnoses.
UCI Health started as 1 hospital. 50 years and 6 hospitals later, CEO charts its future
UCI Health’s journey as an organization began decades ago as the University of California regents discussed the need for a new hospital. Questions lingered, such as where the hospital would be, before ultimately deciding on a new campus in Irvine in Orange County. They also purchased Orange County Medical Center and renamed it UCI Medical Center, now known as UCI Health — Orange.
Inside Aetna’s push to automate claims, upskill workers, reduce friction across healthcare
When Katerina Guerraz, Aetna’s COO, stepped into her role in mid-2024, the company was having, by her own admission, a really tough year. Rather than look for incremental fixes, she and her team decided to set a new direction entirely — one focused on fundamentally redesigning how Aetna operates, not just for the company, but for the providers and members it serves.
13 pharmacy leaders on what matters most heading into the 2nd half of 2026
Becker’s asked pharmacy executives from hospitals and health systems, along with academic medical centers and universities across the U.S. to share their focus areas for the remaining 6 months of the year.
Leader Development Is Often Underfunded. Your Organization Is Paying for It Anyway.
Most healthcare leaders genuinely want to invest in their people. They say they value leader development, and they mean it. We all know what happens next: Budgets tighten, priorities shift, and development is the first line item to get cut. It gets pushed to “next year,” when we think there will be more breathing room. (I don’t have to tell you that the breathing room rarely arrives!)
CEO Strategy
What CEOs can learn from children’s hospitals on ‘mission’
At children’s hospitals, “mission” tends to be built into the architecture of daily operations: play folded directly into clinical treatment, leaders who treat the whole family, not just the patient, as the unit of care, and a baseline expectation of urgency that most adult medicine reserves for its highest-stakes diagnoses.
UCI Health started as 1 hospital. 50 years and 6 hospitals later, CEO charts its future
UCI Health’s journey as an organization began decades ago as the University of California regents discussed the need for a new hospital. Questions lingered, such as where the hospital would be, before ultimately deciding on a new campus in Irvine in Orange County. They also purchased Orange County Medical Center and renamed it UCI Medical Center, now known as UCI Health — Orange.
Health system CEOs aren’t shelving growth plans. They’re re-sequencing them.
Amid industrywide uncertainty, health system CEOs are not shelving their five-year plans. They are reprioritizing them.
CFO Finance
Why 720 rural hospitals are at risk of closing
Private insurance — not Medicare or Medicaid — is the biggest reason 720 rural hospitals are at risk of closing, according to the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform.
‘The fight is worth it’: How rural hospitals can recover from the brink of closure
Hospital. Closure. Two words many healthcare leaders try to avoid but are increasingly faced with considering.
CFOs are becoming the go-to pick for COO, CEO roles. Here’s why
As the healthcare industry continues to shift amid increased financial and policy pressures, more hospital and health system CFOs are making their way to the top operational and leadership seats: COO and CEO.
COO
Inside Aetna’s push to automate claims, upskill workers, reduce friction across healthcare
When Katerina Guerraz, Aetna’s COO, stepped into her role in mid-2024, the company was having, by her own admission, a really tough year. Rather than look for incremental fixes, she and her team decided to set a new direction entirely — one focused on fundamentally redesigning how Aetna operates, not just for the company, but for the providers and members it serves.
Clinical Leadership
3 skills new nurses are missing on day 1, per nurse execs
There’s a widening gap between what a nursing degree certifies and what a hospital unit actually demands in practice, nursing leaders say.
An untapped surgical tech pipeline for hospitals
Athletic trainers are licensed healthcare providers and are qualified to scrub into the operating room as surgical first assists in most states, which offers hospitals a valuable pipeline to fill surgical technologist gaps.
CIO / HEALTH IT
The title CIOs actually want
Is “chief information officer” still the right title for the job?
AI agents are going off script. Health systems are figuring it out in real time
When an AI agent goes off script, how do health systems react? And what is the script for such a new technology?
PHARMACY
13 pharmacy leaders on what matters most heading into the 2nd half of 2026
Becker’s asked pharmacy executives from hospitals and health systems, along with academic medical centers and universities across the U.S. to share their focus areas for the remaining 6 months of the year.
CHRO
Healthcare burnout looks different now — 5 leaders explain what’s driving it
When the COVID-19 pandemic receded, clinical workers expected three things: sustained recognition for what they had endured, a period of respite and a return to some version of normalcy. Most got none of them.
RCM Leader
Cleveland Clinic’s $15B revenue cycle and the ‘unsustainable’ problem it hopes to solve
Cleveland Clinic’s revenue cycle team collected more than $15 billion in U.S. net patient revenue in 2025, employs more than 3,800 FTEs and operates at a cost to collect of 2.92%.
Why Cottage Health’s revenue cycle VP looks beyond the numbers
Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Cottage Health was among the 20 organizations that received the Healthcare Financial Management Association’s 2026 MAP Award for high performance in the revenue cycle. But for Sandy Lood, the system’s vice president of revenue cycle, one hallmark of a high-performing team is something less conventional: celebrating failures.
