June 2026 Issue of Becker’s Hospital Review
On The Cover
Mike Slubowski, President and CEO, Trinity Health
Livonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health is accelerating a sweeping transformation of its care model, one that shifts the center of gravity away from hospitals and toward outpatient, virtual and home-based services.
Jeffrey Flaks, President and CEO, Hartford HealthCare
Jeffrey Flaks, president and CEO of Hartford (Conn.) HealthCare, has spent 22 years at the system watching the industry talk itself out of change. He has seen the headwinds used as excuses, the risks of going first cited as reasons to wait, and the status quo defended by people who knew it wasn’t working. He is not interested in any of that anymore.
Isil Arican, MD, Executive Director, Clinical Applications, Stanford Health Care
Health system leaders continue to be surprised by ambient AI adoption trends, with clinicians using the scribes at higher-than-anticipated rates, especially as the tools improve.
Marjorie Bessel, MD, Chief Clinical Officer, Banner Health
Physician burnout costs hospitals an estimated $500,000 every time it results in a departure, according to industry estimates. Multiply that across a 60,000-person workforce, and culture is not a soft initiative but a balance sheet issue.
Sunil Dadlani, EVP, Chief Information and Digital Transformation Officer, Atlantic Health System
For health system leaders, the pressure to move fast on artificial intelligence has rarely felt more acute. New tools emerge weekly, vendor pipelines are full and board-level expectations are rising.
Shawn Vincent, President and CEO, Loyola Medicine and St. Joseph Health System
Safety, quality and financial performance are inseparable for hospitals — and boards of directors and C-suites need to act on all three, according to Shawn Vincent, president and CEO of Maywood, Ill.-based Loyola Medicine and St. Joseph Health System.
‘We cannot cut our way to success’: Hospitals prep for Medicaid crunch
The deadline is not here yet, but the bill is already coming due.
Ambient AI adoption isn’t going as planned — in a good way
Health system leaders continue to be surprised by ambient AI adoption trends, with clinicians using the scribes at higher-than-anticipated rates, especially as the tools improve.
Trinity Health CEO’s plan to drive 75% of revenue from community-based care
Livonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health is accelerating a sweeping transformation of its care model, one that shifts the center of gravity away from hospitals and toward outpatient, virtual and home-based services.
100 great community hospitals | 2026
Some of the most exceptional care in the country is delivered close to home, in the community hospitals that serve as trusted anchors for neighborhoods, towns and regions across America.
The CIO mindset for the next era of healthcare
For health system leaders, the pressure to move fast on artificial intelligence has rarely felt more acute. New tools emerge weekly, vendor pipelines are full and board-level expectations are rising.
Care is shifting to outpatient settings: How CHROs are scaling roles
As more care shifts outside hospital walls, health system leaders are rethinking how they plan, staff and structure their workforces to support a rapidly expanding ambulatory footprint.
Why Hartford HealthCare’s CEO is bucking the status quo
Jeffrey Flaks, president and CEO of Hartford (Conn.) HealthCare, has spent 22 years at the system watching the industry talk itself out of change. He has seen the headwinds used as excuses, the risks of going first cited as reasons to wait, and the status quo defended by people who knew it wasn’t working. He is not interested in any of that anymore.
Hospital C-suites retool for new payment era
The pressure on hospital finances has long been visible in the margins. But the executives navigating it today are increasingly clear eyed about the reality of healthcare economics today: the old model of filling beds and billing payers is no longer a viable long-term strategy. Across the country, hospital and health system leaders are racing to identify alternative payment options that can withstand rising costs, administrative friction and the relentless expansion of high-deductible plans.
At Banner Health, engagement is a clinical strategy
Physician burnout costs hospitals an estimated $500,000 every time it results in a departure, according to industry estimates. Multiply that across a 60,000-person workforce, and culture is not a soft initiative but a balance sheet issue.
The pharmacy strategy that helped avoid 512 drug stockouts
For Andrea Jarzyniecki, PharmD, director of pharmacy at Thomasville, Ga.-based Archbold Medical Center, a platform-based approach to medication management has led to measurable results: $1.9 million in avoided waste, 512 stockouts avoided and a 20% reduction in technician inventory labor.
The No. 1 financial lever systems are leaning on in 2026
Hospitals and health systems in 2026 are staring down a financial reckoning. With margin pressure mounting from every direction in the form of rising labor costs, reimbursement uncertainty and growing patient complexity, finance leaders are no longer questioning when to act, but which lever to pull first.
‘It’s no longer a theory. It’s here’: Tampa General’s revenue cycle chief on the age of AI agents
For Paul Chausse Jr., senior vice president of revenue cycle and chief revenue cycle officer at Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital, the shift to agentic AI is no longer on the horizon, it’s arrived and is reshaping how health systems operate.
Grace and Space: What New Physicians and Healthcare Leaders Need Most Right Now
Mid-summer is a transition point in healthcare. It’s when new residents arrive on the scene and newly graduated MHA students step into their first leadership roles. Across hospitals and health systems, a new wave of talent moves from classroom to real-world responsibility.
CFO Finance
The No. 1 financial lever systems are leaning on in 2026
Hospitals and health systems in 2026 are staring down a financial reckoning. With margin pressure mounting from every direction in the form of rising labor costs, reimbursement uncertainty and growing patient complexity, finance leaders are no longer questioning when to act, but which lever to pull first.
‘We cannot cut our way to success’: Hospitals prep for Medicaid crunch
The deadline is not here yet, but the bill is already coming due.
Hospital margins improve but lag behind 2025: 5 notes
Average nonprofit hospital margins improved slightly in March but remain sluggish compared to 2025, according to Kaufman Hall’s most recent “National Hospital Flash Report.”
CEO Strategy
Trinity Health CEO’s plan to drive 75% of revenue from community-based care
Livonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health is accelerating a sweeping transformation of its care model, one that shifts the center of gravity away from hospitals and toward outpatient, virtual and home-based services.
Why Hartford HealthCare’s CEO is bucking the status quo
Jeffrey Flaks, president and CEO of Hartford (Conn.) HealthCare, has spent 22 years at the system watching the industry talk itself out of change. He has seen the headwinds used as excuses, the risks of going first cited as reasons to wait, and the status quo defended by people who knew it wasn’t working. He is not interested in any of that anymore.
Healthcare funding ‘has lost its predictability’: Uncompahgre Medical Center CEO’s plan for the future
Norwood, Colo.-based Uncompahgre Medical Center sits in a service area roughly the size of Delaware on Colorado’s Western Slope — a region so sparsely populated that it qualifies as rural and frontier, with about seven people per square mile.
COO
Hospital C-suites retool for new payment era
The pressure on hospital finances has long been visible in the margins. But the executives navigating it today are increasingly clear eyed about the reality of healthcare economics today: the old model of filling beds and billing payers is no longer a viable long-term strategy. Across the country, hospital and health system leaders are racing to identify alternative payment options that can withstand rising costs, administrative friction and the relentless expansion of high-deductible plans.
New Children’s Minnesota COO lays out priority list
John Harding, EdD, began his role as executive vice president and COO of Minneapolis-based Children’s Minnesota on April 27 and told Becker’s the opportunity marks a progression in his career.
Idaho hospital creates COO-CNO role
St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Lewiston, Idaho, appointed Angela Green, BSN, to the newly created chief nursing officer and chief operating officer role, the hospital said in an April 21 Facebook post.
Clinical Leadership
At Banner Health, engagement is a clinical strategy
Physician burnout costs hospitals an estimated $500,000 every time it results in a departure, according to industry estimates. Multiply that across a 60,000-person workforce, and culture is not a soft initiative but a balance sheet issue.
Loyola Medicine CEO: Demand hospital boards prioritize safety, quality
Safety, quality and financial performance are inseparable for hospitals — and boards of directors and C-suites need to act on all three, according to Shawn Vincent, president and CEO of Maywood, Ill.-based Loyola Medicine and St. Joseph Health System.
The patient safety ‘iceberg’: What reporting dashboards miss
Health system leaders have built increasingly sophisticated infrastructure for tracking and improving patient safety outcomes. Yet, a visibility gap remains that data alone can’t close: the near misses, workarounds and bedside observations that never make it into the reporting pipeline at all.
CIO
The CIO mindset for the next era of healthcare
For health system leaders, the pressure to move fast on artificial intelligence has rarely felt more acute. New tools emerge weekly, vendor pipelines are full and board-level expectations are rising.
Women CIOs leading major health systems
Women are increasingly leading IT strategy for the nation’s biggest health systems.
Ambient AI adoption isn’t going as planned — in a good way
Health system leaders continue to be surprised by ambient AI adoption trends, with clinicians using the scribes at higher-than-anticipated rates, especially as the tools improve.
PHARMACY
The pharmacy strategy that helped avoid 512 drug stockouts
For Andrea Jarzyniecki, PharmD, director of pharmacy at Thomasville, Ga.-based Archbold Medical Center, a platform-based approach to medication management has led to measurable results: $1.9 million in avoided waste, 512 stockouts avoided and a 20% reduction in technician inventory labor.
Hospitals embrace sprawling primary care: What to know
A growing emphasis to meet patients where they’re at has led health systems and hospitals to take primary care out of its traditional setting.
CHRO
Care is shifting to outpatient settings: How CHROs are scaling roles
As more care shifts outside hospital walls, health system leaders are rethinking how they plan, staff and structure their workforces to support a rapidly expanding ambulatory footprint.
Why some systems still back remote work
Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic ended remote-only job listings, effective May 1. The system said the change is intended to strengthen collaboration and advance innovation, and new hybrid job postings will require employees to live within 100 miles of their assigned Mayo Clinic site.
RCM Leader
‘It’s no longer a theory. It’s here’: Tampa General’s revenue cycle chief on the age of AI agents
For Paul Chausse Jr., senior vice president of revenue cycle and chief revenue cycle officer at Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital, the shift to agentic AI is no longer on the horizon, it’s arrived and is reshaping how health systems operate.
A third player enters the AI arms race
A new class of contenders is entering the AI arms race between payers and health systems.
The ‘tech-enabled revenue cycle’ boosting Moffitt’s transition to Epic
Lynn Ansley, vice president of revenue cycle management at Moffitt Cancer Center, is helping oversee one of the most significant operational transformations in the Tampa-based cancer center’s history: a transition to Epic.