10 Things Hospital CEOs Won't Tell You

1. “I’m a CEO first and a health-care professional second.”

With 46 million uninsured Americans and major health care reform possibly ahead, the roughly 5,000 CEOs at U.S. community hospitals aren’t in an enviable position. In the 1980s, almost all hospital heads held advanced degrees in health administration, but the American College of Healthcare Executives says more than one in four of its member CEOs now has an MBA, which president Tom Dolan thinks has “advantages and disadvantages.” One plus: Business savvy sure helps in the $1 trillion U.S. hospital industry.

But along with that have come less welcome changes, like Wall Street–style salaries and perks. Gary Mecklenburg, former CEO of Chicago’s Northwestern Memorial Hospital, was paid $16.4 million from September 2005 to October 2006, including a nearly $11 million retirement bonus. A Northwestern spokesperson says the hospital complies with IRS standards of “fair and reasonable” compensation. Cathy Glasson, a nurses union leader in Iowa, says only recently have hospitals internally begun calling patients “consumers” or “clients.” “Even that small shift hints at today’s business model,” she says. “Focus less on care and more on profits.”