As healthcare systems grow more corporate, a troubling trend has emerged: decisions about patient care are increasingly made by people with no healthcare experience.
At the top of this shift are hospital CEOs, whose role is to oversee operations, finances, and long-term strategy. Many of these executives, like James Hereford, Trevor Sawallish, Andrea Walsh, and Matthew Heywood, come from careers in finance, law, or business—not from the bedside. Yet every day, their decisions directly impact patients, nurses, and the quality of care inside hospitals.
The rise of “lean” staffing—at what cost?
Many CEOs push a “lean” staffing model which focuses on cutting what they view as “waste” in the name of efficiency. In healthcare, that often means cutting staff, stretching nurses thin, and sacrificing the time and attention patients receive.
The result? A system where profit margins are prioritized over people.
Who Holds CEOs Accountable? Boards Without Healthcare Voices
CEOs report to boards of directors, which are supposed to provide oversight and guidance. But too often, these boards are stacked with individuals from business and finance—not healthcare.
- Only 15% of board members at the nation’s top hospitals have a healthcare background. (Gondi S, et al)
- More than half come from finance or business services. (Gondi S, et al)
- Nurses make up less than 1% of board members—even though hospitals can’t run without them.(Gondi S, et al)
This disconnect means the people with the least direct experience in patient care often hold the most power in shaping hospital priorities.
Learn more: The Changing Composition of Allina Health’s Board
Nurses are the heart of hospitals. It’s time to listen.
Nurses are on the frontlines. They are the ones keeping patients safe, identifying problems early, and making sure care happens at all. When nurses call for safe staffing levels, they’re not just advocating for themselves—they’re advocating for you.
And the evidence is on their side.
- Safe staffing leads to better patient outcomes. (Lasater et al., IL, Lasater et al., NY)
- Safe Staffing saves hospitals money. (Lasater et al., IL, Lasater et al., NY)
- Each extra patient assigned to a nurse raises the risk of death by 16%. (Lasater et al., IL)
- Unsafe staffing leads to longer hospital stays—up to 9% more for surgical patients. (Lasater et al., NY)
- Patients in better-staffed hospitals are less likely to return within 30 days, a sign of safer, more effective care. (Lasater et al., NY)
If hospital board members truly care about the communities they serve, they need to start listening to the people who actually know how hospitals run—and what patients need. That means listening to nurses.
Because when boards prioritize profits over patients, lives are lost.
Because healthcare shouldn’t be run like a hedge fund. It should be run with humanity.
Take Action: Put Patients Before Profits
Hospital executives and their corporate boards are making choices every day that impact your care. You can speak up. Email your hospital CEO and tell them to:
- Stop understaffing nurses
- Prioritize patient safety
- Use healthcare dollars for care—not bonuses
Meet the Decision-Makers
Essentia Health
Essentia Health
CEO: David Herman, MD
- Total Compensation: $3,357,481
- Ophthalmologist by training
- Previously CEO of N.C.-based health system Vidant Health
- Worked and held close ties to the Mayo Clinic, where he served on the health system’s management team and the board of directors
- Helps set healthcare and corporate priorities through his board roles at the Minnesota Hospital Association, where he serves as chair, and the Minnesota Business Partnership
CNO: Rhonda Kazik, RN
- Total Compensation: $629,127
Notable Board Members
- Michael Watters, Chief Legal Counsel at Essentia Health
- As the top legal executive, Watters and his team have been involved in Essentia’s efforts to expand through mergers and acquisitions. Healthcare mergers and acquisitions are increasingly controversial and have spurred regulatory action and legislation as elected officials and community groups have called into question whether these deals serve the public interest. Academic research consistently concludes that consolidation leads to increased prices with little to no improvement in quality.
- Traci Morris, Chief Financial Officer at Essentia Health
- Stefanie Gefroh, MD, West Market President at Essentia Health
- Wrote an opinion piece in The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, justifying Essentia Health’s decision to cut labor and delivery services in Fosston.
- Patrick Courneya, MD, HealthPartners Insurance Executive
- Tim Pawlenty, Former Governor of Minnesota
- After his term, Pawlenty served as CEO of the Financial Services Roundtable, which lobbies the federal government on behalf of the country’s largest and most powerful banks and financial institutions.
- There are numerous critiques of his administration’s regressive approach to healthcare (example 1, example 2)
M Health Fairview
M Health Fairview
CEO: James Hereford 
- Total Compensation: $5,246,751
Background
- Hereford studied mathematics through graduate school. During his PhD (not completed), Hereford went on to consult at Boeing
- Previously chief operations officer at Stanford Health Care. Previous roles included chief operations officer at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation and a series of leadership roles with the Group Health Care Delivery System.
- Built his reputation by bringing lean management, a theory of management that involves identifying and ‘removing waste and inefficiency,’ to healthcare. This experience was held up positively at the time of his hiring: “He’s a health system executive who once taught statistical process control at Boeing and who now is eager to show his Fairview colleagues a big automotive air bag factory in northern Utah so good at quality management that it’s approaching perfection.” – Lee Schafer
- Helps set healthcare and corporate priorities through his board roles on the Minnesota Hospital Association, Minnesota Business Partnership, and Medical Alley, where he serves as board chair
- Has a second million-dollar home in Palm Springs, CA
- Has never worked at the bedside
Notable Board Members
- Julie S. Causey, Chairman Emeritus, Western Bank
- Julie led the successful sale of the $500 million Western Bank and served on the board of directors of the acquirer, American National, valued at $3 billion.
- According to Fairview, “Julie has a longstanding connection to the healthcare industry. She is an advisor and accredited investor, focused on healthcare and medical technology.”
- Michael Connly, Former Optum and UnitedHealthGroup Executive
- David Levy, Amazon Executive
- Levy lives in Virginia and is not tied to the success of Minnesota’s communities.
- Tami Reller, Executive Chair, Duly Health and Care
- Duly Health and Care is a for-profit company, partially owned by private equity group Ares Management. According to research from the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, private equity-backed companies engage in union busting at a higher rate than peers.
- Former Optum and UnitedHealthGroup Executive
- Chair of the Best of America PAC, which supported Governor Doug Burgum for President. Burgum, current United States Secretary of the Interior, signed near total ban on abortion in North Dakota as governor.
- Jodi Richard, Vice Chairman and Chief Risk Officer, U.S. Bank
- Barclay Berdan, CEO, Texas Health Resources
- Berdan lives in Texas and is not tied to the success of Minnesota’s communities.
- Texas Health has come under criticism in the past: “Texas Health later settled a lawsuit with Nina Pham ’10, a nurse who contracted Ebola while caring for Duncan. Some national media outlets criticized the hospital’s handling of the episode, citing an independent report that found little communication among emergency room staff and a diminished focus on patient safety.”
- In 2015, the Department of Justice reached settlements involving hospitals in 43 states related to cardiac devices that were implanted in Medicare patients in violation of Medicare coverage requirements. Seven Texas Health hospitals settled, collectively paying the federal government $2.9 million.
Allina Health
Allina Health
CEO: Lisa Shannon
- Total Compensation: $3,079,897
- Shannon has minimal direct healthcare experience. She started her career as a clinical dietitian before moving into leadership roles at Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, Michigan, OhioHealth in Columbus, and KentuckyOne in Louisville, Kentucky.
- Credits Dr. Penny Wheeler (former Allina CEO) with bringing her to the organization, and who she considers an “exceptional leader, mentor and friend.” Wheeler was the face of the 2016 MNA strike.
- In 2016, Shannon oversaw the University of Louisville Hospital at a time when state inspectors identified deficiencies in nursing services. Healthcare workers, including doctors, criticized hospital executives for instituting layoffs and cuts, which forced the hospital to rely on travel nurses unfamiliar with procedures.
- Shannon is a Board member at elite institutions shaping policy and healthcare: Minnesota Business Partnership, Medical Alley, and the American Hospital Association
CNO: Dr. D’Andre (Dre) Carpenter
- Total Compensation: $264,244 (Carpenter only started in November 2023). His partial year compensation at his last job (through August 2023) was $1,408,207.
Notable Board Members
- Shari Ballard, CEO of Minnesota United Football Club and Former Best Buy Executive
- Jim Kolar, Former PricewaterhouseCoopers Executive
- PwC is one of the “Big Four” accounting firms and the world’s second-largest professional services network.
- Owns an airport hangar in Minnesota and a million-dollar home in Florida, in addition to two houses in Minnesota (Dakota County, Crow Wing County)
- Also serves on the board of Fortune 500 financial services firm, Securian Financial
- David Kuplic, Former Securian Asset Management Executive
- Securian Financial is a Fortune 500 financial services company.
- Previously worked at other elite financial institutions: U.S. Bank, Piper Sandler, and Ameriprise
- Brian McGrane, Former Ameriprise Executive
- Ameriprise is a Fortune 500 financial services firm, overseeing more than $1.4 trillion in assets.
- McGrane highlights his leadership role in negotiating and helping complete mergers & acquisitions on his LinkedIn. Healthcare mergers and acquisitions are big business, however, such deals are increasingly controversial and have spurred regulatory action and legislation as elected officials and community groups have called into question whether these deals serve the public interest. Academic research consistently concludes that consolidation leads to increased prices with little to no improvement in quality.
- Amy Ronneberg, CEO, National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP)
- Despite working for a non-profit, Ronneberg appears to identify as a corporate executive. Here is how she represents herself on LinkedIn: “𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗖-𝗦𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 with significant experience business transformation, financings (including IPOs, follow-on financing and private placements), audit and financial reporting, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, compensation including strategic and operating metric development, executive talent development, culture building and succession planning, new business development, international operations, enterprise-wide risk management, investment portfolio management, governance and regulatory compliance.”
- Former Executive at Capella, a for-profit education company
- Capella has been criticized for encouraging students to take on thousands in student debt and putting up barriers to graduate.
- On the executive board of the health tech trade association, Medical Alley
- Ronneberg earns the salary of a corporate executive. Her total 2023 compensation was $1,512,938
- Debbra L. Schoneman, President of Piper Sandler
- In 2021, Schoneman earned $4.5 million
- On her LinkedIn, Schoneman highlights her experience at Piper Sandler with mergers & acquisitions (see above) as well as succession planning at Allina Health, “leading the succession of two CEOs”
- Thomas S. Schreier, Former Finance Executive with Piper Sandler and U.S. Bank
- On the board of Piper Sandler
- Tim Welsh, Former U.S. Bank Executive
- U.S. Bank is the nation’s fifth largest bank. In his role, Welsh led a business with more than $10 billion in revenue and 20,000 colleagues.
- Welsh earned $5,542,767 from U.S. Bank (2023)
- Now President of CCC Intelligent Solutions Inc., a Chicago-based cloud software services provider to the insurance industry. This company appears to rely on AI for its cloud software.
Children's Minnesota
Children's Minnesota
CEO: Marc Gorelick, MD (Retired July 2025)
- Total Compensation: $2,089,091
- Gorelick is a pediatric emergency medicine physician by training
- Previously, he was the executive vice president and COO of Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.
- Helps set healthcare and corporate priorities through his board roles on the Minnesota Hospital Association and the Minnesota Business Partnership
CNO: Caroline Njau, MBA, BSN, RN, NEA-BC
- Total Compensation: $592,783
Notable Board Members
- Matt Carter, Senior Vice President of Finance at Best Buy
- J. Kevin Croston, MD, Former CEO of North Memorial Health
- Face of North Memorial (including during the 2022 strike) until his recent retirement
- Jeff von Gillern, Former U.S. Bank Executive
- Matt Van Slooten, Chief Executive Officer, United Properties
- United Properties is a Minneapolis-based commercial real estate owner, investor, and developer.
- United Properties has been accused of hiring “exploitative subcontractors” that have engaged in “routine abuse, wage theft and safety violations” on senior housing projects
HealthPartners
HealthPartners
CEO: Andrea Walsh
- Total Compensation: $3,630,317
- Started her career as a lawyer in private practice
- Joined HealthPartners in 1994 as senior vice president and corporate counsel
- Has never worked at the bedside
- Helps set healthcare and corporate priorities through her position on the Minnesota Business Partnership.
- Walsh is also a board member at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, which is charged with supervising other banks, formulating monetary policy, and providing financial services to other banks.
Melissa Fritz, Methodist Hospital Vice President, Patient Care Services & Chief Nursing Officer
- Total Compensation: $418,233
Notable Board Members
- Katie Kelley, Former Banking Executive
- Worked at BMO Harris Bank, the 8th largest bank in North America by assets
- Previously at U.S. Bank
- Robert Ehren, Executive Vice President for Securian Financial
- Securian is a Fortune 500 financial services company.
- Mary Grove, Managing Partner at Bread and Butter Ventures
- Bread and Butter Ventures is a Minnesota-based venture capital firm focused in part on health tech
- Former Google Executive
North Memorial Health
North Memorial Health
CEO: Trevor Sawallish
- Total Compensation: $826,625 (then COO)
Background
- Prior to joining North Memorial, Sawallish was the regional vice president of clinical operations at SSM Health in Madison. He also served in executive roles at Children’s Minnesota and Dean Clinic in Madison, Wisconsin.
- Has never worked at the bedside
- Helps set healthcare and corporate priorities through his board positions on the Minnesota Hospital Association and Minnesota Business Partnership.
CNO: Wendy Ulferts, RN
- Total Compensation: $403,391 (most recent data is from 2022, not 2023)
Notable Board Members
- Laurie Lafontaine, Former Finance Executive at Allina Health
- Warren Mack, Corporate Lawyer at Fredrikson & Byron P.A.
- Eric Skalland, Chief Financial Officer and EVP of Capital Markets at United Properties, a Minneapolis-based commercial real estate owner, investor, and developer.
St. Luke's/Aspirus
St. Luke's/Aspirus
St. Luke’s Leadership
Nicholas Van Deelen, MD, Aspirus Senior Vice President – President, Minnesota Region, MD, Aspirus Senior Vice President – President, Minnesota Region
- Total Compensation: $1,069,283
Background
- Joined St. Luke’s as an emergency medicine physician in the 1990s.
- In 2020, he was promoted to Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Medical Affairs. In 2021, he was promoted to Co-President/CEO along with Eric Lohn.
- After St. Luke’s reduced staffing and wages during the pandemic, Van Deelen boasted that the hospital finished 2020 with a positive bottom line.
- When named permanent Co-President/CEO, Brian Murphy, Past Chair of St. Luke’s Board of Directors noted that Van Deelen stepped into the CMO role when the pandemic hit and has “become the face of St. Luke’s, representing the organization and how it is handling this public health crisis.” Nurses know that under Van Deelen’s leadership, conditions only worsened.
- “According to Hubbartt, 650 nurses were at St. Luke’s in 2019, and the most recent roster has 510 nurses. She said about half of the nurses in the emergency department have left, and a third of the intensive care unit’s nurses left in 2021. “That’s centuries of nursing experience we have lost,” Hubbartt said.”
- Well connected to Duluth’s for profit business and banking industries through his role on the Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce.
St. Luke’s CNO: Theresa Hannu
- Total Compensation: Aspirus St. Luke’s did not disclose Hannu’s salary on their reporting documents, but salaries for similar positions at St. Luke’s can be found here.
Noteable Aspirus Board Members
- David M. Heck, Chief Operating Officer, Heck Capital Advisors
- Heck Capital Advisors is an Investment Advisory Firm that oversees over $10 billion in assets
- Richard V. Poirier, Former Insurance Company Executive
- During his tenure as chief executive and president of Church Mutual Insurance Company, which calls itself “the country’s leading insurer of religious organizations,” the company faced criticism and legal challenges for engaging in unfair insurance claims practices.
- A Federal Judge called out Church Mutual’s “repeated mishandling of claims and failure to resolve claims,” stating that “Church Mutual has established a pattern of systematic failure to resolve insurance claims through the Streamlined Settlement.” Healthcare decisions should not be left to those who would stoop so low as to rip off churches.