Health System CEOs Detail 2027 Growth and Restraint Plans

In a Becker's Hospital Review feature, three health system CEOs describe where they plan to accelerate or slow investment heading into 2027. BayCare Health System CEO Stephanie Conners said the system will expand academic medicine, physician partnerships and tertiary/quaternary services while deliberately avoiding growth for its own sake. HealthPartners CEO Andrea Walsh pointed to a proposed 22-hospital combination with Essentia Health as the clearest expression of its access and affordability focus, pending regulatory approval, while prioritizing depth over adding new programs. University of Kansas Health System CEO Bob Page said collaboration and public-private partnerships will drive innovation while the system examines how to deliver care closer to patients.