Advancing Health

Thank you for listening to Advancing Health! As we close out 2025, we’re excited to share highlights from two impactful episodes that sparked dialogue around improving health care in America. Advancing Health will return in 2026 with fresh insights and thought-provoking discussions. Until then, we wish you a joyful holiday season and a healthy, happy New Year!

In this special Leadership Dialogue conversation, Tina Freese Decker, president and CEO of Corewell Health and outgoing AHA board chair, sits down with Marc Boom, M.D., president and CEO of Houston Methodist and incoming 2026 AHA board chair. Together, they reflect on the year’s greatest challenges and achievements — from advances in digital innovation and workforce engagement, to the evolving role of hospitals in their communities. Dr. Boom shares his leadership philosophies, priorities for the year ahead, and his vision for tackling affordability, accelerating innovation, and strengthening collaboration across the health care field. This podcast has been edited for time. To view the full video conversation, please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUsHkHRPcQY

As pharmacy closures accelerate nationwide, M Health Fairview is proving what’s possible when a health system steps up. In this conversation, John Pastor, president of Fairview Pharmacy Services and chief operating officer of Fairview Pharmacy Solutions, shares how the system's expansive pharmacy network, centralized services hub and integrated technology are reshaping medication access Minnesota and beyond.

The future of physician leadership hinges on a skill money can’t buy — social capital. In this conversation, Thomas Lee, M.D., chief medical officer of Press Ganey and editor-in-chief of NEJM Catalyst, explores why social capital is becoming the most critical asset in leadership development, how it can drive organizational performance, and why physicians must act intentionally to enable high-reliability teams.To learn more about the recent framework for physician leaders, please visit https://catalyst.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/CAT.25.0005

Few leaders understand rural maternal care as deeply as a CEO who delivered her own baby in the hospital she leads. In this conversation, Eilidh Pederson, CEO at Western Wisconsin Health, shares lessons from her unique birth experience, and outlines how rural hospitals can continue to provide needed access to safe, high-quality maternity health services in rural America.