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An enterprise master patient index can help a health organizations better understand their populations, but they may want some help in setting one up.

How EMPIs, MSPs, and the Cloud Can Help Make Health Data More Actionable

By 2050, it's estimated that 139 million people worldwide will have dementia, but by today's standards, 60% will be undiagnosed. It's clear that there's a significant gap in dementia detection and care, but what can your organization do about it?

Get perspectives from clinical leaders and neuroscience experts about the underlying causes and consequences of these gaps, practical opportunities to address them, and a proven roadmap that shows how leading health systems have successfully transformed their dementia screening and care processes.

Closing the Dementia Care Gap: Expert Insights and Proven Strategies for Health Systems

Thousands of employees at hospitals and health systems have lost jobs in recent months.

Several health systems have announced layoffs since the beginning of June. Some point to mounting financial pressures, or the impact of grant terminations from the National Institutes of Health, the prime source of federal research funds.

Others cite uncertainty in federal funding, and health systems have warned that 

 will force hospitals to reduce staff and programs.

Hospitals and health systems have had only modest operating margins in 2025, according to 

 by Strata Decision Technology. Median hospital operating margins were only 1% in August.

Hospitals should expect more volatility in coming months

Providence, Adventist Health, Banner Health, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, among others, have all announced staff reductions since June.

 that it was reducing the equivalent of 600 full-time positions across the health system, which employs more than 125,000 people in seven states.

Erik Wexler, president and CEO of Providence, told Chief Healthcare Executive® in 

 that the system has reduced its management team and says most staff reductions haven’t been in the clinical space.

But he says the system is also evaluating all of its programs as it looks to be more efficient with looming Medicaid cuts and other cost pressures. Providence will also scale back some services in areas where necessary, and that will likely mean other reductions in the future.

When asked if Providence could reduce more staff in the future, he said, “Unfortunately, I think we will, as we continue to de-cannibalize programs.”

Vanderbilt University Medical Center said in June that 

it plans to lay off more than 600 workers

, citing federal funding cuts by the Trump administration. The academic health system plans to cut operating cuts by $300 million.

The medical center said the cuts are being made “in response to the impact of budgetary actions in Washington, DC related to government-sponsored research and patient care,” 

UC San Diego announced the layoff of more than 200 staff in June, 

. The health system cited “mounting financial pressures caused by federal impacts to health care, regulatory uncertainty and rising costs of providing care combined with reimbursement rates from Medicare, Medicaid and insurers that fail to keep pace with the true cost of care.”

 that the system was laying off 125 employees, just under 1.5% of the workforce. The system said most layoffs were in administrative positions. MetroHealth cited mounting cost pressures, and noted that the system lost $50 million in 2024 and expects greater losses in 2025.

Christine Alexander-Rager, MD, MetroHealth president and CEO, acknowledged that it’s a difficult time.

“We made these decisions in response to significant financial challenges facing our system,” she told staff in July. “Despite your hard work and steady growth in our volumes, MetroHealth’s expenses continue to outpace revenues. And that gap is growing.”

 it planned a restructuring affecting 439 workers, or nearly 6% of its workforce. The hospital terminated 253 employees, and offered 186 the chance to move into different roles.

The pediatric health system noted declining reimbursements from Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program, among mounting cost pressures. The system had already taken other steps before layoffs, including a hiring freeze and efforts to manage the costs of supplies.

Paul S. Viviano, CEO of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, said in August that it was “a very difficult decision, and it is a deeply painful moment for our entire team.”

“It became increasingly clear that reductions to both team member and management roles were necessary to ensure CHLA can continue to survive in this uncertain climate to provide our young patients and their families with the quality care that they need and deserve,” Viviano said in a statement announcing the staff cuts.

Adventist Health, based in California, said in August that it would be laying off nearly 300 employees.

Banner Health in Colorado is planning to lay off 351 employees at Banner McKee Medical Center, 

 by the state’s labor department in early September.

Banner is transitioning the Banner McKee Medical Center in Loveland to a specialty hospital. The transition of the medical center is slated to be done by Nov. 5.

Seattle Children’s announced in September that it was laying off over 150 workers, and that more than 350 open positions won’t be filled. The hospital said that most of the layoffs are in administrative roles, 

 that the system is laying off 300 people across the organization, representing about 3% of the Maine-based system’s workforce. The system said most of the layoffs are in non-clinical roles, but some clinical staff were affected.

Jay Reynolds, MD, senior vice president of Northern Light Health, said last month that the changes are part of a broader effort to strengthen the system. Northern Light also closed Inland Hospital in May.

“Hospitals and healthcare providers across Maine are facing a perfect storm, and these challenges are especially acute in rural areas, where small hospitals and clinics struggle to remain viable and meet the needs of our aging, remote populations,” Reynolds said.

UC Health in Cincinnati said in September that 50 staffers were losing jobs and a mobile stroke unit was being discontinued to reduce costs, 

Kaiser Permanente said in early October that the system was laying off 216 workers, 

Jefferson Health said it is laying off over 600 workers, or about 1% of its workforce. The staff reductions were announced Oct. 16.

Facing mounting costs and uncertainty in federal funding, several health systems across the country have cut the size of their workforce recently.


Topic

Hospitals have laid off thousands since June

Gain strategies for streamlining credentialing and onboarding of locums and employed providers.

Credentialing and Onboarding for Locum Tenens

Andrea L. Leland, MBA, CPRP, explains how Dartmouth Health navigates new NCQA credentialing requirements and administrative challenges that extend onboarding timelines for both locum tenens and W-2 physicians. By creating checklists, educating partners, and leveraging temporary and locum tenens licensing, the organization accelerates credentialing while maintaining compliance and quality standards.

Understand new requirements for credentialing and onboarding physicians. Gain strategies to streamline the credentialing process.

Understand New Requirements and Strategies for Credentialing and Onboarding Physicians   

Learn about Dartmouth Health’s productivity and compensation models for locum physicians to optimize performance and integrate them effectively with the employed workforce.

Advisory Services Team for Locum Tenens

In this episode, Matt Brown and Andrea L. Leland, MBA, CPRP, share how Dartmouth Health is partnering with advisory services to redesign physician compensation and productivity models, particularly for locum providers. By analyzing relative value unit (RVU) generation and case mix, the health system aims to ensure locums contribute equitably alongside W-2 physicians. This approach provides actionable insights into workforce optimization, aligning financial strategy with high-quality care delivery and flexible staffing solutions.

Learn about Dartmouth Health’s productivity, reimbursement, and compensation models for the physician workforce, across both permanent and locum physicians, to optimize performance and understand integration efforts that impact physician productivity.

Advisory Services by CHG Healthcare for the Physician Workforce

Discover how Dartmouth Health leverages telehealth, APPs, and locums to balance access, quality, and provider well-being.

Strategic Workforce Implementation for Locums

Andrea L. Leland MBA, CPRP, highlights how Dartmouth Health integrates workforce planning into its enterprise-wide strategy. She details how the system leverages telehealth, trainees, per diem providers, and locum tenens to expand access, reduce burnout, and maintain continuity of care. The conversation underscores how workforce flexibility, when executed strategically, can strengthen recruitment, improve patient outcomes, and support long-term organizational sustainability.

Discover how Dartmouth Health leverages permanent, telehealth, advance practice practitioners, and locum tenens to balance access, quality, and provider well-being.

Physician-Led Strategic Workforce Implementation

At the HLTH conference in Las Vegas last fall, plenty of sessions and programs focused on the use of artificial intelligence in the healthcare industry.

 of last year’s event, which drew thousands of healthcare leaders to Sin City.

But this year, AI appears poised to truly take center stage. The HLTH conference returns to Las Vegas Oct. 19, but the planning is already underway.

Rich Scarfo, president of HLTH, tells Chief Healthcare Executive® that last year’s event represented the “first focused effort” on AI, but it will play a much larger role this year.

This year, Scarfo says, “We're coming back with a full AI zone on the floor. It'll be about four times the size of last year's. We will have a broad mix of companies in it.”

This year’s conference will feature an “AI Transformation Zone,” with three immersive theaters.

Scarfo says pharmaceutical companies are keenly interested in AI for drug development. Healthcare organizations are also interested in AI tools to make business functions more efficient, and they’re increasingly looking at AI technology that can support clinical decisions.

There are more AI startup companies attending HLTH, Scarfo says.

“We started to see new companies come in that we hadn't seen at the event before,” he says. “So a lot of new-to-market companies, but also a lot of companies that were just stepping in that hadn't been at HLTH before. What we're seeing this year is AI across different sectors at the event.”

In talking about the greater attention on AI, Scarfo recalls one remark that stuck with him.

“There's one comment that I heard: ‘If you're not using AI, you've already lost,’” he says. “So I think a lot of companies are looking at that, and it's just become something that people are either knowingly or unknowingly using in their everyday lives. So of course, it's going to be in every aspect of health care.”

AI will be seen in all sectors, from pharma to diagnostic to age tech.

“It's sort of the thing that's permeating all of our different categories,” Scarfo says.

At HLTH last year, conversations around AI began to evolve. Healthcare organizations that are looking at AI tools aren’t just getting them for the sake of having them, but they’re looking for solutions that will address problems they’re facing.

“You'll start to see, I think the conversations around AI mature a bit as well,” Scarfo says. “What's going well, what's not going well? Where are areas that we're not using AI, that we should be? What are the impacts on patients? How is it making business more efficient?”

“So I think all of those things are going to go beyond what you saw in the past … Is AI a good thing or a bad thing? Now it's really integral to a lot of the conversations that we're having.”

Scarfo says he sees hospitals and health systems expressing more interest in AI technology. Some health systems are seeing the value in finding partners as opposed to trying to build tools on their own.

“These are very complex problems. I just think AI is offering a different way to address them and solve them,” Scarfo says.

This year’s event will also feature heavy focus on pharma and life sciences innovation, with several major pharmaceutical companies presenting on the floor.

The conference will also feature a bigger area highlighting diagnostics and precision health.

And this year, the event will also introduce the HLTH Startup PItch Tournament for the first time. Startup companies will face interviews and try to connect with investors.

Scarfo says the goal is to “engage startups differently at the event.”“We found a couple of things that are important to them,” he says. “One is getting in front of people. So the pitch competitions are a great way to do that. So we're really focusing very heavily on how we can get to more startups and get them involved in different ways, not just exhibiting.”

There will be several pitch competitions at the event, and one of them will be focused on AI.

The HLTH conference featured some mega-stars, including 

 and John Legend. Scarfo says it’s too early to disclose celebrity guests this fall, but acknowledged that it won’t be easy to match the star power of the 2024 event.

“It is a hard act to follow, but I think we're on our way to doing that,” Scarfo says.

The health technology conference in October will be spotlighting artificial intelligence. Rich Scarfo, president of HLTH, says the focus reflects the growing importance of AI in the industry.

Shahzad Ahmad

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