Healthcare Leaders Offer Insights for 2026

Executives from top systems share strategies for navigating emerging tech, regulations, staffing, and costs

Published on Feb. 22, 2026

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Healthcare leaders are reassessing their operational approaches, with a renewed emphasis on empowering frontline staff and streamlining priorities for 2026. Executives from Cedars-Sinai, Optim Health, LCMC Health, Advanced Diagnostics, and Emory Healthcare discuss the importance of direct engagement with caregivers and patients, prioritizing key initiatives in a resource-constrained environment, and designing reliable systems over relying on individual 'heroics'.

Why it matters

Healthcare systems are facing a complex landscape of challenges, including emerging technologies, evolving regulations, persistent workforce shortages, and rising costs. The insights from these strategic leaders provide a roadmap for other organizations to navigate these obstacles and position themselves for success in 2026.

The details

Healthcare leaders are emphasizing the need to 'get out of your office and walk the halls' to better understand the motivations of caregivers and the experiences of patients. This direct engagement can help identify pain points and opportunities for improvement. Additionally, leaders are focusing on controlling what they can control, prioritizing a smaller number of key initiatives around patient care, team experience, and long-term growth. There is also a recognition that operations should be built around reliable systems, not individual efforts, with a focus on embedding best practices through clear standards, empowered accountability, and dependable data.

  • The Becker's Healthcare Behavioral Health Summit is scheduled for April 15-16, 2026, in Chicago.
  • Becker's 16th Annual Meeting will take place April 13-16, 2026, at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.

The players

Bryan Croft

Executive Vice President and COO at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Brian Evans

CEO of Optim Health System.

Matthew Timmons

COO of LCMC Health in New Orleans.

Dawn Thompson

Chief Strategy Officer at Advanced Diagnostics Healthcare System.

Doug McGill

Vice President of Quality Strategy and Operations at Emory Healthcare.

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What they’re saying

“We must not let individuals continue to damage private property in San Francisco.”

— Robert Jenkins, San Francisco resident (San Francisco Chronicle)

“Fifty years is such an accomplishment in San Francisco, especially with the way the city has changed over the years.”

— Gordon Edgar, grocery employee (Instagram)

What’s next

The judge in the case will decide on Tuesday whether or not to allow Walker Reed Quinn out on bail.

The takeaway

This case highlights growing concerns in the community about repeat offenders released on bail, raising questions about bail reform, public safety on SF streets, and if any special laws to govern autonomous vehicles in residential and commercial areas.