Hospital CEO turnover increased in 2009, tracking at 18 percent nationwide, up from 14 percent in 2008, according to the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Thomas C. Dolan, president and CEO of the ACHE, said the increase marks the highest turnover rate since 1999 and only the fourth time the turnover rate has reached this level since tracking began in 1981.
“While there are many factors in play, I believe the primary driver for this increase in CEO turnover is the retirement of healthcare leaders in the baby boomer generation,” said Dolan. “These findings underscore the need for healthcare organizations to have good succession planning in place to ensure organizational success when changes in senior leadership occur.”
ACHE’s CEO turnover reports are based on changes in an organization’s chief executive officer as reported to the American Hospital Association.
The states with the highest adjusted CEO turnover rates are the District of Columbia, at 63 percent; Delaware, at 40 percent; Alaska, at 33 percent; and Arkansas and Wyoming, each at 32 percent.
Among the most populous states, California had the highest CEO turnover rate, at 22 percent. Ohio had a turnover rate of 20 percent, while Illinois and Texas had turnover rates of 17 percent. By contrast, New York had a CEO turnover rate of only 12 percent.
The state with the lowest hospital CEO turnover rate was Utah, at 2 percent.