Advancing Health Podcast: Leadership Dialogue – Passing the Baton
American Hospital Association
Host: Tina Freese Decker (AHA 2025 Board Chair, President & CEO, Corewell Health)
Guest: Dr. Marc Boom (AHA 2026 Board Chair, President & CEO, Houston Methodist)
Release Date: December 15, 2025

Episode Overview

In this special "Leadership Dialogue" episode, outgoing American Hospital Association (AHA) Board Chair Tina Freese Decker passes the baton to her successor, Dr. Marc Boom, President & CEO of Houston Methodist. The discussion centers on challenges and innovations in healthcare, leadership philosophies, system-wide priorities, and the evolving landscape of health in the United States. Together, they reflect on the year’s learnings, highlight notable progress, and look ahead to the challenges and opportunities the AHA and the field at large will confront in 2026.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Reflections on 2025: Achievements & Innovations at Houston Methodist

[02:06–05:20]

• Year in Review: Dr. Boom describes 2025 as both “exciting” and “bumpy," noting a “dichotomy at times” but expressing pride in Houston Methodist’s outcomes and resilience.
• Core Philosophy:
  • “Six simple words: unparalleled safety, quality, service and innovation.”
  • Focus on fundamentals leads to recognition, but emphasis is on meaning behind awards.
• Workplace Excellence:
  • All seven Houston Methodist hospitals ranked highly by Vizient, with placements at #3 out of 118 academic centers and several in top spots within their groups.
  • Forbes ranked Houston Methodist as the #3 large employer in the US, with a 97% employee engagement rate.
• Innovation Highlights:
  • Opened their seventh hospital (“built as a hospital of the future”)—a proving ground for rethinking operations and patient care.
  • Expanded use of technology: cameras in every room, virtual nursing, ICU, pharmacy, psych, stroke care, monitoring, and hospitalists, enabling instant rapid response support.
  • Focus on connecting staff more closely to patients, eliminating unnecessary tasks for clinicians through automation and digital tools.
  • Example: Virtual rapid response and code teams—the push of a button summons instant support, reducing response times and improving outcomes.
• Quote:
  • “We are at a really pivotal point. The philosophy we have is all the innovation we've put in...obsessively focus on what our patients and communities need. But number two and really close is how do you connect the people who work in healthcare more tightly to the patients? How do you get rid of the things that nobody really needs to do that you don't need a human being to do? And let's get human beings doing the things that human beings need to be doing.” (C – 04:11)

2. The State of the Field: What’s Working, What’s Not

[05:44–09:19]

• Healthcare as a “Sacred Calling”:
  • Dr. Boom emphasizes pride in the profession: “It’s a noble field. It’s a sacred calling. We are so privileged to be in healthcare. I wouldn’t want to work anywhere else.” (C – 05:44)
  • Health systems as major community pillars (3 of 5 largest employers in Houston).
• The Power of “And”:
  • Leadership philosophy stresses integration, not trade-offs: “How do we get it all? Patients don't want us to say, ah, we'll make it safe, but you know what? We won't be that innovative or...your service will be lousy, but we'll make it safe. You know what? If they want all of it, they deserve all of it.” (C – 07:37)
  • Encourages inclusion, collaboration, and compromise by thinking “and,” not “or”—drawing in diverse perspectives to make the best decisions.
  • Data point: The word “and” is the 4th most used in English, “or” is 31st—emphasizing its importance.
• Proactive Problem Solving:
  • Boom’s maxim: “Don’t let the lines cross”—a call to address issues early, whether financial or systemic, to be part of broader societal solutions.

3. Leadership Philosophy & Priorities Looking Ahead

[09:25–12:52]

• Guiding Sayings:

  • Tina: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
  • Dr. Boom: Emphasizes “do the hard things.”

• Priorities for 2026:

  • Broad-based representation: Solutions must benefit all hospital types and “stabilize the system” nationally.
  • Succession at AHA: Recognizes the legacy of Rick Pollack (retiring after 43 years, 10 as president) as a model for “molding consensus,” not just seeking it.
  • “We are running through the tape”—transition will be active and even accelerated, not a period of stasis.
  • Baton-pass analogy: Emphasizes importance of smooth leadership transitions using Olympic relay teams as a metaphor.

• Quote on Leadership:

  • “A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus, but a molder of consensus.” (C, quoting Martin Luther King Jr. – 10:44)
  • “We’re going to make that process, obviously, very inclusive. We're going to listen, we're going to engage, we're going to work with people across our profession...and hire somebody of Rick's caliber, which is no easy task, obviously, but I'm sure we can do it.” (C – 11:16)

4. Key Issues & Excitement for the Future

[12:52–16:16]

• Tackling Affordability:
  • Need for collective action—hospitals to work with pharma, supply chain, payers, government, patients.
  • Although hospitals are “locus of cost,” increases above inflation are modest; hospitals are often unfairly blamed but must still do their part.
  • Digital transformation offers opportunity to bend the cost curve.
• Digital Innovation & Therapeutic Paradigm Shifts:
  • Current digital advances (after electronic health records) can dramatically improve outcomes, provider-patient connections, and reduce costs.
  • Excitement about advances in immunotherapy, cellular therapy (CAR-T), and other curative treatments, provided costs remain accessible.
  • “I think digital innovation can bend the cost curve...we are on the cusp where digital innovation could actually have that same kind of impact [as germ theory, vaccines, etc.] The knowledge base, it gives the knowledge on my shoulder, the connecting people…” (C – 14:38)
  • “It's paradigm shift. And not only that, you can improve health span and not just lifespan.” (C – 16:01)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Innovation Philosophy:

  • “If you focus on the fundamentals, the awards will follow. It’s not about the awards, but about what they mean.” (C – 02:18)

• On Leadership Philosophy:

  • “It is key that we continue as health systems to thrive. I have a philosophy ... unparalleled safety, quality, service and innovation. But ... the 'and' is a really, really critical word.” (C – 06:49)
  • “Don't let the lines cross.” (C – 08:46)

• On Working Together:

  • “Our job is to figure the art and science of management and leadership and clinical care ... Patients don't want us to say, ah, we'll make it safe, but ... we won't be that innovative ... They deserve all of it.” (C – 07:37)

• On the Future of Healthcare:

  • “We need to be focusing together and bringing in mindset about affordability... We need to work with pharma, we need to work with supply chain, we need to work with the payers, we need to work obviously with government, we need to work with patients and patient advocates to say, how do we think about this differently?” (C – 13:49)

Key Timestamps

• 01:44 – Tina asks Mark about 2025’s challenges and innovations.
• 02:06–05:20 – Mark details Houston Methodist’s focus on culture, innovation, and digital transformation.
• 05:44–09:19 – Mark reflects on the broader health field, leadership philosophies, and the power of “and.”
• 09:57–12:52 – Priorities for the AHA in 2026, Rick Pollack’s legacy, and leadership transition.
• 12:58–16:16 – Key challenges ahead (affordability, digital/therapeutic innovation), excitement for coming years.

Episode Tone & Language

Both Tina and Dr. Boom speak with warmth, mutual respect, and a candid optimism. The tone remains constructive and forward-looking, blending real-world challenge with aspirational leadership and practical insight.

Conclusion

This episode provides a robust look at the philosophy and vision driving the next phase of AHA leadership. Dr. Boom and Tina underscore the importance of collaboration, proactive problem-solving, and continued innovation to move the field forward in the face of daunting societal trends and rapid technological shifts. Their dialogue offers inspiration and tangible takeaways for healthcare leaders and stakeholders nationwide.