REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION

DECEMBER 5, 2022

The past year has seen retail executives make billion-dollar moves into the care delivery space. Chain drugstores and big-box companies, perhaps better known for their pharmacy and over-the-counter verticals, have taken steps toward expanding urgent care, post-acute care, primary care and telehealth services—presenting a potential disruption for traditional healthcare companies amid economic headwinds. Some health system leaders, seeking to respond to the challenge, have partnered with retail companies on so-called recession-resistant services. Others have purchased companies or created verticals of their own to defend their market share and provide care outside the hospital setting. Regardless of sector, many of the leaders appearing on Modern Healthcare’s 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare list this year are seeking to shore up their companies’ offerings in the face of an uncertain future.

Lori Herndon

President and CEO

AtlantiCare

Rank #96

With her background as a critical-care nurse, Herndon manages the business of healthcare in a personal, hands-on approach at the health system’s hospitals, where she says kindness matters at the organizational level. The organization, under her leadership, has stepped up efforts to target health disparities by opening a $38.3 million medical pavilion in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in November. She led grassroots outreach to vaccinate at-risk community members for COVID-19 and oversaw the acquisition this year of John Brooks Recovery Center, which was among the first providers to offer opioid treatment programs in Atlantic County. Earlier this year, Herndon was named board chair of the New Jersey Hospital Association.