Ice Bucket Challenge attracts doctors, healthcare executives

(Aug. 27: This story has been updated with new donation totals.)

If you've been checking out social media lately, you've probably seen a video of a friend, a stranger or Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg dumping a bucket of ice water on themselves to raise cash to fight amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

In fact, this Outliers scribe walked past hundreds of JPMorgan Chase employees taking the challenge on the streets of Manhattan. But Outliers was wondering who in the healthcare community has joined the phenomenon. It seems dozens of hospital executives, physicians and even Medtronic CEO Omar Ishrak have taken the Ice Bucket Challenge. Who else has? Cleveland Clinic CEO Dr. Toby Cosgrove did it after being challenged by Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini.

Dr. Susan Desmond-Hellmann, CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, did it. So did a group of vice presidents at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, several physicians at Children's Hospital in New Orleans, and Broward Health CEO Frank Nask in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. We hear the camera wasn't working so well in Lincoln, Neb., and Dr. Cliff Robertson, CEO of Catholic Health Initiative's Nebraska/Southwest Iowa Network, had to take the challenge twice.

The challenge is pretty simple. Have yourself videotaped being doused with ice water and then challenge one or more other people to do the same in 24 hours or donate $100 to the ALS Association. Those who take the challenge can donate less than the designated amount.

By Aug. 27, the association had received $94.3 million in donations since the craze started July 29, attracting nearly 2.1 million new donors.