100 Most Influential People in Healthcare – 2018

During his two years as CEO, Kern has focused attention on such things as reducing hospital-acquired infections, increasing and improving utilization of palliative-care services, and increasing access to primary-care services. Sentara's strong financial performance has continued under Kern. And in 2017, the system increased its community benefit by $24 million. Kern was chief operating officer for 18 years before being named CEO in 2016.