Steve Walsh of Lynnfield has been named the next president and chief executive officer of the American Hospital Association on Tuesday, following nine years as president of the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association.
The American Hospital Association (AHA) is a nonprofit that was founded in 1898, advocating for better health care organizations within communities, including nearly 5,000 hospitals, health systems, and networks, more than 270,000 physicians, 2 million nurses and other caregivers, and the 43,000 health care leaders in AHA professional membership groups.
Walsh will join the AHA in the fall, leading the nation’s largest hospital healthcare system membership organization and bringing more than two decades of experience in health care and government policy to the table.
Marc L. Boom, M.D., the chair of the AHA Board of Trustees and president and chief executive officer of Houston Methodist Hospital, shared that the choice to select Walsh was unanimous across the Board.
“Steve is a proven healthcare leader, innovator and accomplished advocate for healthcare improvement, who understands both the challenges facing hospitals and the opportunities ahead,” Boom said. “Throughout his career, he has demonstrated an ability to bring people together, build consensus, and advance meaningful solutions on behalf of patients, caregivers, and communities.”
Before leading the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association (MHA), Walsh had served six consecutive terms in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He was the chair of the House Committee on Health Care Financing, where he focused on reforming healthcare laws to empower patients within their primary care services. He also helped write and oversee the passage of Chapter 224 in 2011, which incentivized alternative payment methods for patients.
As president and CEO of MHA, Walsh has helped bridge gaps between providers, payers, policymakers, and more. Since 2017, he has worked to provide a more accessible and coordinated health care system for patients in more than 70 hospitals.
“Leading MHA has been the honor of my lifetime, and it has everything to do with the character of our people: from our board and staff to policymakers to caregivers,” Walsh said. “I am enormously proud of what we have accomplished together over the course of this decade and how that united work is changing the lives of patients. I am grateful for the MHA board’s belief in me, knowing the best is still yet to come for this association and the communities it serves.”
To support Walsh’s appointment, President and CEO of Mass General Brigham and Chair of the MHA Board of Trustees Anne Klibanski, M.D., shared her excitement for national health care systems to be able to benefit from Walsh’s leadership.
“We are a strong healthcare state because of the relentless energy, deep understanding of our hospitals and health systems’ value, and expert consensus-building that Steve brings to this job every single day,” Klibanski said. “That sense of purpose will make him a phenomenal choice to lead our hospitals at the national level.”
Boom thanked and praised the former CEO and president of the AHA, Rick Pollack, for laying down solid groundwork for Walsh to grow from.
“The Board’s decision reflects our confidence that Steve is uniquely prepared to build upon the strong foundation established by Rick Pollack while helping the Association strengthen its role as a trusted voice, convener, and advocate for health care providers across America,” Boom said. “On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I want to thank Rick for his extraordinary leadership and decades of service to the Association and our nation’s hospitals. We are deeply grateful for his contributions and excited for the future under Steve’s leadership.”
Walsh added to the thanks, sharing it was an honor to be soon responsible for carrying on the legacy Pollack created for the AHA, also highlighting what he hopes to bring to the table.
“The next era of American healthcare is bright for the patients and caregivers we serve, all of whom will benefit from our members’ unified focus around access, quality, and innovation,” Walsh said. “To write the next chapter will require creative leadership, hard-earned trust, and the willingness to bring unlikely partners to the same table. I am a true believer that hospitals and health systems must be the ones to define that future for the nation, given their unique connection with patients and communities. Building bridges, building trust, and building momentum will drive AHA’s successes in the years ahead.”
To further ground the selection of Walsh for president and CEO, Boom added that Walsh is the ideal person to lead a national health care organization at this given time.
“As healthcare continues to evolve, we need a leader who can both champion our field and help shape the future,” Boom said. “Steve brings the experience, vision and collaborative leadership necessary to guide the association through this important next chapter.”
