Dive Brief:
- CommonSpirit Health CEO Kevin Lofton, 65, will be retiring at the end of June, the nonprofit health system said Wednesday in a press release.
- Lloyd Dean, who currently serves alongside Lofton as CEO, will become the sole chief executive of the organization July 1.
- CommonSpirit said the two-CEO structure was never intended to be permanent. The leadership structure was implemented after Dignity Health and Catholic Health Initiatives merged in February 2019 to form what is now the largest nonprofit system by revenue.
Dive Insight:
Lofton is closing out a four-decade healthcare career, having served at CHI for 22 years — 17 of those as chief executive. Before CHI, he was CEO of Howard University Hospital and of UAB Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama.
He will receive the title of CEO emeritus and will continue his other board commitments, which include Gilead Sciences, Rite Aid and the Georgia State University Foundation. Lofton received about $6.6 million in total compensation from CHI in fiscal year 2016, tax records show.
CommonSpirit has seen growing pains as it nears its first anniversary. For the first quarter of fiscal year 2020, the organization posted a $227 million operating loss — four times higher than in the prior-year period.
The $29 billion system spans 21 states with 142 hospitals and about 700 care locations.
Prior to the merger, Dean was with Dignity for nearly 20 years. In a statement, he praised Lofton's service. "It has been an honor to share the creation of CommonSpirit Health with Kevin and there is no question that all of us have appreciated the gifts that he brought forward," he said.
In fiscal year 2018, Dean received nearly $12 million in compensation plus $1.4 million in retirement and other deferred compensation from Dignity, according to an IRS form.
The dual-CEO model has been attempted at other organizations but later abandoned. Advocate Aurora planned for two chief executives following its April 2018 merger, but that arrangement fell through when Aurora's Nick Turkal declared he would "pursue other interests."
Elsewhere in the nonprofit world, Kaiser Permanente installed a new CEO last month. Greg Adams will lead the organization following the unexpected death of former CEO Bernard Tyson.