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The future of healthcare keeps Dr. Christopher Newman focused on a question that reaches past today’ s patients: who will provide care tomorrow?
Health systems across the US are juggling workforce shortages, rising costs, growing demand for behavioral health services, and an aging population. For Dr. Newman, President and CEO of Mary Washington Healthcare in Fredericksburg, Virginia, the challenge isn’ t simply filling vacancies. It’ s building a pipeline of physicians, nurses, specialists, and caregivers who’ ll serve communities for decades to come. He likes planning that far out best.“ The exciting part about being a CEO is being able to create a vision. Dreams alone are worthless without grit. Sometimes turning dreams into reality is difficult, and you need the ability to execute and surround yourself with great people who share the vision.”
Now, he applies that belief to a health system serving more than 500,000 people. The system keeps investing in specialty care, technology, and facilities, but one priority remains constant.“ We have a massive workforce shortage across virtually every licensed health care profession. Workforce is my biggest challenge.” Instead of relying on short-term recruitment, he’ s building a strategy that runs from classroom to clinic and ties education, training, culture, and patient care into one long-term plan. The approach reflects a career built around two pursuits that have defined his life: caring for people and creating something new.
Two callings
Long before becoming a health care executive, Dr. Newman nearly chose a different path. As a trumpet player, he immersed himself in jazz, classical, and blues, performing extensively while working
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