Brendan Carr will succeed Kenneth Davis, who has been in the role for two decades.
Mount Sinai Health System has announced its succession plan at CEO by announcing Brendan Carr as the next leader of the New York City-based system.
Carr will take over from Kenneth Davis early next year, while the latter will transition to executive vice chairman of Mount Sinai's Boards of Trustees after serving as its CEO and predecessor since 2003. The move allows the system to chart its path forward under new leadership as it strives for financial stability.
Carr is currently a professor of emergency medicine for Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and chair of emergency medicine at the system. He joined Mount Sinai in February 2020 as its head of emergency medicine, following previous stints on the faculty at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and as an associate dean of the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University. He also served the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services across multiple roles.
"Dr. Carr is a visionary leader and physician who will chart an exciting course for the Health System," Richard A. Friedman and James S. Tisch, co-chairmen of the Mount Sinai's Boards of Trustees, said in a statement. "We are certain that he will propel Mount Sinai to further success in our mission to provide compassionate patient care through unrivaled education, research, and outreach in the many diverse communities we serve."
Davis was expected to continue his CEO tenure through the end of 2024 after the system announced an update in September 2021, but the appointment of Carr ahead of schedule signals a change of direction for Mount Sinai.
Friedman and Tisch said: "We want to once again thank Dr. Davis for his remarkable and transformative tenure leading Mount Sinai for more than 20 years, and are delighted that we will continue to benefit from his wisdom in his new role."
Mount Sinai's decision to make the change may have been influenced by its financial challenge. In September, the system announced plans to close its Beth Israel facility in July 2024 due to mounting losses of $1 billion within the past decade. With patient volume dwindling, Mount Sinani said the Beth Israel campus is set to lose $150 million a year.
Fitch Ratings, meanwhile, downgraded the system this month from an 'A' to an 'A-', citing a weak 1.1% EBITDA margin through the first six months of the year and diminishing liquidity metrics.
"The weaker performance is being driven by ongoing challenges including elevated labor and supply cost, inadequate reimbursement to cover inflationary pressures, and increasing transfers to non-obligated entities," Fitch wrote.
Fitch also expects Mount Sinai's operating losses to grow before the end of the fiscal year.
Jay Asser is the contributing editor for strategy at HealthLeaders.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Mount Sinani Health System named Brendan Carr as its next CEO, effective early 2024, while current CEO Kenneth Davis will be appointed executive vice chairman of the Boards of Trustees.
Davis served as the system's CEO and predecessor since 2003 and was expected to remain in his role until the end of 2024 after Mount Sinai's announced an update to their leadership structure in 2021.
Carr will now helm Mount Sinai in its next chapter, on the heels of the system announcing plans to shut down its Beth Israel facility in the summer of 2024 due to financial woes.