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The Governance Institute Announces Blue Ribbon Committee on Health System Governance

Nationally recognized board leaders and trustees, health system leaders, governance advisors, clinicians, academics, capital markets experts, and innovation leaders will convene this summer to help shape the next standard in the continuing development of healthcare governance.

LINCOLN, Neb.,--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 28, 2026-- The Governance Institute (TGI), a service of NRC Health, today announced the formation of a Blue Ribbon Committee on Health System Governance. The Committee will convene this summer to help inform the next phase of healthcare governance practice and work to revitalize TGI’s approach to board assessment in response to the scale, complexity, and system interdependence facing modern not-for-profit health systems.

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“The report outlined the current situation. The Blue Ribbon Committee is about advancing the response,” said David Burik, Executive Vice President, Strategic Insights, NRC Health. “We are bringing together extraordinary leaders to help define what effective governance should look like when boards are simultaneously overseeing enterprise risk, digital transformation, workforce strain, community obligation, and financial pressure across increasingly complex health systems.”

“The report outlined the current situation. The Blue Ribbon Committee is about advancing the response,” said David Burik, Executive Vice President, Strategic Insights, NRC Health. “We are bringing together extraordinary leaders to help define what effective governance should look like when boards are simultaneously overseeing enterprise risk, digital transformation, workforce strain, community obligation, and financial pressure across increasingly complex health systems.”

The formation of the Committee follows the release of TGI's April 2026 report, Falling Behind: Health System Operations Are Advancing Faster Than Governance, which found that healthcare has outgrown many of the governance models, information flows, and board development practices still in use across the industry.

“The report outlined the current situation. The Blue Ribbon Committee is about advancing the response,” said David Burik, Executive Vice President, Strategic Insights, NRC Health. “We are bringing together extraordinary leaders to help define what effective governance should look like when boards are simultaneously overseeing enterprise risk, digital transformation, workforce strain, community obligation, and financial pressure across increasingly complex health systems.”

The Committee’s work will focus on strengthening the practical foundations of governance by supporting more effective board design, more integrated decision-making, clearer expectations for performance at enterprise scale, and stronger mechanisms for signal flow across complex health systems. Its aim is not to introduce another abstract model, but to advance a disciplined, experience-informed approach to how boards are evaluated, developed, and supported.

“In these oversight roles, supporting management and helping to advance hospitals and health systems, boards must simultaneously consider all aspects of the enterprise—beginning with the mission, patient care, safety and quality, and both clinical and non-clinical workforces, all while making various choices among strategic and operational alternatives,” said Jim Hunt, Chair of the Blue Ribbon Committee. “The Committee’s work is an opportunity to help boards move from very well-intended oversight to governance that is designed for enterprise performance.”

Blue Ribbon Committee members

  • James “Jim” S. Hunt, CPA, Committee Chair—Chair, Board of Directors, Nemours Children’s Health; former CFO, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Worldwide; active tax-exempt and public company board member; Board Leadership Fellow, National Association of Corporate Directors; Director in Residence, The Governance Institute.
  • George J. Brown, MD, FACP—Former president and CEO, Legacy Health; former practicing internal medicine physician and experienced health-system board leader.
  • Kevin Holloran—Senior Director and Sector Leader, Not-for-Profit Healthcare Group, Public Finance Department, Fitch Ratings.
  • Diane Howard, PhD, MPH—Chairperson, Department of Health System Management, Rush University.
  • Gary Kaplan, MD, FACP, FACMPE, FACPE—Immediate past CEO, Virginia Mason Franciscan Health; former chairman and CEO, Virginia Mason Health System; practicing internal medicine physician.
  • Kaley Childs Karaffa, Esq.—AVP, Head of Board Advisory, Americas, Nasdaq; governance advisor, attorney, and board member.
  • Christy Harris Lemak, PhD, FACHE—Executive Vice President, Research and Learning, The Scottsdale Institute; retired professor, University of Alabama at Birmingham Health Services Administration.
  • Dick Levy—Retired CEO, Varian Medical Systems; former board chair, Sutter Health.
  • Tom O’Neil, JD—Managing Director, BRG; cross-sector board, C-suite, governance, compliance, and ethics advisor.
  • Molly O’Neill—C-suite healthcare growth and strategy executive; former Vice Chancellor, Integrated Planning, Duke Health; corporate director and advisor.
  • Nancy Schlichting—Former Henry Ford Health System CEO; Modern Healthcare Hall of Fame; director of Baxter International Inc. and Duke University; chair, Duke University Health System Board of Directors.
  • Rulon Stacey, PhD, FACHE—Chair, Board of Directors, Gillette Children’s; former CEO, University of Colorado Hospital and Fairview Health Services; past chair, American College of Healthcare Executives.

Connection to the Governance Trilogy™
The Committee’s work will help TGI continue translating the Governance Trilogy into practical tools, assessments, and development pathways. The Trilogy describes three levels of governance maturity: Intentional Governance™, Integrated Governance™, and Enterprise Governance™.

Together, these levels help boards move from clear roles and responsibilities to better cross-domain decision-making, to coordinated system performance across complex enterprises.

Full report: https://go.nrchealth.com/tgi-250

About The Governance Institute
 The Governance Institute, a service of NRC Health, provides trusted, independent information, resources, tools, and solutions to board members, healthcare executives, and clinician leaders in support of their efforts to lead and govern their organizations. TGI supports not-for-profit hospital and health system boards through research, publications, conferences, assessments, education, and advisory services.

About NRC Health
For 45 years, NRC Health (NASDAQ: NRC) has led the charge to humanize healthcare and support organizations in their understanding of each unique individual. NRC Health’s commitment to Human Understanding helps leading healthcare systems get to know the patients, families, consumers, employees, and communities they serve on a human level. Guided by its uniquely empathic heritage, human-centered approach, unmatched national market research, and emphasis on consumer preferences, NRC Health is transforming the healthcare experience, creating strong outcomes across the healthcare journey.

The organization recently received the 2026 Best in KLAS Award for Healthcare Experience Management, independently validating NRC Health’s relentless pursuit of excellence in healthcare through innovation and deep partnerships that bring together its comprehensive experience management platform, advanced technology, and proven techniques to drive the most human healthcare experiences.

For more information, email info@nrchealth.com or visit www.nrchealth.com.

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Source: The Governance Institute