Steven Berger, FHFMA

About the Author

Steven Berger, FHFMA

Latest Work

HCA CFO, William Rutherford, says healthcare finance leaders should have a patient focus

To be able to consistently perform at the highest levels, health system CFOs must have a strong commitment to clear and specific guiding principles. So says William Rutherford, CPA, CFO and executive vice president of Nashville, Tennessee-based HCA Healthcare, the largest healthcare system (by gross and net revenues) in the United States. And for Rutherford,…

Array September 27, 2023

Voice of Experience: Richard Silveria says healthcare finance is rife with opportunities

What conclusion might a finance leader reach after four decades of experience in healthcare financial management? For Richard Silveria, CFO of Cape Cod Healthcare in Hyannis, Massachusetts, his 40 years of such experience have only strengthened his belief that opportunities to improve final outcomes are always at hand for hospitals and health systems. That belief…

Array August 29, 2023

Steven Berger: Reflections on ‘Voice of Experience’ words of wisdom, year 1

In this first anniversary of the “Voice of Experience” column, it is an appropriate time to revisit the suggestions and insights shared by the eight hospital/health systems healthcare executives who have been long-standing members of HFMA and were featured in hfm magazine. Significantly, among the five guiding principles each leader shared, three stand out, having…

Array May 24, 2023

Laurie Beyer: Routine rounding helps yield financial improvements

If you want to reach Laurie R. Beyer, MBA, CPA, executive vice president and CFO at GBMC HealthCare in Maryland, avoid any time between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. Tuesday through Friday. No matter what time of year it is, she will be unavailable to take your call during those times because she will be…

Array April 21, 2023

Dan Heckathorne: Healthcare CFOs need a guiding philosophy and a mantra

What are the qualities that make a successful healthcare CFO? Is it leadership skills? Financial acumen? General management skills? Teaching and/or mentoring skills? A commitment to continued learning to maintain or acquire new skills? Answers vary. But for Dan Heckathorne, CFO of San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital (SGMH) in Banning, California, success in the CFO role…

Array February 28, 2023

A clinical background can give a hospital CFO greater financial acumen

Stephen “Jan” Grigsby, FHFMA, MHA, vice president and CFO at Springhill Medical Center (SMC) in Mobile Alabama, is one of those rare senior finance executives who came to his position from a clinical background. And as his experience shows, such finance leaders are likely to have valuable lessons and perspectives to share with their peers…

Array January 26, 2023

Healthcare CFOs can benefit from also being strong financial analysts  

Starting out in healthcare as a financial analyst is a somewhat unusual place to embark on the career path to becoming CFO of large academic medical center (AMC). But that’s the path that Wendy Fielding, MBA, a 30-year member of HFMA, took on her journey to becoming CFO and system vice president of finance at…

Array December 5, 2022

Wendy Fielding: Healthcare CFOs can benefit from having a financial analyst’s perspective

Wendy Fielding, MBA, a 30-year member of HFMA, and CFO and system vice president of finance at Dartmouth-Hitchcock in Lebanon, New Hampshire, values the lessons she learned from her early experience as a financial analyst in healthcare. And she applies those lessons learned as she helps her organization today realize its commitment to value-based care and improving access to care for its patients.

Array November 1, 2022

Terri Chinn: For hospital CFOs, success comes from understanding payer expectations

Terri Chinn, CPA, a 37-year member of HFMA, and vice president, finance, at St. Mary’s Medical Center in Grand Junction, Colorado, suggests success for her organization comes from its ability promote health in its service area. She has applied her lessons learned as a leader of both payer and provider organizations to financially manage a clinically integrated network, called Monument Health, with the purpose of improving quality and access while reducing cost for its beneficiaries.

Array August 26, 2022

Physicians and finance: Managing the differences is critical to building clinical value

To work together effectively, finance and clinical leaders must not only understand but also value and acknowledge the benefits to be gained from their different perspectives on what constitutes success.

Array July 22, 2022