The old guard stands down. Generation of CEOs that fostered systems is retiring

It's a changing of the guard. In the past 18 months, some of the nation's best-known and longest-serving healthcare chief executives have relinquished the day-to-day management of their organizations. And more CEOs have announced their intention to leave this year or next. This is a generation that came of age with the Medicare program and has witnessed the rise of large systems and for-profit healthcare.