Bob Garrett: Always stay focused on the mission

Bob Garrett, CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health in New Jersey, oversees a comprehensive network with 17 hospitals and 36,000 team members. His 30-plus-year career includes significant challenges, such as a merger of equals with Hackensack and Meridian, the Affordable Care Act, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Today ranked as the top CEO transforming healthcare in America by CEO Forum Group, Bob shares how he found his way to healthcare administration. As a kid growing up in New York, Bob describes himself as a slow starter. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with his life, but an internship with a family friend changed his trajectory. The three months spent at Mercy Hospital opened his eyes to how hospitals operate and how they positively impact lives. Bob saw through a career in healthcare administration that he could make a difference. In the years since Bob has never lost sight of the mission: to transform healthcare and be a positive leader of change. He started running the emergency department at Hackensack Hospital in New Jersey. By 2009, Bob was CEO and faced monumental change when the Affordable Care Act passed. Through each pivot and challenge, he has always focused on increasing the quality of care for New Jersey residents. Listen firsthand as Bob details how Hackensack Meridian has grown, the response to the pandemic, and how he stays balanced through it all.