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Cleveland Clinic

Four care priorities, From 2018

Cleveland Clinic is a model of what healthcare could become
Tom Mihaljevic, Cleveland Clinic’s CEO and President, in the State of the Clinic address, January 2026

Four care priorities

Since 2018 every State of the Clinic address has been organised around the same four priorities. In 2019 the CEO, Tom Mihaljevic, added a five-year strategy to double the number of patients served. By 2025 Cleveland Clinic was a nonprofit academic medical centre of 23 hospitals and 300 outpatient facilities in Ohio, Florida, Nevada, Toronto, Abu Dhabi, and London, with 83,000 caregivers.

Care for patients

1
  1. Safety and qualityFocus in 2026 on documentation, medication safety, preventing harm, and building trust, so quality is consistent across the health system.
  2. AccessImprove access by opening longer hours and using outpatient areas on nights and weekends.
  3. Care at homeBuild on new models of care such as Hospital Care at Home in Florida, which has proven safe and affordable.

Newsweek ranked Cleveland Clinic the No. 2 hospital in the world for the seventh year running in 2025, and it was on the U.S. News Best Hospitals Honor Roll for the 35th year.

Cleveland Clinic had nearly 16 million patient encounters in 2025, with 343,000 hospital admissions and observations and 336,000 surgeries and procedures.

Every team holds a 15-minute huddle each day

In 2018 Cleveland Clinic brought in tiered daily huddles, short stand-up meetings for solving problems in real time. By early 2019 nearly 25,000 caregivers took part every day.

  1. 11 a.m.

    The CEO and top leadership

    At exactly 11 a.m. they meet to go through quality, patient safety, patient and caregiver experience, and operating performance across the enterprise.

  2. Escalated

    Higher tiers

    Problems are resolved on the spot or escalated to a higher tier.

  3. 15 minutes, standing

    Every part of the organisation

    A 15-minute stand-up meeting every day in every part of the organisation, with nearly 25,000 caregivers taking part.

“Our goal for serious safety events is zero.”

Tom Mihaljevic, February 2019, on serious safety events

Revenue doubled from 2018 to 2025

Over the same years the number of caregivers grew by 17,000. The operating margin fell to a loss in 2022 and has recovered since.

The five-year strategy, February 2019

Double the number of patients served over the next 5 years.

In January 2024 it said services to patients had grown 55% since 2017. Later addresses count patient encounters, each visit, instead.

Operating revenue, $bnOperating margin, %Caregivers020182019202020212022202320242025

Operating revenue

$18bn

Operating margin

more than4.0%

patient encounters

~16m

Caregivers

83,000

Caregivers are counted at the time of each year’s State of the Clinic address. 2021’s margin is worked out from its $746 million of operating income. In January 2023 Cleveland Clinic expected an operating loss of more than $200 million for 2022.,,,,,,

Cleveland Clinic is opening new sites from Cleveland to London

“Serving more patients in more places is what sustains Cleveland Clinic,” the CEO said in January 2026, and set out what would open next, from Cleveland to London.

  1. First quarter of 2026

    Innovation District

    Cleveland: construction complete

  2. Second quarter of 2026

    Fairview cancer center

    Cleveland: cancer center and medical office building open

  3. January 2027

    Neurological Building

    Main Campus, Cleveland: first patient

  4. August 2027

    Global Peak Performance Center

    Downtown Cleveland: opens, with the Cleveland Cavaliers

  5. End of 2027

    London cancer centre

    London: patient care begins

Also set out: fundraising for a new hospital in West Palm Beach, Florida, a larger facility for Cleveland Clinic Canada, and work towards a Level One Trauma Center for adults and children on the main campus.

  1. Keep the same priorities long enough to be known.

    Cleveland Clinic has organised every annual address since 2018 around the same four priorities, and each year’s news is reported under them. We recommend changing what sits under a plan’s headings from year to year, not the headings, so people can follow the thread.

  2. Say plainly when a year falls short.

    In January 2025 the CEO said revenue beat projections but the 1.7% operating margin fell short of expectations, and named the causes, from uncompensated care to malpractice insurance. We recommend reporting the miss beside the win, with its causes, so the next year’s target is believed.

  3. Keep the measure you set the goal in.

    The 2019 strategy set out to double the number of patients served in five years. Later addresses reported services to patients, up 55% from 2017 to 2023, and then patient encounters, so the addresses don’t say whether the goal was met. We recommend reporting a goal in the measure it was set in until it ends, even when a new measure is added.

Sources

  1. 1. Cleveland Clinic (2026). State of the Clinic: Cleveland Clinic meets healthcare challenges with innovative solutions. Cleveland Clinic newsroom, 26 January 2026. newsroom.clevelandclinic.org
  2. 2. Cleveland Clinic (2025). State of the Clinic: in 2024, Cleveland Clinic serves most patients in its history. Cleveland Clinic newsroom, 27 January 2025. newsroom.clevelandclinic.org
  3. 3. Cleveland Clinic (2024). Cleveland Clinic CEO, President Tom Mihaljevic, M.D., delivers annual State of the Clinic message. Cleveland Clinic newsroom, 24 January 2024. newsroom.clevelandclinic.org
  4. 4. Cleveland Clinic (2023). Cleveland Clinic CEO, President Tom Mihaljevic, M.D., envisions optimistic future in annual State of the Clinic address. Cleveland Clinic newsroom, 18 January 2023. newsroom.clevelandclinic.org
  5. 5. Cleveland Clinic (2022). State of the Clinic: in 2021, Cleveland Clinic served the most patients in its history. Cleveland Clinic newsroom, 26 January 2022. newsroom.clevelandclinic.org
  6. 6. Cleveland Clinic (2020). State of the Clinic: Cleveland Clinic CEO, President Tom Mihaljevic, M.D., reports improved patient safety. Cleveland Clinic newsroom, 26 February 2020. newsroom.clevelandclinic.org
  7. 7. Cleveland Clinic (2019). Cleveland Clinic CEO and President Tom Mihaljevic, M.D., outlines 2018 successes, 5-year strategy in annual State of the Clinic address. Cleveland Clinic newsroom, 27 February 2019. newsroom.clevelandclinic.org
  8. 8. Cleveland Clinic (2026). Carson Valley Health becomes Cleveland Clinic Connected member. Cleveland Clinic newsroom, 23 September 2026. newsroom.clevelandclinic.org
  9. 9. Cleveland Clinic (2026). Cleveland Clinic partners with Luminai to transform health system operations. Cleveland Clinic newsroom, 9 September 2026. newsroom.clevelandclinic.org

Headwater is not connected with Cleveland Clinic. Cleveland Clinic is a trade mark of The Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Updated 29 September 2026.

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