'We've got to get outside of ourselves'

One of the biggest players in Nashville health care is in a period of transition in both leadership and operation. Nonprofit health system Saint Thomas Health this summer overhauled its C-suite almost entirely, and those new leaders also are transforming how their providers deliver care.

Leading that charge is the system CEO Karen Springer. Previously Saint Thomas' COO, Springer is moving the nine-hospital network toward becoming a "clinically integrated delivery system," which involves pushing care out of the hospital, into the community and through partnerships with other Nashville providers. Amid massive overhauls to the health care sector as a whole, Saint Thomas has emerged as a leader not only in caring for the underserved, but also in being honest about health care's shortcomings and the innovations needed to overcome them.