John N. Kastanis - Healthcare Executive
Strategy. Governance. Performance.
John N. Kastanis provides leadership to health systems
A highly experienced and accomplished executive who has held senior leadership positions in a wide range of healthcare settings including academic medical centers, multi-hospital systems, and inner city and community teaching hospitals. Tenure as a healthcare consultant to hospital boards, investment banking and management firms.
-- Change Agent who thrives in challenging environments and skillfully balances organizations’ mission of research, teaching and quality care. Communicates importance of quality care as a function of cost to clinical staff. Steers safety-net hospitals to national prominence.
-- Financial & Operational Turnaround Specialist successful in revitalizing six organizations—including bringing two back from the brink of bankruptcy—and delivering upwards of 2% to 4% annual profit margin. Applies Lean Six Sigma methodologies to drive efficiencies and improve overall patient experience.
Most Recent Blogs
John Kastanis didn’t think riding horses would lead him down the path he has traveled.
There was no way to know his decision to follow his passion for the equestrian life would set the stage for a four-decade career in the healthcare industry, one in which he would be a drug and alcohol counselor, a high-level administrator, on the front lines of the COVID pandemic and now looking at the emerging use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare.
“It began with me foolishly partnering with a friend to own a horse,” said Kastanis. “I subsequently moved upstate and joined my friend to operate an addictions services program, while also serving as a drug and alcohol counselor. I began to see the possibilities and the needs of those who sought counseling.”
John Kastanis didn’t think riding horses would lead him down the path he has traveled.
I was so grateful to be a part of the Queens College Political Science Department’s Honors and Awards Ceremony - Commencement on May 12, 2022, and also humbled to receive their Distinguished Alumnus Award. I say humbled because I graduated several decades ago, and although I have visited and lectured there a few times, I thought a large group of generation Z (also referred to as ‘Zoomers’) would not be able to relate to my message.
By John N. Kastanis
It’s a wonder how health care got minimal coverage during last year’s presidential campaign. During the 2019 Democrat candidates’ debates, we got to hear Senator Elizabeth Warren’s new “Medicare for All” plan, followed by Bernie Sanders’ call for a single payor system. But after closer examination, many asked how can we expand Medicare when we can’t even afford it now due to the exorbitant costs needed to cover all residents and the estimated huge tax increases to pay for it all. During which time, Sanders’ state of Vermont abandoned in 2014 its multi-year effort to implement America’s first statewide single-payer health system. When the debates were over in early 2020, most editorials deemed these plans unworkable, while COVID-19 completely detracted our attention on how we would overcome this dreadful virus and the resulting pandemic.
By John N. Kastanis
After watching a 60 Minutes segment, aired on December 13, 2020, regarding Sutter Health’s domination of the healthcare market in northern California, I was prompted to reassess the justifications of hospital mergers and acquisitions that continue to transpire across the country.
Honored to be featured in this month's ACHE Healthcare Consultants Forum Newsletter discussing lessons learned from COVID-19 and focusing on population health now and for the future.
As we continue to navigate the unknowns of the current pandemic, it appears we may be quite a way off from living in a true post-COVID-19 era. That said, improved health outcomes can still be realized through effective population health strategies, provided adequate financial resources are available.
By John N. Kastanis, FACHE, MBA
As we continue to navigate the unknowns of the current pandemic, it appears we are still a long way off from living in a true post-COVID-19 era. Only when we are equipped with the knowledge and resources needed to deal with new types of SARS viruses, including effective new treatments and vaccines, will we truly move forward. But until that time, improved health outcomes can still be realized through effective population health strategies, providing adequate financial resources are available.
John N. Kastanis - In The News
John Kastanis, the Principal Consultant at JNK Consulting, joins the Ask A CEO Podcast to share his experience of coaching and governing hospitals on financial discipline, strategic planning and fund generation strategies, and tips for CEOs. Originally published on GCO. Click image below to listen to the full podcast.
By John N. Kastanis
As we continue to navigate the unknowns of the current pandemic, it appears we're still a long way off from living in a true post-COVID-19 era.
John Kastanis shares the importance of expanding cancer-related services in Newark/Essex County; Steve Adubato goes on-location to the Kessler Foundation’s Life After Stroke event to talk with Howard Rossman and David Knowlton about the strokes that have affected their lives. Candice Bland talks about the significant of her students’ trip to the University of Granada in Spain.
Hospital consolidations have become a weekly event across the United States, and the pace and scope of these consolidations are getting faster and bigger.
Temple University Hospital earned the status of a “Blue Distinction Center for Transplants” by Blue Cross Blue Shield, in recognition of the Fox Chase-Temple University Hospital Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) Program’s expertise in performing adult bone marrow transplants. The Fox Chase-Temple BMT Program is a formal affiliation with Fox Chase Cancer Center and is located on the campus of Jeanes Hospital – both of which are part of the Temple University Health System. All hospital services in the Fox Chase-Temple BMT Program are provided by Temple University Hospital.
Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Karen Murphy visited Temple University Hospital (TUH) on June 23 to present certificates of recognition to Temple and other area hospitals for the care, dedication and compassion they provided to victims of the May 12 Amtrak derailment.
Pennsylvania’s Health Secretary, today, gave recognition awards to the Philadelphia hospitals that treated 200 injured passengers on the night the Amtrak derailment last month.
Local hospitals drill regularly for mass casualty events but, as Temple University Hospital president John Kastanis says, they can’t really know how well they’ll do until they hear those dreaded words: “This is NOT a drill.”
By John N. Kastanis
Challenges continue to intensify for hospitals across the country in the form of rising costs, lower reimbursements, and declining inpatient volumes. Temple University Hospital is not immune to these trends, and we continue to be challenged to meet our inpatient volume targets, resulting in a shortfall of revenue from patient care for Fiscal Year 2014, which ended June 30. Notwithstanding these challenges, I am pleased to report that we expect to end FY14 with a positive bottom line for Temple University Hospital – an achievement which points to important progress we are making in several areas.
"It is a great honor for Temple to continue to be recognized in this way," said John N. Kastanis, FACHE, President & CEO of Temple University Hospital. "This speaks volumes about the skill and expertise of the entire healthcare team at Temple and only serves to deepen our commitment to providing the highest quality clinical care and specialty programs to our patients."
John N. Kastanis, President and Chief Executive Officer of Temple University Hospital presented a cutting edge speech on Obama Care when he was honored at the Hermes International Gala. The event was held April 1st evening at the Concordville Inn, in Concordville, Pennsylvania.
John Kastanis, FACHE, President and Chief Executive Officer of Temple University Hospital, spoke to Health Administration and Business Administration students, faculty, and staff on Jan. 31. His presentation, “Healthcare Reform and Health Systems in the Current Era,” addressed pressing healthcare issues in the U.S., including the need to make the nation’s healthcare system more efficient, effective, and affordable, and the need for hospitals to focus on core strategies and patient-centered care, a concept he described as a patient-centered approach for healthcare delivery and continually finding ways to improve the experience of patients.
“Our current healthcare system is unsustainable, and there is an urgent need to redesign it,” Kastanis said.
Physicians and staff gathered at Northeastern Campus on October 21 for a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking $1.4 million in upgrades to the Endoscopy Suite and Pharmacy.
Additions to Endoscopy include two new patient bays, a new waiting room, and an improved instrument-cleaning and processing area. Patient amenities, such as new chairs, flooring, furniture, and TVs were also installed during the project. In Pharmacy, workers installed new regulatory compliant positive and negative pressure rooms for the preparation of chemotherapy agents.
On hand for the ribbon-cutting ceremony were John Kastanis, President and CEO of Temple University Hospital (TUH), and Kathleen Barron, Executive Director of Episcopal and Northeastern campuses.
Temple University Hospital named John Kastanis, its interim chief executive, to be president and CEO. Kastanis was appointed the hospital's interim CEO in December after Sandra Gomberg stepped down from the role.
John Kastanis, who currently serves as interim CEO of Quincy (Mass.) Medical Center (QMC), has led financial turnarounds at Southampton Hospital on Long Island and the Hospital for Joint Diseases in New York City. As interim CEO of Quincy, Mr. Kastanis has been tasked with capturing market share by recruiting specialists, rebuilding a primary care physician network, and continuing the hospital's journey toward financial stability. In this interview, he discusses why instability happens in the first place and how hospitals can achieve successful turnarounds.
John Kastanis, Quincy Medical Center’s interim CEO, says the working relationship with the Boston hospital would help restore the financially struggling Quincy hospital’s image. “It instills a measure of confidence back into Quincy Medical and brings better medical and surgical specialists into the Quincy community,” he says.
By Elliot J. Sussman, MD; John N. Kastanis, MBA; William Feigin, MBA; Harry M. Rosen, PhD
We asked whether surgical process and outcome differ for physicians in postgraduate training supervised by attending surgeons compared with attending surgeons alone. All appendectomies performed during a 2 year period in a 320 bed voluntary hospital where either the admitting diagnosis or the preoperative diagnosis suggested acute appendicitis were included in the study.