Loma Linda CEO Turns Personal Injuries Into a Lesson on Resilience

Anthony Hilliard, MD, president of Loma Linda University Health and CEO of Loma Linda University Health Hospitals, is using his own physical setbacks to make a point about leadership. In an interview with Becker's Hospital Review, Hilliard recounted a skiing accident three years ago that, in his words, "literally snapped my leg in half," an injury he is still healing from. He has also dealt with the loss of a finger.

Rather than treat these events as private hardships, Hilliard frames them as evidence that recovery and persistence matter as much in the executive suite as in the operating room. His message is that comebacks, the ability to absorb a blow and keep leading, are central to running a large academic health system.

The reflection lands at a moment when hospital leaders face sustained financial pressure, workforce strain, and operational disruption. Hilliard's argument is simple: resilience is not just personal, it is a professional discipline that shapes how a system endures and adapts.