Strategic Staffing in Action: How a Health System Planned for Physician Retirements

Phased recruitment and succession planning ensured uninterrupted specialty care for a multi-hospital system.

Challenge

A large health system with an employed physician network faced looming retirements in cardiology and oncology. Without a clear strategy, they risked losing market share and care continuity. To better understand how anticipated workforce changes would impact future access and referral stability, they partnered with Coker.

Solution

Coker conducted a Physician Needs Assessment, mapping specialty supply and upcoming retirements against service demand, demographics, and referral patterns. Using this data, we built a succession planning roadmap, a phased recruitment timeline, and retention strategies to preserve access and provider continuity within the health system.

Approach

Step 1Assess Current and Future Physician Coverage
Identified high-risk specialties based on retirement age, tenure, and local market conditions.
Step 2Forecast Specialty Demand
Utilization trends, population demographics, and market share were used to determine projected needs.
Step 3Develop Recruitment Timeline
Created a staged hiring roadmap to ensure smooth onboarding and transitions for high-need specialties
Step 4Align Strategy with Financial Goals
Evaluated cost implications, revenue contribution, and service line impact to prioritize hires.
Step 5Support the Internal Team with Planning Tools
Delivered tools to help internal physician enterprise leaders track readiness and reduce disruptions.

Conclusion

This engagement empowered the health system to proactively manage provider turnover and maintain continuity of care in the communities they served. Rather than reacting to vacancies, they built a strategic workforce plan grounded in data and aligned with market realities. Coker’s Physician Needs Assessment provided a sustainable framework for long-term staffing success.

Results At a Glance

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