CHA president chosen most powerful figure in U.S. health care

Published: 2007-08-28

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- More powerful than bodybuilder-turned-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger? It's true if you're Sister Carol Keehan. The issue isn't about who can lift the greatest weight in the gym. It's about who's got more muscle in the health care arena. Sister Carol, a Daughter of Charity who is president and CEO of the Catholic Health Association, the trade group for Catholic hospitals, finished first in the sixth annual reader poll conducted by Modern Healthcare magazine of the 100 most powerful people in health care. Schwarzenegger, the governor of California, finished third. Mitt Romney, Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts governor, was second. Sister Carol topped all comers, including presidents, presidential candidates, congressional movers and shakers, federal officials, hospital executives, educators and public policy vanguards in the survey, which was published Aug. 27. She was ranked 26th in the 2006 survey. Sister Carol had just assumed the CHA presidency the previous November. In profiling Sister Carol, the magazine said she "has somehow managed to connect with all the disparate interest groups without alienating any of them."

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