“In healthcare we must look at what’s possible if we want to see improvement.”

Earlier this month we caught up with Theresa Mouton, Market Chief Financial Officer with Steward Health, for an insightful conversation about working in the healthcare industry, being a female CFO and so much more.
“Results Earn Respect”
Early on as a new and admittedly green CFO in the healthcare space Mouton, had an interaction with a seasoned CFO. In the sharing of strengths, wins and challenges Theresa shared her underlying concern about not being “respected”. This is a feeling many in her position can relate to, but the more seasoned CFO responded,“Results earn respect”. Since that conversation, Theresa has built her reputation and esteemed career on creating the results to earn the respect.

The daily responsibilities of a CFO often surpass the more strategic focus needed to run a successful business. To transform healthcare and invest in the future, Steward named Theresa MoutanMarket Chief Financial Officer, creating a role focused solely on the strategic gains that can be made across the system.


Theresa credits her success in building strong and capable teams on two key factors:

  1. Looking at margin improvements as opportunities to invest within the organization, both with personnel and technology. “We have to be thinking about the people first and how to make the patient and employee experience better by adapting technology. That’s where we can make real impacts that improve all of our satisfaction measures and of course margin.”
  2. Showcasing the possible. “It’s easier in other industries where you have a lot of controlled factors to impact. In healthcare every person is a variable, every test is on a sliding scale, every payor has its own variations. In healthcare we must look at what’s possible if we want to see improvement. In my organization I ask questions of our CFOs like: How could you improve by 10%? What would that look like?When we can show our owned accountability and showcase those improvements so the entire organization can reach greater heights?”

As Steward looks to the future,Mouton continues to ask important questions around analytics, learning through integrated systems and building best in class efficiencies to combat the ever-present issue of cost and payment. At a recent event the Accumen team shared their partnership methodology and gain-share model and that resonated deeply with Theresa. “I see working with teams like Accumen as an opportunity to truly partner. From the work to the finances, it feels like a model that could earn results and in turn my respect.”