HealthLeaders: How Huntington Health Turned Crisis Response Into Organizational Muscle Memory

HealthLeaders and Outlook Pasadena recently interviewed John M. Corman, MD, president and chief clinical officer of Pasadena-based Huntington Health, a Cedars-Sinai affiliate, about his leadership approach and vision.

Corman, who became president of the organization in January 2026, told Outlook Pasadena his clinical background as a board-certified urologist and surgeon shapes his leadership philosophy.

“As a surgeon, patients trust you to make an incision, to repair, and to cure,” he said. “In leadership, clinicians, staff, and the community place that same trust in you—to make changes, sometimes subtle, sometimes significant, that strengthen the institution.”

He told Outlook Pasadena strong community connections were what drew him to Huntington Health.

“Everyone has a Huntington story—children born here, loved ones healed here,” Corman said. “That shared history is a sacred trust.”

Corman told HealthLeaders that Huntington Health has developed a “DNA” of crisis response that now feels embedded in its culture—a capacity that was tested during the Eaton Fire, which burned mere miles from the hospital in January 2025.

“We have this new DNA of ability to respond to crisis that feels almost natural and normal now, which is a fairly unusual thing,” he said, adding that this foundation has allowed leadership to focus more on workforce development and retention.

“As opposed to most of the rest of the country that is declining in physician engagement, we’re actually going the opposite direction,” Corman told HealthLeaders.

Looking ahead, Corman told Outlook Pasadena he envisions Huntington Health playing an expanded role in community health through prevention, behavioral health and innovative care models.

“Won’t it be remarkable when the community becomes so healthy that we reduce the need for hospital inpatient care?” he said, adding that “our real future is in helping people stay well.”

Read the complete articles from HealthLeaders and Outlook Pasadena.