BY BRUCE BROOKS

During his 47 years in health care, Everett Johnson has been on the forefront of every major change within the industry and is highly regarded for his insight and expertise. But after two hospital CEO positions and two university positions, including 19 years as the director of the Institute of Health Administration in the College of Business Administration, Johnson has decided to devote the rest of his life to writing his sixth book, consulting and having the luxury of an "unscheduled state of affairs." "At 73," he says, "it's time to let others have their fun."

Unquestionably, Johnson knows the gigantic and enigmatic health care industry better than most. The number of awards adorning his office walls testifies to his reputation within the health care field. Among his proudest accomplishments is the Silver Medal given by the American College of Health Care Executives in 1989 for outstanding service and leadership to the health care profession. Johnson has been active in the national organization for a number of years, serving on committees, helping to launch a quarterly journal and initiating nine task forces.

Since he began his health care career in 1951, Johnson says the health care field has moved "from a static, nonprofit operation to a dynamic, constantly changing industry with a wide array of specialized businesses as well as hospitals."

"Today, change is everywhere, largely due to the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid, and managed care programs," he says. "The field has moved from managing the care of patients to fundamentally managing resources and is in a period of rapid consolidation and experimentation with ways to deliver care. In the process, patient welfare has been put at a much greater risk."

These changes are dramatic and sweeping since he first contemplated entering the health care profession as a young man shortly after World War II. During the war, Johnson was hospitalized for five months in an army hospital. His stay there, he says, gave him much time to contemplate a career path. Upon returning to college, he interviewed about 150 people regarding their careers. During this process, he met two hospital administrators who impressed him with their chosen paths, and subsequently he decided to pursue an MBA majoring in hospital administration at the University of Chicago.

He began his career in 1951 as CEO of Chicago Memorial Hospital and hasn't looked back. After serving as CEO in Chicago for four years and in Gary, Ind., as CEO of Methodist Hospital for 21 years, he took a year to establish his own hospital and health care consulting firm, the E.J. Group, now based in Marietta. He served as associate director of the graduate program in health administration at the University of Chicago for two years before Dean Kenneth Black offered Johnson the opportunity to head the College's Institute of Health Administration in 1979.

Under Johnson's leadership, the Institute has flourished and strengthened to national prominence.

In only two years, Johnson established the dual MBA/MHA (Master of Health Administration) degree, making Georgia State the first university in the country to have such a program. And in 1989, he helped establish the Master of Science in Health Administration (MSHA) with a functional business field. During his time at Georgia State, the Institute has been accredited every four years by the prestigious Accrediting Commission for Education in Health Services Administration (ACEHA).

But perhaps the most rewarding experience for Johnson while at Georgia State has been the satisfaction he receives from helping students reach their full potential as he works with health care providers around the country to place Health Administration graduates in positions. The Institute's residency program is the cornerstone of Health Administration, he notes, and is one of a few remaining programs in the country that includes a paid residency for students at the end of their coursework. Johnson is known on a first-name basis by health care employers around the country. Today, the process often comes full circle as he works with Health Administration graduates who have achieved prominent positions to place additional Georgia State students.

"I'll miss working with motivated students and faculty and staff that are absolutely top-notch and a joy to work with every day," he says. But he can leave, he notes, with the satisfaction that his dedication to students has had a significant impact on the quality of medical care delivered.

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