By Cat Zemel
What happens when the emergency room runs out of beds and the backup generator fails? Who steps in when critical supplies vanish from the shelves and exhausted staff are forced to work double shifts? We often imagine doctors and nurses leading the charge during a health crisis—and they do. But there’s a whole other layer holding everything together.
When healthcare systems break, someone still has to keep operations moving. Not just medically, but logistically. Schedules, supplies, finances, staffing, communication—these aren’t background tasks. They’re lifelines. And when one falters, the ripple effect can shut down entire hospitals or delay urgent care.
We saw this firsthand during the early waves of COVID-19. Some hospitals adapted quickly. Others buckled under pressure. The difference often came down to leadership behind the scenes.
In this blog, we will share who really keeps health systems running when things go wrong, what skills are required to lead during a crisis, and why organizations are investing more in operational expertise to build resilience from within.
During an emergency, all eyes go to the front lines. But while clinical teams treat patients, someone else is calculating oxygen usage, locating extra beds, and coordinating staff who called out sick. These are the people who don’t appear in press conferences but quietly hold systems together.
Their job isn’t theoretical. It’s deeply practical. What happens when the laundry service doesn’t show up? When insurance billing crashes mid-crisis? When a supply shipment is delayed by three days, but the need is now?
This is where operational leadership matters. And it’s why more professionals are earning a master of science in healthcare administration—to prepare not just for routine operations, but for moments when nothing goes according to plan.
At Northern Kentucky University (NKU), the online MHA program takes this preparation a step further. Designed for working professionals, it blends business strategy with healthcare-specific leadership training, helping students understand how to run organizations that serve people under pressure. The curriculum connects classroom concepts to real-world crises, teaching students to manage resources, make data-driven decisions, and lead with composure when circumstances turn unpredictable. It’s not just a degree—it’s the blueprint for the next generation of healthcare leaders who will be trusted to keep the system standing when it’s tested most.
Take the 2022 hurricane season in Florida. Hospitals near the coast were forced to evacuate patients mid-storm. That took coordination between hospital leadership, local government, transportation, and backup facilities—all under severe time pressure.
Or consider the 2023 cyberattack that hit several large U.S. hospital systems. Patient records were locked. Scheduling systems went offline. Without experienced administrators at the helm, some hospitals would have shut down completely. Instead, teams quickly moved to manual systems, rerouted patients, and set up emergency communication protocols. It wasn’t seamless, but it worked.
These stories aren’t about luck. They’re about preparation.
Healthcare is full of moving parts. In a crisis, the gaps get wider. The people who keep things running aren’t improvising. They’ve trained for this. They’ve built systems with fail-safes, backup supplies, and emergency playbooks.
When systems crack, leadership can’t be outsourced. It needs to be local. Fast. Responsive.
The best administrators are part strategist, part negotiator, part firefighter. They make data-informed decisions on the fly. They know how to talk to both medical teams and city officials. They understand the legal and ethical boundaries of emergency decisions.
More importantly, they know how to plan ahead. Before a crisis ever hits, they’re assessing vulnerabilities, strengthening supply chains, and asking hard questions: What happens if this vendor fails? If we lose 20% of staff? If we lose power?
Those aren’t worst-case hypotheticals anymore. They’re real. And they require leadership that can adapt without panic.
Health emergencies aren't going away. Climate events, infectious disease, infrastructure failures—they’re becoming more common. Hospitals and health organizations need systems that can bend without breaking.
That means investing in people who understand the full scope of healthcare operations. Leaders who can balance budgets, interpret policy, coordinate across agencies, and lead during the quiet hours before the storm hits. These are the professionals who see both the clinical and administrative sides of healthcare as one interconnected ecosystem. They don’t just react to crises—they design systems that anticipate them, embedding flexibility into every process from supply chain management to patient intake. When a disruption happens, they already have the roadmap ready.
The next time the public hears about a successful response effort, they’ll probably thank the nurses and doctors—and they should. But somewhere behind the scenes, there’s a leader who kept the lights on, the systems working, and the care flowing.
They didn’t do it for the spotlight. They did it because that’s what the system needed. When everything else cracked, they stood up. And that made all the difference.
MBTpg