Since becoming president and CEO of Baltimore-based LifeBridge Health in 2013, Neil Meltzer has led the system through growth — doubling its size with the addition of two hospitals — while keeping culture and community health at the forefront.

“Running this organization has been one of the greatest honors of my life,” he told Becker’s . “I’m most proud of the culture we’ve created at the organization and the people that we’ve developed throughout it.”

Mr. Meltzer plans to retire from the five-hospital system in 2026. He joined the 483-bed Sinai Hospital of Baltimore — part of LifeBridge Health — in 1988 and was named president and COO a decade later.

Under his leadership, LifeBridge Health acquired Carroll Hospital in Westminster, Md., and Grace Medical Center in Baltimore in 2015 and 2019, respectively. He also oversaw the creation of a regional medical campus at Sinai Hospital in partnership with Washington, D.C.-based George Washington University.

“Another thing that I’m proud of over the past 13 years is that we’ve created what is probably the state’s most comprehensive continuum of care — from wellness on one end to hospice on the other,” he said. In between, LifeBridge Health operates home care organizations and assisted independent living facilities, and offers community-based physical therapy and laboratory services.

Mr. Meltzer plans to complete several key initiatives ahead of his retirement, including the May opening of a community opportunity center in West Baltimore called the Factory.

“The building was an old gelato factory, and it’s going to house several community-based 501(c)(3) organizations that support the economic development in a part of Baltimore that has been underserved for many years,” he said.

The center will also house the West Baltimore Renaissance Foundation, which LifeBridge created to provide grants to local organizations. The project adds to the health system’s community-focused work, including the creation of the Center for Hope, which focuses on violence intervention.

“Every organization has a personality, and I believe ours is that we are the community conscience,” he said. “If you look at the 45 community health programs that we have, we’re running those because we’re trying to improve the health of the communities around us, and that’s our purpose. We don’t do what’s easy, we do what’s necessary.”

Mr. Meltzer is also overseeing final renovations of Grace Medical Center as part of a $61.6 million transformation while preparing the system for a leadership transition and adapting to federal funding changes.

“On a day-to-day basis, we’re responding to anything we’re hearing from the federal government pertaining to funding changes, which seems to be an ongoing, chaotic set of information,” he said.

As the organization has expanded, Mr. Meltzer focused on hiring people with the right values and on increasing communication and visibility.

“Now, with five generations of individuals working across these 135 sites, communication becomes even more challenging,” he said.

In addition to traditional memos and emails, he shares messages through video and text. “We’ve had to recognize that different generations have unique approaches to receiving information, and people all learn differently, so we provide information multiple ways, multiple times,” he said.

Reflecting on his 37 years at LifeBridge Health, Mr. Meltzer said his role and the industry have evolved.

“My position has had to evolve as the organization and healthcare have become more complex. I’ve gone from being more of an operator to someone focused on relationships, creating partnerships with people outside the organization,” he said. “And in a hostile reimbursement environment, philanthropy is no longer a nice-to-have, it’s a must-have. I now spend about 20% of my time fundraising.”

Mr. Meltzer also emphasized that healthcare leadership is a team effort.

“You cannot lead an organization the size of ours — or almost any organization — without a good group of teammates around you,” he said. “When you have close to 14,000 employees across 135 locations, you hope you’ve created an atmosphere and a purpose where people are doing the right thing, for the right reason, every hour of every day for our communities.”