In this episode of BRight Minds in Healthcare Delivery, host Eric Tower engages in a thought-provoking conversation with guest Dr. David Schreiner, former president and CEO of Katherine Shaw Bethea Hospital, which merged with OSF Healthcare in January 2025 to create OSF Saint Katharine Medical Center. Dr. Schreiner shares insights on the changes that drove the hospital’s board to reconsider its trajectory and decide that independence was no longer sustainable. He recounts the decade-long journey of preparing for an affiliation, including how he led the board through the transition, the strategic process of finding the best partner for affiliation, and the transparent approach taken with employees and community members. The conversation also touches on current issues and trends in healthcare, such as Medicaid and the fiscal viability of rural hospitals.

Today, Dr. Schreiner is a nationally recognized speaker, mentor, consultant, and author with a mission to inspire leaders, transform organizations, and advance the well-being of rural communities. With more than 35 years of healthcare leadership experience, Dr. Schreiner has consistently demonstrated his ability to lead with integrity, foster resilience, and achieve sustainable success in the face of complex challenges. Drawing from his experiences, he recently authored a book titled “Be The Best Part of Their Day: Supercharging Communication with Values-Driven Leadership,” which focuses on effective executive communications and how to create meaningful interactions with key stakeholders. Learn more about Dr. Schreiner at https://drdavidschreiner.com/.

On this episode of BRight Minds and Healthcare Delivery, Dan Yunker, SVP of Risk and Compliance at Kodiak Solutions, joins host Eric Tower as they explore innovative strategies and trends in healthcare. Dan offers a brief overview of Kodiak Solutions, a technology-driven firm established by Crowe LLP. He outlines the range of services provided to clients, which include the automation of financial close processes, revenue cycle management, and risk and compliance services. Then they delve into the future of healthcare delivery, focusing on improving patient outcomes and operational performance. The conversation highlights how Kodiak Solutions uses data and technology to identify and mitigate risks, improve operational performance, and support value-based care. They also explore the potential and challenges of using artificial intelligence in healthcare, emphasizing its promise in improving outcomes and operational efficiency.

Dan brings more than 30 years of experience providing solutions to and serving in the healthcare provider industry. Prior to Kodiak, he was a principal in the healthcare consulting practice at Crowe LLP. A recognized industry thought leader with an extensive background in leading healthcare organizations to identify and execute process improvement, Dan specializes in finance, revenue cycle, and risk and compliance. Dan holds a B.A. in industrial engineering from the University of Illinois Chicago and an M.B.A. in healthcare from the Keller Graduate School of Management at DeVry University. He is a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors, Healthcare Financial Management Association, and the Association of Healthcare Internal Auditors.

In this episode of Bright Minds in Healthcare Delivery, host Eric Tower interviews Michael Stamatinos, who has nearly 20 years of experience in the healthcare sector. They discuss the importance of innovation in healthcare, focusing on creating access to care, food, and housing, as well as the leadership and collaboration needed to drive innovation. Michael emphasizes the need for building relationship equity and creating small, immersive groups to foster authentic innovation. He also shares insights on overcoming challenges in healthcare innovation, such as aligning resources and maintaining momentum. Listeners will learn about the critical components of successful innovation and the importance of perseverance and consistency in driving meaningful change in the healthcare industry, and beyond.

Michael’s deeply rooted passion for making healthcare accessible inspired him to launch the Advancing Healthcare Innovation Consortium and Omorfi, Inc. With more than 17 years in business development, strategy, and marketing in healthcare, his areas of expertise include building ecosystems for sustainable growth. Michael has applied his Relationship Equity Principle throughout his career, assisting investors and teams by developing growth strategies that build trust and authority with health startups and organizations globally. Michael also hosts the Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show, which promotes knowledge exchange and industry-wide collaboration, fostering growth through innovative discussions. He's written extensively, authored "Getting to the Decision Maker," and co-founded Mastermind Unit, a non-profit supporting children’s charities.

In this episode of BRight Minds in Healthcare Delivery, host Eric Tower interviews Dr. Vishnukamal Golla, the medical director for value transformation at Evolent, a specialty and primary care enablement company. They discuss evolution and innovation in value-based care (“VBC”), and the headwinds impacting implementation of VBC in multi-specialty groups. Key challenges in operationalizing VBC are also examined, including the need for support from various players in the healthcare continuum, managing perverse incentives, and the critical role of primary care. They also talk about the CMS mandate aiming for a majority of the Medicare population to be in a goal relationship by 2030, and the necessary steps to achieve this. The episode concludes with a look at transitioning specialty care from fee-for-service to VBC over the next five to 10 years.

At Evolent, Dr. Golla leads the implementation of innovative value-based care models in specialty care. In helping Evolent manage approximately $1 billion of risk-based oncology and cardiology spend, Dr. Golla oversees the development of alternative payment models, prioritizing exceptional patient outcomes through innovative strategies and cost-effective treatment pathways. Furthermore, Dr. Golla is a passionate Urologist who is currently on faculty in the Duke Department of Urology and the Durham VA.

In this episode of BRight Minds in Healthcare Delivery, host Eric Tower interviews Robert Aprill, a partner at Physician Growth Partners. They discuss consolidation in the healthcare industry and how physician consolidation can create value for investors, owners, physicians, patients, and payers. Eric and Robert examine private equity (“PE”) investment in physician services, including various models, how PE investment can assist physician practices in entering new areas such as value-based care or clinical research, and attributes of physician practices that attract PE investment. They also address challenges such as the increased complexity of structuring transactions to ensure long-term success for physicians, patients, and communities.

In his role at Physician Growth Partners, Robert advises founder and provider owned businesses in the healthcare services industry as they prepare for and ultimately pursue a transaction. He specializes in providing transaction advisory services across a wide range of provider-based sectors including physician practice management and behavioral health services. Robert’s work focuses on understanding the transactional goals of a business and its’ owners and managing a customized, client-focused process that delivers an exceptional result. Prior to Physician Growth Partners, Robert started his career as a healthcare investment banker, specializing in advising business owners through transactions with private equity and strategic acquirers.

In this episode of BRight Minds in Healthcare Delivery, host Eric Tower, a partner at Blank Rome, interviews Luis Argueso, partner and co-founder at InHealth Advisors. They discuss physician engagement and alignment with value-based care (“VBC”) and explore the opportunities for successful provider group participation. Key topics include strategies for transitioning to VBC, introducing VBC to physicians, appropriately valuing physician contributions to VBC goals, bridging gaps between specialty and primary care, the future of VBC, and more.

Luis is a national subject matter expert in enhancing alignment between physicians and value-based care delivery models / reimbursement programs, particularly through value-based enterprises. He assists InHealth’s clients in developing programs and compensation incentives that achieve this alignment through targeting industry-leading quality measures and operationalizing efficient care delivery models. Luis works with clients to develop internal tools and processes that allow for ongoing monitoring and improvement of value-based alignment strategies. Beyond this guidance, he provides valuation services with a focus on payments for quality, digital health, and hospital-based provider groups.

In this episode of BRight Minds in Healthcare Delivery, Blank Rome partner Alex C. Nisenbaum talks with Rajni Natesan, MD, MBA, Chief Executive Officer of Clarified Precision Medicine, about how technology is rapidly changing healthcare delivery. They discuss the use of machine learning (“ML”) algorithms and artificial intelligence (“AI”) to improve health outcomes, as well as the challenges impacting the deployment of these tools, including the trustworthiness of AI models, patient readiness to share data for AI models, developing regulations, and data ownership and monetization.

Dr. Natesan is a seasoned executive, advisor/board member, and medical doctor with an extensive background scaling startups at the intersection of healthcare and technology, with a focus on AI and ML. She has led all phases of product and organizational life cycles from conceptual design and FDA trials to commercialization and IPO / M&A preparation. Dr. Natesan began her career as one of the first physicians on Wall Street, leading healthcare M&A and IPO deals across life sciences, biotechnology, and medical devices. A board-certified physician specialized in breast cancer, she previously served on faculty at MD Anderson Cancer Center. She completed her BA, MD, and MBA degrees from Georgetown University.

In this episode of BRight Minds in Healthcare Delivery, host Eric Tower interviews Larry Elisco, a partner in Wipfli LLP’s health care practice who focuses on accounting, audit, and valuation services for physician practices. They explore how the shift from fee-for-service to value-based care models impacts the valuation of physician practices, how to assess quality of earnings (“Q of E”) reports and the downside risk of value-based care models, and what the future holds for value-based care in the healthcare industry.

Larry has over 25 years of experience in the healthcare space, particularly working with providers and their practices. He is a certified coding specialist for medical practices and has a strong background in revenue cycle management and expertise in value-based care, the megatrend that will help healthcare realize its quintuple aim. Larry has vast experience in all aspects of financial management and accounting operations, including preparation of financial statements, budgeting, forecasting, legal and cash management issues. He has had experience in public offerings and helping clients buy and sell practices. Larry has also earned his Accreditation in Business Valuation from AICPA and has performed valuation services for businesses and healthcare organizations.