The Nashville Health Care Council is pleased to announce the commencement of its 2018 Class of Health Care Council Fellows. Through eight day-long sessions of challenging curriculum, this year’s class of 31 executives explored strategies and collaborated on solutions to address today’s most complex issues facing the nation’s health care industry.
Click here to view the full list of 2018 Council Fellows graduates.
Click here to view select photos from the graduation.
Co-directed by former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D., and Larry Van Horn, health care management and economics professor at the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University, Council Fellows provides an exclusive opportunity for top health care leaders to engage in dialogue, share unique perspectives and enhance the skills needed to carry the industry forward.
“In the program’s sixth year, we continue to see how convening the brightest health care minds under one roof can drive meaningful change in our industry,” Senator Frist said. “With the passion these Fellows have for innovation combined with the collaborative dialogue and ideas explored, I am confident this diverse group of individuals will shape the future of health care across the country.”
In this transformative era, the 2018 Fellows class focused on advancing health care entrepreneurship and innovation in the years ahead. Topics included the opioid epidemic, disruptive technologies, innovative care delivery models, the role of nutrition in maintaining health and preventing disease, social determinants of health, shifting reimbursement models, state and federal policy reform and more.
To facilitate the discussions, guest faculty for the 2018 Fellows class included, among others:
- Jonathan Bush, CEO, athenahealth
- George Barrett, Executive Chairman, Cardinal Health
- Senator Bob Corker
- Donato Tramuto, CEO, Tivity Health
- Sachin Jain, M.D., CEO, CareMore
- Christopher Chen, M.D., CEO, ChenMed
- Jeff De Flavio, CEO, Groups
Todd Park, co-founder and executive chairman of Devoted Health, previous co-founder of athenahealth and Castlight Health and former U.S. chief technology officer, gave the keynote address at the 2018 Fellows graduation ceremony. Park gave some firsthand lessons from his 25-year career in health care – and expressed expectations for this class.
“I really believe this class of Fellows is a national resource and that you’re each national treasures,” he told the class inside Nashville’s Noah Liff Opera Center. “Fellows brings together a group of people who are both incredibly accomplished yet still on the upswing of their careers. The notion of getting them all together and exposing them to these experiences and lessons, to discuss the key issues in health care so that they’re that much better equipped to be change agents, is incredibly exciting. And it’s fantastic and fitting that Nashville is the host of this kind of program.”
Park shared with class members his principles for effecting change and revolutionizing health care in a patient-focused way, continuing a theme Fellows had discussed throughout their time together.
“Everyone in the Fellows program is trying to make a difference,” said Puneet Singh, chief development officer, Aspire Health. “While we discuss the challenges with our health care system, we also talk about the solutions. That dialogue is what creates a special and unique experience for all of us who go through the Fellows program – an experience that keeps us connected to our classmates well beyond graduation.”
2019 Fellows Class Recruitment
The 2019 Fellows will bring together another class of top health care leaders to explore new solutions and meet the challenges of the U.S. health care system.
“In order to shape the future of health care, we know that the dialogue had within board rooms are those that will truly make an impact,” said Hayley Hovious, Council president. “By bringing together the nation’s best and brightest minds during this unprecedented period in health care, the Fellows program continues Nashville’s legacy as the nation’s health care capital. There’s never been a better time to take an active role in the conversation and move our industry forward.”
Applications for the class of 2019 will open in September. To apply, candidates must submit information and statements of interest, professional bio, resume and letters of recommendation from his or her CEO and a fellow health care leader. The 2019 class will be selected by the Council Fellows Advisory Committee and announced in December.
For more information and to begin the application process, visit www.healthcarecouncilfellows.com or email Fellows Director June Patterson at jpatterson@healthcarecouncil.com.
The Fellows initiative is supported by underwriters BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, Community Health Systems, HCA, Tivity Health, LifePoint Health and Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management.