The Nashville Health Care Council is proud to announce the commencement of the 2022 Class of its Council Fellows on Friday May 13. The class is the ninth to be named in the annual initiative and the first in two years after the program’s hiatus during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. These national leaders deepened their perspectives on the challenges facing the U.S. health care system, connected with other forward-thinking innovators and gained the insights needed to shape the future of health care over the course of seven full-day sessions and two retreats.
This year’s course curriculum offered Fellows new strategies to create meaningful change in their organizations. They explored topics addressing cost and policy issues facing the U.S. health care system, innovations in tech and health care delivery, health equity, and broad discussions about the future of hospitals, health systems, health services organizations, and caregiving.
The Council Fellows program creates the space for the most inspiring conversations and fuels the energy and inspiration that first attracted leaders to health care. By uniting the industry’s brightest minds and top drivers of change, the program energizes classmates with the inspiration, hope and drive they need to move their careers and the nation’s health care system forward.
To facilitate this year’s class discussions, guest faculty included, among others:
- Micky Tripathi, Ph.D., M.P.P., National Coordinator for Health Information Technology at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- Carina Edwards, Chief Executive Officer at Quil Health
- Paul H. Keckley, Ph.D., Managing Editor at The Keckley Report
- Chandra McMahon, Chief Information Security Officer at CVS Health
- Lance Gruner, Executive Vice President of Global Customer Care at Mastercard
- Quincy J. Byrdsong, EdD, CIP, CCRRP, Vice Provost for Health Affairs at Lipscomb University
- Elizabeth Fowler, PhD, JD, Deputy Administrator and Director at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMS Innovation Center)
This year’s Fellows program reflected changes in leadership, including the addition of Michael Burcham, Chief of Strategy & Talent Development at Shore Capital and Professor at Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management, as the Council Fellows Chair. The Fellows Advisory Board was also established this year to extend the reach of recruitment and bolster the facilitation of the program. The Advisory Board consists of Nancy-Ann DeParle, David Dill, Senator William Frist, M.D., James E.K. Hildreth, Ph. D, M.D., Tony Iton, M.D., J.D., MPH, Todd Park, and Reed Tuckson, M.D., FACP. Sen. Frist also serves as Fellow Chair Emeritus in addition to his role on the Advisory Board.
“This program brings together the leaders of tomorrow who are pushing health care forward and there has never been a more pivotal time to do so,” said Burcham. “This year’s class reflected the sense of community we strive to achieve every year, and we know the group is poised to tackle great challenges well into the future. We are confident this group will advance our industry as a result of the skills they harnessed through the Council Fellows program.”
Looking Ahead to the Class of 2023
In January, the Council Fellows will bring together another class of health care’s brightest minds and top drivers of change.
“As we enter the next phase of health care delivery in the age of COVID-19, it is critical to break down silos and create the space for senior leaders to have frank conversations and create meaningful change in our industry,” said Apryl Childs-Porter, Council president. “By bringing together the most influential and progressive leaders in the nation’s health services capital, Council Fellows support Nashville’s entrepreneurial spirit as we develop solutions and meet the challenges of the U.S. health care system.”
Applications for the class of 2023 will open in September, and class selections will be announced in December. For more information and to begin the application process, visit www.healthcarecouncilfellows.com or email Fellows Senior Director Lydie Marc at Fellows@healthcarecouncil.com.
The Fellows initiative is supported by underwriters BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, Change Healthcare, Community Health Systems, HCA Healthcare, LifePoint Health, Tivity Health and Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management.