Navvis & Company Professionals
For over two decades, leading hospitals and healthcare systems across the country have engaged Navvis & Company for the experience, dedication and insights of our seasoned professionals. Combining a rigorous, analytical discipline with a creative and visionary perspective, Navvis & Company professionals innovate, inspire and drive results-oriented change needed for growth and long-term competitive advantage. We encourage you to meet our executives, strategists, consultants, analysts and project managers. Feel free to drop them an email or give then a call. It just might lead to the change your organization is looking for.
Stuart B. Baker, MD – President and Chief Operating Officer
Stuart provides strategic counsel and implementation expertise on competitive market strategy, futuristic models of health care delivery, innovative design of the health system enterprise, hospital physician partnerships, physician group practice, leadership and governance. His experience as a clinician, physician leader, health system officer, clinical professor of medicine and corporate executive provides clients with the unique perspective and experience of both a physician and business leader.
Prior to joining Navvis & Company, Stuart spent 10 years at VHA Inc. (Irving, Texas), one of the country’s leading healthcare alliances, most recently as Executive Vice President and the first Chief Operating Officer. He was responsible for both business and field operations, supply chain management, the $32 billion group purchasing organization, and the 1,400+ hospital network and clinical improvement strategies. Stuart joined VHA as Executive Vice President of Clinical Affairs. In that role, he introduced innovative clinical effectiveness and patient safety programs which saved a significant number of lives, avoided complications, saved money and enhanced the reputation of many VHA member hospitals. He also directed VHA’s physician leadership and education programs.
Before joining VHA, Stuart was the first Chief Medical Officer for Sentara Healthcare (Norfolk, Virginia) and the first Chief Executive Officer of the Sentara Medical Group. He was a clinical and business leader of Sentara’s hospital, ambulatory, physician and managed care strategies. He practiced internal medicine and rheumatology for over 20 years, and was Professor of Clinical Medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School, where he won three best teacher awards. He is a graduate of The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where he completed his internship and residency and was assistant chief of service in the Department of Medicine. He completed fellowships at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
Stuart has served on eleven boards of directors in the for-profit and non-profit sectors of the health care industry. He was a member of the Institute of Medicine Committee on Enhancing Federal Healthcare Quality Programs, served on two steering committees at the National Quality Forum, and was a strategic advisor to The Health Technology Center (HealthTech) in San Francisco. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Alpha Omega Alpha, and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Rheumatology. In 2003, Stuart was selected as one of Modern Physician’s 25 visionary physician ‘Movers and Shakers.’
Email Stuart: sbaker@navvisandcompany.com
Phone Stuart: 636-536-9443
Jennifer Grebenschikoff, founder and president of Physician Executive Leadership Center, is a widely respected expert on physician executive search, career counseling and compensation. Her diverse interests brought her to high-profile positions in three health maintenance organizations, a large multispecialty group practice and a community hospital prior to founding the Physician Executive Leadership Center in 1983.
Jennifer's been featured in publications as varied as AMA News, Modern Healthcare and Physician Executive. An accomplished speaker, she's addressed audiences such as the American College of Physician Executives (ACPE), the Duke University Hospital and Health Administration Alumni Association and the National Institute of Physician Recruitment and Retention on physician executive recruitment and compensation.
Jennifer is a regular Faculty Member at the American College of Physician Executives' meetings. She teaches one day of the four-day "Managing Physician Performance" course where her topic is how to successfully recruit and retain the physicians who match your organization's mission, vision and values. She has been a regular speaker for ACPE on this topic for many years, both at their national meetings and for their customized "on-site" programs. ACPE notes that, "Jennifer Grebenschikoff is one of the top-rated speakers for the American College of Physician Executives. Praised for her thought-provoking presentations, Grebenschikoff has a strong command of her subject matter and offers career insights and information on the physician executive job market that the audience can take back home and put to use."
Jennifer also serves as a panelist on ACPE’s "Recruiters' Forum" where she describes what our client organizations want in a physician executive candidate and how that candidate’s success will be measured on the job.
Email Jennifer: jennifer@physicianexecutive.com
Call Jennifer: 813-963-1800
Don Hutton, Founder & President, MEDI
Don Hutton, founder and president of Morgan Executive Development Institute [MEDI], has spent the last 40+ years in the healthcare industry, providing him with the depth of experience and insight that positions him to help CEOs and other health care executives raise the bar on their performance.
A nationally-acclaimed speaker and author, Don’s thought leadership has most recently been spotlighted in industry publications including Health Forum Journal, Health Care Executive and Hospital & Health Networks’ HHN Online.
Prior to founding MEDI, Don served for 23 years in the health care executive seat for multiple non-for-profit hospitals and another 15 years as CEO in major hospitals and health systems. His affiliations with ACHE and AUPHA help to put him and MEDI at the top of the health care leadership development field.
Don earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Pharmacy from Purdue University and a Master’s in Hospital Administration from Xavier University.
Tim Elliott - Executive Vice President & General Counsel
Tim Elliott consults with the firm’s healthcare clients on a broad array of transactional legal issues. He has substantial experience in all aspects of physician-hospital integration, physician-hospital joint ventures, physician recruiting, as well as in establishing managed care entities, and drafting and negotiating related agreements including managed care contracts. He is also experienced in business formation, management and shareholder counseling, mergers and acquisitions, purchasing and licensing of intellectual property, and both profit/not-for-profit joint ventures.
Tim is a partner with The Lowenbaum Partnership, LLC, a St. Louis based law firm. Previously, he worked with the firms of Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal and also with McDermott, Will & Emery.
Tim Elliott received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Missouri Bar Association, the Illinois Bar Association, the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis and the American Health Lawyers Association.
Email Tim: telliott@navvisandcompany.com
Call Tim: 636-536-9443
Jeff Miller – Executive Vice President & Founding Partner
Jeff Miller has developed decision support tools and resources that support strategy and business development for our clients. His pragmatic and focused approach to strategy formulation and business development has enabled our clients to move confidently from the creation of market-leading business strategies to their successful execution.
Jeff has over 20 years of health care experience. He has worked with a broad range of healthcare organizations throughout the country with a strong emphasis on business and medical staff planning for hospitals and health systems. Jeff has overseen and conducted numerous engagements in the areas of strategic and business planning, service line planning, program and service feasibility, and medical staff development.
Jeff holds computer science degrees from the University of Missouri at St. Louis.
Email Jeff: jmiller@navvisandcompany.com
Phone Jeff: 636-536-9443
David Kirschman, executive vice president of the Physician Executive Leadership Center (PELC), has participated in the firm's growth and contributed to its values since it’s inception in 1983. The strength of PELC in the marketplace, its reputation and its commitment to high quality service are a reflection of his association with the firm.
Clients can expect dedication, creativity and innovation from David when they work with him. They can also expect good humor and straightforward talk about the realities of a search, the marketplace and the need for decisions. He works well with client representatives, is always reachable and provides frequent updates to keep everyone informed of the progress of a search.
David has taken the lead in the firm's ongoing surveys of physician executive compensation, duties and attitudes and has been quoted in a number of publications over the years. He has spoken at a wide variety of educational programs including those sponsored by the American College of Physician Executives and the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Before founding the Physician Executive Leadership Center, David served as a senior manager of physician sponsored foundations and administrator of a managed care organization. His previous health care experience of working for and with physicians gave him insight to the needs of the physician executive profession.
John F. Anderson, MD, FACS - Senior Vice President
John F. Anderson, MD, FACS is a senior vice president for consulting services. In this role, he will provide strategic counsel, planning and implementation support for physician integration and alignment, accountable clinical management,and strategic planning.
Dr. Anderson served as a senior vice president and chief medical officer for Baylor Health Care System in Dallas from 1995 until 2004, and held the same position at Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) in Denver from 2004 until 2008. In both organizations he led system-wide efforts to clinically integrate and improve care and provide strategic clinical direction, as well as efforts to better align physicians and other clinicians with their respective organizations.
Dr. Anderson’s clinical background is that of a general and vascular surgeon, and while at Baylor he was actively engaged in graduate medical education and had clinical administrative oversight for the Baylor Research Institute, the Baylor Center for Healthcare Quality & Research, Baylor International Services, and the Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings. At CHI, he had additional oversight responsibilities for the Catholic Health Oncology Network, the CHI Medical Imaging program, the Practice Management Advisory Council, as well as the longer term information strategies pertaining to the clinical environment with a focus on medication safety and infection control initiatives. Since 2008, he has served as a private healthcare consultant, and most recently has served as the interim chief medical officer for Carondelet Health Network in Tucson, AZ.
In addition to his operational experience, Dr. Anderson has had a long time interest in healthcare governance and has served on numerous boards and committees including the Board of Stewardship Trustees of CHI in Denver from 1999 until 2004 where he was a member of the Executive Committee and chaired the Strategic Planning Committee. Additionally, he has served on the Catholic Healthcare Partners Quality Committee and was a founding board member of the Catholic Quality Leaders Forum. Currently, he serves on the board of directors for Aurora Healthcare System in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and is a member of the Aurora Quality Committee. Also, he has served on the board of Carondelet Health Network in Tucson since July 2009, where he chairs the Quality & Patient Safety Committee as well as serving on the Audit Committee. Also, he serves on the board of the Center for Personalized Education for Physicians (CPEP) based in Denver which focuses on remedial and re-entry educational assessments and educational plans for physicians. Additionally, he was a founding member of the Health Management Academy CMO Forum.
Aubrie Augustus, BSN, RN, MHA
Senior Vice President, Aubrie Augustus, MHA, BSN, RN provides experienced counsel and implementation support for strategic planning, physician alignment, accountable clinical management, care model development and performance transformation engagements. She has more than twenty five years' experience in health care leadership and a proven track record as an executive and consultant specializing in assessing and designing effective quality and care coordination infrastructures. Integrating lessons learned from high-performing organizations with the experience of working with physicians and healthcare organizations, Aubrie has been able to help organizations achieve superior clinical and financial outcomes.
Aubrie has facilitated the development and adoption of comprehensive measurement systems which have served as the anchor for driving organization-wide improvement through transparency and shared accountability. Aubrie is well versed in process improvement and regulatory compliance and has supported the design and implementation of hospital and physician co-management companies, new care models, and clinically integrated multispecialty physician networks.
Prior to joining Navvis, Aubrie served as the Vice President of Clinical Excellence and Outcomes Management at East Jefferson General Hospital in Metairie, Louisiana. Here she assumed leadership for quality, process improvement, care management, social services and infection control. Under her leadership the hospital achieved a 15% reduction in length of stay and improved its “Perfect Care,” or evidenced-based score, by 26%. Premier and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s 2010 site visit named Aubrie’s approach a national “best practice” model that contributed greatly to the rapid improvements the hospital achieved in evidenced-based care, mortality and cost reductions.
In addition, Aubrie brings to each client engagement the knowledge and experiences gained from her broad previous hospital experience (Methodist Hospital in New Orleans, Mercy –Baptist Hospital in New Orleans, Sisters of Mercy Hospital in Laredo, Texas) and the many clients she supported while working for CareScience and in her own consulting firm.
Aubrie earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from McNeese University in Lake Charles, Louisiana and a Masters in Healthcare Administration from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.
Email Aubrie: aaugustus@navvisandcompany.com
Phone Aubrie: 636-536-9443
Robert Bauer – Senior Vice President
Bob Bauer has over 30 years of consulting and executive leadership experience in the health care industry. He has served as the V.P. Finance/CFO for community-based, multi-hospital, teaching and faith based health systems. Bob is known for his strategic approach to financial leadership and has led numerous acquisition, affiliation and financing transactions.
Bob has extensive experience in PHO and integrated health system development. He implemented a Core Competency Development Program to accelerate physician leadership development. He has served as Sr. V.P./COO for a network of ten hospitals and their respective PHOs or IPAs involved in risk based managed care contracting. Bob is also an innovator in ambulatory care strategies. He created the nationally recognized Health and Wellness Center by Doylestown Hospital, an experientially designed comprehensive outpatient campus.
Bob graduated from Villanova University with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting. He is a member of the Healthcare Financial Management Association and the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants, where he has served on the statewide Health Care Committee.
Michael Eaton – Senior Vice President
Mike offers more than 25 years experience effecting change in the healthcare industry and national policy and politics. He is known for his ability to identify and execute growth opportunities and accelerate healthcare marketing, business development and innovation efforts. Mike is responsible for Navvis and Company’s brand and marketing portfolio. In that capacity he is Managing Director of Brand+Lever, Navvis’ joint venture with BVK to develop and execute integrated brand and marketing strategies to grow high-performing clinical enterprises.
Prior to joining Navvis Mike held executive positions in Milwaukee with Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare and Aurora Health Care. At Aurora he was a member of the executive team with responsibility for governmental affairs and operational responsibility for Aurora Family Service. Mike held a series of executive positions with the Wisconsin Medical Society, has served as executive director of the Wisconsin Public Health Association, and was a founder of the Wisconsin Ambulatory Surgery Center Association. Before entering the healthcare arena Mike held leadership positions for members of Congress, serving as legislative director for U.S. Congressmen Bill Emerson and Henry Hyde in the 1980’s and as chief of staff for then Wisconsin State Senator Margaret Farrow in the mid-1990’s. A former lobbyist, he remains connected and conversant on the implementation of health policy reforms at the state and national levels.
Mike graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with honors in Economics and History. He belongs to and is active in several professional societies and healthcare organizations. He has served on numerous boards including the Wisconsin Hospital Association, the Wisconsin Medical Group Management Association; the Institute for Illinois; and boards for a number of community non-profits.
Email Mike: meaton@navvisandcompany.com
Call Mike: 636-536-9443
Terry Kopp serves as Senior Vice President in the Navvis consulting practice, bringing more than 25 years of executive health care leadership. He has led both publicly and privately held managed care and health care organizations to sustained profitability. Terry is responsible for helping physicians develop and implement evidence-based pathways to compress variations in care and improve clinical outcomes. He has the unique combination of skills and experience to translate the resulting improved physician performance into better contractual terms with payers — a critical competency in the emerging world of value-based pay.
Prior to Navvis, Terry served as CEO of a cardiology consortium where he excelled at creating economic advantage from best practice implementation among large groups of physicians. Additionally, while COO with Anthem Health Systems (Blue Cross/Blue Shield), Terry was responsible for physician and hospital relationships with more than 6,000 providers in three statewide PPOs and two HMOs.
Most recently, Terry served as a Vice President at U.S. Oncology, where he led the strategic development and tactical implementation of evidenced-based guidelines across 46 physician practices throughout the United States.
Terry earned a Bachelor Degree in Business and a Masters Degree in Counseling, both from University of Cincinnati.
C.B. Rebsamen, MD – Senior Vice President
Dr. Rebsamen provides strategic counsel to health system, hospital and physician organizations on hospital-physician partnerships, physician enterprise development, and physician group practice, leadership and governance.
Prior to joining Navvis & Company, Dr. Rebsamen served as chief medical officer at Lee Memorial Health System (LMHS) in Fort Myers, Florida. There, he had responsibility for development of the health system’s physician enterprise, ambulatory and post acute care operations, managed care strategies and other business ventures involving LMHS’s physicians and strategic partners. Prior to joining Lee Memorial, he served as president and CEO of the Medical Care Associates of Tulsa, Inc., a 44-physician multi-specialty medical group; as medical director of PruCare Group Model HMO, also in Tulsa; and as medical director for Prudential Plus of Tulsa.
Dr. Rebsamen holds an undergraduate and MD degree from University of Arkansas, and did his post-graduate training in internal medicine at the Tulsa Medical Education Foundation. He is certified by the American Boards of Internal Medicine and Medical Management, and is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Email C.B.: crebsamen@navvisandcompany.com
Call C.B.: 407-571-1242
Kristi Short – Chief Administrative Officer, Senior Vice President
Kristi Short leads strategic planning, service line development and post acute care strategy engagements for health system clients, and oversees the firm’s planning and market analysis functions. With more than 20 years experience in strategic planning, business development and strategy implementation in the healthcare and financial services industries, she brings a valuable perspective to her work with client organizations having led broad-based initiatives in two heavily regulated and dynamic sectors.
Prior to joining Navvis & Company, she worked for Centerre Healthcare and HealthSouth as VP of Development. There she served as the lead developer in orchestrating specialty hospital and technology joint ventures with large academic medical centers as well as smaller community providers. Previously, she directed planning activities for BJC Healthcare in St. Louis, MO. Before entering the healthcare industry, Kristi worked in the financial services area. She served as senior vice president with responsibility for strategic planning and oversight of the electronic payments operations for the Eighth Federal Reserve District. She also chaired several Federal Reserve Subcommittees during her 13 year tenure.
Kristi is a graduate of Kansas State University and hold a master’s in Journalism from the University of Missouri.
Email Kristi: kshort@navvisandcompany.com
Phone Kristi: 636-536-9443
Ernie Tsoules - Senior Vice President
Ernie Tsoules represents both hospitals and physician groups/networks in a broad array of clinical integration, accountable care organization, health information technology and other physician alignment strategy and transactions. With Ernie’s substantial experience in all aspects of developing and implementing strategic alliances between hospitals and physicians, he brings a valuable perspective to his work with both client organizations as well as Navvis consultants.
Ernie’s focus in the firm is on structuring and implementing traditional and innovative hospital-physician alliances, including accountable care organizations, jointly owned medical groups, clinical co-management arrangements, joint ventures for ambulatory surgery, imaging and cancer centers, physician recruitment and retention arrangements, as well as developing governance models and physician group compensation plans to address cost, quality and ancillary service revenue issues while maintaining compliance with myriad regulatory requirements.
Ernie remains a partner with Tsoules, Sweeney, Martin & Orr, LLC, an Exton, Pennsylvania based law firm. He holds a bachelor’s degree and a J.D. from Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania. He is a member of the American Health Lawyers Association and the Medical Group Management Association.
Phone Ernie: 636-536-9443
Greg Wilson – Senior Vice President
Greg offers clients more than 25 years of finance experience in healthcare and medical-related fields, including management consulting, financial operations and auditing. His expertise is in financial analysis, forecasting and modeling, reimbursement, business valuation and transactions in hospital, outpatient facility and physician practice settings, including the impact of provider based reimbursement relative to freestanding or joint venture operations. Greg leads our finance team in the analysis of physician practices, including allocation of professional vs. ancillary revenues and expenses, post-integration analyses from the hospital’s perspective, analyzing the sources of historical physician compensation, and developing fair market value physician compensation models.
Prior to joining Navvis & Company, Greg served as chief financial officer for Lasersight Inc., a publicly traded medical device manufacturing company. Greg was responsible for all SEC reporting, annual reports to shareholders, accounting, finance, treasury functions and tax filings. Additionally, he has been involved in the negotiation and managed the due diligence for significant debt and equity capital transactions, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures and intellectual property license agreements. Before Lasersight, Greg was a senior manager at Deloitte & Touche Consulting in St. Louis, focusing in the healthcare field.
Greg earned his bachelor of science degree in accounting from Missouri State University.
Email Greg: gwilson@navvisandcompany.com
Phone Greg: 407-571-1242
Donna Erickson provides financial expertise to support Navvis & Company’s strategy engagements with health systems, hospitals and physician groups nationwide. With more than 15 years experience in cost analysis, accounting, and financial analysis, Donna is an important and valuable addition to the Navvis & Company finance team.
Prior to joining Navvis & Company, Donna worked as a financial analyst in the Orlando Market of HCA Physician Services, where she was responsible for financial needs of the Market such as projections and forecasting, budget planning and preparation, and Monthly Operating Reviews including compensation reviews with physicians. Six open practices and ten active providers. Previously she held roles as regional accountant for HCA/ASD Division in Orlando, Fla. and Cost Analyst for LiveTV/JetBlue Airways in Melbourne, Fla. Donna began her healthcare career spending ten years at Parrish Medical Center in Titusville, FL, with roles in the Business Office, Emergency Department, Diabetes Education, and Medical Records.
Donna is a graduate of the University of Central Florida, where she earned her bachelor’s of science in business administration with a concentration in accounting. She is currently enrolled at the Florida Institute of Technology, and will complete her professional master of business administration in December. Donna is a member of the Healthcare Financial Management Association and the Medical Group Management Association.
Don Andrews - Vice President
Don Andrews has 30 years experience in the healthcare industry. He brings clients a broad base of experience in enhancing financial performance through market and organizational opportunity development and in guiding organizations through challenging decision processes. Don also has extensive experience in facilitating strategy, business development and financial assessments with hospital and health system boards, senior management, and medical staffs.
Don has led successful project teams on more than 200 engagements in a variety of healthcare industry segments, including inpatient acute, post acute care, ambulatory, solo and group physician practices, Catholic and other multi-hospital systems, integrated delivery systems, academic medical centers and practice plans, medical schools, public hospitals, rural hospitals, medical equipment manufacturers, proprietary chains, and professional service organizations. Projects have included clinical service line development, medical staff, organizational and facilities development, mergers and acquisitions, reimbursement optimization, and financial feasibility and financing.
Prior positions include senior manager with Ernst & Young Health Strategy Group, and director of the Washington University School of Medicine/Barnes Jewish Hospital Joint Office of Strategic Planning. Don is a member of the Healthcare Financial Management Association. He received a bachelor’s degree in community health education from the University of Washington and a master’s degree in health services management from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Email Don: dandrews@navvisandcompany.com
Phone Don: 636-536-9443
Carrie Cleveland - Vice President
Carrie Cleveland, vice president, consults on physician acquisition and integration strategies and the development of physician enterprise models. She brings clients an extensive background in health system operations, strategic physician transactions, clinical improvement and cost restructuring.
Prior to joining Navvis & Company, Carrie worked as the national accounts manager for a European medical device company and held account management and consulting positions with St. Jude Medical, VHA Consulting Services, Performance Logic, and APM. Additionally, Carrie spent five years in clinical operations with Columbia/HCA.
Carrie earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing and master’s in business administration from Columbia University in New York.
Email Carrie: ccleveland@navvisandcompany.com
Phone Carrie: 407-571-1242
Kathy Gibala - Vice President
Kathy Gibala is a seasoned healthcare management consultant and educator with a broad range of consulting, training and development, and operations experience. She has particular expertise in the areas of culture change, leadership development, creating strategic alignment and merger and acquisition integration.
Kathy began her career as an investigator with the U.S. Department of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board. During her 20 years in the healthcare industry, she has held consultant, operations management and senior leadership positions in medium to large healthcare organizations. Her experience encompasses healthcare systems, academic medical centers, community hospitals, pediatric facilities and ambulatory care centers, including two of the nation's Top 10 hospitals.
During her more than 10-year affiliation with a large Midwest health system, Kathy successfully designed and facilitated a broad range of innovative services, strategies and initiatives that promoted patient, physician and employee satisfaction, enhanced service quality and improved overall organization performance. She has extensive experience in developing customized solutions to help organizations enhance leadership and overall organization effectiveness, strengthen patient, employee and physician relations, create strategic alignment and effectively lead and manage organizational change. She received the President’s Award and national recognition for her work in the area of culture change facilitation.
Kathy holds degrees in economics, labor relations and political science from the University of Missouri – Columbia.
Email Kathy: kgibala@navvisandcompany.com
Phone Kathy: 636-536-9443
Kathy Hardesty – Vice President
Kathy brings to Navvis & Company more than twenty years as a healthcare executive focused on hospital operations and education. Her results-oriented approach to planning, implementation and management of programs and processes has led to consistently exceeded expectations in quality measures, patient, physician and employee satisfaction and increased profitability.
Kathy translates her experience as a Vice-President of Nursing/CNO to clients through motivation and support as they attain high levels of performance and achieve bottom-line results for their organization. As a community and hospital education professional, Kathy has significant expertise in creating, implementing and evaluating programs designed to increase the competency of nurses, health care professionals, leaders and consumers.
Kathy’s consulting clients have benefited from her expertise in the areas of nursing leadership development, patient throughput performance, accreditation and licensure compliance and service line development, implementation and outcomes management. In 2005, Kathy co-led the Emergency Department/Hospital Throughput Team, “Creating a Culture of Shared Accountability,” a Missouri Team Quality Award Winner.
Kathy received her bachelor of science degree in community health education from the University of Illinois and her bachelor of science degree in nursing and master’s in public health from Saint Louis University. Kathy is a member of the St. Louis Crises Nursery Advisory Board. The American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) has recognized Kathy as Certified in Executive Nursing Practice (CENP).
Email Kathy: khardesty@navvisandcompany.com
Phone Kathy: 636-536-9443
Rachael K Schad – Vice President
Rachael has nine years of healthcare experience. She spent four years with the Aurora Health System as a corporate operations and quality improvement consultant. During this time she worked with hospital administration in the development of productivity standards and resource planning. Rachael worked for three years as the Practice Administrator for a seven provider Orthopedic Practice. She joined Navvis & Company after working with WellStar Health System where she served in the capacity of manager for the Total Joint and Spine Program where her responsibilities included service line planning, operational efficiency and program development
Rachael completed her undergraduate studies in Sociology and graduate studies in Social Work at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Later she attended Lakeland College and earned her Master's in Business Administration.
Email Rachael: rschad@navvisandcompany.com
Phone Rachael: 636-536-9443
Richard Slack - Vice President
Rich brings to Navvis more than 25 years of experience directing all aspects of strategic planning, business development and marketing for major healthcare organizations. For our clients, Rich focuses on the development of physician leadership strategies and physician alignment activities. He has directed the development of health service organizations as a senior executive as well as consultant and manager for a large consulting practice. His experience includes business development and marketing strategy for physician groups, academic medical centers, rural hospitals, for-profit and not-for-profit hospitals.
Immediately prior to joining Navvis & Company, Rich was a principal at NTrust, a healthcare consulting firm. Additionally, Rich served as the senior vice president for strategy and business development for Catholic Healthcare West’s St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, and four years as the vice president of strategic and business development for Allina Health System’s Abbott Northwestern Hospital.
A frequent speaker and presenter on a range of health and health-related topics, Rich holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Nebraska and a master's degree with an emphasis in operations and marketing from the University of Missouri-Columbia, graduating with distinction.
Email Rich: rslack@navvisandcompany.com
Phone Rich: 602-380-4559
Jon Cunningham - Senior Consultant
Jon Cunningham offers Navvis & Company clients strong analytical, planning and project management skills based on years of experience as a healthcare consultant.
Previously, Jon worked at Ernst & Young where he advised healthcare clients in strategic planning, physician integration, revenue cycle, pharmacy, supply chain and financial analysis. He also held the position of manager for business and product development with VHA Inc. and served in hospital and outpatient operational leadership positions for Trinity Mother Frances Health System.
Jon earned a BS Degree in Biomedical Science from Texas A&M University and a master’s degree in Health Care Administration from Trinity University. He is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Email Jon: jcunningham@navvisandcompany.com
Phne Jon: 636-536-9443
Ben Shaker - Senior Consultant
As senior consultant, Ben assists Navvis & Company clients in the areas of strategic planning, physician integration and alignment, and hospital operations. Ben has worked with academic medical centers, community hospitals, health systems, and physician practice groups throughout the country and is skilled in managing hospital/physician relationships, developing service line strategies, providing project management support, and creating financial modeling tools.
Prior to joining Navvis & Company, Ben was a consultant with Ernst & Young in West Palm Beach, FL. In his former position, he focused on hospital performance improvement initiatives, strategy development and implementation, and revenue cycle enhancement. Ben has also worked in hospital settings in strategic planning and risk management.
Ben received his bachelor of arts degree in economics from Youngstown State University and his master’s degree in healthcare administration from The Ohio State University. Ben is a member of the Healthcare Financial Management Association and the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Email Ben: bshaker@navvisandcompany.com
Phone Ben: 407-571-1242
Tim Chrum is a Senior Consultant in the Navvis Consulting Resource Group. In this role, Tim’s primary focus will be to help clients with clinical operations projects and Accountable Clinical Management (ACM). Tim will also work with teams on strategy, planning and governance projects.
Prior to joining Navvis & Company, Tim served as the Director of Resources and Medical Surgical Services at St. Anthony’s Medical Center in St. Louis, Mo. In that role, he oversaw multiple departmental budgets including two 30-bed medical/General Surgery units, nursing resource department and float pool. He also developed hospital policies and procedures to improve staffing and performance, and established new programs based on regional and national trends in nursing practice and staffing patterns.
Tim started his career at St. Anthony’s as a registered nurse, eventually becoming the interim Orthopedic Nurse Manager, before earning a promotion to Resource Manager. He brings to Navvis expertise in strategic planning, process improvement, business development, financial management, contract negotiations and project management. Tim earned his Bachelor’s degree in Nursing from Deaconess College of Nursing in St. Louis, Mo. and a Master’s of Business Administration from Fontbonne University, also in St. Louis.
Karen Miller is a seasoned healthcare financial executive who serves as a Senior Consultant at Navvis & Company in the finance group. She has more than 16 years of financial leadership in the healthcare provider space with expertise in a broad array of disciplines including: financial planning and prospective analysis; proforma and budget development; reimbursement practices; capital planning and resource allocation; andvarious decision support tools.
Karen has well-rounded experience in hospitals, physician groups and outpatient settings. Her keen analytical, organizational and outcomes-measurement skills add valuable perspective to client projects. She is particularly adept at data modeling and analysis.
Karen began her career in a regional accounting firm where she spent five years as an external auditor. Prior to Navvis, Karen served as Corporate Director of Financial Planning, Decision Support and Budgets within Baptist Healthcare Corporation, an integrated delivery system in Pensacola, Florida. She graduated Cum Laude from the University of West Florida with a degree in Accounting and received certification from the Alabama Society of Certified Public Accountants and the Healthcare Financial Management Association.
Lauren Colling – Consultant
Lauren Colling provides analytical and project management support for Navvis &Company’s planning engagements. With experience in finance, operations, project management and strategic planning, Lauren brings a valuable perspective to her work with client organizations.
Prior to joining Navvis & Company, Lauren served as manager leading the start-up and acquisition process for new physician practices at BJC Medical Group in St. Louis, MO. Previously, Lauren worked as a finance measurement lead with Accretive Health, a managed services company focusing on end-to-end revenue cycle management solutions.
Lauren earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Indiana University and master’s degrees from Washington University in St. Louis, MO, in both health administration, where she was valedictorian of her class, and business administration. Lauren serves on the board of the Cancer Support Community and has been active in the St. Louis volunteer community.
Tyler Oleksy – Consultant
Tyler works with Navvis clients and executives in the areas of strategic healthcare planning and market analysis. Tyler’s vast market research experience helps clients identify quantifiable operational strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities, including development of analytic programs assessing key financial, operational, and demographic data to support deployment of both long- and short-term strategic business imperatives.
Tyler’s experience also includes marketing, advertising, strategic communications, and management. He is skilled in quantitative and qualitative market research to support strategic business planning initiatives around physician integration, service line planning, market and ambulatory expansion, and post-acute services development.
Prior to joining Navvis & Company, Tyler was a Senior Manager of market research with Fleishman-Hillard, Inc., a premier international public relations agency, where he developed primary research programs and opinion polling strategies for Fortune 500 clients in a wide range of industries, including healthcare, telecommunications, financial services, bioengineering, retail, energy, and the Internet.
Tyler holds a bachelor of arts degree in English from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Email Tyler: toleksy@navvisandcompany.com
Phone Tyler: 636-536-9443
Oscar DeNarvaez, Assistant Consultant
Oscar graduated from Montana State University in 2008 with honors in Cell Biology and Neuroscience and helps to provide context and insight with every client.
His grasp of management assures communication between medical personnel, hospital management and healthcare consultants are accurate and timely, promoting a team-centered solution process in all engagements.
Oscar has a passion for people and business, and will create an environment where creativity and realism can be explored and evaluated in order to determine an outcome that best caters to our client’s current needs and future potential.
Bart Shults – Manager of Facility Development
Bart leads the Navvis & Company Property Management division. His wealth of practical experience in real estate and construction greatly enhances his work on every project.
Before joining Navvis & Company, Bart worked as a property management consultant and managed his own construction company. He has worked with the Environmental Protection Agency in the State of Illinois for the past twenty-five years and the Waste Water Association of Illinois.
Email Bart: bshults@navvisandcompany.com
Phone Bart: 636-536-9443
Brenda Douglas - Client Services Manager
Brenda Douglas joined Navvis & Company in August 2009 as Client Services Manager. In her role with Navvis & Company, Brenda supports the consulting services team with project management activities, including report development, client services reporting, and new business development activities.
Brenda brings to this position 15 years of office management, executive administration, customer service and sales support. Prior to joining Navvis, Brenda worked for a home health & hospice Agency as a sales data analyst. She has also held positions as inside sales, executive assistant, and office manager.
Brenda holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
