Health Leader Forge

Today’s guest is Jill Gravink, the Founder and Executive Director of Northeast Passage. Jill founded Northeast Passage in 1990 as a means of bringing Recreational Therapy out of the inpatient setting and into the community. Northeast Passage works with people who have physical and mental disabilities, using sport and leisure activities to improve the quality of the client’s life and to, as they sa...

Today’s guest is Greg Townsend, the Vice President of Business Intelligence and Analytics at Commonwealth Care Alliance in Boston. Greg’s path to leadership in health analytics traces the coming of age of analytics in health care. Greg’s educational background began in public health working with disease management and health promotion, which led him to roles in risk management and quality improvem...

Today’s guest is Greg Townsend, the Vice President of Business Intelligence and Analytics at Commonwealth Care Alliance in Boston. Greg’s path to leadership in health analytics traces the coming of age of analytics in health care. Greg’s educational background began in public health working with disease management and health promotion, which led him to roles in risk management and quality improvem...

Today’s guest is Robert Mach, the Executive Director of Operations for Littleton Regional Healthcare, and the New Hampshire Regent for the American College of Healthcare Executives. Robert has had a fascinating career starting out as an air traffic controller for the US Marine Corps, then transitioning to health care initially as a radiology technician, and working his way up into the executive ra...

For today’s interview I return to the Manchester Health Department to talk with Phil Alexakos, the Chief of Environmental Health and Emergency Preparedness Division, about how he and his department plan and prepare for public health crises. As we remembered the 14th anniversary of the tragic events of September 11th, 2001 just a few days ago, Phil’s division’s focus has expanded from naturally occ...

Today’s guest is Bridget Stewart, the Vice President for Physician Services at the Elliot Health System in Manchester, New Hamsphire. Bridget’s career spans a wide variety of hospitals and clinical activities, but always focused on operations management. She has worked at several world famous Boston hospitals such as Brigham and Women’s, Boston Children’s and most recently before coming to the Ell...

Today’s guest is Bridget Stewart, the Vice President for Physician Services at the Elliot Health System in Manchester, New Hamsphire. Bridget’s career spans a wide variety of hospitals and clinical activities, but always focused on operations management. She has worked at several world famous Boston hospitals such as Brigham and Women’s, Boston Children’s and most recently before coming to the Ell...

Today’s interview is with Jay Couture, the Executive Director and CEO of the Seacoast Mental Health Center, a non-profit community mental health center in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Jay received master’s degree from the Department of Health Management and Policy here at UNH. Jay knew early on that she wanted to work in mental health, but thought she would be a provider. In this podcast we talk abo...

Today’s interview is with Jay Couture, the Executive Director and CEO of the Seacoast Mental Health Center, a non-profit community mental health center in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Jay received master’s degree from the Department of Health Management and Policy here at UNH. Jay knew early on that she wanted to work in mental health, but thought she would be a provider. This is the abridged versio...

Today’s interview is with Tricia Cummings, the Administrator of The Edgewood Centre, a 150 bed family owned nursing home in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Tricia received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Department of Health Management and Policy here at UNH. Tricia’s career story shows how early job experiences often generate skills that become critical later in one’s career, and tha...

Today’s interview is with Stephen Norton, the Director of the New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies, a non-profit policy think tank that provides non-partisan analysis to decision makers in New Hampshire in both the public and private sectors. In this podcast Steve gives us a unique insider view into how the Center produces its analysis so that it is evidence based and as non-ideological...

Today's interview is with Major General Jimmie O. Keenan, the Deputy Commanding General-Operations for the U.S. Army Medical Command, and the Chief of the Army Nurse Corps. To put Major General Keenan's accomplishments into perspective for listeners who are not familiar with the the military, the Army has approximately 492,000 active duty personnel, and only 309 general officers. Furthermore, Majo...

Today’s guest is Edgar J. Helms, Jr, better known as Ned to his friends and colleagues here at the University of New Hampshire, where he has served as the Director of the Institute for Health Policy and Practice since 2001. Ned has had a remarkable career that has spanned leadership roles in the military, as well as state, and federal governments; and in both for profit and not for profit entities...

Today’s guest is Kevin Callahan, the CEO of Exeter Health Resources in Exeter New Hampshire. Kevin has been the CEO of Exeter Health Resources for nearly 30 years. His tenure spans many of the healthcare industry’s most tumultuous changes. Kevin describes himself as a person who thrives on the challenge of change, and in this interview he talks about how he has kept the organization adaptable. The...

Today’s guest is Kevin Callahan, the CEO of Exeter Health Resources in Exeter New Hampshire. Kevin has been the CEO of Exeter Health Resources for nearly 30 years. His tenure spans many of the healthcare industry’s most tumultuous changes. Kevin describes himself as a person who thrives on the challenge of change, and in this interview he talks about how he has kept the organization adaptable. The...

This week's guest is Tim Soucy, the Director of the Manchester Health Department. Tim started in the Department as a sanitarian and worked his way up to the be the Director in 2006. In this podcast, Tim talks about his 25 years of service to his home city, how the Department has evolved, and the challenges and opportunities public health workers face everyday trying to make Manchester a safer and...

Today’s guest is Peter Wright, the President and CEO of Valley Regional Healthcare in Claremont New Hampshire. Valley Regional Healthcare is a health system that includes Valley Regional Hospital, a large physician group practice, a home health agency, and part ownership in a long term care facility. Peter took an unusual route to becoming Northern New England’s youngest hospital CEO, and his expe...

Today’s guest is Colonel David Bitterman, Chief Operating Officer of the US Army Southern Regional Medical Command. The Southern Regional Medical Command is the Army’s largest Regional Medical Command and consists of 15 Army medical treatment facilities located in the southeast quadrant of the continental United States from Texas to Georgia, and north to Oklahoma through Tennessee. The Command pro...

Interview with Mike Ferrara, Dean of the College of Health and Human Services at the University of New Hampshire. For more information: http://www.healthleaderforge.org This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit healthleaderforge.substack.com