The Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show

A patient can order groceries in seconds. Track a package in real time.Open a bank account from their phone. Then they walk into a doctor's office, and someone hands them a clipboard.We've all been there.On this episode of the Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show, host Michael Stamatinos sits down with Jen Hopper, Digital Transformation Leader at Beacon Health System, one of the largest locally owned nonprofit health systems in the Midwest, serving thousands of patients every day across Indiana and Michigan.Over nearly 200 conversations with healthcare leaders, founders, and operators, Michael has heard a common theme: healthcare doesn't struggle because it lacks innovation. It struggles because turning innovation into meaningful experiences for patients is incredibly hard.That's exactly where Jen spends her time.As Beacon has grown through acquisitions and expansion, she's been in the middle of one of healthcare's hardest jobs, standardizing processes, improving digital access, and helping create experiences that feel more intuitive, more personal, and more human.What makes Jen's perspective so refreshing is that she doesn't think of people as users or encounters.She thinks of them as stakeholders.It's a subtle difference. It's also an important one because once that mindset shifts, the conversation changes.The question stops being "How do we deploy this technology?"And becomes: How do we make this experience better for the person sitting in the waiting room?In this conversation, Michael and Jen explore:• Why digital transformation remains so difficult in healthcare.• Why buying technology and being operationally ready for technology are two completely different things.• What healthcare leaders are getting wrong about AI.• Why healthcare keeps building shiny new front doors while the house still needs work.• And why the future of healthcare will belong to organizations that can blend innovation with human connection.The work Jen and her team are doing may never make headlines.It may never be the topic of conversation at a dinner party.But thousands of patients will have a better experience because of it. And that's work worth talking about.In this episode:• Why digital transformation initiatives often fail• The hidden work required before technology can scale• Why standardization is so difficult in healthcare• The difference between patient acquisition and operational readiness• What healthcare leaders consistently get wrong about AI• Why patient feedback needs to happen in real time• The balance between automation and human connection• Why clean data matters more than most organizations realize• How healthcare can finally start meeting patients where they areChapters03:35 The experience that shaped Jen's career07:12 Patients now have a choice10:30 Why standardization is so difficult14:15 What vendors consistently get wrong18:15 The AI treadmill20:30 Lessons from digital registration23:20 Building the front door before the house is ready25:35 The healthcare conversation nobody is having29:35 The patient outcomes that make the work worthwhile33:10 The biggest AI mistake healthcare may make41:45 The opportunity healthcare cannot afford to missFollow Jen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenhopperBeacon Health System: https://www.beaconhealthsystem.org/📣 LIKE, COMMENT & SUBSCRIBEIf this conversation moved you, challenged your thinking, or sparked an idea, share it with someone who needs to hear it. Subscribe for more episodes with healthcare leaders who are not just thinking differently, they’re building differently. About the ShowThe Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show is hosted by Michael Stamatinos, a nationally recognized connector, strategist, and advocate for innovation with purpose. Each week, Michael interviews healthcare leaders who are driving meaningful change—highlighting stories of access, resilience, equity, and transformation.The AHI Show started with the idea of wanting to highlight stories of what healthcare innovation truly looks like in action. Our mission, highlight real people who are really innovating within healthcare. Guests include healthcare entrepreneurs, providers, payers, and professionals from the investment community. We showcase little wins as well as valuable lessons learned from setbacks through these interviews. The real innovators in healthcare are often the ones in the trenches doing the work with razor-sharp focus. We find these innovators and bring their stories to light. 🔗 Michael’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelstamo🎧 Subscribe for more episodes that move beyond theory and into the heart of what’s really possible in healthcare.Join our group, Advancing Healthcare Innovation Forum on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7056196/

Most people think the biggest barriers in healthcare are access, staffing, or technology.Brian Marsella thinks it's something else.Money.Millions of Americans delay or avoid care every year because they're worried about what it might cost, what bill might show up later, or whether they can afford to walk through the door in the first place.In this episode of the Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show, Michael Stamatinos sits down with Brian Marsella, President of PayMedix and Board Chair of Erie Family Health Center, for a candid conversation about one of healthcare's most overlooked barriers to access: the patient financial experience.With more than 30 years of leadership experience spanning Cigna, Aetna, and now PayMedix, Brian has had a front-row seat to how financial friction shapes patient behavior, health outcomes, and the future of healthcare.The conversation explores:• Why 67% of Americans earning less than $90,000 delay or avoid care• The unintended consequences of high deductible health plans• Why patients ignore medical bills until the final notice arrives• How financial friction changes health outcomes• What employers, providers, and health plans can do differently• Why fixing the payment experience could unlock better access to careThis isn't really a conversation about healthcare payments.It's a conversation about trust.And what happens when people are forced to choose between their health and their finances.If you've ever wondered why healthcare still feels so hard to navigate, this episode is for you.⏱ Chapters03:58 Brian's unexpected start in healthcare10:00 The hidden cost of delayed care15:27 Lessons from Erie Family Health Center18:59 Did healthcare create this problem itself?27:11 How PayMedix works37:37 Why change is so difficult40:42 What leaders misunderstand about the patient financial experience43:39 A vision for the future of healthcare46:11 Final thoughtsFollow Brian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-marsella/Paymedix: https://paymedix.com/📣 LIKE, COMMENT & SUBSCRIBEIf this conversation moved you, challenged your thinking, or sparked an idea, share it with someone who needs to hear it. Subscribe for more episodes with healthcare leaders who are not just thinking differently, they’re building differently. About the ShowThe Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show is hosted by Michael Stamatinos, a nationally recognized connector, strategist, and advocate for innovation with purpose. Each week, Michael interviews healthcare leaders who are driving meaningful change—highlighting stories of access, resilience, equity, and transformation.The AHI Show started with the idea of wanting to highlight stories of what healthcare innovation truly looks like in action. Our mission, highlight real people who are really innovating within healthcare. Guests include healthcare entrepreneurs, providers, payers, and professionals from the investment community. We showcase little wins as well as valuable lessons learned from setbacks through these interviews. The real innovators in healthcare are often the ones in the trenches doing the work with razor-sharp focus. We find these innovators and bring their stories to light. 🔗 Michael’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelstamo🎧 Subscribe for more episodes that move beyond theory and into the heart of what’s really possible in healthcare.Join our group, Advancing Healthcare Innovation Forum on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7056196/

Healthcare has a workforce crisis, but what if the real problem isn't staffing?In Episode 192 of the Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show, Michael Stamatinos sits down with Tess Michaels, Founder and CEO of Clasp, to explore a bold new approach to solving one of healthcare's biggest challenges: attracting and retaining clinicians before they ever enter the workforce.With more than 3 million clinical positions sitting unfilled across the United States and student loan debt surpassing $1.7 trillion, health systems continue to rely on sign-on bonuses and short-term incentives that often fail to improve long-term retention. Tess believes there's a better way.Drawing inspiration from the ROTC model, Clasp pioneered "Loan Linking Hiring," an innovative approach that connects healthcare employers with future clinicians while they're still in school. Instead of paying large bonuses upfront, employers invest in student loan repayment over time, creating stronger loyalty, improving retention, and helping clinicians begin their careers with greater financial confidence.Throughout the conversation, Tess shares:• Why the healthcare workforce shortage is really a retention problem• How student loan debt influences where clinicians choose to work and how long they stay• Why traditional sign-on bonuses often create more turnover than loyalty• How Clasp partners with leading health systems including Northwestern Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Novant Health, and OhioHealth• The psychology behind long-term employee retention• Lessons learned from building a venture-backed healthcare company over the past eight years• The hardest moments of entrepreneurship that rarely make the headlines• How immigrant parents, education, and purpose shaped her leadership journey• Why investing in people earlier changes the future of healthcareThis episode is about far more than recruiting. It's a conversation about leadership, innovation, trust, financial wellness, workforce strategy, and designing systems that create better outcomes for both clinicians and patients.If you're a healthcare executive, hospital leader, HR executive, workforce strategist, investor, entrepreneur, clinician, or simply passionate about the future of healthcare, this is an episode you won't want to miss.Learn more about Clasp: https://www.clasp.com/Connect with Tess Michaels: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tessmichaels/⏱️ Timestamps01:15 The healthcare workforce crisis: 3 million open clinical roles03:05 Meet Tess Michaels and the origin of Clasp04:25 Growing up in a family of physicians06:00 Leaving Goldman Sachs and private equity to become a founder08:00 The insight that led to Clasp10:40 Why healthcare's staffing problem is really a retention problem14:25 How Loan Linking Hiring works15:40 Why sign-on bonuses fail18:55 Real stories of clinicians whose lives changed21:10 How health systems justify the investment24:00 Winning the first healthcare customer25:30 Building Clasp over eight years26:15 The hardest part of being a founder28:50 How Tess's immigrant family shaped her leadership31:15 A message to the next generation of clinicians33:30 Where to learn more about Clasp34:10 Final thoughts📣 LIKE, COMMENT & SUBSCRIBEIf this conversation moved you, challenged your thinking, or sparked an idea, share it with someone who needs to hear it. Subscribe for more episodes with healthcare leaders who are not just thinking differently, they’re building differently. About the ShowThe Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show is hosted by Michael Stamatinos, a nationally recognized connector, strategist, and advocate for innovation with purpose. Each week, Michael interviews healthcare leaders who are driving meaningful change—highlighting stories of access, resilience, equity, and transformation.The AHI Show started with the idea of wanting to highlight stories of what healthcare innovation truly looks like in action. Our mission, highlight real people who are really innovating within healthcare. Guests include healthcare entrepreneurs, providers, payers, and professionals from the investment community. We showcase little wins as well as valuable lessons learned from setbacks through these interviews. The real innovators in healthcare are often the ones in the trenches doing the work with razor-sharp focus. We find these innovators and bring their stories to light. 🔗 Michael’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelstamo🎧 Subscribe for more episodes that move beyond theory and into the heart of what’s really possible in healthcare.Join our group, Advancing Healthcare Innovation Forum on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7056196/

What if the biggest challenge in healthcare isn’t creating more innovation…but actually getting it into the hands of the people who need it most?In this episode of the Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show, Michael Stamatinos sits down with John Fryer, Chief Growth and Corporate Development Officer at Lumeris, to explore one of the most important questions facing healthcare today:How do we scale access to care without losing the human connection that makes healthcare work?Primary care is facing a defining moment.Millions of Americans struggle to access basic preventative care. Physicians are stretched thin. Health systems are under increasing pressure. And AI is entering healthcare faster than ever before.But technology alone won’t fix the problem. John shares how Lumeris is helping redesign the future of primary care by combining value-based care, artificial intelligence, clinical expertise, and new operating models that allow physicians to spend more time doing what they do best: caring for people.In this conversation, we discuss:• The conversation with Cerner founder Neal Patterson that changed the trajectory of John’s career• Why healthcare attracts people who want to solve incredibly difficult problems• Why trust and relationships still determine whether healthcare transformation succeeds• The difference between healthcare innovation and actually deploying innovation at scale• How AI can make healthcare more personal, not less human• Why rural America represents one of the greatest opportunities for healthcare transformation• How we redesign care around patients instead of around legacy systems• Why the next generation of healthcare leaders needs creativity, courage, and a builder mindsetJohn also shares powerful stories from the front lines, including how AI helped create a meaningful connection for a 90-year-old patient experiencing isolation and why the future of healthcare depends on pairing technology with empathy.Healthcare transformation does not happen through technology alone.It happens when the right people, partnerships, incentives, and trust come together around a problem worth solving.This is a conversation about the future of primary care, the role of AI, and the leaders building what comes next.Learn more about Lumeris:https://www.lumeris.com/Connect with John Fryer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenni-blendu-gudapati-phd-mba-rn-2049072a/📣 LIKE, COMMENT & SUBSCRIBEIf this conversation moved you, challenged your thinking, or sparked an idea, share it with someone who needs to hear it. Subscribe for more episodes with healthcare leaders who are not just thinking differently, they’re building differently. About the ShowThe Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show is hosted by Michael Stamatinos, a nationally recognized connector, strategist, and advocate for innovation with purpose. Each week, Michael interviews healthcare leaders who are driving meaningful change—highlighting stories of access, resilience, equity, and transformation.The AHI Show started with the idea of wanting to highlight stories of what healthcare innovation truly looks like in action. Our mission, highlight real people who are really innovating within healthcare. Guests include healthcare entrepreneurs, providers, payers, and professionals from the investment community. We showcase little wins as well as valuable lessons learned from setbacks through these interviews. The real innovators in healthcare are often the ones in the trenches doing the work with razor-sharp focus. We find these innovators and bring their stories to light. 🔗 Michael’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelstamo🎧 Subscribe for more episodes that move beyond theory and into the heart of what’s really possible in healthcare.Join our group, Advancing Healthcare Innovation Forum on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7056196/

What happens when the healthcare system has all the data…but still misses the patient?Dr. Jenni Gudapati, PhD has spent nearly three decades asking that question.She started her career as an emergency room and critical care nurse in rural America, where she saw the same patients returning again and again.At first, they were labeled “frequent flyers.”Then one patient changed everything.The patient wasn’t coming to the ER because the system lacked clinical information. She was coming because nobody had stopped long enough to understand her story. That moment reshaped Jenni’s entire view of healthcare.Since then, she has gone on to:* Build an award-winning graduate healthcare leadership program at Boise State University* Help develop national conversations around health equity and quality standards through CMS advisory work* Lead discussions around value-based care, population health, and healthcare transformation* Co-found Healthy Insights AI to help healthcare organizations better understand the complete patient storyIn this episode of the Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show, Michael Stamatinos sits down with Dr. Jenni Gudapati to discuss why healthcare transformation requires more than data, dashboards, and technology.They explore:05:00 What working as an ER nurse taught Jenni about the gaps in healthcare08:00 The patient story that changed the trajectory of her career14:00 Losing her father because of a preventable care coordination failure17:00 Why hospitals and insurance companies aren’t the “bad guys”21:00 The future of value-based care and Medicare Advantage23:00 Why healthcare data without context creates problems25:00 Building Healthy Insights AI31:00 Why great nurses see things algorithms miss34:00 Working on national healthcare policy conversations37:00 Developing the next generation of healthcare leaders40:00 Building relationships that create healthcare transformationHealthcare does not have a shortage of information. It has a shortage of understanding.And sometimes the most important data point is the story nobody thought to ask for.Learn more about Healthy Insights AI:https://healthyinsights.aiConnect with Dr. Jenni Gudapati: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenni-blendu-gudapati-phd-mba-rn-2049072a/📣 LIKE, COMMENT & SUBSCRIBEIf this conversation moved you, challenged your thinking, or sparked an idea, share it with someone who needs to hear it. Subscribe for more episodes with healthcare leaders who are not just thinking differently, they’re building differently. About the ShowThe Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show is hosted by Michael Stamatinos, a nationally recognized connector, strategist, and advocate for innovation with purpose. Each week, Michael interviews healthcare leaders who are driving meaningful change—highlighting stories of access, resilience, equity, and transformation.The AHI Show started with the idea of wanting to highlight stories of what healthcare innovation truly looks like in action. Our mission, highlight real people who are really innovating within healthcare. Guests include healthcare entrepreneurs, providers, payers, and professionals from the investment community. We showcase little wins as well as valuable lessons learned from setbacks through these interviews. The real innovators in healthcare are often the ones in the trenches doing the work with razor-sharp focus. We find these innovators and bring their stories to light. 🔗 Michael’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelstamo🎧 Subscribe for more episodes that move beyond theory and into the heart of what’s really possible in healthcare.Join our group, Advancing Healthcare Innovation Forum on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7056196/

George Hsu, Founder and CEO of Aulea Medical, joins host Michael Stamatinos on the Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show to discuss how a single-use urological device is reshaping OR efficiency, reducing infection risk, and expanding access to care in rural communities across the United States.He didn't set out to disrupt an industry. He just refused to accept a broken process.George Hsu spent 15 years deep in medical device R&D, at companies like Thoratec (acquired by Abbott) and Outset Medical (went public). He knew how to build things. He knew how to make the technology work. What he didn't know was that one day he'd walk into an operating room, watch a urological procedure collapse under the weight of outdated equipment, and decide, right there, that enough was enough.That moment became Aulea Medical. And Aulea Medical became Valoxion.In this episode, Michael Stamatinos and George Hsu break down what's actually happening before a urology patient even hits the table, why single-use devices could be the smarter economic play for health systems under cost pressure, and how a small team is quietly reaching rural communities that the big players have written off entirely.BPH affects half of all men by their 50s. Most of them don't know there are real options. George is building the answer, one physician relationship at a time.IN THIS EPISODEGeorge Hsu is the Founder and CEO of Aulea Medical, the company behind Valoxion, the first and only all-in-one single-use system for urological procedures. Before founding Aulea, George spent over 15 years in R&D at respected early-stage medtech companies including Thoratec (acquired by Abbott) and Outset Medical (IPO). He built Valoxion to address the inefficiency, infection risk, and access gaps baked into standard urology OR workflows.Michael Stamatinos and George Hsu cover:➤ The OR chaos that lit the fuse for Aulea Medical➤ Why health systems saving money on reusable equipment may be doing the math wrong➤ How Valoxion reaches rural communities the major device companies won't prioritize➤ The psychological and operational weight of running a lean startup in medtech➤ What building a company with purpose actually looks like from the inside⏱ TIMESTAMPS0:00 — Introduction: Who is George Hsu and what is Aulea Medical?3:32 — From R&D engineer to founder: What triggered the switch6:49 — How the Bay Area shaped George's risk tolerance10:31 — How George landed in urology12:05 — What a urology OR looks like before Valoxion is in the room17:09 — The question every medtech founder gets: "Isn't everyone's product simpler and safer?"19:06 — What it feels like watching your device used on a patient for the first time21:26 — The pressure that never turns off when running a startup25:23 — Playing David against Olympus, Boston Scientific, and Stryker28:12 — BPH: where's the real bottleneck, awareness or access?31:27 — Making the cost case for single-use devices to a stretched CFO34:41 — Where to follow George and Aulea Medical36:20 — What George would tell his 32-year-old selfhttps://www.auleamed.com/📣 LIKE, COMMENT & SUBSCRIBEIf this conversation moved you, challenged your thinking, or sparked an idea, share it with someone who needs to hear it. Subscribe for more episodes with healthcare leaders who are not just thinking differently, they’re building differently. About the ShowThe Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show is hosted by Michael Stamatinos, a nationally recognized connector, strategist, and advocate for innovation with purpose. Each week, Michael interviews healthcare leaders who are driving meaningful change—highlighting stories of access, resilience, equity, and transformation.The AHI Show started with the idea of wanting to highlight stories of what healthcare innovation truly looks like in action. Our mission, highlight real people who are really innovating within healthcare. Guests include healthcare entrepreneurs, providers, payers, and professionals from the investment community. We showcase little wins as well as valuable lessons learned from setbacks through these interviews. The real innovators in healthcare are often the ones in the trenches doing the work with razor-sharp focus. We find these innovators and bring their stories to light. 🔗 Michael’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelstamo🎧 Subscribe for more episodes that move beyond theory and into the heart of what’s really possible in healthcare.Join our group, Advancing Healthcare Innovation Forum on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7056196/

Why does the same prescription cost $15 at one pharmacy and $56 at another? And why does almost nobody standing at that counter know about the savings that could change everything?In this episode of the Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show, host Michael Stamatinos sits down with Miriam Paramore, founder and CEO of RxUtility, operating advisor at Goldman Sachs, limited partner at 7wire Ventures, and one of the most experienced operators in the history of healthcare technology.This is one of the most honest and human conversations the show has ever produced.Miriam has spent 40 years building the infrastructure of American healthcare. She helped write part of the Affordable Care Act. She led enterprise strategy at Emdeon and helped take the company to a $1.2 billion IPO. She served as President of OptimizeRx on the NASDAQ. She has sat in every room that mattered in this industry.And then she watched her father navigate the system she helped build.Jack Paramore was a preacher who left the family farm to devote his life to serving others. He gave Miriam a necklace with an ampersand on it for her 50th birthday, along with a handwritten poem that read, "This is an AND moment, not an ending." When Jack got sick with kidney failure, heart failure, and severe melanoma in rural North Carolina, with no transportation coverage and $500 a month too much to qualify for Medicaid, the system failed him at every turn.In this episode:→ The story of Jack Paramore, the preacher who left the farm, and what his life taught Miriam about what it means to be of genuine service to other people→ How a napkin sketch in a Congressional cafeteria became healthcare law→ Why a drug that costs $600 for a patient in their deductible phase can cost their employer $300 for the exact same bottle, and who is collecting the spread→ Why almost 15% of all prescriptions in the United States are now being paid in cash, and why most consumers have no idea cash is often cheaper than using their insurance→ The six different price points that exist for a single prescription drug and why the system keeps consumers from ever seeing all of them at once→ Mimi, RxUtility's AI companion for prescription pricing, and how it answers the one question every patient deserves a straight answer to: what does this drug actually cost me today?→ What Miriam sees in the first five minutes when a founder walks into a room and does not have what it takeshttps://rxutility.com/Follow Miriam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miriamparamore/📣 LIKE, COMMENT & SUBSCRIBEIf this conversation moved you, challenged your thinking, or sparked an idea, share it with someone who needs to hear it. Subscribe for more episodes with healthcare leaders who are not just thinking differently, they’re building differently. About the ShowThe Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show is hosted by Michael Stamatinos, a nationally recognized connector, strategist, and advocate for innovation with purpose. Each week, Michael interviews healthcare leaders who are driving meaningful change—highlighting stories of access, resilience, equity, and transformation.The AHI Show started with the idea of wanting to highlight stories of what healthcare innovation truly looks like in action. Our mission, highlight real people who are really innovating within healthcare. Guests include healthcare entrepreneurs, providers, payers, and professionals from the investment community. We showcase little wins as well as valuable lessons learned from setbacks through these interviews. The real innovators in healthcare are often the ones in the trenches doing the work with razor-sharp focus. We find these innovators and bring their stories to light. 🔗 Michael’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelstamo🎧 Subscribe for more episodes that move beyond theory and into the heart of what’s really possible in healthcare.Join our group, Advancing Healthcare Innovation Forum on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7056196/Timestamps:01:18 Introducing Miriam Paramore and RxUtility04:30 Miriam responds and why she does this work05:35 Jack Paramore, the preacher who left the farm10:24 Jack's healthcare journey and how the system failed him13:17 What fuels Miriam's mission to make medicine affordable15:55 The Affordable Care Act, the napkin, and how healthcare law actually gets made23:26 What drew Miriam to the prescription affordability problem specifically28:57 Explaining RxUtility like you are standing at the pharmacy counter33:46 Why this information has been hidden for so long and who benefits37:40 The RxUtility business model and who pays39:41 Mimi, the AI companion built to surface the best drug price for every patient41:02 What Miriam looks for in founders as an investor and advisor43:03 What she would tell her younger self44:06 How to connect with Miriam and follow RxUtility

Most health systems write a check and call it innovation.Steve West built something different.In this episode of the Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show, host Michael Stamatinos sits down with Steve West, Managing Director of Healthliant Ventures, the innovation arm of Tanner Health, a five hospital system serving western Georgia and east Alabama.Steve runs a live clinical environment where healthcare startups get a real verdict. Real staff. Real patients. Real results. No press release. No logo deal. Just proof.Michael and Steve pull back the curtain on what it actually takes to get a startup through a health system. The contracts. The security reviews. The champions who can't actually close. The pilots that fail. And the ones that don't.Steve also shares something most operators never say out loud. The emotional waves of being a startup CEO. The exhilaration. The despair. The payroll anxiety at 2am. And why that experience makes him a better partner to the founders he works with today.What Michael and Steve cover:* How Healthliant Ventures finds and structures startup partnerships without writing a check upfront* Why most founders identify the wrong champion inside a health system* The Care Sherpa story: a failed pilot, a pivot, and a 40% reduction in resource utilization* What culture fit really means when you're a regional community health system* The wound care technology that started in a clinic and is now headed system wide* Why once you've seen one health system you've only seen one health systemTimestamps:03:45 Steve West Background and Early Career06:54 From Russian Politics to Healthcare10:19 Product Leadership at Anthem13:32 Going All In on Fiona Tech16:47 The Hardest Part of Being a Healthcare Startup CEO19:51 How Steve Joined Healthliant Ventures22:17 What Healthliant Ventures Actually Is27:19 How They Prioritize Problems Inside Tanner Health30:31 The Kent Imaging Wound Care Story36:30 When Pilots Fail: Lessons From the Trenches37:44 The Care Sherpa Pivot Story40:18 What Founders Get Wrong About Health Systems43:34 Pitching vs Being Pitched To45:24 How to Follow Steve West and Healthliant Ventures📣 LIKE, COMMENT & SUBSCRIBEIf this conversation moved you, challenged your thinking, or sparked an idea, share it with someone who needs to hear it. Subscribe for more episodes with healthcare leaders who are not just thinking differently, they’re building differently. About the ShowThe Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show is hosted by Michael Stamatinos, a nationally recognized connector, strategist, and advocate for innovation with purpose. Each week, Michael interviews healthcare leaders who are driving meaningful change—highlighting stories of access, resilience, equity, and transformation.The AHI Show started with the idea of wanting to highlight stories of what healthcare innovation truly looks like in action. Our mission, highlight real people who are really innovating within healthcare. Guests include healthcare entrepreneurs, providers, payers, and professionals from the investment community. We showcase little wins as well as valuable lessons learned from setbacks through these interviews. The real innovators in healthcare are often the ones in the trenches doing the work with razor-sharp focus. We find these innovators and bring their stories to light. 🔗 Michael’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelstamo🎧 Subscribe for more episodes that move beyond theory and into the heart of what’s really possible in healthcare.Join our group, Advancing Healthcare Innovation Forum on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7056196/

What if American healthcare is doing exactly what it was designed to do?Dr. Scott Neeley, MD, MBA, has spent 40 years in medicine. Harvard. Stanford. University of Chicago residency. He's been in the ICU at 2am fighting to save lives. He became a CEO. He had major surgery and chose to do it at his own hospital.And he'll tell you straight: we've built a world-class system for treating disease. We're just terrible at keeping people healthy.In this episode, Dr. Neeley, President and CEO of Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital, joins Michael Stamatinos to talk about health span, why it's shrinking, and what it actually takes to fix it from the inside out. This isn't a theory conversation. This is a doctor-turned-executive who leads a daily patient safety huddle, starts every board meeting with a patient story before he ever opens a spreadsheet, and built a community coalition to attack the upstream causes of chronic illness head-on.He talks about the ICU moment that changed everything. The railroad worker at the end of his life. The weight of keeping a rural hospital financially alive when more than half your patients are on Medicare. The hardest leadership decisions he's ever made. And why the most powerful predictor of your health at 80 has nothing to do with your cholesterol. This one goes deep. Don't skip it.In this episode:* What health span is and why it's shrinking in America* How Dr. Neeley led his hospital to the top 1% for patient safety* The culture shift that took years of "time under tension"* Health Span Nevada County: what a real community health model looks like* The Harvard Grant Study finding that changes how you think about longevity* Why the wellness industry often gets it wrong* The 4x4 breathing exercise they actually do live on airTimestamps0:00 Introduction4:40 Meet Dr. Scott Neeley7:58 Why he fell in love with the ICU, not prevention8:58 The railroad worker moment that changed everything12:27 From frontline physician to healthcare executive16:40 How you actually build a culture of safety24:36 Running a hospital that profits from illness while fighting to prevent it27:44 Health Span Nevada County: the community model in practice32:52 What each of us can do every day (including a live 4x4 breathing exercise)39:17 What it felt like to have surgery at his own hospital40:39 The hardest leadership decisions he's ever made43:19 Who's at the table: building the coalition51:30 How to follow Dr. Neeley's work📣 LIKE, COMMENT & SUBSCRIBEIf this conversation moved you, challenged your thinking, or sparked an idea, share it with someone who needs to hear it. Subscribe for more episodes with healthcare leaders who are not just thinking differently, they’re building differently. About the ShowThe Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show is hosted by Michael Stamatinos, a nationally recognized connector, strategist, and advocate for innovation with purpose. Each week, Michael interviews healthcare leaders who are driving meaningful change—highlighting stories of access, resilience, equity, and transformation.The AHI Show started with the idea of wanting to highlight stories of what healthcare innovation truly looks like in action. Our mission, highlight real people who are really innovating within healthcare. Guests include healthcare entrepreneurs, providers, payers, and professionals from the investment community. We showcase little wins as well as valuable lessons learned from setbacks through these interviews. The real innovators in healthcare are often the ones in the trenches doing the work with razor-sharp focus. We find these innovators and bring their stories to light. 🔗 Michael’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelstamo🎧 Subscribe for more episodes that move beyond theory and into the heart of what’s really possible in healthcare.Join our group, Advancing Healthcare Innovation Forum on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7056196/

What does transformation actually look like inside a healthcare organization after the headlines fade away?In this episode of the Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show, Michael Stamatinos sits down with Angi Jennings for a raw and honest conversation about operational transformation, leadership under pressure, and the messy reality of rebuilding healthcare organizations from the inside out.After emerging from bankruptcy and rebuilding its leadership structure, Cano Health has been navigating a massive organizational turnaround focused on simplifying operations, rebuilding culture, and embedding value-based care into the day-to-day reality of frontline teams. Angi has been directly in the middle of that work.This conversation goes far beyond strategy decks and press releases.Michael and Angi unpack:• What really happens after healthcare acquisitions and integrations• Why transformation often fails because of a lack of clarity• How to create psychological safety while still maintaining accountability• Why frontline staff are the heartbeat of organizational transformation• How operational excellence ultimately comes down to people• What healthcare leaders can learn from the hospitality industry• The emotional weight of leadership during times of uncertainty and change⏱️ TIMESTAMPS00:00 — Why healthcare transformation is messier than people think04:02 — Cano Health’s turnaround and rebuilding culture after bankruptcy08:35 — Why momentum and small wins matter during transformation15:00 — Data, accountability, and changing frontline behavior22:14 — Psychological safety vs accountability in leadership28:00 — The emotional pressure of leading organizational change33:41 — Why transformation is ultimately about people35:44 — “Culture is caught, not taught”38:15 — Angi’s hope for the future of healthcare39:32 — Final reflections on leadership, culture, and transformation📣 LIKE, COMMENT & SUBSCRIBEIf this conversation moved you, challenged your thinking, or sparked an idea, share it with someone who needs to hear it. Subscribe for more episodes with healthcare leaders who are not just thinking differently, they’re building differently. About the ShowThe Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show is hosted by Michael Stamatinos, a nationally recognized connector, strategist, and advocate for innovation with purpose. Each week, Michael interviews healthcare leaders who are driving meaningful change—highlighting stories of access, resilience, equity, and transformation.The AHI Show started with the idea of wanting to highlight stories of what healthcare innovation truly looks like in action. Our mission, highlight real people who are really innovating within healthcare. Guests include healthcare entrepreneurs, providers, payers, and professionals from the investment community. We showcase little wins as well as valuable lessons learned from setbacks through these interviews. The real innovators in healthcare are often the ones in the trenches doing the work with razor-sharp focus. We find these innovators and bring their stories to light. 🔗 Michael’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelstamo🎧 Subscribe for more episodes that move beyond theory and into the heart of what’s really possible in healthcare.Join our group, Advancing Healthcare Innovation Forum on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7056196/