We partner with C-suites and Boards to design a customized performance improvement strategy that retains management autonomy, avoids a “slash and burn approach,” and helps organizations re-design themselves rather than simply downsizing their old operating model. Our team includes experts in the areas of:
- Finance, Including Revenue Cycle
- Operational Improvement & Clinical Variation Reduction
- Labor Management
- Cost Management
- Quality Improvement
- Value-Based Care
- Strategy
- Physician Group Management
- Virtual Health
- Facilities
- Real Estate Portfolio Management
- Transaction Assistance
Our Areas of Focus:
Performance improvement strategies are not a one size fits all. We partner with our clients to identify their pain points and build customized performance improvement initiatives that increase efficiencies, identify cost savings, and promote revenue generation.
We offer a wide variety of services to create effective solutions for your organization’s needs.
Case Study
Performance Improvement Services
Zephyr Healthcare Advisors offers an assortment of Performance Improvement options that can be tailored to fit any healthcare/hospital organization’s needs.
Meet Our Performance Improvement Team
Eric Themm
Larry Blitz
Greg Bryan
Stephanie Dorwart
Kevin Murphy
Chad Wable
Eric Themm, President
Eric is the Founder and President of Zephyr Healthcare Advisors. He brings 35 years of health care experience advising health systems, hospitals, physician organizations, public entities, non-profit health care organizations and other entities. He has broad expertise in the areas of strategy, transaction advisory, physician/hospital alignment, medical staff development, valuation/FMV/physician compensation, facility planning (inpatient and ambulatory), and Board advisory/facilitation. He leads teams to help organizations reimagine themselves and position for a more viable future.
Eric has held previous senior-level positions with Vizient Inc (National Practice Leader at Sg2)., MDS Consulting, and The Camden Group.
Larry Blitz, MAPA
Larry has 40+ years of senior-post-acute-experience throughout the continuum of healthcare delivery systems. He is a former CEO of acute hospitals, skilled nursing facility corporations and previous owner of several skilled nursing facilities and subacute hospitals.
Larry is a California certified receiver for troubled hospitals and nursing facilities. He was the Director of Strategic Transformation for Senior Living and Behavioral Health for HFS/Wipfli, Inc., a national healthcare consulting company (2005-2020).
He has performed and led organizational assessments for hospitals, SNF’s, CCRC’s, and retirement communities. His record of assisting organizations attaining visionary goals has been recognized by the State Department of Public Health, State of California.
Larry served as financial advisor to two Midwestern governors and is a Salzburg Fellow in International Aging.
Greg Bryan
Greg brings over 30 years of experience and has extensive knowledge in assisting healthcare organizations with change management and business performance improvement through resource management, customized management solutions, process improvement initiatives and leadership development. He has worked with large healthcare systems, Academic Medical Centers, and community hospitals in project management, team facilitation, strategic planning and implementation. Greg is a founding partner of Bryan Advisory Group, an independent consulting firm focused on gaining efficiencies and saving costs in waste stream expenses. Prior to Bryan Advisory, Greg was a Managing Director in the healthcare practices at Huron Consulting and Navigant Consulting where he served as a Business Development Market Leader and provided executive oversight on performance improvement engagements. Greg joined Navigant as a result of the acquisition of the Invalesco Group, Inc., where Greg was president and a founding partner. Invalesco Group, a national healthcare consulting firm, serving hospitals and healthcare providers. Prior to founding Invalesco, Greg held Vice President roles at Cardinal Healthcare and West Hudson, Inc.
Stephanie Dorwart
Stephanie currently serves as the CEO of ALTIUS, managing internal operations as well as supporting all active consulting engagements by overseeing project timelines, analyses, and client deliverables to ensure successful outcomes. In addition, Stephanie often lends an on-site presence when specific engagements call for her unique skill set and executive expertise. Ms. Dorwart’s exceptional analytical and mathematical skills, combined with in-depth practical healthcare experience, have contributed to her many professional accomplishments to date. As the architect of a successful labor management system, Stephanie has poured her talents into the development and execution of Performance Improvement processes and tools for the healthcare industry over the last 15 years.
Kevin Murphy
Kevin Murphy is a senior healthcare executive with strong finance and operations responsibilities with extensive experience with physician recruitment and network/business development. His experience includes creating new programs and services. He is experienced in reengineering projects for revenue/growth opportunities and cost reduction initiatives/programs to improve operating performance.
Kevin’s strengths include financial management, team building, medical staff relations, information technology and operational improvements. He is a strategic thinker with the ability to grow existing programs through acquisition, expansion/building projects or investment. He has direct leadership experience to implement new initiatives and manage operations of all types of projects, both large and small.
Kevin’s accomplished CFO experience includes a strong knowledge of accounting, auditing, budget, tax, forecasting and analytical skills. In addition, he is experienced in funding and managing capital projects through various avenues; including, but not limited to, joint ventures, REITs, fundraising, short and long term financing, operational surpluses.
Chad Wable
Chad Wable is a seasoned healthcare executive with over 20 years of experience leading academic medical centers, urban community trauma centers, rural hospitals as well as faith-based, for-profit and not-for-profit health systems. He has been in hospital president, CEO and system COO roles for the past 15 years.
Chad most recently was the President of Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, MA and prior to that was the interim CEO for the Dallas market with Pipeline Health. He was the President and CEO of Saint Mary’s Health System from 2008-2016 and successfully merged them into Trinity Health in 2016 and through 2019 was the region’s Chief Operating Officer leading the formation of Trinity Health’s $1.8 billion, 6 hospital New England market. Chad served as the interim Dallas market CEO for Pipeline Health from 2020-2021 and continues to support and advise progressive, innovative new age healthcare companies today.
Our Areas of Focus
Labor & Workforce
- Workforce Management and Productivity
- Workforce Training/Development
- Care Optimization &
Clinical Variation Reduction - Automated Solutions
- Virtual Programs
Non-Labor Spend Management
- Supply Purchasing
- Equipment Maintenance
- Support Services (Environmental, Food Service, Security, Laundry, Parking)
- Energy Consumption Management
Pharmacy
- Retail and Specialty Pharmacy Optimization
- Site of Care and Infusion Strategy
- Pharmacy Revenue Cycle Optimization
- 340B Program Performance
- Pharmacy Supply Chain
and Drug Utilization Management - Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM)
Physicians / Providers
- Contracts
- Employed Medical Group Optimization
- Outsourced Physician Services
(e.g., Staffing/ Recruitment) - Use of APPs
Revenue Optimization
- Automated Payment Solutions
- Accelerated Payment Processing
- Patient Self-Payment Solutions
- Billing, Collections, and Denials
Operational Efficiences
- Emergency Department
- Perioperative Services
- Chronic Care Management
- Quality Improvement
- Safe Environments
Partnerships
- Affiliations/JVs
- Buy/Sell
- Service Lines
Program Growth
- Inpatient
- Ambulatory Services/Network
- Virtual
- Hospital-at-Home
- Physician Alignment
Access to Capital
- Loans
- E-Payable Rebates
- Bad Debt Retrieval
Zephyr can work with your leadership team to develop a performance improvement plan across volume, revenue, and cost domains, as reflected below.
