Best Practices in Adapting to Local Regulations, Markets and Trends

This panel has been approved for 1.50 ACHE Virtual Interactive Education Credits.

The combination of national and state legislation, and local economic conditions, market trends and health condition trends influence organizational strategies. Healthcare executives are challenged with understanding and addressing the various needs of the population in the community and factors that influence the financial status of the organization. Healthcare executives must lead the organization to adapt to ever-changing situations as well as developing strategies to achieve future goals.

Moderator: Nkem Okafor
Strategy & Commercial Execution
Novo Nordisk

Panelists:

Claire Hammer, MHA, FACHE
Senior Department Administrator Internal Medicine
Acclaim Multi-Specialty Grp/JPS

Kevin Rash
Managing Director, Healthcare Performance Improvement
Forvis Mazars

Jennifer Tomasik
Vice President
CFAR

Speakers’ Bios:

Claire Hammer, MHA, FACHE serves as the Executive Department Administrator at Acclaim Health, a multi-specialty medical group within the JPS Health Network. In this role, she provides comprehensive operational and financial oversight for a $260 million operating budget supporting a multi-service-line portfolio of more than 500 providers. Partnering closely with physician executives and senior leadership, Claire leads operational strategy, administrative governance, and care delivery transformation. Notably, she spearheaded optimization strategies within the Primary Care and Surgical service lines, successfully increasing patient access by an estimated 250 additional visits per week.

With over a decade of healthcare administration leadership experience in Tarrant County, Claire brings extensive on-the-ground execution expertise to regional health planning. Her background includes serving as the Manager of Behavioral Health Business Operations for JPS, where she oversaw business operations for a comprehensive service line featuring a 20,000-visit psychiatric emergency center, multi-bed inpatient facilities, and integrated behavioral health specialists embedded throughout local primary care sites. Claire holds a Master of Health Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Health and Human Physiology from the University of Iowa. She is a certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE).

Nkem Okafor, FACHE is a healthcare executive, strategist, and transformation leader with more than 17 years of experience leading enterprise strategy, growth, execution, and organizational transformation. She currently serves as Director of Commercial Execution at Novo Nordisk, where she leads commercial execution strategy and implementation across multiple states, partnering with sales, market access, marketing, and operations to advance enterprise priorities and improve execution.

Previously, Nkem served as Vice President of Strategy and Transformation at Independence Blue Cross, where she led enterprise strategy, growth initiatives, and strategic execution. She also served as System Vice President of Strategy and Planning at Methodist Health System in Dallas and held multiple leadership roles at Houston Methodist, including global operations, system integration, population health, business development, and operational improvement.

Nkem is also the Founder of Vieve Enterprises, a business strategy consulting firm supporting corporate, not-for-profit, and government entities with strategic planning, growth strategy, business model development, and operational transformation. She earned her Master of Public Health in Health Management from Yale University and her Bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Nkem is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and has been recognized as a Top 15 Business Woman of Dallas and an Exemplary Trailblazer. She is a national speaker on business strategy, leadership, healthcare transformation, health equity, and organizational growth.

Kevin Rash is a Managing Director in the Healthcare Performance Improvement practice, leading the Operational, Labor, Staffing, and Margin Transformation initiatives. He applies extensive clinical and executive experience to help healthcare organizations enhance performance, improve operational efficiency, and manage major initiatives without disruption. His work includes margin improvement, workflow productivity optimization, cost structure management, and clinical and operational strategy.

He brings experience from two specialty hospital builds—orthopedic and rehabilitation—and has led multiple surgery center developments and surgical excellence programs across various care settings.

Before joining Forvis Mazars, Kevin served in hospitals, trauma centers, integrated health systems, and physician clinics. His 30+ years in healthcare include roles as a physical therapist, service line program leader, and vice president of operations for a large integrated system, where he oversaw surgical services, supply chain, rehabilitation operations, surgical clinics, and anesthesia, in addition to leading systemwide improvement initiatives.

Kevin is a frequent speaker operational and margin improvement, workforce strategy, and surgical services excellence. He is an active member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and is board-certified in healthcare management as a Fellow (FACHE).

Jennifer Tomasik, SM, FACHE is a Vice President and Principal at CFAR, a boutique management consulting firm where she serves on the Board of Directors and is the Healthcare Market Leader. Jenn has been actively engaged in ACHE at the national level and in the Rhode Island Chapter for almost two decades. She is a past President of ACHE RI, served on the ACHE Council of Regents and has been invited to chair or participate in numerous ACHE committees. As a consultant, Jenn partners with clients across academic medicine and the healthcare ecology. She is a deep believer in the power of systems-thinking and the role of active engagement of people across all levels of an organization to shape, own, and contribute to their strategic future. She is proud to work with some of the most prestigious health systems and academic medical centers in the country and helps her clients move from ideas to action, whether that be through individual or team-based coaching, leading large-scale strategy and change work or advising boards on governance.

Jennifer is deeply committed to improving healthcare, leadership and education in her home state of Rhode Island, where she resides with her husband and daughters. She is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and was elected to represent the state on ACHE’s national Board of Regents. She is a recipient of the Regent Awards for Early Careerist and for Senior Healthcare Executive for ACHE of Rhode Island, where she serves as a member of the Board. She is the Immediate-Past President of the Board of Trustees of the French American School of Rhode Island, where she led strategic planning, search, transition and governance efforts. She also serves on the Board of the Rhode Island Public Health Institute. Jennifer is a member of the Omicron II class of Leadership Rhode Island. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in American Studies from Tufts University and holds a Master of Science in Health Policy and Management from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.