Jay Kossman
Principal
With over 20 years experience in health care, Jay has held senior management positions with several large health
plans including the physician-owned MD Health Plan of Connecticut, the hospital-owned Optima Health Plan of
Virginia, and MetLife Healthcare of Florida. Jay served as President of HealthSell, a national consulting firm
providing managed care organizations and hospitals with product development and sales & marketing support.
He was subsequently recruited by one of his clients, Executive Health Group, a provider of corporate health
services, to direct their national marketing program.
Jay co-founded MDNY Healthcare and its management company, NextStage Healthcare, assuming strategic
roles in network development, marketing, public relations, advertising and sales management. He also created
NextStage Specialties, a physician-empowering enterprise dedicated to developing and managing single-
specialty, risk-bearing disease management networks.
Most recently, Jay served as Principal and Director of Business Development for Navigant Consulting and
PricewaterhouseCoopers, introducing innovative financial, operational and strategic performance improvement
initiatives to major health care organizations throughout the country.
Jay received a Bachelor of Science degree from Old Dominion University prior to attending the Marshall Wythe
School of Law at the College of William and Mary.
_______________________________________
David D'Eramo, Ph.D.
Principal
Dr. David D'Eramo served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center
(Hartford, CT), the largest Catholic hospital in New England from 1988 through 2004. During his tenure, Saint
Francis was recognized seven times as a Top 100 Hospital in the major teaching hospital category. Prior to
joining Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, David served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Saint
Vincent Charity Hospital, a 492 bed acute care teaching hospital in Cleveland, Ohio.
David received a Bachelors Degree in Pharmacy from Duquesne University and a MBA from Xavier University,
where he was first in his graduating class and recipient of the Milton Knuttnauer Award for Most Outstanding
Graduate in the Hospital Administration Program. He then attended the University of Cincinnati, where he earned
his second Masters Degree in Community Health Planning and a Ph.D. in Political Science, focusing on
Business, Health Planning and Organizational Theory.
David is a Diplomate, Fellow and three-time Honoree of the American Academy of Medical Administrators. He
received the Outstanding Vice President of the Year Award in 1978 and the Healthcare Executive of the Year Award
in 1981. In 1993 he received the Statesman in Healthcare Administration Award for dedication and distinction
throughout his career. He is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, which bestowed on him
the 2004 Senior Level Healthcare Executive Award for his outstanding healthcare leadership in Connecticut.
On a national level, David is a member of the task force working to support President Bush’s faith-based initiative.
He served on the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Hospital Association, the Alliance of Independent
Academic Medical Centers and the Catholic Health Association of the United States. In addition, he was
Chairman of the Metropolitan Hospital Constituency Section of the American Hospital Association, the Catholic
Healthcare Leadership Forum and the Council of Teaching Hospitals of the Association of American Medical
Colleges.
David has served as Chairman of Connecticut Public Broadcasting, Inc. (CPBI), the MetroHartford Chamber of
Commerce, the Hartford Downtown Council and the Greater Hartford Arts Council. He continues his service on
the CPBI Board and also serves on the Boards of The Hartford Club, the New England Cognitive Center, the
Catholic Healthcare Leadership Forum, the Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center Foundation, Inc. and the
Greater Hartford Arts Council.
_______________________________________
Irwin Birnbaum, J.D.
Senior Director
Irwin was the Chief Operating Officer of Yale University’s School of Medicine from July 1, 1997 until June 30, 2003.
He subsequently served as a Senior Advisor to the Dean until June 30, 2005. Since then, Irwin has been acting
as a Senior Advisor to the Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) Clinical Scholars Program at the Yale School of Medicine.
Prior to his tenure at Yale, Irwin practiced Health Care Law as a partner in the law firm of Proskauer Rose for 11
years. Before that, he served as Chief Financial Officer at Montefiore Medical Center in New York. He has been a
Board member of Maimonides Medical Center since 1989, and is the Chairman-Elect of FOJP Services
Corporation. Professional organizations include: New York Academy of Medicine (Fellow), Hospital Financial
Management Association, American Health Lawyers Association, and the New York City Bar Association. He is
one of the co- editors of a five volume Treatise on Health Care Law, published by Lexis/Nexis (Matthew Bender).
Irwin is listed in Who’s Who in America, and Who’s Who in American Law.
_____________________________________
William Kissick, MD, Dr.PH
Senior Director
Dr. William Kissick is the George Seckel Pepper Professor Emeritus of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at
the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Professor Emeritus of Health Care Systems at the Wharton
Business School, Professor Emeritus of Health Policy and Management at Penn’s School of Nursing, and Visiting
Professor Emeritus of Health Policy and Management at the Yale School of Public Health. He is the former
Chairperson of the Department of Community Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, co-
founded the MBA program in Health Care Management at Wharton, and is, or has acted as, a consultant for
Pennsylvania Blue Shield, Independence Blue Cross, the New Jersey Legislature, the American Group Practice
Association and the C.W. Benedum Foundation.
Bill received a Bachelors Degree, MD Degree, MPH Degree and Dr.PH Degree from Yale University. He began
his career at the office of the Surgeon General in Washington, DC, and helped draft the Medicare program. He
has served as Chair for the Faculty Senate and Chairman of the Governing Board at the Leonard Davis Institute of
Health Economics at UPenn, Commissioner of the Accrediting Commission on Education for Health Services
Administration, Yale University Trustee, Executive Director of the National Advisory Commission on Health
Facilities (The White House), Director of the Office of Program Planning and Evaluation, Office of the Surgeon
General, U.S. Public Health Service, Washington, DC, Chief of the Division of Public Health Methods,
U.S. Public Health Service, Washington, DC, and Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary, Health and
Scientific Affairs, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Washington, DC.
Bill performs research in health policy development, health systems planning, policy analysis, resource
allocation, and strategic planning. His current projects include advanced management education in health care,
national health policy formulation, and curriculum reform in medicine and health care management. In addition,
he served for a decade as an independent Director of Nuveen Select Portfolios.
_____________________________________
Jay Bolnick
Director
A 30 year veteran in the health care industry, Jay has served in senior finance, operational and marketing
positions for a variety of large health plans and premier hospital systems. He has performed advanced financial
analysis, budgeting and accounting functions for Roosevelt Hospital, Lenox Hill Hospital, Jamaica Hospital,
Hospital for Joint Diseases and Woodhull Hospital. In addition, Jay assumed internal analytics, marketing,
managed care contracting, economic modeling and product development roles for Cigna/Equicor, ChoiceCare
Long Island, Private Healthcare Systems, First Choice Network and CNA Insurance Company.
Most recently, Jay served as Corporate Director for Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan, engaging roles in
business development, network management, provider contracting and development of the financial and
accounting systems for Healthworks/Continuum. He is an adjunct assistant professor at Hofstra University where
he teaches marketing and financial management to health care graduate students. He has previously held
adjunct faculty positions at both Columbia University’s School of Public Health and the New School for Social
Research in New York City.
Jay holds a Bachelor of Science degree in economics and a finance MBA degree from the University of Hartford,
as well as a Masters of Public Health degree from the Columbia University School of Public Health.
_____________________________________
Steve Ruth
Director
Steve is the former CEO of Psych Management Inc., a managed behavioral health care organization (MBHCO) in
Connecticut. He began his career as a behavioral therapist and counselor working for several behavioral health
and crisis intervention programs in Connecticut and Massachusetts. He then assumed the role of Program
Director at the Westfield Area Mental Health Clinic and, later, CSW, Inc., both headquartered in Massachusetts.
Subsequently, Steve served as Director of Mental Health Services, and Director of Managed Care Services, for the
Massachusetts Department of Mental Health and the Connecticut State Department of Mental Health,
respectively. In addition, he has acted as Executive Director for both Gilead House, Inc. and PRO Behavioral
Health, both Connecticut-based initiatives.
Steve consults regularly in the areas of practice management, provider relations and healthcare business
management. He currently serves as Board President for Chrysalis Center, a non-profit multi-service healthcare
agency in Hartford, CT, and is a member of the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services
local advisory council. He earned a BA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and an MS in Counseling
from the University of Hartford.
_____________________________________
Dr. Keith Nelson
Director
Keith began his career as a physician/surgeon, and subsequently made the transition into finance and business
management. After developing a product for Reebok, he co-engineered the capitalization, expansion and
operations of MDNY Healthcare, developed the nation’s first insured integrative medicine delivery system,
founded and directed the Renoir® Cosmetic Physician Network, and was the chief architect of business
development for HealthAllies (now a subsidiary of United Healthcare). His high-profile consulting engagements
have transcended a myriad of business sectors including biotech, cosmetic manufacturing, telecomm, corporate
real estate, venture capital and investment banking.
Uniquely positioned at the intersection of clinical practice and enterprise management, Keith leverages his
considerable business analytical experience and familiarity with hospital, private practice and third party payer
workflows, to identify and solve inefficiencies in health care operations.
Keith has an MBA in Finance, a Doctorate in Podiatric Medicine and is Board Certified by the ABPOPPM.
_____________________________________
Regina Demitrack, RN, MPH
Director
For more then 20 years Regina has driven a number of start up projects into successful programs for a variety of
clients. As a nurse, Regina has worked within many of the health care environments, including in-patient care,
home care, occupational and correctional, and most recently, fund raising and clinical research. Regina studied
nursing science at Adelphi University in New York. With her MPH from the New York Medical College in Health
Policy and Planning, Regina has worked on occupational health program development with many Fortune 500
companies, specifically with health promotion and education activities, long and short term disability case
management, and managed worker’s compensation. Regina has also worked internationally in the area of non-
profit program development and funding and as a nursing instructor.
Principal
With over 20 years experience in health care, Jay has held senior management positions with several large health
plans including the physician-owned MD Health Plan of Connecticut, the hospital-owned Optima Health Plan of
Virginia, and MetLife Healthcare of Florida. Jay served as President of HealthSell, a national consulting firm
providing managed care organizations and hospitals with product development and sales & marketing support.
He was subsequently recruited by one of his clients, Executive Health Group, a provider of corporate health
services, to direct their national marketing program.
Jay co-founded MDNY Healthcare and its management company, NextStage Healthcare, assuming strategic
roles in network development, marketing, public relations, advertising and sales management. He also created
NextStage Specialties, a physician-empowering enterprise dedicated to developing and managing single-
specialty, risk-bearing disease management networks.
Most recently, Jay served as Principal and Director of Business Development for Navigant Consulting and
PricewaterhouseCoopers, introducing innovative financial, operational and strategic performance improvement
initiatives to major health care organizations throughout the country.
Jay received a Bachelor of Science degree from Old Dominion University prior to attending the Marshall Wythe
School of Law at the College of William and Mary.
_______________________________________
David D'Eramo, Ph.D.
Principal
Dr. David D'Eramo served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center
(Hartford, CT), the largest Catholic hospital in New England from 1988 through 2004. During his tenure, Saint
Francis was recognized seven times as a Top 100 Hospital in the major teaching hospital category. Prior to
joining Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, David served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Saint
Vincent Charity Hospital, a 492 bed acute care teaching hospital in Cleveland, Ohio.
David received a Bachelors Degree in Pharmacy from Duquesne University and a MBA from Xavier University,
where he was first in his graduating class and recipient of the Milton Knuttnauer Award for Most Outstanding
Graduate in the Hospital Administration Program. He then attended the University of Cincinnati, where he earned
his second Masters Degree in Community Health Planning and a Ph.D. in Political Science, focusing on
Business, Health Planning and Organizational Theory.
David is a Diplomate, Fellow and three-time Honoree of the American Academy of Medical Administrators. He
received the Outstanding Vice President of the Year Award in 1978 and the Healthcare Executive of the Year Award
in 1981. In 1993 he received the Statesman in Healthcare Administration Award for dedication and distinction
throughout his career. He is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, which bestowed on him
the 2004 Senior Level Healthcare Executive Award for his outstanding healthcare leadership in Connecticut.
On a national level, David is a member of the task force working to support President Bush’s faith-based initiative.
He served on the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Hospital Association, the Alliance of Independent
Academic Medical Centers and the Catholic Health Association of the United States. In addition, he was
Chairman of the Metropolitan Hospital Constituency Section of the American Hospital Association, the Catholic
Healthcare Leadership Forum and the Council of Teaching Hospitals of the Association of American Medical
Colleges.
David has served as Chairman of Connecticut Public Broadcasting, Inc. (CPBI), the MetroHartford Chamber of
Commerce, the Hartford Downtown Council and the Greater Hartford Arts Council. He continues his service on
the CPBI Board and also serves on the Boards of The Hartford Club, the New England Cognitive Center, the
Catholic Healthcare Leadership Forum, the Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center Foundation, Inc. and the
Greater Hartford Arts Council.
_______________________________________
Irwin Birnbaum, J.D.
Senior Director
Irwin was the Chief Operating Officer of Yale University’s School of Medicine from July 1, 1997 until June 30, 2003.
He subsequently served as a Senior Advisor to the Dean until June 30, 2005. Since then, Irwin has been acting
as a Senior Advisor to the Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) Clinical Scholars Program at the Yale School of Medicine.
Prior to his tenure at Yale, Irwin practiced Health Care Law as a partner in the law firm of Proskauer Rose for 11
years. Before that, he served as Chief Financial Officer at Montefiore Medical Center in New York. He has been a
Board member of Maimonides Medical Center since 1989, and is the Chairman-Elect of FOJP Services
Corporation. Professional organizations include: New York Academy of Medicine (Fellow), Hospital Financial
Management Association, American Health Lawyers Association, and the New York City Bar Association. He is
one of the co- editors of a five volume Treatise on Health Care Law, published by Lexis/Nexis (Matthew Bender).
Irwin is listed in Who’s Who in America, and Who’s Who in American Law.
_____________________________________
William Kissick, MD, Dr.PH
Senior Director
Dr. William Kissick is the George Seckel Pepper Professor Emeritus of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at
the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Professor Emeritus of Health Care Systems at the Wharton
Business School, Professor Emeritus of Health Policy and Management at Penn’s School of Nursing, and Visiting
Professor Emeritus of Health Policy and Management at the Yale School of Public Health. He is the former
Chairperson of the Department of Community Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, co-
founded the MBA program in Health Care Management at Wharton, and is, or has acted as, a consultant for
Pennsylvania Blue Shield, Independence Blue Cross, the New Jersey Legislature, the American Group Practice
Association and the C.W. Benedum Foundation.
Bill received a Bachelors Degree, MD Degree, MPH Degree and Dr.PH Degree from Yale University. He began
his career at the office of the Surgeon General in Washington, DC, and helped draft the Medicare program. He
has served as Chair for the Faculty Senate and Chairman of the Governing Board at the Leonard Davis Institute of
Health Economics at UPenn, Commissioner of the Accrediting Commission on Education for Health Services
Administration, Yale University Trustee, Executive Director of the National Advisory Commission on Health
Facilities (The White House), Director of the Office of Program Planning and Evaluation, Office of the Surgeon
General, U.S. Public Health Service, Washington, DC, Chief of the Division of Public Health Methods,
U.S. Public Health Service, Washington, DC, and Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary, Health and
Scientific Affairs, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Washington, DC.
Bill performs research in health policy development, health systems planning, policy analysis, resource
allocation, and strategic planning. His current projects include advanced management education in health care,
national health policy formulation, and curriculum reform in medicine and health care management. In addition,
he served for a decade as an independent Director of Nuveen Select Portfolios.
_____________________________________
Jay Bolnick
Director
A 30 year veteran in the health care industry, Jay has served in senior finance, operational and marketing
positions for a variety of large health plans and premier hospital systems. He has performed advanced financial
analysis, budgeting and accounting functions for Roosevelt Hospital, Lenox Hill Hospital, Jamaica Hospital,
Hospital for Joint Diseases and Woodhull Hospital. In addition, Jay assumed internal analytics, marketing,
managed care contracting, economic modeling and product development roles for Cigna/Equicor, ChoiceCare
Long Island, Private Healthcare Systems, First Choice Network and CNA Insurance Company.
Most recently, Jay served as Corporate Director for Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan, engaging roles in
business development, network management, provider contracting and development of the financial and
accounting systems for Healthworks/Continuum. He is an adjunct assistant professor at Hofstra University where
he teaches marketing and financial management to health care graduate students. He has previously held
adjunct faculty positions at both Columbia University’s School of Public Health and the New School for Social
Research in New York City.
Jay holds a Bachelor of Science degree in economics and a finance MBA degree from the University of Hartford,
as well as a Masters of Public Health degree from the Columbia University School of Public Health.
_____________________________________
Steve Ruth
Director
Steve is the former CEO of Psych Management Inc., a managed behavioral health care organization (MBHCO) in
Connecticut. He began his career as a behavioral therapist and counselor working for several behavioral health
and crisis intervention programs in Connecticut and Massachusetts. He then assumed the role of Program
Director at the Westfield Area Mental Health Clinic and, later, CSW, Inc., both headquartered in Massachusetts.
Subsequently, Steve served as Director of Mental Health Services, and Director of Managed Care Services, for the
Massachusetts Department of Mental Health and the Connecticut State Department of Mental Health,
respectively. In addition, he has acted as Executive Director for both Gilead House, Inc. and PRO Behavioral
Health, both Connecticut-based initiatives.
Steve consults regularly in the areas of practice management, provider relations and healthcare business
management. He currently serves as Board President for Chrysalis Center, a non-profit multi-service healthcare
agency in Hartford, CT, and is a member of the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services
local advisory council. He earned a BA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and an MS in Counseling
from the University of Hartford.
_____________________________________
Dr. Keith Nelson
Director
Keith began his career as a physician/surgeon, and subsequently made the transition into finance and business
management. After developing a product for Reebok, he co-engineered the capitalization, expansion and
operations of MDNY Healthcare, developed the nation’s first insured integrative medicine delivery system,
founded and directed the Renoir® Cosmetic Physician Network, and was the chief architect of business
development for HealthAllies (now a subsidiary of United Healthcare). His high-profile consulting engagements
have transcended a myriad of business sectors including biotech, cosmetic manufacturing, telecomm, corporate
real estate, venture capital and investment banking.
Uniquely positioned at the intersection of clinical practice and enterprise management, Keith leverages his
considerable business analytical experience and familiarity with hospital, private practice and third party payer
workflows, to identify and solve inefficiencies in health care operations.
Keith has an MBA in Finance, a Doctorate in Podiatric Medicine and is Board Certified by the ABPOPPM.
_____________________________________
Regina Demitrack, RN, MPH
Director
For more then 20 years Regina has driven a number of start up projects into successful programs for a variety of
clients. As a nurse, Regina has worked within many of the health care environments, including in-patient care,
home care, occupational and correctional, and most recently, fund raising and clinical research. Regina studied
nursing science at Adelphi University in New York. With her MPH from the New York Medical College in Health
Policy and Planning, Regina has worked on occupational health program development with many Fortune 500
companies, specifically with health promotion and education activities, long and short term disability case
management, and managed worker’s compensation. Regina has also worked internationally in the area of non-
profit program development and funding and as a nursing instructor.
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