NEW YORK, Feb. 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ —  Stellar Health (“Stellar”), a healthcare technology company leading the way in value-based care delivery, recently announced the appointment of Dr. Catherine Gaffigan, Dr. David Carmouche, Bunny Ellerin, Michael Akinyele, and Dr. John Fitzgerald to its Board of Advisors.

Stellar saw tremendous growth in 2020 with both payors and providers. Through partnerships with over 45 collaborations across 18 states, Stellar manages outcomes for 300,000+ lives. The company looks to their Board of Advisors to guide strategic decisions, inform the evolution of their point-of-care platform, and broaden client relationships across the United States. Each new appointee to Stellar’s Board of Advisors, brings a unique perspective and experience that contributes to Stellar’s success in advancing value-based care through the use of behavioral economics and user-friendly technology. In addition, the Board of Advisors actively participates in a company-wide mentorship program, where they volunteer their time to mentor team members at the company.

“Our new Board of Advisors have meaningful expertise in key areas of healthcare, such as, government and community organization leadership, regulatory and compliance, new innovative healthcare 2.0 models, health system strategy, and payor network development, that will contribute to our evolving business model,” said Michael Meng, CEO of Stellar Health. “I am confident these individuals will give rise to exciting opportunities and strengthen Stellar’s position in the market as the preferred partner to bring payors and providers together in value-based care. We are thrilled to welcome them to the team.”

Dr. Catherine Gaffigan has spent the past two decades in a variety of roles in U.S. healthcare, primarily at the intersection of payors and providers. Recently, she rejoined Aetna, a CVS Health Company, as President of Arizona and Northwest Mountain Markets. Prior to joining Aetna, Dr. Gaffigan led all provider contracting, provider relations, and provider partnership innovation for Cambia Health Solutions in the Northwest. Throughout her career, Dr. Gaffigan has spent time working with providers to achieve positive outcomes in their value-based arrangements, making her an ideal candidate to help grow the Stellar Health Platform.

“I strongly believe we must change the economic incentives in our healthcare system. Stellar addresses these core issues by (1) helping the provider and their care team identify what can be done to drive improved cost, quality, and consumer experience, (2) rewarding the actual person on the care team who is performing the action that drives value, and (3) rewarding practices for those actions and their outcomes in near-real time,” described Dr. Gaffigan. “Stellar enables providers to prioritize the health of their patients and deliver the best care possible for complex and chronic populations.”

Dr. David Carmouche brings over 23 years of progressive healthcare leadership to Stellar’s Board of Advisors. As Senior Vice President, Community Care at Ochsner Health System and President of Ochsner Health Network, he serves on the organization’s senior management team and leads Ochsner’s value-based care delivery organization. Dr. Carmouche states, “the Stellar Health Platform fits into the workflow of all provider practices. From small practices to large health systems, Stellar takes innovative technology and information to the clinical setting in the simplest way.”

Bunny Ellerin has dedicated her career to driving change in healthcare. She is currently the Director of Columbia Business School’s Healthcare Management Program. Bunny co-founded and serves as the President of NYC Healthy Business Leaders (NYCHBL), a community of 4,500 healthcare executives, entrepreneurs, innovators, and investors. Bunny believes Stellar has the tools to drive providers to take on more risk in their value-based care contracts and is excited to support the team as a member of the Board of Advisors.

Michael Akinyele, is the former, founding Chief Innovation Officer of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”), the largest federal civilian agency. His efforts at the VA were primarily focused on implementing Section 152 of the MISSION Act of 2018, which authorized the creation of a Center for Innovation for Care and Payment. Michael explained, “the Stellar approach to enabling value-based care incentive models can and should be used to power Direct Contracting Entities (“DCE”) and their performance. Fundamentally, Stellar can be viewed as a key tool for improving compliance with timely completion of preventative screenings which improve health outcomes and reduce unnecessary curative care.”

As a practicing general internist, Dr. John Fitzgerald has almost 30 years of experience in senior management roles with physician group practices, developing population health programs, and leading risk bearing provider-based managed care organizations. Most recently, he led population health efforts at Indiana University Health (“IUH”) and was CEO of IUH’s ACO where he started to recognize the importance of activating providers at the point of care.

“Stellar provides the entire practice with timely rewards and activates physicians at the point of care,” said Dr. Fitzgerald. “The key components needed to achieve success in value-based care programs start with creating behavioral change at the end-user level.”

As Stellar continues to scale, this industry leading Board of Advisors will continue to help define the next steps for Stellar’s innovation in value-based care and support their continued growth in 2021. In March, Stellar will be hosting a Women’s Panel open to all healthcare stakeholders where Dr. Catherine Gaffigan, Bunny Ellerin, Nanette DeTurk, and Karen Janousek will be participating to share their experiences and insights as they’ve navigated the healthcare landscape. If you’re interested in attending, please register here or email sarah.barrett@stellar.health for more information.

Read the press release online here.