Executive Board
M. Ruth Coleman RN, MA
Founder, President & Chief Executive Officer
Prior to founding Health Design Plus in 1988, Mrs. Ruth Coleman had more than 20 years of experience in HMO and hospital management, patient care, and nursing education. Her experience includes several executive HMO and hospital management positions with responsibility for network development, utilization management, customer service, quality management, marketing, strategic planning, and operations. Coleman used this breadth of managed care and care delivery experience to create an organization that provides high quality management for employer sponsored health benefit plans.
Her experience, expertise and leadership have guided Health Design Plus through incredible growth, recognized by numerous awards, including the prestigious Inc. 500 and ten consecutive years as part of the Weatherhead 100, along with being named one of the Top Ten Women Business Owners in Northeast Ohio, and a finalist for the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
Martha D'Erasmo, RN, B.A., MPH
Consultant
Bio coming soon…
Frederick R. Kinsler, C.L.U.
Consultant
Bio coming soon…
James Koehler, B.A., J.D.
Attorney and Partner, Buckley King, LPA
Bio coming soon…
Executive Team
Louis Castellano, MBA, CPA (Non-Practicing)
Chief Financial Officer
Louis Castellano is Chief Financial Officer for Health Design Plus. As Chief Financial Officer, he is responsible for the oversight of all Health Design Plus internal finance functions, including client banking, client billing services, budgeting, and forecasting. He also leads the preparation process for new client proposal pricing and current client renewal pricing. When he joined the Health Design Plus team in 2001, he maintained a dual responsibility for the Human Resource function until 2008. In 2006, he received oversight of four additional operational areas: Claims and Customer Service, Compliance and Quality which he continued until 2008.
He began his career in 1980 with Deloitte Haskins and Sells as a Senior Auditor. In 1984, he obtained a growth role as a Senior Financial Analyst for the NMR Division of Picker International. In 1987, he was hired by Mt. Sinai Medical Center as Director of Internal Audit and later promoted to Assistant Vice President of Finance where he was responsible for budgeting, cost accounting, internal audit, investments and tax management. There, his expertise developed budget and cost reduction programs and initiatives. Approximately 10 years later, he joined Cuyahoga Physician Network, Inc. as the Chief Financial Officer. Through his strong leadership capabilities, he built and oversaw all financial functions and information systems, including the coordination of employee benefits, contract reviews, and physician billing and collection initiatives.
He earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from Miami University and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Cleveland State University, both located in Ohio. He passed the Certified Public Accountant exam in May, 1980, and currently holds a Non-Practicing, Certified Public Accountant designation.
Britt Hayes, BA
Vice President of Sales
Britt Hayes is Vice President of Sales for Health Design Plus. In his role as Vice President of Sales, he is responsible for developing new relationships with various stakeholders in Health Design Plus’s current target market. With over 15 years of experience in the healthcare industry, he applies his expertise implementing innovative selling strategies to support Health Design Plus’s business objectives. Additionally, he provides education and information necessary to support client needs and streamline processes for better health plan solutions.
Prior to joining the Health Design Plus team, he held various senior roles in the healthcare industry such as Great-West Healthcare/CIGNA, and Acordia/Wells Fargo of West Virginia. He is experienced in managing vendor relationships including PPO networks, reinsurance carrier markets, and prescription drug management companies.
Mr. Hayes received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mass Communications, with a minor in Business from the University of Charleston in West Virginia. He volunteers for United Way, the Special Olympics, and is a member of the National Alumni Board of Directors for the University of Charleston.
Alan Hirsh, MD
Medical Director
Dr. Hirsh, a physician for more than 20 years, has clinical interests in endocrinology, pulmonary medicine and preventive medicine. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine, and Senior Clinical Instructor for Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
Roberta Kordish, RN, MSN, CNS
Vice President of Population Health Management
Mrs. Kordish has over 25 years experience as entrepreneur, consultant, and clinical manager. Co-founder and Treasurer of Professional Nurse Associates, providing maternal-child care management programs for large corporations and managed care organizations.
John Laird MBA
Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Laird has over 30 years of health plan and managed care experience. Management positions with national insurance carriers, PHOs, HMOs, PPOs and TPAs, most recently as Chief Operating Officer.
Stoddard (Tod) L. Lawrence
Senior Vice President Strategic Client Management and Sales
With more than 30 years of employee benefit experience, Tod joined Health Design Plus as Senior Vice President of Client Services and Sales. Prior to that, he worked as a consultant for several large corporations and for over 20 years of his career he worked in the healthcare field in management, sales, client service, and marketing roles throughout the United States. His experience includes managing large and complex clients including universities.
John Strickland BS, MCSE, MCDBA
Chief Information Officer
Mr. Strickland has 13 years experience with both a major insurance carrier and a leading developer of health benefit management software solutions. Management, development and sales positions in claims operations, and systems development. Certified developer in multiple programming languages.
Senior Team
Denise K. Burrow RN, BSN
Director of Care Management
Mrs. Burrow has over 15 years of managed care experience and over 10 years of leadership experience in disease management. She has a background in care coordination and disease management program development with proven successful implementation. She is an expert at identifying client and member needs and as such has consistent delivery of high quality outcomes. At Health Design Plus she is responsible for overseeing the operations of utilization and case management, along with lifestyle and disease management solutions.
Bob Consiglio BS
Director of Information Systems
Mr. Consiglio has over 27 years of experience in technical programming and management in the medical claims processing industry. He is knowledgeable in all areas of claims processing, from EDI electronic transaction processing with HIPAA X12 standards, through all of claims processing requirements and backend payment, EOB and Web-access application portals for employers, members and providers.
Francis Fikes BA
Director of Compliance & Recovery
Ms. Fikes has over 25 years experience in claims administration, training and management. Served for 20 years with major national carrier, and several years as benefits manager with a major national corporation.
Judith M. Griss PhD
Director of Process Improvement
Dr. Griss has over 23 years of experience in the field of healthcare. With project management experience in managed care, acute care, and long term care, Dr. Griss is highly skilled in implementing quantitative measure to establish and maintain qualitative value. At Health Design Plus, her considerable expertise is utilized in re-engineering processes to increase value to our clients.
Molly J. Kinnell, B.S.
Director of Client Informatics
Bio coming soon…
Jennifer Lescsak-Deitch
Director of Provider Strategies
Jennifer Lescsak-Deitch is Director of Provider Strategies for Health Design Plus. In her role, she is responsible for vendor research and management (PPO’s, PBM’s, Stop-Loss companies) and conducts provider contracting with hospitals and specialty providers. With over 16 years of experience in the healthcare industry, she demonstrates success by leading PPO network management and analytical reviews to provide the best network solutions and cost savings to Health Design Plus’s existing and prospective clients. Her most significant areas of expertise includes reviewing large claims and spear-heading the negotiation process with providers, leading to millions of dollars in additional savings for clients.
Prior to joining Health Design Plus in 2007, she held numerous leadership roles in provider contracting and relations, operations, national sales, network management, and strategic business development with one of the managed care industry’s largest PPO plans. Immediately following this endeavor, she worked as a consultant for an e-government healthcare technology company, where she was in charge of national sales, business development, and marketing.
She studied Business Administration at Kent State University. She is licensed to sell Life, Accident, Health and Variable Annuity Products in the State of Ohio. She performs volunteer and fund-raising work for her community athletic association.
Charles W. Leach, MBA
Director of Plan Administration
Charles W. Leach is Director of Plan Administration for Health design Plus. Joining Health Design Plus in 2003, his duties include the operational management for claims, customer service, and provider data management. He is also responsible for performance metrics and fiscal budgets for all clients. His accomplishments focus on ensuring all accounts are within performance metrics of 90 days, the implementation of a more streamlined process to increase auto-adjudication, and the implementation of a Medicare cross-over function.
He has held a broad array of leadership roles within the healthcare industry. Early in his career, he was Manager of the General Motors Claim System for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Ohio. In 1994, he performed as a Claims Administrator for Cigna Healthcare, where he provided expertise in implementing a national, centralized claim processing center for Medicare products. Immediately following in 1997, he became Claims Director for PacifiCare, where he was responsible for the claims adjudication functions. In 1988, he brought his experience to United Healthcare, where he accepted the position of Site Director for two locations. There, he was accountable for claims processing, customer service, medical review, provider data, fraud detection, and all functional areas of Medicare Part B. He stabilized service center performance metrics while maintaining regulatory performance requirements for the company.
He received a Bachelor of Science and a Master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix in Arizona.
Joan Matz, RN
Director of Client Services
Bio coming soon…
Diane R. Owens, B.A., M.B.A., PMP, HIAA
Director of Enrollment and Eligibility
Bio coming soon…
Denise Mirtich
Director of Client Services
Mrs. Burrow has over 15 years of managed care experience and over 10 years of leadership experience in disease management. She has a background in care coordination and disease management program development with proven successful implementation. She is an expert at identifying client and member needs and as such has consistent delivery of high quality outcomes. At Health Design Plus she is responsible for overseeing the operations of utilization and case management, along with lifestyle and disease management solutions.
Management Team
Stacy A. M. Beck, BA, PAHM
Manager of Marketing and Client Services
Stacy A. M. Beck is Manager of Marketing and Client Services for Health Design Plus. She currently has over 15 years of managed healthcare experience and is responsible for all aspects of Marketing, including new corporate branding and messaging, developing a strong sales communication strategy, and launching effective client communication programs to promote the newest suite of wellness products, Good Health by Design. She provides expertise in user initiatives to increase the optimization of the consumer experience, while assisting with the daily management of specific clients.
Prior to joining the Health Design Plus team, she served in various Sales and Marketing roles with the Cleveland Clinic, Human Arc and most notably, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Ohio, where she managed consumer sales and marketing for the individual and family product lines, and business to business sales and marketing opportunities for the broker distribution channel.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration, focusing on marketing from Baldwin Wallace College in Ohio. She is licensed in the state of Ohio to sell Life, Health, Accident and Variable Annuity products and is Professional Academy of Health Management (PAHM) certified. She currently volunteers for the American Heart Association, and the Cleveland Plus Healthcare Summit.
Ashley N. Cornelius, BA
Account Manager
Bio coming soon…
Christine R. Garapic, RN, BSN, CPNP
Manager of Good Health by Design
Christine R. Garapic is Manager of Good Health by Design for Health Design Plus. In this role, she is responsible for collectively managing all health and wellness initiatives know as Good Health by Design. Her vast experience in the healthcare industry has positioned her as an integral contributor in the development and management of these program components including Wellness Counts, Healthy Living, Lifestart, and Carewise. She also is experienced in leading teams of skilled health professionals and working collaboratively with vendor partners, ensuring successful outcomes through the Good Health by Design suite of products.
Prior to this role, she began her career in community-based healthcare, focusing on primary healthcare, prevention, and wellness promotion. She has held significant roles at the Visiting Nurse Association of Cleveland, City of Cleveland Department of Public Health, and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Ohio. She has shared her expertise speaking at educational lectures and public forums, as well as a contributor to the planning and implementation of grant funded educational and health screening programs targeted to pediatric and prenatal populations.
She began her career at Health Design Plus as a clinical nurse in 1999, and joined the management team in 2004, focusing on the maternity management sector. In 2006, she was promoted to her current role.
She received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from The Ohio State University and completed the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner training program at the MetroHealth Medical Center in Ohio. She also currently maintains an active Certificate of Authority (COA) as a Certified Nurse Practitioner and a Certificate To prescribe (CTP) in the State of Ohio.
She leads and manages a "Back to School Rally", volunteer community service program for children, coordinating over 20 Medina social service agencies.
Susan Heinl, BS
Account Manager
Bio coming soon…
Terry Jaegers, AAB
Manager of Eligibility
Terry Jaegers is Manager of Eligibility for Health Design Plus. Joining Health Design Plus in 2006, she is responsible for managing the adherence of governmental policies affecting the daily operations of membership enrollment and eligibility. She is an operational liaison between client needs, the systems utilized, and the cost reduction assumed by her strategic planning and implementation. Her specific areas of expertise include managing the processes relating to the eligibility of claims, and ID card processes for clients within the Health Design Plus family.
With over 20 years of healthcare experience, she began her career with Champion International in 1981, applying her expertise in accounting. In 1991, she joined Parma Community General Hospital where she assumed responsibility in various financial roles such as payment analytics, financial counseling, revenue enhancement, and managing collections in a customer service capacity. In 1996, she also assumed a role in tax preparation services for individuals and small businesses with H & R Block.
Ms. Jaegers earned an Associate of Arts Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting from Cuyahoga Community College in Ohio. She is a Master Tax Advisor and can nationally represent entities with tax issues as an Enrolled Agent. She is certified in Medical Coding, a counselor in the State of Ohio, and is a member of the National Association of Enrolled Agents.
Yvonne Latson, BS
Manager of Customer Service
Yvonne Latson is manager of Customer Service for Health Design Plus. In this role, she is responsible for all aspects of customer inquiry focusing on continuous improvement in efficiency and effectiveness of call center practices, productivity, training, and operation. With over 15 years of call center and telecommunications project management, she leads a state-of-the-art call center team, meeting rigorous client performance guarantee standards in call quality, customer satisfaction, metrics, and attrition.
In 1988, Ms. Latson's career launched with AT&T, where she assumed various roles in sales and systems consulting and then accepted a role as Project manager. In this role, she was responsible for voice and data project implementation for mid to large size companies; providing technical descriptions of service offerings and proposal cost statements. In 2006, she advanced her career by accepting a position as Call Center Site Manager at Computer Sciences Corporation, managing a Medicare Part D program inclusive of outsourcing services for a major pharmaceutical benefits company. There she provided strategy and oversite of call center operations and developed efficient business processes on client location. In 2007, she applied her knowledge and expertise as a Service Delivery Manager for Teletech Holdings, Inc. leading the charge for exceeding the daily operations of a cell phone (T-Mobile) and Medicare Part D program for United Healthcare.
She earned a Bachelor's of Science degree from Baldwin Wallace College located in Ohio and is also Six Sigma Greenbelt certified.
Chris Murray
Manager of Claims
Chris Murray is Manager of Claims for Health Design Plus. In her current role, she is responsible for the accurate and timely adjudication of medical and dental claims, including monitoring claims aging, overpayment collections and staff performance of on-site and remote processors.
Overall, she has over 20 years of claims experience including durable medical equipment, pharmacy, vision, and medical, as well as over 13 years of supervisory experience. She began her career in 1989, with Revco DS Inc. meeting customer expectations in the areas of Third Party Claims processing and analysis. She then became the PBM Eligibility Supervisor, managing all processes related to eligibility data collection for pharmacy benefit management clients. In 1995, she accepted the role of Third Party Worker’s Compensation Claims Supervisor, where she supervised receivables and payment collections of all Workers Compensation drug related purchases. Shortly thereafter, she worked for Florida Cancer Specialist a Managed Care Representative, obtaining all insurance pre-certifications necessary for chemotherapy patients. In 2000, she supervised central support staff for NCS Healthcare, responsible for third party billing insurance claims for 38 long term care pharmacies in the Eastern United States. In 2001, she became a Supervisor for Claims Administration Employer Group and Discounts for Cole Managed Vision, where she assisted in the development of processing software, production reporting, and HIPAA policy development.
Karen Stanek, RN, BSN, CCM
Manager of Care Management
Bio coming soon…