Married father of 4. I love the obfuscated business of Healthcare. Former Healthcare Distribution Exec. Better Together. The Next Right Thing. Sober 10 years.
Joined March 2021
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Who I am, and why it may matter to you in healthcare.
I’ve lived healthcare from every angle: as a patient, a son, a business leader, and now a father. My story starts back in ’76 when I survived 11 surgeries by age five. Only by the grace of God and the dedication of great healthcare providers am I here today. My parents were told I might struggle, might never have kids or a full life—well, here I am with four incredible kids. Whether that’s proof they were right about my smarts, I’ll let you be the judge! Joking, it's the best blessing ever!! We’ve got two boys in high school, an 8th grade daughter, and a 2nd grade daughter, so life’s never quiet, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Healthcare is in my blood, literally and figuratively. My dad started Rockwell Medical Supply while still working for another distributor, and by high school, I was already learning from both sides of the business. When I couldn’t play football, I found my way to compete through powerlifting—deadlifting 670 lbs by 23. That taught me an early lesson: when the odds are against you, where there’s a will, there’s a way.
After college, I was building a successful career in IT recruiting, but in 2001, my family’s business was struggling, and my dad had already endured two strokes. There was no question—I called off my wedding, took a 90% pay cut, and moved to California to help. I walked into a 25-year-old company with no email, no online ordering, and an ancient fax machine. On paper, we had no chance. But we had a story, and we were willing to go the extra mile with every client.
By 2008, we’d tripled in size, led non-acute care on the West Coast, and became one of the most advanced independent distributors in the field. In 2017, I had the blessing of working with Concordance upon selling Rockwell, which gave me insights into the full spectrum of healthcare, its silos, and how they play—or don’t play—together. In 2021/2022, I also had the opportunity to help launch the first FDA-approved urine analyzer in 15 years.
Yet, amid all this, I fought my own battle with alcoholism. But by the grace of God and with my wife’s support—the same incredible woman who moved with me back in 2001—I got sober on June 2, 2014. That’s the badge I’m proudest to wear because it gave me the clarity and purpose to be here today.
Now, through VIPER Healthcare Supply Chain Solutions LLC, I’m taking those lessons of resilience, faith, and hard work to help healthcare organizations thrive. VIPER is about more than business; it’s personal. I’m on a mission to bring high-touch service, innovative solutions, and heartfelt dedication back into healthcare. Let’s use this knowledge and experience to make an impact together.
If this resonates with you, if you believe in something beyond spreadsheets and profits, let’s make a difference together. Join me on this journey with VIPER and let’s work to create real, human-centered solutions for healthcare.
Better Together. Focused on the Next Right Thing.
Mike
[email protected]
A Dad retweeted
5 thoughts on building great teams.
1. Identity and cultivate and try and keep your 100 percenters forever. These are your total leaders, your fire starters and your linchpins.
2. Love your 90 percenters. These are your imperfect but great people. Not the total leaders but really great people.
3. Eliminate nicely your 70 percenters on down and people that give more headaches than worth. Try and upgrade your team. Give these 70 percenters a lot of room to find another job.
4. If building a great organization you probably always need to be recruiting.
5. Control your own ego and know when to elevate great people. You as a founder or leader must elevate great people when they are ready even if it means moving yourself to a different role. This can be very challenging emotionally and on the ego but is often needed for organizations to surge forward.
I’ve been in Vegas this week meeting with clinics and ASCs, 14 meetings in two days. Actionable data and an average savings in medsurg and pharma of 20% for the accounts. When looking at spends of 100k a month, that’s savings of 250k annually. How? Honest and open discussions.
A Dad retweeted
We are working on a book called health care trends and issues—the good the bad and the ugly.
I’d love to get five to ten quotes or paragraphs from people on almost any trend in health care and if you are ok with it and attribution. I’d find a place to add the idea. I think it will add some color to the book.
You can provide your comment or thoughts here.
A Dad retweeted
America’s greatest natural resource was never oil, land, steel, or technology. It was the stubborn person who looked at the existing arrangement and said:
I can build something better.
A Dad retweeted
5 stories we are following at Becker's Healthcare
1. ACA fallout hits for-profit health systems harder than expected. Alan Condon.
Two core thing are happening. First patients that had coverage through the ACA exchanges who have lost that coverage are moving to be uninsured. Second those parties are still receiving services from health systems at largely the same rates as before.
2. HCA’s $1.2B ACA hit raises red flag for nonprofit health systems. Madeline Scheetz.
3. Where AI is delivering the biggest supply chain wins. Ella Jeffries.
“Rather than replacing procurement teams or making purchasing decisions autonomously, supply chain leaders said the most promising use cases are eliminating repetitive work, improving visibility into operations and helping staff access information faster.
At Pittsburgh-based Highmark Health, Scott Meiser, vice president of supply chain, said AI and robotic process automation are helping the organization monitor high volumes of routine transactions that would otherwise require significant manual oversight”
4. Tenet’s ACA exchange revenue falls 17% as uninsured volumes rise. Andrew Cass.
“Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare saw a 17% year-over-year decrease in ACA exchange-related revenue in the second quarter of 2026 and a 13.5% decrease in exchange admissions, executives said on the for-profit system’s July 24 earnings call.”
5. 700 rural hospitals at risk of closing, by state. Madeline Scheetz.
"Seven hundred rural hospitals across the U.S., or about one-third of all rural facilities in the country, are at risk of closing due to severe financial challenges, according to a July 21 Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform analysis."
A Dad retweeted
We are excited to welcome Kevin O'Leary and Anthony Rizzo as two of the keynote speaker at the Becker's Healthcare 32nd Annual Business and Operations of ASCs Conference October 29 to 31st. Come join in Chicago.
conferences.beckershospitalr…
We are also always seeking great speakers and attendees and sponsors. For information reach me at [email protected] and will get you to the right person. Thank you. Thank you. @BeckersHR
A Dad retweeted
Me: So when did you began to feel breathless?
93 yo: three months ago, i was unable to teach our dance class.
Me: you… were still teaching dance!?
Patient: I’m 93, not dead 😊 so let’s talk about how to get my breathing back.
Love this!
Clearly we need to invest more in healthy aging 💪
A Dad retweeted
We spent 40 years making healthcare more “efficient.” We got shorter appointments, faster discharges, and higher mortality.
Efficiency is a fine goal. Just make sure you’re optimizing for the right thing.
Friends… it’s been a heck of a ‘25. I don’t know quite what to make of it. Lost my mom in January, found out we had a surprise baby coming, landed a dream job, baby Lily arrived, and now on the verge of losing my dad.
My emotions are a mystery wrapped in a conundrum.
May ‘26 bring more joy and less loss.
My dad being able to meet Lily was a truly answered prayer.
Cheers to all going through whatever you are going through, a new year is almost upon us. Let’s remember what we’ve learned, faced, overcome, and endured and build upon it.
God bless you X friends!
A Dad retweeted
Minnesota’s estimated Medicaid fraud is $9 billion.
Somalia’s entire GDP is $12 billion.
The fraud in one American state could nearly replace the entire economic output of the country where much of the money ended up.
The governor, and former VP Candidate, says it’s “not large or pervasive.”
What an amazing life I’ve been blessed to live. Surviving surgeries, becoming a competitive powerlifter, overcoming alcoholism… and now, just 3 days after our 21st anniversary, we are waiting to welcome our 5th child, 7 days short of our oldest turning 19 and 2 months after being hired for a dream job in healthcare distribution.
It’s a lot to inventory and be grateful for.
Happy holidays!
A Dad retweeted
8 of the biggest issues we are watching in health care heading into 2026. This will be an evolving list. I'd love your feedback.
1. Evolving physician shortage issues and huge shortages in specialties and sub specialties. And is the goal of having a pcp largely a lost goal? Behavioral health, anesthesia, surgical specialties, neurology, oncology and many other areas acute. Rural areas are becoming health care deserts.
2. The further breaking down of the health care system into multiple tiers based on affordability. This has a horrible impact on heath equity and more. On one end of the spectrum is the concierging of everything and on the other end is Medicaid and indigent and increasingly rural care.
3. Closely related to number 2 the incredibly high cost of health care whether subsidized or not. Average costs per family are surging again. Employer plan coverage for a family of four is missing close to $30000 a year. The actual average cost for a family of four now exceeds $35000.
4. Whether we are starting to lose on all three fronts of the triple aim. Ie are cost, quality and access all moving in the wrong direction. It used to be thought we can excel into 2 of 3, now it feels as though all three suffering together. Ie increased problems on access, cost and quality as the system gets stretched.
AI overview "many experts argue the U.S. healthcare system is struggling with all three parts of the Triple Aim (better care experience, improved population health, lower costs), with rising costs and persistent issues in quality/access, while facing major workforce burnout".
5. The improvement and cascading use cases of artificial intelligence across the health care ecosystem. The movement towards ambient listening, administrative, RCM, predictive analytic and clinical. Truly remarkable.
6. The continued power and strength of the mega payors compared to physicians and health care systems and the continued turning over of government programs to the payors. And whether this is leading to higher versus lower costs. More than half of Medicare is now managed by the payors and many states have turned over management of their Medicaid programs to payors. 2 of the largest 5 companies in America by revenues are payors.
7. The improvement of pharmaceutical treatments for complex diseases and the hope for more progress on challenging cancers. However the progress remains slow in several areas. The prognosis on certain brain and pancreatic and other cancers remains devastating.
8. The impact of the Fed Government on health care funding and health system and hospital management as well increased discussion of what impacts subsidies have on health care inflation. As a society we have a huge challenge here. We need subsidies to help people afford health care. However, it's increasingly argued or understood that subsidies lead to further health care inflation. No easy answer.
It’s a Long December kind of season.
Yesterday marked 21 years of marriage for my wife and me. Twenty-one years of shared wins, hard conversations, late nights, losses, laughter, and choosing each other even when life wasn’t gentle. And here we are—on the edge of welcoming our fifth child, baby Lily, this Sunday.
At the same time, this year has carried real weight. I lost my mom in January. My father is fading quickly now. Joy and grief aren’t taking turns—they’re showing up together.
That’s what the holidays really are: a confluence of emotions.
Some moments are full and bright.
Some are deeply sad.
Most live in that messy middle—layers of gratitude, exhaustion, hope, and ache all at once.
And seasons like this have a way of clarifying things.
It’s not about what we make.
It’s not about titles or wins on paper.
It’s about legacy.
Who we love.
How we show up.
What we pass on—values, faith, resilience, kindness, and the ability to keep going even when December feels long.
Holding space for all of it this season. The joy, the grief, and everything in between.
In healthcare and technology, success comes down to two things: capability and willingness.
Capabilities are easy to spot—features, functions, specs.
Willingness is harder to see, and far more important.
Willingness to listen.
Willingness to learn the customer’s reality.
Willingness to collaborate, share data, and stay engaged when it’s no longer easy.
Capabilities open the door.
Willingness determines whether anything meaningful happens after.
That’s the difference between a vendor… and a true partner.
