Leadership

Jason Zachariah is the Chief Operating Officer of Kindred Healthcare. He served as President of Kindred Rehabilitation Services from August 2016 – January 2020. Jason joined the company in 2006 and has served in several leadership positions, including Chief Operating Officer of Kindred Hospital Rehabilitation Services and Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director of the California and Arizona district for Kindred’s Hospital Division. During his tenure, Jason also oversaw the strategic growth and development of the rehabilitation hospital business, including the successful integration of Centerre and TherEX. Jason earned a bachelor of science degree with distinction in biology from Duke University. He went on to earn a master of science degree in biotechnology from Northwestern University and an MBA with distinction from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern. Jason is currently on the board of the Kentuckiana Chapter of the American Heart Association. From 2014-2017, he served on the board of the American Medical Rehabilitation Providers of America.

Mary Van de Kamp, MS/CCC-SLP, is the Chief Clinical Officer and Senior Vice President of Administration for Kindred Rehabilitation Services. Her responsibilities include overseeing quality initiatives and measurement across all aspects and business lines of the rehabilitation division. Mary has served in leadership positions with Kindred since 1995, in both clinical and operational capacities, with the primary focus of attaining clinical excellence. She excelled in providing innovative clinical leadership to internal and external customers, and helped assess, monitor and improve quality and clinical goals and outcomes. She also established process oversight and reporting in collaboration with compliance and legal departments. She has served as a technical expert for many organizations, including the American Health Care Association, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the National Association for the Support of Long Term Care and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, where she supported appropriate quality and reimbursement in post-acute rehabilitation services. Prior to joining Kindred, Mary provided speech-language pathology services across the spectrum of care in various rehabilitation settings.

Sally Brooks, MD, is Chief Medical Officer for Kindred Hospital Rehabilitation Services. In her role, Dr. Brooks fosters partnerships with physicians and physician groups, healthcare systems and insurance organizations. She also provides educational support, tools and resources to engage and develop medical director physician leaders with the goal of providing high-quality, patient-centered and efficient rehabilitation services. She works with medical directors and leading experts to leverage best practices across sites of care, advocating safe and effective care transitions and high-quality outcomes. She has vast experience across the spectrum of care, including rehabilitation training during her geriatrics fellowship. Dr. Brooks joined Kindred Healthcare in November 2009 as Vice President and Medical Director in the company’s Nursing Center Division. She was appointed to CMO, Kindred Rehabilitation Services in January 2015. Before joining Kindred, Dr. Brooks was employed by UnitedHealth Group and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield where she developed and implemented Medicare and Medicaid clinical programs that serve both ambulatory and nursing center populations. Dr. Brooks practiced in ambulatory and inpatient settings focusing on senior adult care prior to launching her career as a physician executive. Dr. Brooks holds degrees in pharmacy and biology in addition to her medical degree. She is a board-certified internist and geriatrician, and Fellow of the American College of Physicians and American Geriatrics Society.

Laird Smithson joined Kindred in April 2014 as Division Vice President of Finance and Regional CFO for Kindred at Home. He currently serves as Chief Operating Officer for Kindred Hospital Rehabilitation Services where he leads the hospital rehabilitation services business, including acute rehabilitation units, outpatient clinics, contract therapy in medical surgery units and long-term acute hospital therapy. Prior to joining Kindred, Laird served as Vice President of Finance for Gentiva Health Services. He has held a variety of roles in finance, operations and strategic planning with United Health Group, AIM Healthcare, Emdeon (formerly WebMD), Nissan North America and Ford Motor Credit Company. He currently serves on the UDSmr Executive Advisory Committee. He has served on the Board of Directors for the Nashville Adult Literacy Council and the Middle Tennessee chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Laird earned his bachelors in business administration from the University of Georgia and MBA from Belmont University.

Russ Bailey serves as Chief Operating Officer for Kindred’s Inpatient Rehabilitation Hospitals. As part of his current role, Russ is charged with the operation and leadership of our wholly-owned and joint venture freestanding inpatient rehabilitation hospitals. Previously, Russ served as the DVP of Operations for the South, Midwest and West regions for Kindred. Russ joined Kindred after the Centerre merger in January 2015. Prior to the merger, Russ served as CEO of Texas Rehabilitation Hospital as well as the VP of Operations for the West Region of Hospitals. Before joining Centerre, he worked for 12 years at another large inpatient rehab provider in various positions, including Area Director of Operations in Texas. Russ began his professional career as a physical therapist in both inpatient and outpatient settings. He received his bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from the University of Florida and his MBA from Troy University. He is currently licensed within the state of Texas and holds various certifications including neuro-developmental techniques and lymphedema.

Marty Mann has more than 25 years of healthcare sales and consulting experience. As Sr. Vice President of Strategic Partnerships for Kindred Hospital Rehabilitation Services, Marty is focused on developing strategic join venture, management and consulting partnerships with hospitals and health systems throughout the country. His work involves extensive strategic, operational, financial and clinical interaction with hospital c-suite and board of directors. Prior to his current role, Marty was Vice President of Business Development for RehabCare, which was acquired by Kindred in 2011. Previously, Marty also served as Vice President of Sales for Cardinal Health and Vice President of the Midwest Region for NeoDyme Technologies Corporation, a provider of maintenance risk management for high-tech capital equipment in the healthcare market. Marty earned a bachelor of science from the Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Marty serves on the Board of Directors for the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) - CHEF Region, several joint venture rehabilitation hospital partnership boards, and is active in other local organizations.

Brian Samberg is the Division Vice President of Business Planning and Implementation for Kindred Hospital Rehabilitation Services. In this role, he is dedicated to supporting the growth of KHRS across the United States through strategic partnerships that benefit all entities and enhance patient care and outcomes. Brian is responsible for supporting the regional sales officers in the development of new relationships for the provision of rehabilitation management services, and leads the implementation process for all new clients and for existing clients with whom KHRS is expanding its relationship. Brian brings almost 30 years of rehabilitation experience to his current role. During his tenure at Kindred, he has provided leadership in various roles within market research, corporate development, customer relations and business development support. Brian also serves as Chairman of the Board of Managers for St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Hospital (a Kindred Joint Venture IRF). Brian holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from Creighton University, and a master’s in healthcare administration from Saint Louis University.

Claire Willman is Vice President, Strategic Business Development for Kindred Hospital Rehabilitation Services. In this role, she assists hospitals and health systems in the development of post-acute services in the midwest and southeast. In her six years in this capacity, she has identified partnerships between KHRS and many other entities that have yielded financial success and improved patient outcomes by creating highly successful and efficient acute rehabilitation units, outpatient therapy clinics and acute therapy management that are functioning at their maximum level. Claire’s years in operations and finance provided her with skills as a business development executive that allow her to identify opportunities and work closely with CEOs, CFOs and GCs to create the strongest partnerships possible. She also oversees and directs all regulatory state and federal compliance for start-ups. Claire has been with Kindred since 1991, when she started as a director of market research, moving next to positions in new product development, finance and then operations. She has an MBA and a bachelor’s in business administration and in psychology from Saint Louis University. She is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, a board member of the Golf Foundation of Missouri and a member of the Healthcare Financial Management Association.

Erik Wallace serves as Division Vice President, Business Development, for Kindred Hospital Rehabilitation Services. In this role, he is responsible for identifying strategic partnerships and management relationships in the west region of the United States, and follow-through related to the proposal, development and implementation of such relationships, for the benefit of all parties. Erik’s work has led to the successful creation of strategic partnerships management relationships that are financially beneficial, while most importantly improving access to the acute inpatient rehabilitation level of care for those patients who can benefit the most. Before coming into this role, Erik was Senior Director, Corporate Development for Kindred Healthcare. In that role, he was integral in developing nearly 10 freestanding joint-venture inpatient rehabilitation specialty hospitals. Erik began his career as an administrative resident with the Sisters of Mercy Health System, and holds an MBA from Baylor University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah.

Michael Pizzano serves as the Division Vice President, Business Development, for Kindred Hospital Rehabilitation Services. In this role, he is responsible for identifying strategic partnerships and management relationships in the Northeast and Upper Mid-West regions of the United States. Before coming to this role, Michael was a Director of Business Development and Chief Executive Officer for Kindred Healthcare. Michael’s years in operations and finance allow him to identify new opportunities and work closely with CEOs, CFOs, and GCs, to create state and federal compliance start-ups. In those prior roles, Michael was integral in growing the Kindred transitional care hospital footprint in the New York/New Jersey/Pennsylvania regions focusing on both growth and top clinical quality. Michael began his career as an Administrative Manager for Atlantic Health System and holds a Master’s degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University and a Bachelor’s from the Pennsylvania State University. Michael is the 2020 President of the American College of Healthcare Executives for New Jersey, Immediate Past Chairman of the Board for the American Lung Association of New Jersey, and a Collegiate Professor of both graduate and undergraduate Business and Healthcare Management.

Ana Frankovic is a Director, Strategic Development, for Kindred Hospital Rehabilitation Services. Her responsibilities include providing strategic consultation to hospital executives on acute rehabilitation for inpatient rehabilitation units and freestanding rehabilitation facilities, long-term acute care hospitals, medical-surgical and outpatient rehabilitation. Prior to joining KHRS in 2017, Ana held several sales and marketing positions at various companies, including Adheris Health. She earned her bachelor of science degree in business administration from Lindenwood University.

Mike Meachum is a Director, Strategic Development, for Kindred Hospital Rehabilitation Services. His responsibilities include providing strategic consultation to hospital executives, identifying solutions for partners and potential partners, and driving business development goals. Prior to joining KHRS in 2018, Mike served in multiple business development roles at Biomedical Innovations, a medical device manufacturer in Colorado Springs. He also directed operations at CareCore National and was Site Operations Manager at Randstad Managed Services, both in Colorado Springs. Mike has a bachelor degree in business administration from Florida State University.