By John Wallace
Jason M. Newmark, BA, MHA, CRA, FAHRA, is the new AHRA executive director. AHRA President Becky Allen, CRA, recent AHRA president, announced Newmark as the new executive director in a post on the AHRA website.
“Jason’s passion for the AHRA, coupled with a dedication to fostering collaboration and innovation, makes him the ideal candidate to lead us into this exciting new chapter in the history of AHRA,” she wrote. “Jason is an accomplished leader with an impressive track record in health care administration and consulting. Under Jason’s guidance, we can look forward to a period of transformation and growth. Jason’s experience in navigating complex health care landscapes, fostering relationships and driving organizational excellence will undoubtedly propel AHRA to new heights.”
Newmark said his new role is exciting and adds to his curious professional trek.
“My career path is definitely not a straight line nor one that I could have planned for when I was younger! The truth is that I was just always willing to take a leap of faith and to try out new roles and organizations with the idea that if I could develop strong relationships and be able to be ‘me,’ I would be successful,” Newmark explains.
Growing up, Newmark said he always thought about a career as a physician.
“In college I realized that I didn’t enjoy the ‘hard’ sciences as much as other classes that let me speak out more, sharing my own perspectives and thoughts versus so much memorization. I began to consider other options in the health care space,” he says. “My college advisor pointed me in the direction of graduate school with a focus in healthcare administration and I applied to and was accepted to the health administration program at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri.”
After graduate school, he completed an administrative fellowship at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
He says it was an “amazing experience for a New Englander to live in Texas! Not to mention, a wonderful organization to be a part of as a fellow – very strong culture of collaboration/teamwork across service lines and delivery of high levels of patient care/experience.”
After completing his fellowship and a more than a year in Texas he dove into health care consulting on the East Coast. He didn’t enjoy commuting in and out of New York and took a break. By chance, he made a connection with “a much smaller, boutique health care executive consulting firm based in Seattle and Boston with under 40 total employees.”
“So, all in, I was out of the consulting space for less than 3 weeks!” he says.
He spent the next 4 years with ECG Management Consultants working on a wide variety of projects from revenue cycle optimization to IT system selection and implementation to process improvement and overall project management. He said he learned how to find comfort outside his comfort zone and learned the core concepts of how to work on a team and how to successfully lead projects and others in identifying and implementing solutions.
“I was also afforded opportunities to work directly with many C-suite level leaders and to learn how to more effectively communicate and drive initiatives forward,” Newmark says.
“I sincerely enjoyed these 4 years; however, there was a downside in that the work required me to become a true ‘road warrior.’ I was on the road over 130 nights per year for two years!” he says. “I will admit that the hotel and airline points and status were tremendous benefits but living out of a suitcase for that long started to take its toll; especially, as I was engaged to be married and wanted to spend much more time with my fiancé!”
The firm ended up securing a project with Stamford Hospital in Stamford, Connecticut to assist with interim radiology leadership support; specifically, focused on access improvement. Newmark was asked to be the lead. It was during this time that David Sack introduced him to AHRA.
“David took me to my first annual meeting in San Antonio in 2003. I found the meeting to have the feel of a family reunion – with everyone being so open to sharing ideas, truly wanting to get to know each other, and just being a great deal of fun! I found that even though I was not a technologist, I was still accepted for my areas of expertise – and I was inspired to want to become more involved,” Newmark says. “So, I did!”
He began volunteering to support various committees and initiatives, wrote articles, gave presentations, spent three years on the annual design team, and continued to dedicate time each week to network and further develop relationships with other members.
“This helped me to be so much more successful in my career in the imaging space, as well as in leadership roles overall,” he recalls.
In 2008, he and his wife began to consider moving closer to their families and he was approached by a national search firm about a leadership position at Baystate Health (Springfield, Massachusetts) much closer to both sets of parents. Baystate was seeking an administrative leader for its laboratory/pathology services to help drive the growth of its outreach lab services and enhance the overall culture and quality of lab services.
“I figured, even though I knew very little about lab/path operations, why not try something totally new once again,” he said.
In less than two years, he became the vice president for diagnostic services (imaging and laboratory/pathology).
“I spent the next decade plus in this senior leadership role – developing our imaging and lab leadership team and staff and helping drive operational, financial, and strategic initiatives across the region,” he says. “What an amazing experience and opportunity!”
“The pinnacle of my experience at Baystate Health was leading my teams through the pandemic – seeing team members support one another and seeing individuals step up to be the leaders I knew they could be. I was so proud of our shared collaboration and success,” Newmark says.
Next, he reconnected with some of past colleagues at ECG Management Consultants who happened to be looking for someone with his type of experience to join the firm and help develop a medical imaging service line. He spent the next 2 years working with a “phenomenal group of people” supporting performance transformation and strategic planning engagements in medical imaging and laboratory/pathology services.
Like a pinball hitting bumpers and lighting up the game, Newmark hit the jackpot when he heard about AHRA taking a new direction. He said that he feels very fortunate to be AHRA’s executive director.
1. What book are you reading currently? “So Help Me Golf: Why we Love the Game” by Rick Reilly because I love everything/anything related to golf; especially, personal stories and perspectives on the meaning of the game
2. Favorite movie? “Back to the Future”
3. What is one thing you do every morning to start your day? Say good morning to Kristen, Abby, and Reese!
4. Best advice you ever received? “Take Easy” – a phrase my maternal grandfather used to say all the time; encouraging us to; be in the moment, not be too serious, and enjoy the time you have!
5. Who has had the biggest influence on your life? My maternal grandfather: Ray “Papa” Mednick
6. What would your superpower be? Ability to help other people relax and be more in the moment
7. What are your hobbies? Golf (anytime and anywhere), coaching, and watching soccer
8. What is your perfect meal? Friends/family with no where else to be than together – with pizza and some cold craft beer!
