PODCAST · news
The Backstory
by Jarrard Inc.
The Backstory, formerly the High Stakes Podcast, is a new, limited series from Jarrard Inc. President and Co-Founder Anne Hancock Toomey. For nearly two decades, Jarrard – one of the nation’s top communications consulting firms for healthcare – has partnered with thousands of leaders across the country who are striving to make healthcare better every day. But this isn’t a podcast about healthcare, or politics or even communications. It’s about authentic leadership. The Backstory is about demystifying respected leaders who’ve had a lot of success along the way because of the kind of leaders they’ve chosen to be. Each person Anne interviews is visionary, of course. They’re smart as hell, and they’re fierce about their business and their mission. They’re also humble, kind and create the kind of environments in which people can thrive. They’re not perfect. But they are real. And it’s the combination of those two things that makes each one of them great. In
Episodes
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Backstory Sessions 2026: Jenn Adams
Live from Healthcare Sessions 2026 in Nashville, Anne Hancock Toomey interviews Jenn Adams, CEO of August Bioservices, about her 30+ year career in sterile injectable manufacturing and the path that led her from Baxter into entrepreneurship. Adams explains how a long-standing investor partnership...
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Backstory Sessions 2026: David Dill
This is Backstory Sessions — a new short-form series recorded live at Healthcare Sessions 2026 in Nashville, and also on YouTube. Host Anne Hancock Toomey sits down with David Dill, chairman and CEO of Lifepoint Health, to discuss his path from growing up with a basketball-coach father and…
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BONUS 211. From Plowing Snow to Leading Healthcare Transformation, with Warner Thomas
It's a bonus! In this special edition episode , Anne Hancock Toomey interviews Warner Thomas, president and CEO of Sutter Health. They start with a note about the first podcast Anne ever hosted - a 2020 conversation with Thomas that reminds us all of how much has changed even as the principles of...
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210. From Local Newspaper Delivery to National Philanthropy Leader, with Cynthia Brandt, PhD
In the final episode of Season 2, Anne Hancock Toomey interviews Cynthia Brandt, PhD. Brandt is CEO of the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health and a deeply respected leader in the world of philanthropy. Brandt reflects on growing up in the Midwest in a minister’s family, early lessons...
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209. From Pumping Gas to CEO of Leading Children’s Hospitals, with Dr. Patrick Frias
Dr. Patrick Frias is a truly unique leader with a truly unique story. Today, he is wrapping up his tenure as Co-President and Chief Executive Officer of Rady Children’s Health before heading back to his old stomping grounds in Georgia to lead Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. In episode 209 of…
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208. From Serving Frozen Yogurt to National Health System CEO, with Marty Bonick
Marty Bonick is about as well-known a name as you’ll find when it comes to the National – and Nashville – healthcare scene. Bonick is President and CEO of Ardent Health, which operates 30 hospitals and more than 280 care sites across mid-sized urban markets nationwide, while employing over 24,000...
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207. From Clinical Dietician to CEO of Allina Health, with Lisa Shannon
In Season 2, Episode 7, Anne Hancock Toomey sits down with Lisa Shannon, CEO of Allina Health, to discuss her impressive trajectory from a rural community in Ohio to leading a health system with 12 hospitals and dozens of clinics across Minnesota and Wisconsin. Shannon began her career as a...
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206. From Dairy Farmer to Intermountain Health CEO, with Rob Allen
Rob Allen is CEO of Intermountain Health, one of the nation's largest and most innovative health systems. In this episode, host Anne Hancock Toomey talks with allen Allen about his journey from growing up on a dairy farm in Wyoming to becoming a healthcare CEO at the age of 28. And if you're...
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205. From Bike Mechanic to Oura CEO, with Tom Hale
Tom Hale is the CEO of health tech company Oura. Producing one of the most prominent wearables out there (The Oura Ring), Oura is working to improve health and wellness through sustainable behavior change. In this episode, Hale and host Anne Hancock Toomey discuss his journey from working as a…
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204. From NFL Center to Tech CEO, with Chris Spencer
Chris Spencer is a tech entrepreneur and founder of TeamQ, who today is using his decade playing in the NFL as a foundation for helping athletes across the country maximize their potential on the field and in life. In this episode, Spencer and Anne Hancock Toomey discuss his background growing up...
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203. From Seafood Clerk to CEO of Top Veterinary Network, with Chris Bishop
This week, Anne interviews Chris Bishop about his multifaceted career in healthcare and his transition to leading in the animal health sector as CEO of Veterinary Innovative Partners (VIP). Bishop shares his journey from growing up in Tennessee, working the seafood counter, playing college...
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202. From Camp Counselor to Elite Athlete, Author and Entrepreneur, with Jennifer Pharr Davis
From sleepaway camp to the Appalachian Trail, Jennifer Pharr Davis’s story is one of curiosity, courage and...camp. Her early desire to "keep up" rapidly transformed into a relentless drive to find her own limits, leading her to achievements few can even imagine. In this episode, Anne Hancock...
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201. From Burnt-Out Young Lawyer to Healthcare Media Mogul, with Scott Becker
In the first episode of Season Two, Anne Hancock Toomey sits down with Scott Becker. Becker’s name is synonymous with healthcare media and can’t miss industry conferences. The Becker’s brand is now an empire, covering every facet of the industry. And the energetic man behind the brand is a...
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Welcome to Season 2 of The Backstory
Ever wonder what makes great leaders tick? Well then welcome to season two of the Backstory, where each conversation is a case study in authentic leadership. Throughout her career in healthcare consulting, Anne Hancock Toomey has encountered some truly impressive leaders. Here, she sits down with...
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18. From Hardware Store to Healthcare Entrepreneur, with Kenny Hancock
In the capstone episode of Season One, Anne Hancock Toomey interviews healthcare entrepreneur and...her dad! Kenny Hancock is CEO of Lync Health Partners. Hancock shares his journey from working his family's small-town hardware store in Kentucky to a successful career as a serial entrepreneur in...
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17. From Basketball Coach to Physician Executive, with Dr. David Miller
In this episode of The Backstory, host Anne Hancock Toomey interviews Dr. David Miller, President of University of Michigan Health and incoming Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs of University of Michigan and CEO of Michigan Medicine . Dr. Miller shares insights from his career as a...
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16. From Post-War Microlending to Healthcare Private Equity, with Ram Jagannath
In this episode of The Backstory, host Anne Hancock Toomey sits down with the Global Head of Healthcare for Blackstone, Ram Jagannath, to trace the path that led him from a childhood as a first-generation American to the upper echelons of finance and healthcare investing. Jagannath shares how his...
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15. From Passing out in Biology Class to Health System CEO, with Ric Ransom
In this episode of The Backstory, Anne Hancock Toomey sits down with Ric Ransom, CEO of University of Missouri Health Care, for a conversation that covers everything from comic books to crisis leadership. Ric’s journey started in Birmingham, Alabama, in a home filled with big personalities and…
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14. From Kiwifruit Farming to Academic Medicine CEO, with Wendy Horton
In this episode, Anne Hancock Toomey sits down with Wendy Horton, CEO of UVA Health University Medical Center, to delve into her impressive career in academic medicine. Horton, known for her problem-solving skills and steady hand in a crisis, shares her journey from growing up in a rough...
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Bonus: 13 Leaders, One Big Question
We're doing something a little different this week on The Backstory. We're two-thirds of the way through this series and has talked to 13 incredible leaders. So, we wanted to take a moment for host Anne Hancock Toomey to reflect on one of the questions that she asks each guest. That is, "What are...
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13. From Peace Corps to Healthcare Industry Change Agent, with Ken Graboys
From rural Rhode Island to founding and leading one of the country’s top consultancies and one of healthcare’s most respected organizations, Ken Graboys’ story is anything but ordinary. In this episode of The Backstory podcast, host Anne Hancock Toomey sits down with Graboys, CEO of Chartis...
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12. From Life Flight Nurse to the Healthcare C-Suite, with Tim Johnsen
Anne Hancock Toomey dives deep into the inspiring journey of Tim Johnsen, a seasoned healthcare leader and current SVP & COO of Presbyterian Healthcare Services. Tim’s story takes us from his early days as a guitar instructor in St. Louis to a transformative career in healthcare leadership. Along...
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11. From Journalist to Foremost Healthcare Communications Guru, with David Jarrard
In this episode, Anne Hancock Toomey chats with her longtime colleague and co-founder David Jarrard, a former journalist, public affairs counselor and founding CEO, now serving as executive chairman of Jarrard Inc. David shares his unique journey from growing up in East Tennessee and working the...
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10. From the Broadcast Booth to Duke Health HR Leader, with Rhonda Brandon
In this week’s episode, Anne Hancock Toomey chats with Rhonda Brandon, the dynamic Chief Human Resources Officer at Duke University Health System. Rhonda’s unconventional and remarkable journey takes us from her roots in Richmond, Virginia, through pivotal roles at IBM, Nike and Colonial…
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09. From Tossing Dough to Leader of Leaders, with Michael Wiechart
In this power-packed episode of The Backstory, Michael Wiechart, President of TEAMHealth, opens up about his journey from small-town Ohio to becoming a healthcare leadership powerhouse. Mike’s story is anything but ordinary – from almost becoming a priest to working at – and quickly getting fired...
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08. From Private to Public to Non-Profit Visionary, With Van Ton-Quinlivan
In this episode of The Backstory, Anne Hancock Toomey sits down with Van Ton-Quinlivan, CEO of Futuro Health, for a wide-ranging conversation on workforce development and leadership. Van takes us through her incredible journey, starting with her escape from the Vietnam war and growing up in…
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07. From Appalachian Roots to Rural Healthcare Champion, with Joann Anderson
In episode 7 of the Backstory, host and Jarrard Inc. President Anne Hancock Toomey sits down with Joann Anderson, a 45-year veteran in healthcare leadership and a relentless advocate for rural healthcare. Anderson shares her journey from growing up in forest of rural Kentucky to becoming a…
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06. From Harvesting Crops to Growing Successful Companies, with Phil Roe
Join host Anne Hancock Toomey as she chats with Phil Roe, esteemed healthcare executive, former CEO and current senior advisor at Martin Ventures. From his humble beginnings on a Texas farm to leading major healthcare organizations like Vanguard Health System, Roe spills the secrets behind his...
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05. From Lifeguard to Chief Physician Executive, with Dr. Shlomit Schaal
This week, host and Jarrard Inc. President Anne Hancock Toomey interviews Shlomit Schaal, MD, PhD, MHCM, of Houston Methodist. Dr. Schaal serves as Executive VP and Chief Physician Executive, Houston Methodist; President and Chief Executive Officer, Houston Methodist Physician Organization;...
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04. From Patching Divots to Corporate Pivots, with Bill Southwick
Today, host and Jarrard Inc President Anne Hancock Toomey chats with Bill Southwick, the "Physician Whisperer" and a titan in healthcare leadership. Southwick dives into his 25-year journey of turning struggling companies into success stories, highlighting his recent triumph in transforming Querm...
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03. From Front Line Customer Service to Leading Healthcare Strategist, with Sheri Shapiro
Join host Anne Hancock Toomey as she sits down with Sheri Shapiro, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer of CommonSpirit Health. Shapiro shares her impressive journey from learning customer service and breaking bad news at a dry cleaner, to healthcare consulting to leadership...
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02. From Working Night Shift to Leading a Health System, with Chris Roth
Join host Anne Hancock Toomey, president of Jarrard Inc., as she welcomes Chris Roth, President and CEO of St. Luke's Health System in Idaho, to the podcast. In this engaging conversation, Roth reflects on his 17-year journey at St. Luke's. During his tenure, which encompassed multiple roles, St....
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01. From Flipping Burgers to Healthcare CEO, with Pete November
Join host Anne Hancock Toomey as she sits down with Pete November, CEO of Ochsner Health, on the inaugural episode of The Backstory podcast. Starting from his early days flipping burgers at Wendy’s, November went through undergrad and law school at the University of Kentucky – where one of his…
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Coming soon: The Backstory, with Anne Hancock Toomey
Welcome to The Backstory, with Anne Hancock Toomey, president and founding partner of Jarrard Inc. For nearly two decades, Jarrard – one of the nation’s top communications consulting firms for healthcare – has partnered with thousands of leaders across the country who are striving to make...
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High Stakes: 019. Creativity and Opportunity in Behavioral Health, with Karin Jeffers
Karin Jeffers, CEO of Clinical & Support Options (CSO), discusses the founding of CSO in 1955 and the organization's mission to provide mental health services to families across Western Massachusetts. She highlights the evolution of behavioral health care and the progress made in reducing stigma,...
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High Stakes: 018. Trust, Finances and Storytelling in Healthcare Private Equity, with Dan Beuerlein and Ellis Metz
Dan Beuerlein is a managing director at Brentwood Capital, where he advises health services companies on M&A and capital raises. While his expertise extends across sectors, he has a particular focus on autism services, women's health and fertility, and outpatient surgery. Here, Beuerlein and...
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High Stakes: 017. Post-Acute Care and Private Equity - Consumer Survey Reaction Podcast, with Dan Schlacter
This Sunday, we’re unveiling our new survey (the first of its kind at Jarrard), which sought the opinion of more than 1,000 adults across the country about their perception of post-acute models of care and private equity’s role in healthcare. Over the past decade, industry segments such as urgent...
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Conference Reaction - HPE Miami 2024
McDermott Will & Emery's annual two-day event convenes leaders and investors from across the industry to discuss emergent trends and topics impacting the healthcare investment world. This year, its timing couldn’t have been more appropriate. On Tuesday, just one day before the conference kicked...
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High Stakes: 016. Retail Healthcare - Are Referrals the Same as Access? With Abby McNeil and Sheila Biggs
Is retail healthcare the disruptor, the partner, the gap-filler or something else? What’s the best way for traditional health systems to interact with retail healthcare providers? There have been stories in the healthcare trades about these questions, so Abby McNeil and Sheila Biggs joined the…
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High Stakes: 015. DEI in Healthcare - When words get in the way, with James Cervantes and Allyson Carr
In this week’s High Stakes podcast, we explore the state of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in healthcare through a conversation with Jarrard Senior Vice President James Cervantes – who also serves as the leader of our Regional Health System Practice – and Senior Managing…
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High Stakes: 014. Academic and National Health Systems - 2024 Healthcare Trends to Watch
At the end of 2023, we published our annual piece on healthcare trends primed to shape the new year. Leaders from each of Jarrard Inc.’s five practices shared insights on various challenges and opportunities facing the health systems and other provider organizations they serve. In this week’s…
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High Stakes: 013. Regional and Public & Community Health Systems - 2024 Healthcare Trends to Watch
This week, we continue our series of conversations with Jarrard practice leaders in an episode focused on Regional, as well as Public and Community health systems. In the podcast, senior vice president James Cervantes lays out the trends he’s watching for regional health systems in 2024. Vice...
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High Stakes: 012. Health Services - 2024 Healthcare Trends to Watch
Last week, we published our annual piece on healthcare trends to keep an eye on in the new year. This year, our practice leads discussed a number of critical healthcare issues, from cybersecurity to partnerships between health systems and community providers. But, as the title suggests, the core...
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High Stakes: 011. Red Teams and Change Management, with Shawn Evans and Kevin Kearns
Long-term success is contingent on consistent performance. In the context of healthcare’s continual change, leaders are challenged with maintaining performance standards while the walls shift around them. This unpredictability impacts more than the day-to-day — it can rattle the confidence of…
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High Stakes: 010. Care coordination - Better outcomes through better experiences, with Robin Shah of ThymeCare
There’s no single pill to cure all of healthcare’s problems. It’s a vast and incredibly complex organism with a long list of infirmities, each requiring a treatment plan that is simultaneously highly specialized and interoperable with the many other moving parts. Nowhere is this more evident than...
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Nashville Health Care Council Sessions: Brian Regan, WCAS
Private equity is increasingly part of today’s healthcare’s framework. As a $4+ trillion industry teeming with innovation, healthcare is a seedbed for new ideas and, thus, investments from private equity streams. But as a relatively new trend, at least at this scale, private capital partnerships...
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High Stakes: 009. Buying the Umbrella Before it Rains - Hospital Issues & Advocacy, with David Jarrard & Teresa Hicks
Healthcare providers, traditionally among the most trusted institutions in society, are facing unprecedented scrutiny from regulators, the media, the marketplace and the people they serve. But despite the narrative, this high-pressure moment says more about the state of the industry writ large…
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Nashville Health Care Council Sessions: Marc Watkins, MD, Kroger Health
This week, we continue our Nashville Healthcare Sessions podcast series with another conversation about the role of retail in healthcare, this one with Kroger Health’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Marc Watkins. Dr. Watkins was on stage at Sessions with Dr. Kevin Ban of Walgreens. Seeing the leaders...
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Nashville Health Care Council Sessions: Kevin Ban, MD, Walgreens Boots Alliance
This year’s Nashville Healthcare Sessions was a unique meeting of the minds, convening high-level industry peers and competitors to discuss the current state of healthcare. Featuring in-depth conversations between leaders often pitted toe-to-toe in the marketplace, the event provided candid...
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Nashville Health Care Council Sessions: Rob Allen, Intermountain Health, and Dr. Wyatt Decker, UnitedHealth Group
This week, we continue our Nashville Health Care Council Sessions series with an episode focused on the industry’s stepwise progression to value-based care (VBC). The shift to value is something that everyone across the healthcare continuum supports in principle, but achieving it is a massive...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
The Backstory, formerly the High Stakes Podcast, is a new, limited series from Jarrard Inc. President and Co-Founder Anne Hancock Toomey.
For nearly two decades, Jarrard – one of the nation’s top communications consulting firms for healthcare – has partnered with thousands of leaders across the country who are striving to make healthcare better every day.
But this isn’t a podcast about healthcare, or politics or even communications. It’s about authentic leadership.
The Backstory is about demystifying respected leaders who’ve had a lot of success along the way because of the kind of leaders they’ve chosen to be.
Each person Anne interviews is visionary, of course. They’re smart as hell, and they’re fierce about their business and their mission. They’re also humble, kind and create the kind of environments in which people can thrive. They’re not perfect. But they are real. And it’s the combination of those two things that makes each one of them great.
In
HOSTED BY
Jarrard Inc.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Backstory have?
The Backstory currently has 170 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Backstory about?
The Backstory, formerly the High Stakes Podcast, is a new, limited series from Jarrard Inc. President and Co-Founder Anne Hancock Toomey. For nearly two decades, Jarrard – one of the nation’s top communications consulting firms for healthcare – has partnered with thousands of leaders across the...
How often does The Backstory release new episodes?
The Backstory publishes regularly with 170 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to The Backstory?
You can listen to The Backstory on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Backstory?
The Backstory is created and hosted by Jarrard Inc..
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