HFMA is pleased to bring you a New Board Member Spotlight of Jake Rahn. More interviews coming regularly.
Tell us how you came to a career in healthcare and the path to your current position in your organization.
[jr] My mother was an oncology nurse and school nurse, which made me appreciate her in a completely different lens than just ‘Mom.’ Hearing her share raw and emotional moments as
an oncology nurse helped me realize that there is something unique to this industry more than any other – our day revolves around helping patients and people in general. I never had the skillset nor acumen to be a physician or medical professional. However, I joined athenahealth in 2016 to enable independent medical groups to deliver exceptional care and outcomes. My commitment and tenure at athenahealth helped me transition to provide the same level of service in the acute space with RevSpring.
What was your moment of truth? Share an event or a decision that became a defining moment in your career.
[jr] A defining moment in my career happened while I was at athenahealth. Being in sales is a somewhat counterintuitive profession. We’re taught early in our career that if you want to win business, you need to be in a Glengarry Glen Ross mindset of ‘Always Be Closing.’ However, I realized that I was distancing myself from providers with this mindset of ‘activity breeds results’ and ‘Sell Sell Sell.’ I reframed my mindset to focus on my innate abilities and skillset, (compassion, empathy, humor and active listening), and do what I do best. Become a friend and trusted advisor with people and allow business to develop down the road if applicable. If you focus on being yourself and have genuine and authentic conversations, you have a much better chance of being successful in business and sales.
Give us a glimpse into who you are? Please share an anecdote, funny situation, or unexpected event from your career?
[jr] For those that already know me in this chapter, I feel like there are too many anecdotes and funny situations to highlight in this section. Every day at work a funny situation happens for me, either with fellow HFMA members, colleagues or providers. I’m also a very carefree individual and typically do not get embarrassed as I love self-deprecation. However, a funny moment recently happened at an HFMA Empire happy hour. I had changed out of my professional garb to more casual attire and a backwards snapback cap for HH and dinner. I was walking up to say hello to a couple of friends/HFMA members and they introduced me to a provider that I had yet to meet. Without hesitation and a serious face, she asks, “what’s with the hat? I froze, went bright red and nearly dropped my drink from the unexpected ask. The HFMA members and provider all laughed as she was solicited by those friends to comment on my relaxed look. That story garnered much laughter for the rest of the evening and conference.
How has your time as an HFMA Member benefitted you?
[jr] There are no words to describe how my time as an HFMA member has benefitted me. It has been one of the greatest affiliations I’ve ever participated in and it’s yielded some of the greatest professional and personal memories for me. There’s about a dozen of us that are part of the HFMA Northeast Road Dogs. I wish we could work with a reality TV network to document our time together at these conferences because I think it would increase HFMA membership tenfold. Being a member and appointed to serve on this board is one of the greatest achievements of my career. My goal is to have other members or non-members see how wonderful this community and organization is and sink their teeth into it with the same commitment and energy.
What are you most looking forward to in your role as Board Member/Committee Chair?
[jr] I am most looking forward to help spread awareness and excitement of this great organization to current and future members. I find joy in connecting authentically with people. I love to know what motivates and inspires people to act or do anything for that matter. I want every current member to get involved with social events, as it’s the most relaxed and fun environment to network and meet great people. We as a community need to embrace meeting new folks so that we can learn new perspectives and strategies on how to improve healthcare. I also want to help increase sponsorships (annual and event-based) as there is so much good that can come from supporting HFMA educational and social endeavors for providers and vendors alike.
What do you like to do when you are not working?
[jr] When I’m not working, I love to spend my time with my wife (Brittney), my son (Sterling) and my dog (Blingsley). Outside of playing house, I love to travel, play golf, go to wine and scotch tastings, listen to music, watch football and movies.
