Elara Caring Leadership

Brent Nash

Chief Development Officer

Brent previously served as Vice President, Development at Lifepoint Health, a healthcare ​delivery organization based in Brentwood, Tennessee. Here he played a vital role contributing to the expansion of the organization. Before that, he led development, mergers & acquisitions and payor relations for behavioral health provider Springstone – where he was Chief Development Officer of its management company, U.S. Behavioral Partners.

Brent also worked in corporate development at Humana and began his career in investment banking and private equity at Goldman Sachs and Genstar Capital. He earned both his undergraduate and MBA degrees at The Wharton School of Business. He resides in Louisville, Kentucky with his wife and two sons.

John McMahon

Chief Financial Officer

John has more than 25 years of experience, including over a decade in chief and senior-level financial and accounting roles at publicly traded and private equity sponsored companies. As Chief Financial Officer of Elara Caring, John is responsible for the finance, accounting, tax, treasury and revenue cycle functions as well as M&A activities. Prior to joining Elara Caring in 2021, he held Chief Accounting Officer roles at Modivcare and Bioscrip; was Senior Vice President, Corporate Finance at Option Care Health; and served as the Chief Financial Officer at Heska.

John earned a bachelor’s degree in Communications from Kutztown University and an MBA in Finance from California State University, East Bay. In addition, he is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of California.

Chris Mate

Chief Information Officer

Chris has nearly 30 years of experience in leading technology transformations in several different industries with a deep focus in healthcare operations and technology. As Chief Information Officer of Elara Caring, he is responsible for leading the organization’s entire IT function and implementing technology solutions that help deliver outstanding patient care.

Prior to joining Elara Caring in early 2022, Chris served as Vice President, Applications Delivery at BJC Healthcare, a large Midwest hospital system; Senior Director, Healthcare Advisory at Price Waterhouse Coopers; and Senior Director, Technology at Ascension Health.

Chris earned a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Bowling Green State University.

Betta Swanson, MPP, CHC

Chief Integrity, Risk & Compliance Officer

Betta has nearly 15 years of experience in health care compliance. As Chief Compliance & Privacy Officer of Elara Caring, she oversees the compliance, regulatory, legal, quality and risk management functions. She has a demonstrated history of building, managing, overseeing and leading complex compliance programs. Prior to joining Elara Caring, Betta served as Chief Compliance Officer at 21st Century Oncology Inc. (now GenesisCare). She also served as Vice President at Strategic Management Services, a compliance consulting firm, and as Compliance Team Lead at ecfirst.

Betta has a Bachelor of Science in Social Policy from Northwestern University, and a Master of Public Policy studies from The University of Chicago. She is also Certified in Healthcare Compliance (CHC).

Laura Hamrick

Chief People Officer

Laura Hamrick is an experienced Human Capital executive with more than 25 years in the profession. She has an excellent track record of building and leading transformative HR teams in Fortune 500 environments as well as most recently, as CHRO for a start-up behavioral healthcare company that grew to a national footprint.  Prior to that, Laura spent over 7 years in progressive HR leadership roles with Yum! Brands where she was instrumental in developing and executing growth strategies. Laura held HR leadership roles with KFC, Pizza Hut and Yum Corporate. She also led Talent Management for Yum’s growth engine, the China division, while based in Shanghai, China. Laura joined Elara Caring in 2022.

Laura earned her BS degree in Business Administration at the University of Louisville.

Kim Spano

Chief Sales Officer

Kim Spano is Senior Vice President-Head of Sales for the Skilled Home Health, Hospice, and Behavioral Health service lines. She is responsible for the sales departments including our 350 sales team members, marketing, sales training, and sales operations. Our sales team is passionate about educating health systems, physicians, and community partners on the quality care, outcomes, and value of Elara Caring services. She brings enthusiasm and confidence to lead growth and the pursuit of excellence.

Kim has 17 years of sales experience, spending 15 in healthcare and leadership. Since joining the organization in 2015, she has held multiple leadership roles.

Prior to Elara Caring, Kim held positions at Emeritus Senior Living and Gannett. She also worked as a consultant in the Private Duty Home Care Industry, Senior Living Development, and in the Non-Profit Healthcare and Arts sector.

Kim earned a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Louisiana, Lafayette.

Joe Cramer

President
Hospice & ElaraConnect

Joe brings more than 10 years of healthcare experience in finance, operations, and strategy to Elara Caring. As President of two service lines, Behavioral Health and Hospice, he is responsible for day-to-day operations as well as sales and strategy to ensure the company supports patients, their families and caregivers with best-in-class care.

Prior to joining Elara Caring, Joe served in various leadership roles in Primary Care, Acute Care and Medicare Advantage at four successful start-ups that have since been acquired.

Joe received his master’s degree from the Merrick School of Business at the University of Baltimore, and his bachelor’s degree from Indiana University, Bloomington.

Tom Firmani

President
Personal Care Services

Tom is an experienced healthcare and operations leader who has established a strong track record for driving growth, and transforming and optimizing business culture. As President of Elara Caring’s Personal Care Services division, he is responsible for leading approximately 20,000 caregivers in providing in-home assistance with activities of daily living, home safety and personal care.

Prior to joining Elara Caring in 2022, Tom served as Senior Vice President of Operations for TridentCare Health Systems, where he led four independent business units across 22 states providing mobile health care services for skilled nursing homes, home care, commercial and assisted living facilities. He was with Comcast Cable Communications for nearly 30 years prior to that, serving in multiple management roles and leading high-volume, large-scale home service operations.

Tom earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Management and Operations from Stockton University.

Kimberly Nystrom, RN, BSN, JD

President
Skilled Home Health

Kimberly Nystrom is a seasoned home care professional who has worked at multiple levels within the home care industry for the past 27 years. Today, she leads Elara Caring’s Skilled Home Health service line, which includes over 1,000 caregivers who service 16,000 patients daily across 11 states in the Northeast, Midwest and Southern markets.

Since Elara’s inception, Kim has been instrumental in integrating numerous home care and behavioral health organizations throughout the nation while executing on Elara’s vision of leading with quality through innovation, integrity and value. She has a passion for developing high-performing teams committed to living a culture of best-in-class quality and patient experience. Kim is a nurse attorney who received her undergraduate nursing degree from Vanderbilt University School of Nursing and a Juris Doctor Degree from The University of Georgia School of Law.