Cibolo Rural Health Network logo
Contact Us
Contact Us

About Us

Supporting Rural Healthcare

Rural healthcare is in crisis. In the last decade or so, more than 160 rural hospitals have closed their doors or ended inpatient services*. The hospitals and clinics that remain serve older populations that suffer from high rates of chronic disease.


As a rural health leader, you have experienced the challenges behind these numbers. Rural hospitals struggle to generate enough margin to invest in diagnosis and treatment advances. You also face rising costs of labor and supplies needed to provide care. These headwinds often leave little choice but to cut clinic hours or services, prompting patients to look elsewhere for care. Revenue falls, fixed costs remain, and the cycle begins again.

Why Cibolo Health

Cibolo Health helps break the cycle with a strategy known as “Be the Buffalo.” Buffalos charge directly into storms to get through the danger faster and lessen potential pain. In healthcare, the strategy allows independent rural hospitals to face challenges head-on together and proactively create optimum outcomes. That’s where we come in.

 

Cibolo provides opportunities for independent and rural hospitals to create networks with their peers to overcome the obstacles rural healthcare providers face. These networks are similar to farmers’ cooperatives, giving member hospitals the scale needed to gain a seat at the table with health plans and large health systems.

 

Cibolo Health is a pioneer in enabling independent hospitals to create rural clinically integrated networks. CINs provide the clinical foundation for improving quality, care coordination, and access, as well as the ability to thrive through storms.

Nathan H. White, JD

President/CEO

A. Clinton MacKinney, MD, MS

Chief Medical Officer

Brett Norell, MHA, FACHE

Chief Financial Officer

Brittany Sachdeva, DNP

Chief Clinical Officer

John Naylor

Chief of Strategy

Kylie Nissen

Chief of Staff

Corey Condon

Vice President of Procurement

Theo Stoller

Vice President of Network Operations

Naomi Wedin

Chief of Payer Solutions & Relationships

Mark Waind

Chief Information Officer

Ben Bucher, FNP-BC, MBA, LNHA

Executive Vice President of Network Operations

Ann Kinsella

Vice President, Government Programs and Payer Strategy

Riya Pulicharam, MD,CPI

Riya Pulicharam, MD,CPI

Chief Population Health Officer

The founders of Cibolo Health have been in your shoes. They have run rural hospitals. They have cared for rural communities as either a nurse or a physician, both at the bedside and as clinical leaders. They have faced the same pressure points and developed solutions that took care of patients in that moment of need, and for the long term, too.


Most importantly, they share the desire for rural communities to retain local decision making on healthcare. Their work is dedicated to the principle that independent rural hospitals can work together to meet these challenges and emerge stronger while remaining independent.

Contact Us

*Between 2005 and 2023, 146 hospitals in rural U.S. counties closed or were converted to non-acute care (meaning they stopped providing general, short-term, acute inpatient care). Of the 146 hospitals, 81 shut down completely,” according to the US Department of Agriculture.

Nathan H. White, JD

President/CEO

Nate White is an expert on healthcare operations and strategy formation with deep domain experience in health system development and leadership. He founded Cibolo Health following a prolific run as Chief Operating Officer of Sanford Health. White’s tenure at Sanford Health saw the organization grow from $350 million in net revenue and a handful of hospitals, to a $6.5 billion national health system with 40 hospitals, 1,500 employed physicians, 200 post-acute facilities, and 250,000 health plan members.

 

More recently, White assisted with the founding—and served as interim Chief Executive Officer—of the Rough Rider High Value Network in North Dakota. This Network includes 23 member hospitals focused on economies of scale through shared services, and improved value-based care arrangements through a clinically integrated network.

 

White offers guidance on organizing principles for major investment decisions designed to expand clinical services across multiple markets. He has helped healthcare executives identify and design affiliation opportunities, including high value networks responsive to new payment models, and partnerships with major payers to align providers towards value-based care.

 

White has been a national speaker on healthcare system development and creating high value networks. He received his BA from Augustana University and JD from the University of Kansas, where he received the highest award given at commencement, recognizing academic excellence, leadership, and community service.

A. Clinton MacKinney, MD, MS

Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Clint MacKinney has worked in health care for 40 years – the first 14 years as a rural family physician, practicing the full scope of family medicine. He has both owned a private practice and worked with a large healthcare system. Dr. MacKinney then worked as Medical Director for a globally capitated primary care group with 210 employees and a $50 million budget. In addition to clinical duties, Dr. MacKinney worked for eight years as a performance improvement consultant for nearly 50 rural hospitals. Dr. MacKinney completed his clinical career as an emergency department physician in rural Minnesota. Dr. MacKinney then served as the Clinical Design Consultant to the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model (global hospital budgets). Dr, MacKinney currently serves as Chief Medical Officer for the Rough Rider High Value Network, a clinically integrated network of 23 North Dakota hospitals, and for Cibolo, a firm specializing in rural healthcare network development.

 

Dr. MacKinney is a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Iowa, College of Public Health. His academic and professional interests include rural health system transformation, healthcare value, physician and administration relationships, healthcare financing and payment, and rural health policy. Dr. MacKinney is a member of the Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI) Health Panel and has served on national committees for the Institute of Medicine, the Department of Health and Human Services, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American Medical Association. Dr. MacKinney received his MD degree from the Medical College of Ohio (now Toledo University), Family Medicine residency from the Mayo Clinic system, and master’s degree in administrative medicine from the University of Wisconsin.

Brett W. Norell, FACHE

Chief Financial Officer

Brett Norell is an innovative, transformational executive with a proven track record of solid operational performance, delivering financial recovery, managed care growth, and strong community engagement.  Brett brings 20+ years of operational and financial leadership experience in a broad range of organizations including pediatric academic, urban multi-hospital system and a small community Catholic hospital.  Most recently, Brett served as President & CEO of Holy Family Memorial in Manitowoc, WI. During his tenure, Brett grew and stabilized the organization while leading partnership discussions and selection of a future partner.  Accomplishments included expense reduction of $11M through implementation of productivity benchmarking and $3.6M in increased revenue through growth in managed care volume.

 

Brett has experience coaching and mentoring leaders at all levels of organizations on the improvement of operational and financial performance. As a coaching professional, trained the Bridges Coaching Method, Brett provides personalized assessment and coaching, guiding leaders to leverage their strengths to effectively lead through any situation. Brett has leveraged his leadership skills to give back to the community and the healthcare profession. Highlights including serving as Chair of the CORE board of directors, Treasurer of the board of directors for a local historical theater, and board member for the Wisconsin Chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives. He has also coached a variety of youth and high school athletics.

 

Brett received his BS in Bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin and Master of Health Administration and a Master of Public Health from the University of Iowa. He is board certified in healthcare management as a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Brittany Sachdeva, DNP

Chief Clinical Officer

Brittany has worked in health care for over 20 years – the first 10 years as a practicing nurse, largely within the emergency department of an academic medical center. Brittany has held leadership positions within rural integrated health systems in Quality, Accreditation, Regulatory Services and as CNO and COO. 

 

As Chief Nursing Officer she led nursing practice for over 2000 nurses within the system’s largest market, supported the opening of a nearly 500 million dollar new medical center, and achieved accreditation of the nurse residency program. As Chief Operating Officer, she was responsible for a 2 billion dollar P&L, 10,000 employees and service line development. Sachdeva’s interests including advancing rural healthcare’s sustainability, nursing leadership and development, and patient safety. She holds a Doctorate in Nursing with an emphasis in leadership development.

 

Brittany currently serves as Chief Clinical Officer for the Rough Rider High Value Network, a clinically integrated network of 23 North Dakota hospitals, and for Cibolo Health who specializes in rural healthcare network development.

John Naylor

Strategic Advisor

John Naylor was most recently President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Medica. He joined the company in 2010 and served as President and Chief Executive Officer from January 2017 to his retirement in September 2023.

 

Mr. Naylor has more than 30 years of industry experience. As CEO of Medica, he led Medica’s successful expansion to proudly serving 1.5 million members in twelve states (generating more than $6 billion in revenue). Previously he was Senior Vice President, Commercial Markets, Medica’s largest business unit. Under his leadership, Commercial Markets achieved record highs in membership growth and developed a number of industry-first innovations, including accountable care organization products in partnership with a number of health care systems across Medica’s service area.

 

Prior to joining Medica, Mr. Naylor spent more than 20 years at Willis Towers Watson (formerly Towers Perrin). For more than a decade, he served as the market leader for the Towers Perrin Minneapolis office and Managing Director for the U.S. Central Region, with responsibility for all aspects of selling and providing service to clients across the company’s human resources consulting practice.

 

Mr. Naylor is currently the Chair of Itasca Project and previously served on the board of Greater MSP. Both organizations are committed to strengthening the regional economy through programs that promote economic development and regional vitality with a focus on civic engagement and inclusion. He has also previously served on the boards of the Minnesota Council of Health Plans, Medical Alley and HealthEdge.

 

Mr. Naylor is a passionate volunteer at several community organizations, including the YMCA of the North, where he has served on the board for more than a decade.

Kylie Nissen

Chief of Staff

Kylie Nissen has worked with rural health care systems for over 20 years, with the past 17 being with the State Office of Rural Health in North Dakota. As director of the State Office of Rural Health, Kylie conducted community health needs assessment, strategic planning, grant workshops, administered grants (both as a recipient and a funder), hosted conferences, administered workforce programs and oversaw the health workforce initiative state funding, served on state and national health care committees and boards, and served as a liaison between rural health facilities and the University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences. She worked with rural facilities to found the North Dakota Rural Health Association in 2007 and she has served their executive director since that time.

 

Prior to joining CRH, she served as the program/education coordinator for the Office of Continuing Medical Education and Outreach at the UND SMHS. In that capacity, she provided program coordination of continuing medical education activities to physicians and nurses throughout North Dakota, arranged HIPAA certification to North Dakota high schools, community colleges, and health facilities and instructed two undergraduate courses offered online to both college and high school students.

 

Since November 2003, Kylie has been the executive director of the North Dakota Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

 

Kylie received her bachelor of business administration degree in information systems from the University of North Dakota College of Business & Public Administration, is a certified Health Information Technology Workflow Redesign Specialist, and has her certificate in health administration.

Corey Condon

Vice President of Procurement
Corey Condon is a seasoned executive with extensive experience in procurement and supply chain management within the health and wellness industry. As Vice President of Procurement at Cibolo Health, Corey is responsible for overseeing the company’s procurement strategy and focusing on achieving economies of scale in the purchase of goods and services for the overall network.    
 
Before joining Cibolo Health, Corey was the Executive Vice President of Supply Chain and IT at HMR and Profile by Sanford.  During that time Corey transformed their procurement functions, optimized supply chain channels, and fostered strong, long-term relationships with vendors. In addition, Corey leveraged his background in project management and played a pivotal role in scaling their IT infrastructure to scale with their rapid business growth.  His leadership and strategic vision helped Profile by Sanford to be named one of the fastest growing franchises in the country.  His background in procurement, project management and IT make him a versatile leader for Cibolo Health. 
 
Corey received his Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from St. Cloud State University and has actively been involved with the Project Management Institute since 2008.

Mark Waind

Chief Information Officer

Mark Waind has over forty years of experience in the healthcare industry. He served as a Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Altru Health System overseeing Information Services, Plant and Facilities, Biomed, Environmental Services and Food and Nutritional Services.

 

Under Mark’s leadership Altru’s IT division achieved multiple HIMSS Stage 7 certifications, numerous Digital Health Most Wired awards and recognition for the community health program built upon the Epic EMR system. Mark was the lead executive on Altru Health System’s $500 million dollar hospital replacement project until his retirement in December of 2022, when he created Waind Consulting Solutions LLC, providing IT guidance in governance, strategic planning, budgeting, staffing, and IT operations.

 

Mark received his BS degree in Business Administration and Computer Science minor from the University of North Dakota and a Master’s degree in Business from the University of Mary. He is a Certified Healthcare Chief Information Officer (CHCIO) and a Certified Professional in Healthcare
Information and Management Systems (CPHIMS).

Ann Kinsella

Vice President Government Programs and Payer Strategies

Ann Kinsella is a seasoned health care executive with over 25 years of experience in public and nonprofit sectors, specializing in Medicare Advantage and government health programs. Most recently, she led the Medicare segment at Medica Health Plans, overseeing a $1B P&L and serving 160,000+ members across eight states (Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and Wyoming). She successfully expanded Medicare Advantage and Cost plan offerings into rural counties, increasing access for underserved seniors.
 
Previously, Ann served as Medica’s VP and Compliance Officer and earlier held leadership roles at UnitedHealthcare as Medicare Advantage Operations Compliance Officer. There, she led cross-functional teams to implement enterprise-wide regulatory and operational changes.
 
Ann began her career in public service at the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, ultimately serving as Deputy Attorney General for Health and Human Services. In this role, she led legal teams supporting the Health, Human Services, and Commerce departments, as well as overseeing the Medicaid Fraud and Charities divisions.
 
Throughout her career, she has built trusted partnerships with payers, providers, regulators, and community leaders, especially in rural areas. Raised in rural Missouri, Ann is passionate about advancing health care access and preserving local provider independence.
 
Ann holds a B.J. from the University of Missouri, a J.D. from George Mason University, and an MBA from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management.

Riya Pulicharam

Chief Population Health Officer

Dr. Riya Pulicharam is a physician researcher, health economist, certified clinical trials physician investigator, and a leading expert in population health and value-based healthcare.

 

She has served as the national medical director of population health/HEOR & Clinical Outcomes at legacy Healthcare Partners (HCP), Davita Medical Group, and Optum for over 22 years. In this role, she creates and executes clinical care pathways for high-risk patients with multiple chronic conditions and social determinants of health.

 

Dr. Pulicharam also provided oversight for the clinical trials program at HCP and was involved in over 500 research studies that led to numerous publications in major healthcare journals. She spearheaded many quality improvement initiatives to improve clinical outcomes, boost quality metrics, and reduce total healthcare cost of emergent and high-risk patients over the last 28 years of her career.

 

She is a cofounder of Caret Health and Xpedite MD where she continues to fuel her passion for improving healthcare, especially for the vulnerable and economically challenged patients who are facing barriers to timely and quality care. She continues to be involved in clinical trials in multiple therapeutic areas, especially in oncology, along with several research studies of national significance at ADNAB Research in collaboration with academic centers of excellence.

  

Dr. Pulicharam is currently the chief population health officer at Cibolo Health and is involved in leading care coordination and population health nationally in collaboration with rural health networks, rural hospitals, and clinics. The collaboration is producing evidence-based best practices that improve overall outcomes, cost effectiveness, and care through technology and innovation.

 

In her spare time, she likes to take long walks, has a keen interest in photography, and loves to experiment with gourmet cooking for her kids and her husband.

Ben Bucher

Executive Vice President of Network Operations

Ben Bucher is a seasoned healthcare executive and board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner with over 20 years of experience in clinical care, healthcare leadership, and rural health innovation. He currently serves as Executive Vice President of Clinical Operations at Cibolo Health, where he leads strategic initiatives to improve clinical quality and operational performance.

 

Ben also continues to serve as CEO of Towner County Medical Center, where he transformed operations, oversaw a $63M campus expansion, and helped earn repeated recognition as a Top 20 Critical Access Hospital. He also led and supported high-performing, long-term care facilities and rural clinics across North Dakota.

 

With advanced degrees in nursing and healthcare administration, Ben is a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator and active leader in state and national health organizations. He was instrumental in the forming of the Rough Rider High Value Network and serves on several boards, including the North Dakota Rural Health Association, North Dakota Hospital Association, and Heartview Foundation.

 

Known for his collaborative leadership, rural health advocacy, and patient-first philosophy, Ben continues to drive excellence in healthcare operations, clinical quality, and community engagement.

Amy Miller

Director of Strategic Partnership & Alliance for Cibolo Health and The Garage

Amy Miller is a passionate leader with over a decade of experience in business development and partnerships in the high-tech and health-tech industries. She thrives on building strong relationships with hospitals, academic medical centers, and healthcare stakeholders to create meaningful solutions. With a deep commitment to rural health and women’s health, she focuses on improving access and outcomes through collaboration.

 

Amy also sits on the Board of Madison Ballet, and earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Management from UW-Stevens Point. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin, with her husband, their three children, and their black lab, Luna.

Naomi Wedin

Chief of Payer Solutions & Relationships

Naomi Wedin is the Chief of Payer Solutions & Relationships at Cibolo Health. She has extensive experience in developing and operating clinically integrated networks and has successfully transformed a physician hospital organization into a nationally respected clinically integrated network.


Naomi has developed, analyzed and negotiated numerous payer contracts, including both fee-for-service and value-based arrangements for Commercial, Managed Medicaid and Medicare Advantage lines of business. She has also led an organization through various CMMI and CMS programs, such as Next Generation ACO and Medicare Shared Savings Program. Naomi holds her bachelor’s degree in business management from Rasmussen College. In her spare time, she enjoys golfing and spending time with family and friends.

Theo Stoller

Vice President of Network Operations

Theo Stoller has dedicated over 16 years to healthcare leadership, consistently driving improvements and fostering growth. His journey began as a Human Resources/IT Director at a Critical Access Hospital in North Dakota, where he honed his skills over five years.

 

Transitioning to CEO and Nursing Home Administrator, Theo led a Critical Access Hospital, three Rural Health Clinics, and a Skilled Nursing Home for nine years. Under his leadership, the facility achieved financial gains for eight of those years, expanded services, underwent significant remodeling, and earned a spot among the top 100 Critical Access Hospitals in the nation for two consecutive years.

 

As the COO of a large Critical Access Hospital for the past two years, Theo has demonstrated a visionary approach that has significantly impacted the organization. Under his leadership, the hospital opened three provider-based clinics, two freestanding clinics, an infusion center, and a standalone radiology center. He also introduced new service lines, including interventional cardiology, interventional radiology, oncology, nephrology, and PET/CT. During his tenure, the hospital’s revenue grew from $45 million to over $100 million in just two years, all without a proportional increase in expenses.

 

Theo holds a Bachelor’s degree in Human Resource Management and a Graduate degree in Business. He is licensed as an EMT and a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator. Beyond his professional achievements, Theo is an active volunteer, coaching children’s sports, serving on city councils for five years, and participating in various state boards and committees, including the ND State Trauma Board, ND State EMS Advisory Committee, ND State Stroke Taskforce, and NDHA Foundation Board.

Lori Nelson

Chief of Payer Solutions and Relationships

Lori Nelson is a proven leader with history of success driving and achieving business results in a variety of healthcare settings. Experienced in all aspects of finance and delivery of health care including value-based contracts, operations, negotiations, and complex financial analysis. Lori is recognized as a dynamic leader, strategic thinker, highly productive problem solver and excellent negotiator who is committed to creating relationships that deliver value and quality for all constituents.

 

Lori has spent over 30 years in the healthcare arena, most recently as the Senior Vice President, Provider Strategy and Network Management at Medica. While at Medica, Nelson grew Provider partnerships and value-based contracts into over a handful of states, as well as developed a complete proprietary network in Nebraska. She was responsible for over $4 billion worth of healthcare spend for all types of providers, including many outsourced relationships with large national payer networks. In her leadership role, she successfully integrated provider finance, provider analytics and newly acquired contracting groups into her team. Prior roles include Chief Operating Officer of a Medicaid plan in Ohio, Senior level contracting and network management roles at BCBSMN and PreferredOne developing value-based arrangements with provider systems. She has also spent part of her career in the provider community, working as a Director of Contracting for Fairview Health services.

 

Lori received a BA from the University of Minnesota and a MBA from the University of St. Thomas with a dual emphasis in contracting and finance.

 

Nelson brings a wealth of practical hands-on experience developing and fostering meaningful value-based arrangements from both sides of the table.

Skip to content