Alvarez & Marsal’s healthcare industry group launched a public health practice, which will work with national, state and local governments and not-for-profit and community-based healthcare organizations to meet evolving healthcare demands and strengthen performance through financial sustainability, enabling increased and equitable access to care.

Steven Bussey, a managing director in Alvarez & Marsal’s healthcare industry group, will lead the new group. Bussey has more than 25 years of experience in interim management, operational and financial performance improvement, finance, sales and operations across the financial services and healthcare sectors. The public health practice launch follows the recent announcement of the human capital and workforce management practice, representing continued expansion of the healthcare industry group’s strategic capabilities.

“Our public health practice will assist public health providers, including safety-net hospitals, as well as the states, counties or municipalities who own these providers, with financial and operational expertise to best navigate post-COVID transitions. Getting ahead of future public health emergencies will be critical to continued success,” Peter Urbanowicz, managing director and co-head of A&M’s healthcare industry group, said. “A&M’s healthcare industry group has a long history assisting public health programs, including public hospitals and health systems, improve their financial performance, operations and quality of care. This capability is critical given the pandemic’s impact on the healthcare economy, specifically public and not-for-profit healthcare organizations, as detailed in our quarterly report, “Barometer of the Post-COVID Healthcare Economy: Financial Trends and Insights from the Top 25 Not-for-Profit Health Systems.”

“Our public health practice leverages our experience advising government agencies, state-run hospitals and federally qualified health centers, along with our heritage of operational excellence,” Martin McGahan, managing director and co-head of A&M’s healthcare industry group, said. “Under Steven’s leadership, the practice will augment our ability to serve as a top resource for public health-focused organizations seeking innovative ways to solve problems, improve performance and continue to make an impact in their communities.”

“We are excited about the tremendous opportunity to help public health organizations innovate and drive change,” Bussey said. “A&M’s results-oriented mindset, combined with our operational and analytic capabilities, creates a strong foundation for developing and executing new programs to improve public health outcomes.

Bussey has participated in numerous projects designed to improve the healthcare delivery system, including working with physician practice management practices, hospitals, federally qualified health centers, outpatient centers, ambulatory care platforms and other not-for-profit and for-profit providers.