Becker's Hospital Review

38 RCM LEADER How nursing backgrounds shaped 2 revenue cycle leaders By Andrew Cass Mount Sinai Chief Revenue Officer Debra Jaeger, MSN, RN, has found space for herself as a liaison between clinical and financial teams. Before transitioning to revenue cycle, Ms. Jaeger began her healthcare career in nursing, she told Becker's on a recent episode of the Becker's CFO+Revenue Cycle Podcast. She spent most of her nursing career working in the emergency room, but also worked across all levels of care including post-acute and home care. In her first career transition, she worked for an insurance company, setting reserves for traumatic injuries and long-term disabilities. at role ignited a fire in her. She said she loved the fact that she could build her clinical expertise into a financial role. "As my career grew and took on different roles, I viewed myself as a liaison between the clinical teams, who didn't have as much insight into the financial ramifications of payers and coding," she said. "So it was really a nice space for me and that's where I felt I could be the most impactful, being a clinical person as well as a finance person." Ms. Jaeger practiced clinically alongside her financial responsibilities until 2019. She became the first chief revenue officer for New York City-based Mount Sinai in 2025. Amy Assenmacher, RN, senior vice president of revenue cycle at Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Corewell Health, has also incorporated her nursing background into her revenue cycle career. Ms. Assenmacher exposure to healthcare began early, when she accompanied her father, an orthopedic surgeon, on his Sunday morning hospital rounds, she said on an episode of the Becker's CFO+Revenue Cycle Podcast. "His passion for taking care of people led me on a similar path, inspiring me to serve as a medical surgical nurse before getting my dual master's in business in nursing, on my track to healthcare administration," she said. Her clinical experience helps shape her perspective as the headwinds facing health systems — such as Medicaid cuts and 340B program changes — require a cross-department approach. "I think our mindset is going to require a highly collaborative approach between our clinical, operational and finance teams to deliver both high-quality care and financial sustainability, she said. "I think the health systems that are going to lead the industry will be reinforcing those strong partnerships between our providers, our clinicians, care management, finance and the rev cycle. In particular, we are going to need to ensure clinical decisions and documentation support appropriate reimbursement without compromising care." n ADVERTISINGINDEX Note: Ad page number(s) given in parentheses Gold Foundation. jfriedland@gold-foundation.org / (201) 567-7999 (pgs. 29) Impact Advisors. impact-advisors.com (pg. 39) LeanTaaS. leantaas.com (pg. 40) LogiQuip. intelli-flip.com / (800) 665-3760 (pg. 15) Modio. modiohealth.com (pgs. 9-12) Omnicell. omnicell.com/titanxt (pg. 2) PwC. pwc.com (pgs. 19-22) Temple Health. templehealth.org/lung (pg. 33) Tennr. tennr.com/ancient-art (pg. 3)

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