We are passionate about improving healthcare for everyone.
We believe that accessing healthcare should be safe, simple and low cost without compromising quality. Our team is committed to helping people have delightful healthcare experiences.
Net Promoter Score (NPS)
+79
Patient NPS
+88
Client NPS
+96
Broker NPS
Best Workplaces 2022
Fastest Growing Companies 2018 – 2022
ABOUT US
We work hard. We're proud of what we've achieved.
Who We Are
Patrick Spain
CO-FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN
Patrick started First Stop Health because of his own unsatisfactory experience with the healthcare system and his desire to improve that experience for others. He is a serial entrepreneur who has founded or co-founded four Internet-based companies.
After graduating from law school, Patrick worked for Extel Corporation, a manufacturer of telecommunications and computer equipment, first as a lawyer then as a business executive. Extel was sequentially owned by Dow Jones, Rolls Royce and JWP from 1979-1990.
Co-founder and long-time chairman and CEO of Hoover’s, Patrick led the company from a small book publisher in 1992 to a profitable, publicly traded online business information services company with $31 million in revenue in 2001 with a sale to D&B in 2003 for $119 million.
Patrick was also the founder, CEO and Chairman of HighBeam Research, which he started in 2002 and sold to Cengage Learning in December 2008. He also co-founded and serves as executive chairman of Newser, a news filtering and summarization service with an audience of over three million readers each month.
Patrick serves as a board member of Owler, a Silicon Valley-based company information service that uses crowdsourcing and AI to revolutionize data collection, quality and delivery. He also serves on the board of Occasion, a Chicago-based calendaring and payment platform for small merchants.
Patrick is a member of the Library Council at the University of Chicago and is a member of the Board of Governors of Opportunity International, the largest and best capitalized micro-lender in the world. He has worked in the technology industry since 1979 and has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago in Ancient Roman History and a law degree from Boston University.
Mark L. Friedman, MD FACEP FACP
Co-Founder, Board Director
& Chief Clinical Officer
Mark is a nationally recognized expert in emergency medicine, quality assurance and medical cost containment. He has served as an adviser to medical insurers and government agencies on medical billing, fraud and abuse. He is a member of the Telemedicine Committee of the American College of Emergency Physicians.
Mark co-founded First Stop Health out of a desire to help solve the problems of healthcare. He oversees the doctor network and is responsible for quality assurance, doctor and member education, and clinical content.
Mark has been associate professor of emergency medicine at the Frank Netter School of Medicine, chief of emergency medicine at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital of Boston, assistant professor of medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, assistant clinical professor of emergency medicine at the University of Illinois and adjunct professor of public health at Benedictine University. He has also served as president of The Brighton Group, a medical billing and consulting company, and as CEO of National Medical Claims Analysts.
Mark is a graduate of the Pritzker School of Medicine of the University of Chicago and the Kron Scholar Program of the University of North Carolina’s Kenan Flagler School of Business. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and a life fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians.
In his spare time, Mark rows, skis and races sailboats.
Teira Gunlock
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Teira (TEER-UH) joined First Stop Health in 2015 with an aim to make healthcare the way it should be: accessible, affordable and delightful.
As an experienced healthcare professional, she spent her early career in healthcare market research and consulted with leading health systems across the country to help them better use patient and physician experience data to improve care. She is well-versed in the fact that “good” is never good enough and commits herself daily to improving First Stop Health’s service, so the company may, in turn, improve the state of healthcare.
She has worn several hats at First Stop Health and has touched nearly every part of the business first-hand: from product development to client care and sales to physician network management. Now, as Chief Executive Officer, she guides the organization’s efforts on growth and patient impact.
First Stop Health’s values are Caring, Unrelenting, Trusted and Transparent, and Teira takes every opportunity to weave those values into her lead-by-example leadership style. Her colleagues describe her as a learner and a teacher. She dedicates herself to building trust with those inside and outside of the organization, and focuses on coaching individuals and teams to the next level.
Teira grew up on a cattle farm in Southwest Missouri, where her interest in increasing access to care was born. She graduated from the University of Missouri with a bachelor's degree in philosophy and a master's degree in health administration.
In her spare time, Teira practices yoga, makes groan-worthy puns, and loves spending time in nature and with family.
Elena Gambon
Chief Strategy Officer
Elena is a market strategy and product growth leader who is passionate about delivering quality, high-engagement and equitable digital health solutions to the market. She is responsible for new channel development, marketing and product collaborations at First Stop Health, and believes in creating partnerships with strong philosophical and financial alignment.
Elena has worked in and held leadership positions in employee-focused digital healthcare since 2014, with experience in operations management, product and business development at Compass Professional Health Services (now Alight Solutions) and digital health venture as a former Rock Health Research Fellow and Flare Capital Academic Scholar. Elena has also supported growth, financing strategy, and new market research for several leading digital health entities, investment firms and clinical providers as an independent consultant.
Elena has earned a BS in Spanish, Biology and Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis, an MBA and Business Analytics Certificate from University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business, and an MPH in Health Policy and Management from University of California, Berkeley.
Eric Harrison
Chief Technology Officer
Eric is a driven, caring and compassionate executive with more than 35 years of experience in technology and management. Over his career, he has been a key player in developing the technology used by 4 of the largest and fastest-growing third party logistics providers in the US. With hands-on development experience, networking and databases on the tech side, and senior management and executive experience on the business side, he brings a broad range of skills and knowledge to First Stop Health.
When not helping logistics companies grow and reach their goals, he worked in third party claims administration software (insurance), developed fleet management software, founded a company that developed file and data management software, and started another company for IT support services and CRM implementations.
Eric leads with a strong “get it done” drive. His colleagues have described him as a delivery-focused, flexible, and uniquely joyful and enthusiastic leader. He is supportive of the work/life balance and depends on his team members’ individual accountabilities, letting them set their own goals and day-to-day schedule. He gives his team all the credit – rarely taking it for himself.
For fun, Eric enjoys playing video games, puttering around with old computers, chilling in the pool, and reading a lot of science fiction. He was once a private pilot and owned an airplane. Living with his wife and dog outside of Tampa, FL, Eric enjoys teasing his friends and co-workers living up north about the weather during winter.
Elizabeth Shannon
Chief Financial Officer
Elizabeth is an executive leader, communicator and motivator. With a strong base in sales and operational finance, she has served as a trusted business partner at companies like Motorola Solutions, Inc., Simeio Solutions, LLC and Threshold Brands, LLC. She has touched many departments throughout her career and has led finance, risk management, HR, legal, capital and corporate governance teams.
Elizabeth believes in open, transparent communication, and has successfully built and developed teams capable of navigating through periods of change and rapid growth. A hands-on and thoughtful leader, she manages teams with encouragement and logic.
Elizabeth began her career with Grant Thornton, LLP after graduating from Kennesaw State University with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. She stays active with her husband and 3 children at their home just north of Atlanta, GA. When she isn’t cheering at her kids’ baseball or soccer games, she enjoys going for a run or taking a barre class.
Ben McInturff
Vice President of Technology
Ben is a technology leader with more than 14 years of experience in leading development teams to achieve amazing results with minimal resources. He’s led the development team at FSH since 2012, providing the functionality to support First Stop Health's amazing service. He is responsible for all technical aspects of the First Stop Health system and integrating and managing all third-party resources.
Ben has experience in both open source and proprietary technologies such as .NET, and has led several successful migrations of systems. With experience developing systems in the news and financial verticals, he brings mobile development, design, project leadership and security capabilities to developing and maintaining First Stop Health’s secure real-time healthcare services platform.
Ben obtained a BS in Computer Science from the Illinois Institute of Technology and his MBA from Stuart School of Business and is a member of its Beta Gamma Sigma chapter. Ben enjoys restoring his classic truck and competing in triathlons in his spare time.
Nick Severino
Vice President of Marketing
Nick is an accomplished marketing leader, who has more than 20 years of professional marketing and communications experience. He has extensive experience in the healthcare industry, working in the carrier, brokerage and TPA segments.
Nick leads the First Stop Health brand to the marketplace and helps create awareness, generate leads and engage existing contacts. The most rewarding part of his role is seeing the surprise on people’s faces when he shares the FSH value proposition with them at conferences and events.
Nick has thorough knowledge of the B2B and B2B2C channels. He has helped lead numerous organizations by aligning their marketing and sales strategies to routinely exceed goals.
Nick graduated from Dominican University with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and holds his master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University.
Nick enjoys spending his free time with his family, and watching one of his three daughters participate in their many sporting and extracurricular activities. He loves golfing, running and most of all, making homemade wine (cheers).
Rich Gallun
Board Director
Rich Gallun is an entrepreneur and business leader with extensive experience in the healthcare and employee benefits space. Gallun co-founded and served as CEO of bswift from 2000-2015; bswift was acquired by Aetna in 2014. bswift provides cloud-based technology and services for benefits enrollment and administration. He currently is serving as a Board Director for several organizations, including First Stop Health, Positive Coaching Alliance and Evanston Soccer Association.
Gallun’s prior experience includes various sales, consulting and management positions at A.T. Kearney, IBM, Sachs Group and Health Partners.
Gallun earned his MBA from Harvard University, and holds undergraduate degrees in economics and history from Williams College.
Michael Alter
Board Director
Michael Alter is a clinical professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. He was the executive chairman (and former interim CEO) of Vanco, the largest provider of electronic payment solutions to the faith-based and education communities.
Previously, Alter was the chief executive officer of The Tie Bar, LLC -- the No. 1 e‐commerce destination for stylish men's accessories. Prior to The Tie Bar, he was a co-founder and CEO of SurePayroll, a SaaS technology company that is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Paychex®. Alter co-founded SurePayroll in 2000 after six years as a consultant with McKinsey and Company.
He is an active board and advisory board member for numerous leading industry and entrepreneurial organizations. A past recipient of the Illinois Technology Association CityLIGHTS CEO of the Year Award, Alter has been a nationally recognized spokesman on business issues, having served as a columnist for INC.com and appeared regularly in media outlets nationwide, including Bloomberg TV, and the Wall Street Journal.
Prior to receiving his MBA from the Harvard Business School, Alter worked in various sales positions at IBM. He holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Northwestern University.
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