An Interview with Rich Gianello, CEO

Q: How did HFS get started in 1991?

A: We were working for the healthcare division of an East Coast CPA firm when we were notified that it was closing. Starting with a small amount of existing work, Steve Rousso and I set up meetings with rural hospitals up and down I-99 and made sales calls for three or four days. We talked about financial feasibility and reimbursement opportunities. One of the jobs from those calls was to become the interim CFO at Westside District Hospital in Taft. That’s how we started.

Q: What was going on in healthcare at the time?

A: The same issues that exist now existed then, the same pressures. There are constant regulatory changes; federal and state programs keep decreasing reimbursement and all facilities must continue to provide quality patient care at less cost. You are expected to do more with less resources. This is a highly regulated government industry. The methodology constantly changes, for example, changing from ICD-9 coding to ICD-10 coding, a much more sophisticated and complex system. But the pressure still exists to cut costs and operate more efficiently.

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