Providence Healthcare Management

Cleveland's Providence Healthcare Management provides operational support to rehabilitation centers, assisted-living facilities, and other healthcare providers across Ohio and Kentucky. The company was founded in 2008, but really took off in 2017, when a "perfect storm" in the long-term care industry caused some national providers to get out, says CEO Eli Gunzburg. Among other things, changes to Medicare and Medicaid sparked by the Affordable Care Act both prompted fewer people to seek care in facilities and shrank providers' profits. Gunzburg saw an opportunity: His company started adding buildings to its portfolio at a rapid clip, expanding from eight facilities in 2016 to more than 30 by the end of 2017. Gunzburg is now working to control that fast-growth. He overhauled the company's senior leadership and introduced 29 simple directives--"listen generously," "practice blameless problem-solving"--that get circulated staff-wide. They're also used in hiring decisions and performance evaluations. --Sophie Downes