MJHS Health System Announces Elderplan/HomeFirst Succession Plan and New Leadership Position
As MJHS Health System considered the succession plan for Elderplan/HomeFirst, it quickly became clear that our current needs would be best served by choosing two strong leaders who would work together to oversee operations. In addition, given the importance of patient, member, and resident experience, in terms of driving satisfaction, retention, and referrals across the system, it also became evident that MJHS would benefit from a team focused specifically on the area of experience. With these strategic imperatives in mind, it is our distinct honor to announce the following promotions, which will become effective January 1, 2022:
Laurissa Burns will assume the role of Chief Administrative Officer, MJHS Health Plans. Laurissa joined Elderplan in 2001 as a consultant and was brought on board full-time in 2002 as Director, System Configuration and Application Support. As a testament to her impact on the health plans, she was promoted to AVP of Claims and Technical Services in 2005, moved over to Product Implementation in 2012 and then MSO Services the following year. This breadth of experience provided a firm grounding for her promotion to VP, Health Plan Operations in 2014. Two years later, she was promoted to SVP of Management Services and Medical Affairs, the role she holds today. Her many accomplishments include achieving efficiencies in operational areas through investments in technology, successful system implementations, as well as automation and workflow/process engineering. She has excelled at aligning staff, breaking down silos, team building and containing costs. Laurissa has also been directly involved in our growing interagency medical management initiatives.
Prior to joining Elderplan, Laurissa was a consultant with Braden Consulting & Associates and held several positions with health care organizations in Rhode Island. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Rhode Island College, is a member of the Project Management Institute and is a Certified Professional Coder.
Diana Gelfand will become Chief Clinical Officer, MJHS Health Plans. Diana joined MJHS is 2003 as a Care Management Supervisor. Over the past eighteen years, she has helped advance Elderplan in demonstrable ways. She supported the transition from Elderplan being a Social HMO to Medicare Advantage and Special Needs Plans. She also played a significant role in the integration of Elderplan and HomeFirst when they were brought together under Elderplan, Inc. Diana has been a champion of our MAP Program (which coordinates Medicare, Medicaid and Long-Term Care) from a care management perspective, playing a pivotal role from implementation through the onboarding of our first member and has continued efforts to gain enrollment in this plan ever since. She was also clinical lead for FIDA, the Fully Integrated Duals Advantage plan, accountable for Model of Care requirements, Policies and Procedures in preparation for Desk review, as well as a key participant in on-site interview review. In addition, Diana has contributed significantly to Elderplan earning a 5-star rating for three consecutive years and is working closely with MJHS Home Care to ensure we provide our members with seamless, high quality, disease-specific care. She has also been a primary contact with the Department of Health (DOH).
Diana holds a MSW from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and an undergraduate degree in psychology from the same school.
Felicia Dyer Johnson will assume the newly created position of Chief Experience Officer, MJHS Health System. Felicia is currently SVP, Elderplan Operations and Executive Director of HomeFirst. She joined Elderplan in 2011 as Director of MLTC and MAP and has held increasingly senior positions overseeing Product Management, Quality, Service Operations and Project Management. During the past several years, Felicia has invested in understanding and meeting the needs and expectations of our members. These important efforts have led to improved plan benefits and programs that help increase member access to care, such as reducing cost sharing for drugs, care for diabetics, and placing greater emphasis on the need to complete preventive screenings. Felicia has also worked to address social determinants of health, especially during the pandemic, including adding groceries as a benefit and offering members increased access to telehealth – including essential psychological and emotional support. Felicia advocated on behalf of the business decision to invest in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology (Salesforce) and has supported its implementation. During her tenure with the plan, Felicia has focused on increasing member engagement and loyalty, through health fairs and a mobile health unit. Most recently, she championed the re-emergence of our Member-to-Member program. Felicia has also taken on a leadership role in the organization’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts.
Prior to joining Elderplan, Felicia was a Project Manager, Administrator of Merger Integration and Director of Operations at VNSNY. Her bachelor’s degree is from the University of Pennsylvania and her master’s degree is from Harvard University’s School of Public Health.
