About Kermit - Kermit PPI

Our company is built on the idea that better PPI spend management requires a better way to build partnerships between administration and surgeons. We created Kermit, an analytics platform that does just that, with a team that draws on its deep understanding and experience in the medical device industry where it counts; clinical expertise, supply chain management, procurement, cost control and the appreciation for the intricate worlds of the surgeon, hospital administration and suppliers.

Formed in 2011 in Baltimore, Maryland, we’ve implemented Kermit within hospitals across the country who now use a collaborative approach and our evidence-based framework to bring control of PPI spend back where it belongs. We now manage 40% of the implant spend transacting in our home state and provide services to a national customer base.

Jason E. Smith, RN, MBA
CEO & Co-founder

Jason is an energetic leader known for his ability to create successful outcomes in complex situations. He has over 17 years of progressive management experience in health care, both as a sales executive in the PPI industry and also a critical care provider. Jason's tenure in the medical device industry exposed him to all facets of the operating room environment, where he found a proclivity toward systems and efficiencies. Jason has a high degree of clinical knowledge. This has suited him well in the development of demographic and categorization systems and proprietary algorithms used within Kermit.

Prior to his time in the medical device industry, Jason was a critical care nurse in a number of cardiac and intensive care units. His attention to detail and calm approach under crisis are welcome additions in managing the operations of a healthcare technology company. As if that doesn’t occupy the majority of his waking hours, Jason is a dedicated year-round coach for youth athletics and enjoys playing golf.

John P. Owens
CGO & Co-founder

John brings two decades of executive sales experience and hundreds of pricing round negotiations as a hospital vendor to his role as Director of our Services offering. Kermit gets a significant boost from the countless hours John spent in hospital operating rooms and with surgeons as an Account Executive within the PPI industry. The stewardship and trust he developed with hospital administration and surgeons is the guiding force behind his desire to see changes in the way the PPI category is managed. John and his group use Kermit's powerful categorization and analytic features to drive supply chain cost reduction and spend management projects for his clients.

John carries the banner for Kermit’s mission, vision and brand promise, which he uses to drive every new Kermit feature and client interaction. John is an avid outdoorsman who loves golf, hiking and fishing.

Matt Stover
Board of Directors

As a two-time NFL Super Bowl champion, Matt knows how to take a disciplined approach and long-term focus to everything he does. The NFL’s fourth-ranked all-time leading scorer, his talents carry off the gridiron in a number of endeavors. Matt founded Player's Philanthropy Fund (later re-branded as Cobalt), a back-office solution for the establishing foundations and the creation of donor-advised funds, and also formed the Matt Stover Foundation, which is dedicated to improving Baltimore through a variety of programs. Matt has a successful track record of picking winning ideas and teams to invest in. One of his early investments in CreditCards.com was sold for $144 million.

Rich Palarea
Board of Directors

Richard co-founded Kermit after nearly 30 years at the helm of PA & Associates, a national leader in transportation spend management. His experience in negotiation, bidder relations, application design and development, marketing and all aspects of business management prepared him well for his current role. His passion for the transformative power of collaborative, cloud-based and mobile technologies in business makes him particularly well-suited to lead the Kermit team.

Richard’s work has been featured in The New York Times and Microsoft’s Startup Stories. The Baltimore Business Journal recognized his firm as one of the Fastest Growing Privately Held Businesses and one of the area's Largest Turnaround and Management Companies. When he’s not orchestrating the new landscape of PPI spend management, Richard enjoys cryptocurrency investing, personal fitness, church service, high-performance kart racing and pickleball.

Cory Mecham
Vice President of Sales

With over 20 years in healthcare sales, operations, business development and account management, Cory brings a wealth of knowledge and experience working with C-Suite and key decision makers in hospitals and health systems across the country. From medical devices and disposables, to eligibility, compliance, and analytics, he has a passion for healthcare transformation and patient advocacy.

Cory received his Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Brigham Young University and lives in Eagle, ID with his wife and 3 boys. He loves golf, tennis and being the lead singer in a band.

Brendan Kelly, MBA
Vice President & Client Success Officer

Brendan is a positive and proven executive leader with a healthcare career that began in 1996. Throughout his career, Brendan has been worked in and led teams in healthcare manufacturing, sales and sales leadership.

Brendan’s previous position was Regional Orthopaedic Director for Zimmer Biomet, where he led negotiations in the area of PPI spend with several of the largest IDN’s and health systems in the Mid-Atlantic region. Prior to that position, Brendan was an orthopaedic device manager and has spent countless hours alongside top surgeons in support of orthopaedic surgery.

Brendan joins the Kermit team in a leadership role with a drive and motivation to make a positive impact and transform the way hospitals approach and manage the PPI spend category. Brendan’s passion and values are directly aligned to Kermit’s mission of “returning the balance of power back to the hospital for the management of PPI, leading to reduced costs and improved patient care."

Brendan is married with three children and enjoys volunteering as a board member of Operation Walk Maryland and is involved with the Kennedy Krieger Institute’s wheelchair lacrosse program. Brendan was Team Captain of the 1989 Johns Hopkins Men’s Lacrosse team and was a starting mid-fielder on the Blue Jays 1987 NCAA Division 1 Lacrosse Championship team. Brendan also co-leads a small group at his local parish.

Kimberly Alvord
Director of Support Services

Kim is a critical liaison between the hospital users of Kermit and the product roadmap, ensuring that vital user feedback makes its way into the product. Because the category of PPI spend management is complex, the role requires a professional that has walked many miles in the shoes of the users she's supporting -- with Kim, that's certainly the case.

Kim comes to Kermit with nearly two decades of healthcare experience in supply chain, materials management, orthopaedic operating room, healthcare finance, third-party reimbursement and revenue cycle experience. Kim has the unique vantage point of being a Kermit user well before she was part of the team as a daily user of the system while in the role of national director of materials management for National Surgical Hospitals and later as the materials manager for one of the NSH facilities, Arizona Spine and Joint Hospital. During her time at NSH, she was a champion for transparency in orthopaedic and spine utilization and leveraged Kermit to provide reports and dashboards for surgeon engagement and spend management.

Sieglinde Peterson, SHRM-CP, JD
Director of People & Culture

Sieglinde is an enthusiastic and creative leader who has worked in the fields of health care, telecommunications and the non-profit sector. She has directed exciting initiatives including building the first telecommunications fraud department in the Washington Metro region, creating an ethical training program for a Fortune 500 company, and adopting technological solutions whenever possible to best serve her staff and clients. She has HR experience in worker safety, environmental compliance, benefits and employee relations.

Sieglinde has an AB in history and a JD from Washington University in St. Louis, MO. Raised in New York City, Sieglinde currently lives in Maryland with her family and travels as frequently as she can. She loves to cook and bike around the region.

Kermit’s in-depth knowledge of capitated construct billing gives me the tools and support to prevent and detect overbilling from reps. They most recently helped catch 6 discrepant invoices from one vendor."

A Kermit User

Perioperative Services Business Manager of a Maryland Health System

Kermit has been very helpful in identifying non-contract items being used. With this data, we have been able to identify items needed for contract addenda, potentially reducing our long-term costs of previously non-contracted items."

A Kermit User

OR Implant Coordinator at a Maryland Level-1 Trauma Center

The real-time data and analytic capabilities of Kermit are a game changer for the management of the PPI spend category."

Bob Reilly

Former CFO of Luminis

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A Kermit User

A Kermit User

Bob Reilly