Mark Kent, FACHE, FACMPE

By Vanessa Orr

In August 2023, Mark Kent, FACHE, FACMPE. was named chief executive officer of Cano Health, Inc., after serving as interim CEO since June. He was also named to the board of directors, replacing former CEO Dr. Marlow Hernandez.

A nurse by training, Kent founded three startup healthcare companies before joining Cano Health – Care Management Resources, Total Health Medical Centers, and Your Partners in Health. He also served as the CEO of Women’s Health Care Hospital in Evansville, IN and as CEO and regional president of all Humana-owned, Florida-based primary care practices, now known as Conviva Care Centers.

Since becoming CEO of Cano Health, Kent has focused on a number of goals which include simplifying the business, operating more efficiently, strengthening patient engagement to improve health outcomes in local communities, and enhancing profitability for shareholders. Over the past several months, he has taken steps to restructure operations to better position the value-based primary care organization for long-term success by modifying the size of its workforce, divesting non-core assets, and refocusing on its core Medicare Advantage in Florida and ACO Reach lines of business.

“We continue to believe in our mission, platform, and opportunities for long-term value creation for all stakeholders,” said Kent. “Though these steps have certainly been difficult at times, we believe we are now on the right path to focus on our patients, associates, partners and shareholders as we continue to work to advance our mission to improve health and wellness in our communities.”

Despite the fact that, like many other healthcare providers, Cano Health has been challenged by the economic environment – primarily driven by higher third-party medical costs – Kent believes that by managing costs and improving the primary care company’s financial performance, the company will be able to improve its performance. This may include strategically divesting assets or refining the system’s operating structure.

“We know that we are doing the hard work necessary to transform the company and we believe we have started down the right path toward a better financial footing,” he said. “With this, 2024 will be a transformative year; a year where we expect to begin realizing the results in our financial performance based upon our efforts to improve the efficiency within our care delivery organization.”

In fact, the company is targeting to achieve roughly $290 million in cost savings and business optimization initiatives over the next year, a clear signal that, under Kent’s leadership, Cano Health is working to quickly move in the right direction toward maximizing value.

One of the aspects of the health system that Kent does not plan to change, however, is the role that Cano Health plays within the community.

“Cano Health has always been a community-first organization. We don’t just serve the community; we are part of it,” he explained. “We have built deep, meaningful connections with the communities we serve by delivering high-quality primary care and through our signature wellness activities.

“When you walk into our medical centers, you’ll notice that our patients and associates are reflective of our communities, especially South Florida’s vibrant, diverse community,” he added. “We understand that for Cano to continue to be the place that our communities instinctively turn to for their primary care needs, we need to make sure we’re capturing the essence and culture of those communities in our medical centers. This is one of the many reasons we are so invigorated to do the hard work necessary to improve not only patient health, but community health as well.”

He adds that by better aligning incentives around preventive care, what’s best for patients is also what’s best for the business.

“Too often, healthcare institutions get rewarded for treating patients under a fee-for-service model, rather than preventing illness. We have flipped that flawed model on its head to instead be rewarded for keeping patients healthy,” he explained. “That’s ultimately the Cano difference – personal, humanized value-based approach with a real focus on improving health outcomes in our communities.

“Our goal is clear – to become THE neighborhood primary care center our communities instinctively turn to for their healthcare and wellness needs,” he added.

To learn more about Cano Health, visit www.canohealth.com.