By Madison Butkus
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Local Walpole resident Deborah Schoenthaler was recently recognized with the 2024 Francis M. Hernan Award - one of the highest awards given by the Massachusetts-Rhode Island Chapter of the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA). Surrounded by fellow colleagues, friends and family, she received the award earlier this month at an awards ceremony held in Boston, MA.
Schoenthaler, who has an extensive and extremely impressive career, started out on the payer side at a local health plan as a financial analyst. “I then moved into contracting,” Schoenthaler stated, “developing models for spreading financial risk between payers, providers, and hospitals. After almost 10 years I moved over to the provider side and have worked there ever since, first as a Senior Director of Contracting, then as Chief Operating Officer, and now as the Executive Director of Physician Performance LLC, which is eastern Massachusetts’ premier physician organization of more than 3,300 physicians, dedicated to helping physicians deliver the best patient care with a network of support from world-renowned providers. PPLLC’s mission is to give members a strong voice in how care is delivered, promoting new and innovative ways to advance the practice of medicine in New England.”
In 1991, she began her time within the HFMA MA-RI Chapter, serving on the IT, Managed Care, physician practice management, Compliance, Membership, and Bylaws committees. Schoenthaler additionally has co-chaired the Women’s Leadership Conference, (a highly successful annual gathering of female leaders in healthcare), been a featured speaker at conferences, and has authored various articles for HFMA’s magazine and blog.
“Being involved in many committees,” Schoenthaler explained, “provided me with an in-depth understanding of how the organization operates, and based on this experience, I was nominated to be a board member in 2013. I then joined the officer track in 2017, culminating in taking on the Presidency role in 2020. I remain on the board as an ex officio member, filling the role of board liaison to the Women’s Leadership Conference committee.”
With all of these fantastic achievements, it is no wonder as to why Schoenthaler was the recipient of this year's award. The Francis M. Hernan Award, which is presented by the Board of Directors of the MA-RI Chapter, is given to a chapter member who has excelled in his or her work for the chapter and/or has made outstanding contributions to the field of hospital financial management.
When asked about what winning this award meant to Schoenthaler, she mentioned, “I know many of the previous award recipients, who I look up to and admire for their accomplishments and expertise in the field, and being included amongst these colleagues as an award recipient is a great honor to me. The past presidents of the chapter nominate award recipients to the board, and so it is also very fulfilling for me that my fellow past presidents and current board members respected the work that I have done over the years for the Chapter. I have benefitted personally and professionally through my membership in the organization, and it was an honor to be recognized by them.”
While Schoenthaler is coming towards the end of her career, she can recall three of the greatest highlights she has had thus far. “There are so many highlights that I have been fortunate to have experienced,” she stated, “but there are three that stand out. In my first few years as a financial analyst, I began to notice some trends in the data, and took it upon myself to work on a project outside of office hours that presented these trends in a unique way. This initiative to take on a project without prompting led to me being given more projects with increasing responsibilities from my boss, and eventually led to my promotion. I learned a valuable lesson early in my career about how drive and initiative can impact your career trajectory. In 2012, my organization was one of 32 across the country which was selected to participate in a new program run through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, which was an astounding accomplishment. My final highlight was becoming COO and then Executive Director of this amazing physician organization. Our physicians are so dedicated to their work, and are achieving incredible clinical advances while providing exceptional care to their patients. I would be remiss if I did not mention how blessed I have been to have had wonderful female mentors throughout my career. I try to give back in a similar way by mentoring my employees and younger HFMA members.”
When talking with Schoenthaler, it was easy to see just how much love and passion she has for her work. She explained that even when she had a certain title for a couple of years, aspects within the medical field could change quickly, and thus her days were often different from the last. Even with so many incredible experiences, acknowledgments, and awards under her belt, she is still determined to continue to help those around her through her work.
