FLAT ROCK, N.C., May 17, 2016 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Michael “Mike” Smith, M.B.A., and Certified Health Care Financial Professional (or CHFP), has been named director of finance with Four Seasons Compassion for Life. “First and foremost, everything I do is centered on patient care and the decisions we can make to improve patient care outcomes,” he says. “When I explain finance in ways that make sense, from a place of understanding about effects on patient care, then leaders can begin to make the decisions they need to make.”

Michael Smith MBA

Smith holds a bachelor of science in business accounting, or B.S.B.A, from Appalachian State University, 2009, and a master’s in business administration from Charleston Southern University, 2011. He is a certified health care financial professional.

Using numbers and data to make good decisions strengthens departmental management and interdepartmental collaboration, he says. Plus, decisions are being made from a place of expertise about what is needed to co-create a quality care experience with patients and families.

“Thanks to Mike Smith, our leadership team is becoming very knowledgeable of their financials,” says Chris Comeaux, chief executive officer of Four Seasons Compassion for Life. “We’re doing a lot of education, and Mike’s meaning-based approach contributes significantly and strategically to fulfillment of the Four Seasons mission.”

A former data analyst and financial advisor, Smith joined Four Seasons finance team as senior accountant in 2012-14, then serving as accounting manager from 2014-15. After a brief stint as senior financial analyst at Mission Health, he returned to Four Seasons as director of finance in December 2015.

Smith attributes Four Seasons’ leaders for modeling quality personal growth and professional development. Their influence has taught him how important it is to learn, grow, and apply new knowledge, he says, particularly in need based patient-centered care in the hospice, home, and palliative care arenas.

“We are very intentional about learning and growing,” he says. “We’re all caregivers on some level. This is my role, my purposeful work in fulfillment of this mission.”

The benefit of care-centered decision making is increased value and a high quality of life experience for patients and families, says Comeaux.

About Four Seasons Compassion For Life:
Four Seasons Compassion for Life – https://www.fourseasonscfl.org/ – is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a dedicated team of health care professionals, social workers, spiritual care professionals and volunteers deeply committed to its mission of “Co-Creating the Care Experience.” Nationally known for its leadership in innovative, quality hospice and palliative care services, and serving western North Carolina, Four Seasons is a former Circle of Life award recipient from the American Medical Association.

News Source: Four Seasons Compassion for Life