Brian Bailys, CEO
Brian became a Certified Public Accountant since 1983. In 1993, he formed The Bailys Group, a consulting firm, to provide tax and financial planning services. He has also been involved in many aspects of private equity, including investment analysis, due diligence, transaction structure, and negotiations.
In 2015, Brian founded, Ascent, a continuing care solution for people in recovery from substance use disorders and mental health diagnoses. The genesis of the Ascent Solution was based on Brian’s experience in treatment. Ascent began by combining an evidence based mobile app with 24/7/365 peer recovery coaching and in 2017 began to expand into “live” face to face peer recovery coaching. Thus, evolved ThriveED (Thrive Emergency Department FKA AscentED), where peer coaches began providing round the clock peer recovery support to individuals in the MetroHealth (Cleveland, OH) emergency department.
In early 2018, Brian formed a partnership with Thrive Behavioral Health/Thrive Peer Support. This has allowed Thrive to provide peer support to Medicaid eligible patients across Ohio and serve as advocates on behalf of those recovery.
Brian has spoken on various opiate and recovery related panels and been a part of multiple opiate and behavioral health task forces in Ohio. Brian is a member of the Ohio Association of Recovery Providers Executive Committee and a founding board member of the Ohio Institute for Substance Use Disorder Excellence.
Brian advocates for the individual in recovery and their families. Brian is the father of 3 grown children and grandfather of 7.
Bridgette Lewis, Co-Founder
A big believer in giving back to the communities, Bridgette supports what peer support means. Bridgette is a registered nurse and holds a BSN, BA and a MBA from Ursuline College, with over 30 years of healthcare experience.
Bridgette is no stranger to substance use disorder, having spent 14 years as a paramedic in the inner city and several years as an emergency room nurse where she performed life saving measures on countless overdose victims, earning her an award from the City of Cleveland.
Bridgette worked for a home care agency providing both medical and behavioral health education, medication management and resources to patients in their homes and communities.
Bridgette is a visionary, paving the way for Thrive Peer Recovery Services working and providing services in the community. She had the understanding that peer to peer service could aid in the continuum of care model to bridge the gap in care during the opioid epidemic. Working as a medical professional, she also understood the barriers clinicians and medical staff faced when attempting to engage patients with no lived experience and the stigmatism that patients felt.
Mark Froimson, MD, MBA, Executive Chairman of the Board
Dr. Mark Froimson is Principal of Riverside Health Advisors, a consulting and advisory firm specializing in accelerating and financing innovation in health care delivery, including analytic, digital health, device, pharmaceutical, clinical, business and payment solutions. He is the Immediate Past President of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons. He recently served as Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer for Trinity Health — a nationwide, non-profit health care system — overseeing physician, nursing and pharmacy services, quality, safety, patient experience and alternate payment strategies for the clinical enterprise. Prior to that, he served for 16 years on the faculty of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic, during which time he held numerous leadership positions including serving as President and CEO of Euclid Hospital, a Cleveland Clinic Hospital, President of the Professional Staff, Vice Chair of the Orthopedic and Rheumatologic Institute, and member of the Board of Governors and Board of Trustees. He is currently serving on the Board of Directors of the Arthritis Foundation, Pacira Pharmaceuticals, as well as a number of early stage companies.
A graduate of Princeton University with a degree in Philosophy, he attended Tulane University School of Medicine after which he completed a surgical internship at University of California at Los Angeles, Orthopedic Residency at Columbia University in New York, and Joint Replacement fellowship at University Hospitals of Cleveland. Once established in an academic practice, he received his Master of Business Administration from the Weatherhead School of Business at Case Western Reserve University. He has led numerous executive level teams that have pioneered health system approaches to quality improvement and value creation. He is a recognized academic leader in the implementation of new technology, care models and payment models in health care with a demonstrated ability to catalyze the successful development and adoption of complex solutions. He is widely published, a dedicated educator, and a sought-after speaker on many health care leadership, quality, care delivery and payment topics.