Our Team
Our partners have more than 50 years of combined experience in working in the health care industry. We’ve seen it evolve, and we know how it works—from the inside. We have worked with providers, employers, specialty organizations, specialty networks, health care organizations, and consumers. We provide our clients with strategic consulting expertise in a broad range of health care specialty areas such as: business strategy and planning, operational performance, special project execution, provider relationships and integration, marketing strategy, marketing research and more.
RT's Bio Sara's Bio
Michael Zdychnec - CEO
The name is pronounced “Signet”. No, nobody ever gets it right. I become “Michael Z” very quickly to most.
I’ve spent the past 29 years completely fascinated by our health care system. Like most people, I recognize there are some good things in health care today, but I also recognize there are many more things that need to change.
I have had the privilege of working with many different organizations all over the country in both a management and consulting capacity.
I’ve seen what works, and what doesn’t. My experiences have helped me recognize that the most important aspects of success in any project or initiative rest with clear leadership, vision, and exceptional communication. We try to apply these aspects in all we do.
I’ve worked with health plans, employers, specialty organizations, providers, and consumers. I’ve led small projects and large projects in a variety of interesting topic areas including business strategy development, business plan development, organizational restructuring, new product launches, marketing research, sales development, marketing communications, and operations management. All of these included their own unique set of challenges. I learned a ton, and had some fun along the way.
We founded Collaboration Health Care, Inc. to provide organizations with access to the expertise, resources, and processes we’ve developed over the years. Our process is designed to make certain your goals are reached and remain aligned with the broader mission and vision of your organizations. We provide our clients with “a different perspective, with a new set of eyes”. We enjoy facilitating change and we know it’s not always easy. But, we love what we do.
I live in Maple Grove, Minnesota with my wife of 28 years. My daughter (a counselor in child psychology) is getting married next year, and my son is serving in the Marines (say a prayer for all of our troops). I’ve always tried to remember that the family is what it’s all about anyway.
I’m a graduate of Iowa State University with a degree in Economics and Marketing Research.
I’m currently a member of the Association for Strategic Planning and America’s Health Insurance Plans and am on the Advisory Board for the Center of Elder Justice and Policy through the William Mitchell College of Law. I can be reached at michaelz@collaborationhealthcare.com
RT Donahue, DC - President
The R. T. stands for Richard Terrance. The moniker came from undergrad college days during fraternity initiation. There were three guys with the name of Richard and when the “big brothers” came down the line they dubbed me “RT” and it stuck.
By degree, I am a chiropractor. I practiced for almost 25 years and really enjoyed it. Along the way, I became President of the Minnesota Chiropractic Association. A few years after that I was elected by my peers to consecutive 2 year terms to represent the State of Minnesota to the American Chiropractic Association as the Delegate for over a decade. I was honored twice by my colleagues, being given the Doctor of The Year award and at another time inducted as a Fellow in the International College of Chiropractors.
In the early 1980’s Minnesota was one of the first states consumed by the new phenomena called “Managed Care”. Little did we know how managed it would become. In response to this dramatic shift from traditional indemnity, together with a talented and insightful group of bold people, I helped start the precursor of what resulted in ACNGroup [now a UnitedHealthcare company] and other network chiropractic organizations around the country.
As a result, I helped create the first credentialing and UM program for chiropractors. I was one of the individuals who first met with NCQA [National Committee for Quality Assurance] to enter into a dialogue regarding the construction of a chiropractic credentialing template designed for health plans to use.
During this same time, my wife and I became very involved with World Wide Marriage Encounter. We functioned as the Executive Ecclesiastical Team for the Archdiocese of Saint Paul/Minneapolis and were blessed to witness the revitalization of thousands of couple’s marriages for 10 years. We also were part of the core group of couples and priests who launched World Marriage Day now celebrated all over the world in February every year since 1983. This position lead to our appearance in multiple print and electronic media all over the Midwest.
As President of CHCI, I find it invigorant to bring these same skills to bear on behalf of our clients to create win/win relationships for our clients in their communications with their various stakeholders.
Michael, Sara and I are passionate when it comes to bringing people and organizations together in the true spirit of collaboration! Thanks for taking the time to get to know us better.
Sara Heim
Unlike Michael and RT, I don’t feel my name begs for any explanation and I will not try to create one just to follow suit.
My background includes a degree in mass communications and an internship at the Appleton, Wisconsin corporate office for Aid Association for Lutherans (now Thrivent). Following college graduation, I worked for Community Newspapers, Inc. in Milwaukee where I reached out to families who had recently lost a loved one and wrote obituaries. Additionally, I wrote news stories and creative headlines. After one year in Milwaukee (and a significant house fire sparked by lightning) I returned to the Twin Cities area and entered the health care field.
My 12 year tenure in health care has exposed me to a variety of corporate environments, each presenting its own set of business challenges. From the small company that struggles to differentiate itself and grow, to the Fortune 100 company that is challenged to effectively communicate and implement simple process changes let alone innovative ideas, I’ve worked both in it and with it.
The majority of my time in health care has been spent in account management and has allowed me to do what I love--develop strong relationships with people while working on their behalf. More specifically, this has included managing the overall customer relationship, coordinating the execution of special projects and assisting with issue resolution, whether those issues were contained within the customer’s four walls or extended into other business partnerships.
In today’s business environment, I believe the benefits of establishing personal relationships, both from an employee and a customer perspective, is greatly dismissed. I feel strongly that solid relationships are beneficial as they support more efficient and effective communication, ultimately leading to a more thorough understanding of a customer’s business and an improved ability to deliver successful results consistently. The relationships I’ve established with my clients is probably best demonstrated by a bear hug that I received from one Kentucky woman when running into each other in the hallway at a convention. I’ve heard of southern hospitality but that one took even me by surprise.
Through a previous employer, I had the privilege of working closely with both Michael and RT for nearly 10 years. As an independent contractor, I work with CHCI because I appreciate and respect the way their dedication and focus on doing the right thing, the right way, permeates both their work and personal lives.
My husband and I live in the southwest metro area and have two young children. My family inspires me to better myself and the world around me in many ways. Working with CHCI allows me to help improve health care access and service—the right thing, the right way.
