Leadership

  • Rudy Blank
    Chief Financial Officer

    Rudy Blank brings an extensive background in healthcare executive leadership to Urgent Team. His leadership spans multiple disciplines in a variety of healthcare and non-healthcare related settings.

    Most recently Blank served as the Chief Development Officer for Complete Care, an operator of freestanding ER’s and urgent care facilities in Texas and Colorado. Previously, he served in both the Chief Strategy and Development Officer and CFO roles for Centerre Healthcare, a private equity backed operator of inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, prior to the sale of the company to Kindred Healthcare (NYSE:KND).

    Blank began his career in public accounting with Arthur Andersen and then KPMG. He worked sequentially for two international companies: Franke, a manufacturer of residential kitchen systems, coffee systems, and products for the food service industry; and SIT Group, a manufacturer of safety systems for gas appliances and equipment. Before entering the healthcare sector, Rudy was Controller for Video Gaming Technologies, recognized in 2005 by Inc. Magazine as the fastest growing privately held company.

    Blank is a CPA and a member of various healthcare and financial organizations. He earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Middle Tennessee State University and a master’s degree in business administration from Tennessee Tech University.   

  • Nancy R. Becker
    Division Vice President, Central

    Nancy R. Becker is a senior healthcare executive with over 25 years of experience in operations, client relations, marketing and strategic positioning of clinical services.

    Becker’s background includes serving as Regional General Manager at MedTel International, Vice President of Strategic Development at St. Thomas Health Services and Vice President of Saint Thomas Heart Institute. Most recently, Becker was the Senior Vice President of Marketing and Client Relations at SpecialtyCare. 

    Above and beyond Becker’s professional experience, she served as the Board Chair for CWJC – a Nashville-based non-profit mentoring program serving indigent women; and was a former member of the Nashville Economic Development Committee.

    Becker began her healthcare career as a Registered Respiratory Therapist. She completed Tenacity, Inc.’s Clients for Life training as a Client Retention Executive and earned her Bachelor of Arts in Health Care Management from Ottawa University. 

  • Tom Dent
    Chief Executive Officer and Chairman

    Tom Dent has spent his career at the leading edge of health care delivery innovation, developing better ways for people to get high quality care when and where they need it. He has been involved in a variety of healthcare sectors including managing hospitals and leading national and international companies.

    As a healthcare leader, he has earned an industry reputation for building quality teams and companies with a focus on outcomes and service value and understanding the needs of patients in a complex and changing medical environment.

    With rapid developments neurology and the global concern over brain health, Dent in 2010 co-founded London-based Re:Cognition Health that brings together multidisciplinary cognitive experts in centers of excellence to provide complex diagnosis, treatment and care management  for people and families impacted by cognitive impairment due to brain injury or progressive neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis or Alzheimer’s. Dent was awarded the Lang Buisson 2013 UK Healthcare Entrepreneur Achievement Award; a unique accomplishment for an American.

    Dent was CEO of MedTel International, a US and UK diagnostic imaging and outpatient surgery company, and prior to this, was a co-founder and 15 year leader of PhyCor, Inc., the recognized pioneer in the physician practice and physician network management
    sector. Over his career he has developed occupational health clinics, mobile imaging services and managed hospitals and skilled nursing facilities. Earlier in his career he worked in mergers/acquisitions at Hospital Corporation of America and was a founding board member of Healthcare Realty Trust, a healthcare REIT and continues to serve as a Director of Healthstream, a provider of online training, education and research to healthcare organizations.

    Dent graduated with a bachelor’s business degree from Mississippi State University and holds a master’s degree from The George Washington University.

  • Mike Dupuis
    Division Vice President, Arkansas

    Mike Dupuis brings over 30 years of experience directing cross-sector business operations over 14 states including for-profits, health systems, health & wellness facilities and community-based organizations.  He was recognized as an industry leader earning “Top Ten” resort training complex in the United States and the Medical Fitness Association’s “Director of the Year.” Dupuis spent 10 years on the board of the Medical Fitness Association, Richmond VA., where he served as Chairman and President, Sec/Treasurer, and Executive Committee Member. He is also one of 20 Nationally Certified Lead Inspectors for the coveted MFA Facility Certification. He was awarded a Fellowship from the Association in 2012.

    Over and above his extensive professional experience, Dupuis was elected to the Board of Directors for the city of El Dorado, AR. Chamber of Commerce where he served as Chairman of the Board. He has also volunteered as an assistant coach for the Boys & Girls Club, Upward Bound, Don Roberts Elementary School and the Little Rock Junior Deputy baseball league.

    He received his master’s degree in Management and Administration from the University of Maryland and his bachelor’s degree in Education from New England College, Henniker, N.H. and was Licensed K-12 by the state of New Hampshire. He was also a 4-year college athlete, captain, and Student Director of Intramurals. He received a certification in Computer Science from New Hampshire Technical Institute in Concord, New Hampshire. 

  • Ellis Harris
    Division Vice President, East

    Ellis Harris has a rich background in managing provider healthcare services. Harris retired after 22 years as a Major in the United States Army where he spent his career managing medical delivery services in a variety of our US Army bases.

    Following his 2006 retirement, Harris began his civilian commercial healthcare career with DaVita as the Operational Director for more than 13 dialysis Centers in the Atlanta market. Following, he was Chief Operations Officer for a 13 Center primary care company in Albany, GA, and then joined Concentra as the Operations Director for the Atlanta market. Following the merger with Humana, he spent the last two years assisting Humana with their integration of the Concentra merger.

    Harris holds a bachelor’s degree in Information Systems from Delta State University and a master’s degree with a focus on Health Services Administration from Central Michigan University.

  • William (Bill) Meadows, M.D.
    Chief Medical Officer, East Tennessee

    After practicing emergency medicine early in his career, Dr. Meadows co-founded Physicians Care in 1990. Initially opening two centers in Chattanooga, Physicians Care grew to eight centers throughout East Tennessee that deliver the full scope of primary care services, including urgent care and occupational medicine. Because of the caring attitude and professionalism of staff, many Physicians Care patients who visited with episodic problems or a work injury returned for all of their routine primary care needs.

    Dr. Meadows has been on the front lines and part of the dramatic changes in the delivery of medical care over recent years. He grew up working in a family business and understands the importance of customer service. His vision of developing efficient and affordable family and urgent care is a primary reason he aligned his company with Urgent Team in mid-2016.

    Dr. Meadows graduated from University of Tennessee School of Medicine and is board certified in Emergency Medicine. He is a member of the American College of Emergency Physicians and American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Additionally, he was founding President and board member of Urgent Care Association of America.

  • Chad Sherwood, M.D.
    Chief Medical Officer, Arkansas

    In 2006, Dr. Chad Sherwood saw a need for walk-in medical facilities open evenings and weekends that were an alternative to hospital emergency rooms for acute, but non emergent medical needs, and more convenient than a primary care physician’s office that require appointments. He wanted to have quality care available to all by caring staff.  Since Sherwood Urgent Care’s beginnings, it has grown to seven locations in Arkansas and the Sherwood brand has become well known, primarily because of Dr. Sherwood’s reputation prednisone and the outstanding services offered.

    Dr. Sherwood has a background in emergency medicine and family practice. Prior to starting Sherwood Urgent Care, he worked at several medical facilities throughout Arkansas, including DeQueen Medical Center, Magnolia Hospital, Howard Memorial Hospital, and White County Medical Center.  Dr. Sherwood credits his brothers Drs. Gary Sherwood and Edwin Sherwood for teaching him the skills and pearls of emergency medicine, which has been important in his urgent care tadalafil practice.

    In December 2012, Sherwood Urgent Care joined Urgent Team as an affiliate, and in January 2015 Dr. Sherwood was named chief medical officer for the company. He still practices at Sherwood Urgent Care in Searcy, Arkansas, but occasionally sees patients at all the Centers in Arkansas.

    Dr. Sherwood earned his medical degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, and conducted his internship and residency at AHEC Southwest Family Medical Center in Texarkana, Arkansas. He is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians and is board certified in Family Medicine.

  • Amy Thomas
    Vice President of Marketing and Communications

    Amy Thomas is an accomplished marketing and communications professional with more than 20 years’ experience leading strategic and results-driven targeted communication, marketing and branding strategies in both healthcare and consumer businesses.

    Most recently, Thomas served as senior communications manager with Community Health Systems for 12 years. This leading operator of hospitals has more than 195 hospitals in 29 states – many serving non-urban markets similar to Urgent Team.

    Thomas holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and a master’s degree from Lipscomb University in Nashville, with concentration in Healthcare management.

  • Emily Venable
    Vice President of Human Resources

    Emily Venable brings to Urgent Team more than 10 years of experience in healthcare services companies managing all aspects of a human resources department, including training, employee relations, recruiting, health and safety, compensation and benefits.

    She formerly was human resources manager at Nashville-based H2U, which provides wellness solutions and worksite health centers. She also has served as human resources manager at DSI Renal in Nashville and ARTC in Waynesville, Missouri.

    Venable graduated from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville with a bachelor’s in human ecology and a major in human resources.
    She holds a Professional in Human Resources certification.