The Paragon Executive Team


James M. Palazzo, MBA – President:
Jim has twenty years of experience as a cardiology group executive, and prior to founding Paragon, was the CEO of a 60 physician cardiovascular practice in the Midwest. While he was CEO of this practice, he concurrently served as the heart hospital Administrator through a clinical co-management agreement. He provides strategic & consulting services to cardiology groups and hospitals, and specializes in governance and “practice integration” activities. Jim served as the President of the Virginia MGMA, the founding President of the Cardiology Advocacy Alliance, a faculty member for the “Advanced Cardiology Leadership Workshop” and “Evolving Models of Cardiovascular Practice” sponsored by the American College of Cardiology at the Heart House in Washington, D.C. Jim is a frequent speaker at cardiology meetings.


Martin B. O’Neill, MHS – Executive Vice President
Marty has over 25 years of health care experience, including 17 years in cardiovascular group practice management and in administration within the hospital environment. Marty worked in the group practice environment as a CEO/CFO for much of his career and most recently was the CEO of a 25-physician cardiovascular practice in the Mid West. Marty has been an active leader in the MGMA at many levels, including serving as president of the Cardiovascular/Thoracic Surgery & Cardiology Assembly (CSCA), and was a member of the MedAxiom Advisory Board.


Robert C. Moss – Vice President, Business Development
Working with Paragon since September 2009 and joining the executive team in March 2010, Rob has over 20 years sales and marketing leadership experience in the healthcare industry, cardiovascular imaging, cardiothoracic and vascular surgery; including 17 years with Siemens Healthcare. Rob also has experience in operations, strategic planning, business development initiatives, marketing strategies and managing large distribution organizations. Over the past six years, Rob has developed extensive knowledge of business models including joint ventures and physician-hospital collaborations.


Thomas D. Johnston, JD – Vice President
Tom has over 24 years of healthcare executive experience in operations, strategy, leadership and marketing. Most recently Tom was responsible for the development of physician-hospital integration across 10 medical clinics, primary care and specialty at Eisenhower Medical Center. For fifteen years Tom was the CEO of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeons a 21 surgeon practice located in Austin, Texas. Prior to this Tom served as a business leader with single and multispecialty medical groups in California. Tom is an experienced speaker and served as the president for both the Texas Medical Group Management Association and Surgical Leadership Alliance, as well as co-founding the Capital City Medical Group Administrators.


Mark J. Driscoll, MBA – Vice President
Mark is a seasoned healthcare leader with over 22 years of progressive management experience encompassing hospital administration, practice management, managed care, business development and establishing alliances and partnerships with a broad range of healthcare providers. Mark most recently led the heart care service line at the Marshfield Clinic responsible for the operational, financial and strategic oversight of 20 locations and 30 providers. Mark has also held leadership roles at Cardiology Associates in Green Bay, MedCath, Omnia, National Hospital and Healthcare Services and VHA.


Cathleen D. Biga, MSN – Board of Directors
Cathie served in hospital leadership positions for twenty-six years, including several years as the President/CEO of Columbia LeGrange Hospital in Chicago. She has been the President/CEO of Cardiovascular Management of Illinois for the past ten years. CMI provides full administrative services to two cardiology practices in the Chicago area. She is currently the President of the CSCA Assembly of the national Medical Group Management Association, and is the President-Elect of the Cardiology Advocacy Alliance. Cathie serves on the Advisory Board of MedAxiom, and is a frequent national speaker on a variety of topics including the use of CTA in the private cardiology practice.


Douglas S. LaFleur, PhD – Board of Directors
Dr. LaFleur received his MBA in 1994 and his PhD in Applied Behavior Analysis in 2004. He serves as a board member and Chief Operating Officer of MedAxiom, which is based in Neptune Beach, Florida. Orchestrating a well-managed campaign, he was elected to the Northview Public School Board in Northview, Michigan in 2006. He was the President/Owner of Solid Flue Chimney Systems for 13 years, and developed an innovative management tool that has been deployed in nearly forty cardiology practice called the Impact GroupWorks. He has provided a variety of consulting and strategic services to cardiology practices throughout the United States, and is responsible for leading/organizing the “Advanced Cardiology Leadership Workshop” program – a joint effort between the ACC and  MedAxiom.


John P. Reinhart, CPA – Board of Directors
John has served in executive leadership of entrepreneurial companies since 1992. Presently, he is a founding partner of Commonwealth Leverage Group that provides strategic leadership services for the health care industry. From 1999-2003 he served as President and COO of Advanced Imaging Concepts “AIC” in Kentucky. AIC was the premier clinical document imaging and management software company for physician practices. AIC was acquired by Allscripts Healthcare Solutions (NASDAQ: MDRX) in 2003. At Allscripts, John was the Executive VP for the Clinical Solutions Group until 2006. Previously, he was in management at the firm of Coopers & Lybrand until 1992. He is a founding Director of the Louisville Health Information Exchange (LOUHIE), and a member of the Kentucky Statewide E-Health Advisory Board. John was awarded the 2004 Ernst and Young “Entrepreneur of the Year” Award for the Kentucky/Southern Ohio Region, and has had numerous industry speaking assignments.


George P. Rodgers, MD, FACC – Board of Directors
Dr. Rodgers is originally from Houston, Texas. He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University with a degree in Geology. He completed his cardiology fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine. He joined a private cardiology practice in Austin, Texas in 1989, where he served as physician President from 1999-2004. He is the Chair of the Texas Chapter of the American College of Cardiology, Chair of the Board of Governors of the ACC, serves on the Board of Trustees & Executive Committee of the ACC, and has held numerous positions of leadership within the regional and national cardiology community. He currently serves as the President and Chief Medical Officer of Biophysical Corporation in Austin.


Patrick J. White, MPH – Board of Directors
Pat has been involved in health care administration for over thirty years. Pat enjoyed thirteen years of experience with the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, including five years as the Administrator of the Department of Medicine. He was the CEO of a cardiology practice in Michigan for 12 years, before joining MedAxiom as its President in 2002. Pat has served as President of the Cardiology Leadership Alliance, a Board Member of the Cardiology Advocacy Alliance, and was President of the local American Heart Association Chapter in 2000. He received his Masters in Public Health Degree from the University of Michigan, and also participated in the Stanford University executive Program for Growing Companies in Palo Alto, California.