Ernest Health’s management team has extensive experience in the healthcare industry, with widespread resources and expertise in the areas of market analysis, facility design and construction, risk management, operations, personnel recruitment and retention, healthcare finance and quality assurance.

Darby Brockette, Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Brockette has nearly 33 years of healthcare management experience, with an emphasis in the operation of post-acute inpatient facilities. Prior to Ernest Health, Inc., Mr. Brockette was responsible for the operation of multiple rehabilitation and long term acute hospitals located primarily in the western United States and Australia. He is a graduate of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Dallas with a BS in Rehabilitation Science and has a Master’s Degree in Health Care Administration from Southwest Texas State University.

David B. Fuller, Senior Vice President, Operations
Mr. Fuller has 33 years healthcare management experience, having held senior management positions in both non-profit acute systems and post-acute facilities. He was responsible for the operation of over 40 post-acute facilities including coordinating the opening of 10 newly constructed rehabilitation hospitals. He has served on numerous hospital Board of Directors, including Vanderbilt Stallworth Rehabilitation Hospital, Rusk Rehabilitation Hospital, St. Louis Rehabilitation Institute, Van Matre Rehabilitation Hospital and a three year term on the Board of The South Carolina Hospital Association.

Danny Banks, Senior Vice President, Physical Resources
Mr. Banks has over 33 years experience in equipment planning, master site planning, design and construction of healthcare facilities. In his previous position, Mr. Banks was responsible for an annual healthcare construction budget of approximately $100 million, with individual projects ranging from $300,000 to $28 million. Mr. Banks oversaw the management of 190 employees and over 400 subcontractors and vendors in all stages of the construction process, from start-up to close-out.

Eudora Cannon, Vice President, Finance
For the past 13 years, Ms. Cannon has worked in healthcare finance and business office capacities. Most recently, she was responsible for managing the business office operations of rehabilitation hospitals located throughout the country. Ms. Cannon has extensive experience in Medicare billing compliance and in the interpretation of Medicare guidelines. She has designed and implemented policies, procedures and training materials related to HIPAA. Ms. Cannon earned her Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the University of Alabama.

Christopher Bergh, Vice President, Marketing and Business Development
Mr. Bergh has 18 years experience in health care sales, managed care contracting and hospital strategic planning and marketing. Most recently, he was responsible for the sales and marketing operations of a national network of over 100 post-acute facilities. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Furman University and a Master’s degree in Health Care Administration from the University of South Carolina.

Sheryl H. Gentile, Vice President, Administration
Ms. Gentile has 17 years of progressive experience in the administrative management of rehabilitation hospitals with an emphasis in human resources, recruitment, system development and regulatory compliance. Most recently, Ms. Gentile served as Regional Director of Human Resources for 15 rehabilitation hospitals in the southwestern United States.

Kristi Yarrow, Vice President/Corporate Controller
Ms. Yarrow has worked in the healthcare sector since 1990. Working at both the corporate and field level, she has extensive accounting and finance expertise including audit and budget preparation, financial statement preparation and financial analysis. She has also been responsible for areas involving cash management, treasury functions, forecasting economic impact of regulatory changes, development of economic strategies and compliance with regulatory agencies. Prior to employment with EHI, she was an operational controller for a post-acute care hospital. Ms. Yarrow holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Public Accounting and a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Business Administration.

Tony Hernandez, Vice President, Operations
Mr. Hernandez has 16 years of healthcare management and business development experience, with an emphasis on the development and operation of post-acute inpatient facilities. He is passionate about providing the clinical expertise to match the needs of the community. He is a graduate of Kansas Newman College in Wichita, Kansas with degrees in Medical Technology and Business Administration.

Development Team

Maureen Fakinos, Vice President, Development
Mrs. Fakinos has 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry beginning as a Registered Nurse and working in areas such as Oncology, including bone marrow transplant. Mrs. Fakinos has 16 years of healthcare management experience, including expertise in case management. In addition, Mrs. Fakinos has also been a consultant teaching case management certificate courses and prep courses for Healthcare Resource Group and the University of Phoenix. Prior to joining Ernest Health, Inc., Mrs. Fakinos was CEO of a freestanding 60-bed Rehabilitation hospital. Mrs. Fakinos also participated for three years as a member of the board of trustees and for one year as secretary of the board of trustees for the United Hospital Association. She is a registered nurse with an active license and has her Public Health Nurse certificate. She has her Associate of Science Degree from Rio Hondo College and obtained her bachelor’s in nursing from the University of Phoenix.

Angie Anderson, Vice President, Development
Ms. Anderson graduated from Ball State University in 1987 with a Master’s degree in Speech Language Pathology. She has spent her entire professional career in the area of rehabilitation. Her experience includes treatment of patients, development of inpatient and outpatient programs, marketing, business development and inpatient operations. In her current role as Director of Development, she is responsible for market identification and analysis, market development, joint venture negotiation and regulatory approval.



Clinical Leadership

Lynn Fleming, Clinical Director of Operations
Ms. Fleming graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1986 with a Masters Degree in Speech Pathology. Her work experience encompasses private practice, home health, outpatient and inpatient rehabilitation and acute care settings. Ms. Fleming has served as National Director of Clinical Services and Regional Vice President for a national network of post acute facilities; in this position she was responsible for heading Regional Clinical, Quality and Nursing Advisory Boards across the country, development and dissemination of clinical best practices, standardization of documentation tools, management of clinical outcomes/clinical benchmarking and overseeing JCAHO and State survey activity. Prior to joining Ernest Health, Ms. Fleming worked as an independent consultant.

Denise Kann, Director Operational Performance
Ms. Kann has over 25 years experience in health care with 21 years in post acute rehabilitation care. She graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing in 1982 from the University of Alabama and earned a Master’s Degree in Health Care Administration in 1997 from the University of Central Florida. Her experience includes clinical nursing practice, outpatient service management, case management, quality/risk management, and hospital administration. Most recently, she served as the Vice President over Nursing and Quality for a national provider of post acute care that included approximately 95 inpatient hospitals and over 15,000 nursing personnel. Her responsibilities included the provision of quality nursing care, compliance with Federal, State, and JCAHO regulatory standards, and operational process improvements associated with changing reimbursement. Currently she serves as a member of Board of Visitors for the University of Alabama Capstone College of Nursing as a consultant to assist the Nursing Program with curriculum, student recruitment and fund-raising.

Joy Miller, Director of Nursing Operations
Ms. Miller has 17 years of experience as a registered nurse. Her clinical experience includes Emergency Room, Critical Care, Infusion therapy, and Rehabilitation. She has had experience at all levels of nursing management including Director of Nursing in both the acute care and rehabilitation environments. She holds a specialty certification as a CRRN, Certified Rehabilitation Registered Nurse, and has served at the national level as the Director of Nursing initiatives for a company operating approximately 100 inpatient rehabilitation facilities. This included coordination and over site of a national nursing advisory board, interfacing with national physician, pharmacy, and case management boards, to insure quality and efficiency in nursing operations across the country. Joy has maintained her clinical expertise through providing patient assessment and bedside care.