Edward D Shanshala II MSHSA, MSEd

The decade after Watson, Crick, and Franklin discovered DNA, Edward Shanshala entered the world. Born in a sleepy little town named after General Joseph Warren in the heart of the Allegheny National Forest in Northwest Pennsylvania, it was a place that benefited from the post- World War II industrial boom. The collapse of the US Steel industry would come a decade later.

Ed’s first recollections of healthcare were that of Penicillin and the pain inflicted by the blunt bit end of autoclaved needles, as well as from the orthopedic visits he received monthly in a cold, dark basement of a church where the physicians came to care for his feet at the “Crippled Children’s Center”. It was these experiences that began his quest to “find a better way” in all he pursued.

After an exceptional high school education, Ed headed to RIT to pursue Chemistry and Biotechnology, minoring in Philosophy. Eight years of pharmacology research and a MS Degree in Education and Human Development from the University of Rochester Warner School followed. Soon after, a unique opportunity presented itself.



In 1997, shortly after Congress passed the Balanced Budget Act, Rochester’s Strong Memorial Hospital was faced with a immediate need to reduce costs. This was Ed’s opportunity to use his background in science and technology on reengineering efforts. His team was successful, yet it also led to the department’s dismantling. Off he went to rural Home Healthcare and Finger Lakes Visiting Nurse Service (FLVNS) which faced an equally daunting transition from Medicare Fee-for-Service to Medicare Prospective Payment System. Ed made this project the thesis for his Master of Science in Health Systems Administration from RIT’s College of Health Science and Technology. The success of this project was easy to measure – while 30% of the nation’s 10,000 Medicare Certified Home Health Agencies went out of business – FLVNS did not!



Next, Ed headed to urban Rochester Primary Health Network a Federally Qualified Health Center. It was here he first encountered the “Health Center Movement” which aligned health care with community and a focus on primary preventive care. Eager to apply skills honed, he accepted the invitation of CEO Norrine Williams, to join Ammonoosuc Community Health Services, Inc. (ACHS) in rural New Hampshire In 2005 to become COO transitioning to CEO in 2008 when Norrine retired.



Today, Ed enjoys being part of a team that wrestles with the hard questions facing today’s healthcare. He is a leader in healthcare at a time that is demanding a paradigmatic shift in how we think about individual and population-based health. He works to forge a healthcare paradigm that embraces healthcare as prerequisite to our right of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Together with his team they seek to redefine the funding of healthcare as an investment with a return on investment, and to create support structures for individuals and populations to take accountability for their healthcare choices now and for future generations. The goal is to develop the right interventions, for the right people, at the right time, at the right price; increasing access and decreasing disparities. He believes this is the nexus for investing in healthcare.



Ed’s career can best be described as eclectic and circuitous. He continues to be a life-long learner and has had the privilege of mentorship from individuals who have pushed him professionally and personally to pursue excellence. He considers himself a curator of a corporate and clinical culture - where language matters in framing the why, what, and how of our mission. He believes people do not work for him, rather with him, and together for the patient in the process of co-creating optimal individual health and community wellness across the continuum of care and the span of a well lived life experience. This is where his passion lies; in leading the way forward with those of like mind; focusing on primary preventive efforts some of which have yet to be imagined.