Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeanmarie Loria.
Hi Jeanmarie, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I was born and raised on Long Island, New York which is where I picked up my accent. Long Island is a part of myself that comes out in more than just how I speak, I notice that my work ethic and appreciation for a commute to/from work also mirror many from this part of the country. My parents gave me a sense of taking the best of where you are from and bringing it to other places and people. My family was extremely supportive throughout my upbringing and career. I made many choices to focus on work and take real risks in my career that I would have never been able to make if I did not have the right people around me telling me that it would be okay no matter what and that they believed in me.
When I went to college, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do I knew I wanted to help people but not directly (business but not as a direct point of contacts like a nurse or police officer) but I wasn’t sure what that meant. Fast forward about five years out of college I ended up working in Tampa and living in Orlando. I loved the challenge of the job and the people with whom I worked to make the 1.5 to 2-hour commute each way worth it. I took the biggest risk of my career to buy a company that was not financially strong but I knew I just had to do it. People often ask me how did I take the risk of buying a company with 20+ people without the proper funds and I always have to answer with I never thought there was another option.
I knew we would work hard and be successful together. My team and I have done just that over the past 10 years. My parents were so involved in supporting me and my whole team during this entire journey. There were many days when I was tired and did not feel up to a flight or day in the car or 5-hour dinner with a client but because of my upbringing, I knew how to push through and rest later.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No, it has not been a smooth road for me to get here but I have to say that I’m so appreciative of everything along my path because I truly believe that without effort we would have no appreciation of ease. In the movie Vanilla Sky, there is a quote I love “the sweet is never as sweet without the sour.” I believe I have been very lucky to get to where I am today but I also believe that I helped make some of the luck happen by taking every opportunity available.
It was not until my yoga teacher training program that I realized how to articulate what I had been feeling. Much of my education hours were focused on possibilities both mentally and physically. This spoke to me because the physical is what helped me learn mental fortitude during my life. I was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA) when I was in grade school and my mom was very clear on you have this for a reason, there is a lesson and you are strong enough to endure it and do something good with it. Also, she always reminded me that there was someone worse so I shouldn’t wallow in the pain or dark areas of the condition.
This has stuck with me physically and mentally my entire life. I learned as a kid how to leverage my pain into positives. I knew what I couldn’t do with my body, I had to do with my brain and I applied as much energy as I could to push for my personal best and then some. On the days that I couldn’t walk because of the pain, I would focus on school work or movies with my dad. Reflecting back, I had a sedentary life but at the time I never realized it. In our New York bravado kind of home, my parents and I were busy making lemonade very much like well we didn’t want to go downstairs anyway today so it is good that Jeanmarie’s knees can’t do the steps so there take that knees. It is funny but this kind of attitude helped me greatly in my adult life and career, when I hit a roadblock, I know how to trust the greater power/the universe that there is a reason, I accept and acknowledge it and then look for an opportunity around it.
By taking every opportunity possible during college and after, I was able to quickly acquire experiences and grow a network of people who catapulted my career in ways that were unimaginable. I always figured if I am lucky enough to be here, I can make something of it – both in work and in life challenges. When my company didn’t have money and I was so in debt, I thought I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t supposed to be and that I could work harder with my team to get through it. We did and we are on the other side; because of the hard times, we all have so much more appreciation for what we have now. When challenging life things have come up like the loss of my Dad, I had to take a step back and appreciate the incredible people around me who were there supporting me and helping my company go on when I wasn’t able to do my job.
I realize how much professional and personal abundance I have and I’m truly humbled and grateful for all the tremendous people who have been with me during the ups and downs. In all honesty, I believe everyone has struggles and I know in my heart that mine was not bad at all. I’m very thankful for that.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Advize Health?
Advize Health is a HUBZone certified woman-owned small business (I’m the Woman) and is a healthcare advisory company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. We have a large presence in Woodlawn and New York City. We employ a mixture of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) ranging from clinicians to medical record auditors and program integrity professionals as well as a variety of healthcare consultants (IT security, Project Management, Training/Education). Established in 2003, Advize Health has been recognized for our extensive relationships with health systems, payers, record management organizations, and thousands of providers across the nation. What exactly do you do?
Healthcare costs a lot. We don’t like that. We work our hardest to try to make healthcare more affordable. We provide all consulting services around reducing the cost of healthcare while increasing the quality.
Foreign or Domestic? 100% USA-owned and operated, including all resources.
Do your resources work in my state? Yes, we have a large amount of staff who work from home and travel to client sites for projects. We are flexible in our execution and delivery.
Do you carry cyber insurance? Oh yeah, a lot lot.
Which side are you on payer or provider? Both. We sit on the fence with CMS.
What are your hours? We are consultants who live in all different time zones so the answer is 24 by 7.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Super Type-A!! Now that I am old enough to see what most kids are like, I realize that I really wasn’t like most kids. I often made my own routines and goals that were so aggressive my parents would say to me are you really sure you want to do that. Looking back, I have to say thank you to my parents for enduring me the way that I was and supporting me. For instance, in 2nd grade, I found out that Ms. Jones, my teacher, was formerly a 4th-grade teacher and I was obsessed with learning before everyone else so I would ask her for more challenging homework.
I would come home and immediately do my “advanced” homework and then I would put on my sneakers and march in place slowly to Barbie workout and then move to Sweat to the Oldies with Richard Simmonds, this is in the early 90s when most people who were watching this were my Grandma’s age but I really loved being “fit.” If I had time I would then play Sonic the Hedgehog or Tetris (I was lucky enough to have Sega and Nintendo). I enjoyed spending time with my family, my cousins were like my brothers and sisters and my Grandmother was the best thing ever. I enjoyed learning from all of them in our Long Island family houses where I couldn’t wait to always just sit around the table and have a cup of coffee listening to stories. Yes, as a kid, I had my coffee and Stella D’oro cookies talking to my Grandmother about the old days.
It was so special and something that none of my friends could say they did over the weekend. I loved taking rides with my mom and working on any project in the car. Self-induced projects like playing Department Store where I would sit with cash and coins or Toll Booth – both games I loved because I would work on making a fast change or I often would start mini businesses like making and selling crafts. I constantly had an eye for inventions and process improvement. On Sundays, I would make goals for the week and my parents would suggest “why to put that kind of stress on yourself” but I honestly loved the structure and goals.
Not much has changed since that time, I still love goal setting, having a project, trying to beat the normal schedule, trying to fit within the limitations of my body and I still have the same favorite tv show (Get Smart), music (The Beatles), and movie (The Godfather). Funny story about the Godfather, in 1st Grade I was Student of the Month and the teacher asked me my favorite food and movie (I said artichokes and The Godfather). My mom sees this write-up about my favorite things outside the principal’s office and she immediately tells me in the car on the way home I am going to kill your father… that movie, OMG! HAHA, I wouldn’t change my upbringing for a minute. As an only child, I had the unique opportunity to be around adults but I was still asked and reminded to be a child and have fun as a child.
My parents would try very hard to make me stop working to have fun – when I told them I wanted to do high school in two years and college in three, they were not onboard but they said just make sure life doesn’t pass you by. They constantly reminded me to stop and smell the roses. That helped me start on my mindfulness journey and I have been able to have a better work-life balance because I learned how to prioritize the fun.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://advizehealth.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/advizehealth/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/advizehealth
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/JeanmarieLoria
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Advizehealth
Image Credits
Advize Health, Jean Loria, Julissa Gonzalez, Dominick J, Loria, Mike Finkel, and Laura Bennett
