August 6, 2026
Richard Feifer, MD, MPH, FACP, the newest director at large on the PALTmed Board, has been an active member of the organization for many years. He finally decided to run for a position on the Board because he “wanted to bring a different perspective to help PALTmed and its membership succeed.”
While Dr. Feifer has experience as a primary care internist and a nursing home medical director, his career has focused more on medical management, organizational leadership, and population health improvement. He believes these experiences have become even more important as today’s health-care system evolves—and will serve him well as a Board member.
Because of his unique background. Dr. Feifer’s main goal for his time on the Board is to expand the impact and visibility of PALTmed within the broader health-care environment—including selective partnerships and alliances throughout the industry—which he hopes will lead to membership growth.
One of the key messages he plans to share involves the benefits he receives from the association’s networking and advocacy efforts. As he explains why each of these is important to him, “Networking because we have a strong, supportive community interested in helping others with similar goals and values. And advocacy, since we are so much stronger when we speak with one voice on behalf of our patients and our providers.”
Still another benefit is his involvement with PALTmed’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Network, which he currently chairs. CMOs and other leaders of large organizations within the post-acute and long-term care space face somewhat different challenges from frontline providers, and Dr. Feifer believes PALTmed needs to support them in these challenges just as it supports all of its members. That's why the CMO Network was formed and meets regularly—including at the annual meeting—to discuss important issues.
An example of such an issue, Dr. Feifer says, is the evaluation of products and services for use by a CMO’s organization. As a result of that evaluation, the CMO Network recently developed rigorous criteria to help CMOs undertake this important work thoughtfully and comprehensively.
Dr. Feifer believes that PALTmed truly offers something for everyone in the health-care continuum. “For post-acute and long-term care health-care practitioners, what I'd say is get involved, attend in-person meetings, and network with colleagues,” he says. “For health-care leaders in post-acute and long-term care, encourage your providers to attend PALTmed meetings so they can have the greatest impact on your organization's success. And for health-care leaders outside the post-acute and long-term care environment, let's find common ground and band together to achieve our shared goals even more effectively.”