Meet Jay Kossman, Health Care Expert
Several years after Jay Kossman graduated from Old Dominion University, he had a gnawing feeling that he didn’t want to pursue his career path as a sales manager for an industrial chemical company where he was working. In conversations with friends and business associates, he discovered a new and exciting industry was coming to Norfolk. Optima Health Plan was establishing a Health Maintenance Organization in Norfolk to provide an alternative to the then existing health care options. He joined Optima as its first marketing director around 1983. It began a journey which continues to feed his passion. Over the next 20 years, Jay helped form three additional health plans in Florida, Connecticut, and Long Island. He took his experience with the health organizations and in 2000 joined Price Waterhouse Coopers as a health care consultant. From there, he became involved with Navigant Consulting. In 2005, he started Healthcare Productivity Solutions which provides strategic advice on how health care providers can grow their practices and to hospitals on how to improve their productivity. Jay continues as a principal in Healthcare Productivity Solutions.
Jay grew up in Norfolk in West Ghent and graduated from Maury High School. He earned a degree in political science and history. He met his wife, Joyce, another Norfolk native, in the early days of his business career. He was at a party and friends assumed that they knew each other. But they didn’t. Introductions were made and they were married in 1975.
With deep roots in Norfolk, Joyce and Jay bought a second home in Norfolk at the Pier Pointe condominium in 2009. At first, they would visit occasionally from their home in Connecticut and over time, the length of those visits increased. At the time, Jay was lessening his work load by design. Joyce’s career as an educator was also coming to an end. At the time, she was an elementary school principal.
Jay wants to give back to the community and since returning home to Norfolk in 2013, he has become actively involved in several organizations while maintaining a small clientele base for his healthcare consulting work. When he was in Connecticut, he was on the board of a senior citizen home. He now provides his expertise as a member of the board of Beth Shalom Village and serves his synagogue as a member of the board and executive committee. Jay has joined the board of ODU’s College of Health Sciences and is excited about its work in fall prevention. He is also a member of Norfolk Public School’s health committee which has developed policies for recess and is also on NPS’s suicide prevention committee.
Joyce and Jay enjoy traveling the world particularly enjoying countries in Asia and Africa where they can experience different cultures. As celebration of Joyce’s retirement in 2010, they took their first cruise which they thoroughly enjoyed. Their most memorable trip was when they cruised from Dubai, India to Malaysia and Singapore. They like to extend their trips on both the beginning and end of the trip. For about 25 years, they have enjoyed Thanksgiving with another couple. Each year, the Thanksgiving celebration has been in a different location ranging from Iceland, to Miami, and as far west as Chicago.
Jay was introduced to Rotary by Jerry Friedman and Marty Raiss. He joined our club in November 2016 and enjoys the various club members and the good work of Rotary in Norfolk and on a global basis. It is a good fit with Jay’s desire to give back.