About Celtic
Leadership Team
To learn more about our Celtic Healthcare Leadership Team, please visit our LinkedIn profiles.
Arnold E. Burchianti, II MPT
President & Chief Executive Officer
Founding Celtic Healthcare in 1996, Arnold E. Burchianti, II is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Celtic Healthcare. Combining his passion for both healthcare and technology, Arnie built a state-of-the art information technology system, which has been instrumental in Celtic Healthcare’s success and outstanding reputation for patient care. Arnie has successfully led the company through significant periods of growth and continues to expand the Celtic footprint through strategic acquisitions and expanded services. Under his team-centered, servant leadership model, Celtic Healthcare was named #1 Large Company in the 2007 “Best Places to Work in Western Pennsylvania” and was ranked #5 out of Pittsburgh’s 100 fastest growing companies by the Pittsburgh Business Times. In addition to his strategic leadership of Celtic, Arnie has earned recognition through a number of healthcare industry awards, as well as held a variety of prestigious positions in healthcare associations. He has been honored as a two-time finalist in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award and is a well-known national speaker on healthcare-related subjects. Arnie is a licensed Physical Therapist and an alumnus of Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, holding both a Bachelors Degree in Health Science, and a Masters Degree in Physical Therapy.
View Arnie Burchianti’s profile
Kurt M. Baumgartel
Chief Operating Officer
Kurt M. Baumgartel is the Chief Operating Officer for Celtic Healthcare and serves as President of the subsidiary company, Celtic Living Assistance Services (CLAS). Kurt brings over a decade of experience in a variety of clinical aspects of home health agency operations, which reflects his comprehensive understanding of the issues affecting the homecare industry. In addition to providing direct supervision to a large staff of clinical personnel and managers, he has served as both the Compliance Officer and Privacy Officer for Celtic Healthcare. As COO, Kurt works closely with all divisions of Celtic Healthcare to assure that all efforts are focused on providing the absolute best care to Celtic’s patients. Kurt is active in several healthcare associations and has published articles and presented on numerous topics related to home healthcare. Kurt is an alumnus of Duquesne University, located in Pittsburgh, with a Masters Degree in Physical Therapy.
View Kurt Baumgartel’s profile
Michael J. Eperesi
Chief Financial Officer
As Chief Financial Officer, Michael J. Eperesi is responsible for managing and supervising Celtic Healthcare’s financial and banking functions to ensure alignment with the organization’s overall strategic plan. Prior to joining Celtic Healthcare, Michael was CFO/Treasurer of a middle market company where his role included responsibility for financial management, business planning, material acquisition, management of new product development and new product logistic movements. Michael has also served as CFO of a design, print, manufacturing and distribution company where he was instrumental in guiding the company to improved financial performance. Michael is a graduate of St. Vincent College with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics and Mathematics. While developing his career, Michael attended Duquesne University where he completed two Master’s Degree programs, one in Business Administration with a focus on developing financial and accounting expertise and another in Information Systems Management, focusing on global management of information technology hardware and software.
View Michael Eperesi’s profile
Greg Teamann
Vice President of Technology
As Vice President of Technology, Greg Teamann oversees the direction and development of all proprietary software systems, including CIBS (Celtic Integrated Business System), as well as all IT functions. Greg was instrumental in transitioning Celtic from utilizing external software vendors to supporting and developing all systems with an in-house team. Prior to joining Celtic in 2005, Greg was a system architecture and development consultant for several Pittsburgh-area companies and worked on commercial healthcare applications. Greg studied at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and holds a degree in Management of Information Systems.
Lori Putnam
Vice President of Human Resources
Joining Celtic Healthcare in 2008 as Director of Human Resources and promoting to Vice President, Human Resources in 2012, Lori supports, enhances and streamlines the human resources operations and initiatives. Lori acts as liaison and resource to internal and external customers and provides direction, structure and support to all divisions of Celtic Healthcare. An expert in human resources and organizational leadership, Lori holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Human Resources, a Master’s of Science in Organizational Leadership and is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR). Lori has worked as a strategic leader for various companies including transportation, local government and healthcare and was honored as a recipient of the 2010 Human Resources Leader of the Year Award. Lori is proud to represent Celtic employees at the executive level and oversee the human resources department as well as design professional leadership training and development programs, organizational coaching and cultural initiatives as Celtic continues to grow as a leader in the healthcare industry.
Michael D. Elias
Vice President of Business Development
Mike was promoted to Vice President, Business Development for Celtic Healthcare on November 1, 2011 after serving as Regional Director of Celtic Healthcare of Northeastern Pennsylvania d/b/a Hospice Community Care and HCC Home Health. As the leader of this acquired agency based in Kingston, PA, Mike oversaw a hospice and home health operation with revenues of over $11 million. With a healthcare career spanning three decades, Mike has a wide range of experience in three distinct healthcare operations – acute care, public health, and home health and hospice care. From 2002 through 2011, he led the growth of Hospice Community Care and HCC Home Health. In addition to leading the day-to-day home health and hospice operations, his accomplishments included physician recruitment and retention and a significant list of valued-added services and therapies focusing on patient comfort and satisfaction, including the development of a free-standing hospice inpatient unit. Mike completed his undergraduate studies at King’s College and Penn State University and graduate studies at Marywood University.
William D. Gammie
Vice President of Regional Operations
Since 1999, Bill has been played an important role in Celtic’s innovation, growth and expansion. Currently, as Vice President of Regional Operations, Bill is responsible for business development and homecare and hospice operations in the Western PA service area. Bill continues to assure that Celtic Healthcare operates as a healthcare leader and continues to expand our market in the areas served. Bill has participated in several speaking engagements in various state and national associations and has a high level of understanding in both homecare and hospice. Bill is a member of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) and is a certified professional in Health Information and Management Systems. (CPHMIS), which distinguishes him as a master of proven, broad-based industry concepts. Bill is an alumnus of Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA with a Bachelor’s Degree in Health Management Systems. Bill also obtained a Masters in Health Administration from the University of Phoenix.
Tonya Miller PT, DPT COS-C
Vice President of Regional Operations
Tonya Miller is the Vice President of Regional Operations in the Central PA/Northeastern PA/Maryland region. In this role, Tonya is the administrator for both hospice and homecare and supervises multi-state interdisciplinary teams. In addition to her administrative role, Tonya coordinates the educational pathways for rehab services internally and provides external educational series related to a variety of topics in home health care, rehabilitation, and management. Tonya received her Masters in Physical Therapy from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science in 1992 and her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Temple University in 2007. Tonya is currently enrolled in a PhD program for administration and leadership at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She has been an active member of APTA since 1990 and served as the Home Health Section’s publication chair from 2006-2010. Presently, Tonya is the section’s Vice President and serves as the program chair for Combined Sections Meeting. Tonya has provided national presentations related to a wide variety of aspects of home health care topics. She has also had the opportunity to publish articles in several industry magazines including Caring Magazine and The Journal of Home Health Nurse. Finally, Tonya plays a very active role as a community volunteer leader. Tonya, along with another healthcare professional, founded PA Vent Camp in 1994. PA Vent Camp is a week-long camp for children who are ventilator dependent. The camp is free to the children and provides respite care for the children’s families. Tonya is a core team member and the Activities Director for the camp. Additionally, Tonya leads many of the organization’s fundraising efforts.
Jodi McKinney
Director of Corporate Communications
As Director of Corporate Communications for Celtic Healthcare, Jodi McKinney oversees all communications, marketing, and PR initiatives at Celtic Healthcare. This function spans internal communications; marketing communications; media relations; public affairs; reputation management; brand management; and content management for internal and external websites and other communications. In this position, Jodi serves as the primary contact for media relations and public affairs for Celtic Healthcare. Jodi began her career at Celtic as Executive Assistant to the CEO, and through her communications strengths and strong work ethic, was promoted to Director of Sales and Marketing, Director of Business Development, and then to her current position as Director of Corporate Communications. Fueled by her passion for the Celtic team, she is working to build a strong corporate culture and create a presence for Celtic Healthcare as the benchmark for in-home healthcare excellence. Some of Jodi’s training, background and experience includes: prior sales and sales team management, speaking at national conferences, and adult continuing education, including graduation from the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz School of Business MBA Essentials Program.
Debra M. Studeny, RN
Director of Clinical Operations
Debra Studeny serves as the Director of Clinical Operations. It is Deb’s responsibility to provide executive leadership, coaching, mentoring, management and training for the organization’s clinical operations leaders in various regions, as assigned. She is also responsible for the oversight, coaching and development and succession planning of division leaders such as Regional Directors, Clinical Operations Managers, Clinical Supervisors and Preceptors. Deb ensures that Celtic Healthcare’s corporate culture, core values, profitability and quality standards are achieved, as well as assuring policies, procedures and standards for clinical operations across all divisions are followed. She coordinates functions with the regional clinical management teams, support services departments and executive team to ensure the organization’s compliance with guidelines. Deb has served in various supervisory and management roles in home healthcare since 1997. She joined Celtic Healthcare in May 2002 as Nurse Manager, performing a variety of clinical and administrative duties. In addition to managing Celtic’s nursing team, Deb has led Celtic’s Outcomes Based Quality Improvements and Monitoring (OBQI/OBQM) efforts. Deb graduated from West Penn Hospital School of Nursing and has been a Registered Nurse since 1987.
Sean Hunt
Senior Informatics Analyst
As Senior Informatics Analyst for Celtic Healthcare, Sean Hunt bolsters business intelligence throughout the company – contributing his passion for health informatics together with proven expertise in performance improvement. Sean has a variety of local, statewide, and national experience in multiple healthcare settings, primarily homecare quality improvement. Since joining Celtic in 2008, Sean has streamlined the reporting of clinical and financial performance indicators across the organization. Sean holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from Carnegie Mellon University and a Master of Public Management Degree from the Heinz College of Carnegie Mellon University.
