An Interview with LeadersVoiceUSA: CEO of Shared Health Services
- mdavis107
- Jun 28, 2021
- 8 min read
Updated: Jul 3
Earlier this month, David Davis, President and CEO of Shared Health Services — a national leader in wound care consulting and hospital-based wound care — was featured in an exclusive interview with LeadersVoiceUSA — a platform dedicated to amplifying thought leaders across the healthcare, legal, and insurance industries.
In this insightful discussion, Mr. Davis reflects on his 40+ year journey in healthcare, the founding of Shared Health Services (SHS), and the values that continue to drive the company's mission today. From respiratory therapy to congressional leadership, his career story highlights a steadfast commitment to patient care, operational excellence, and integrity.
Journey Into Healthcare and Leadership
David Davis’s healthcare journey is a true American success story, marked by perseverance, passion, and a lifelong commitment to service. Starting in the 1970s as a respiratory therapist, he quickly distinguished himself through hard work and leadership abili ty — progressing from managing single respiratory care departments to overseeing multiple departments across the southeastern United States.
His entrepreneurial spirit led him to found and operate Advanced Home Care, a multi-state home medical equipment company he successfully grew and sold. Recognized for his clinical and operational expertise, Davis also served as a Joint Commission surveyor, traveling across the country to ensure hospitals met the highest quality standards.
Parallel to his healthcare career, Davis answered a call to public service. He spent over a decade representing his community in the Tennessee House of Representatives before being elected to the United States Congress. Throughout these leadership roles, his focus remained unwavering: improving healthcare delivery and championing the values of integrity, honesty, and patient-centered care.
In 1996, Davis combined his clinical knowledge, business acumen, and public leadership experience to launch Shared Health Services — with a vision of empowering hospitals and providers to deliver exceptional wound care and hyperbaric medicine services nationwide. As SHS grew, Davis deepened his clinical expertise by becoming a Certified Hyperbaric Technologist (CHT), further enhancing his ability to support hospitals in delivering evidence-based wound care and hyperbaric therapies.
"My passion for healthcare, my commitment to doing the right thing, and my experiences in business leadership all naturally came together to form the vision for SHS," Davis shared.
Founding of Shared Health Services
SHS was founded with a simple but powerful idea: hospitals deserve a wound care consulting and hyperbaric medicine partner who brings integrity, clinical expertise, and a commitment to doing what’s best for patients — delivered in a reasonable, cost-effective, and compliant manner.
The first seeds of SHS were planted during Davis’s time as a Joint Commission surveyor, when he worked with a local hospital facing the potential closure of its hyperbaric oxygen therapy center. Neither that hospital nor the newly affiliated system had an active wound care program. Recognizing the critical need for specialized services, Davis offered a partnership opportunity to help keep the center open — a collaboration that would ultimately benefit countless patients for more than 15 years.
That experience — identifying needs, building partnerships, and delivering practical, patient-centered solutions — was pivotal not only in shaping SHS, but also in inspiring Davis’s later work in public service.
‘I wanted to take my values, my honesty, and my integrity to Nashville and Washington because I felt strongly that we needed those values in politics.’ Davis shared, reflecting on how his desire to make a positive impact later carried him to elected office.
This early success reinforced the broader vision behind Shared Health Services: equipping hospitals and physician practices with the tools, expertise, and support needed to deliver exceptional wound care and hyperbaric medicine without surrendering their independence.
Today, SHS provides wound center management and compliance solutions for hospitals across the United States — helping them open new centers, optimize existing outpatient-based wound care programs, and navigate the evolving landscape of Medicare regulations and clinical compliance — all while staying true to its founding mission of integrity, quality, and service.
Vision, Values, and Guiding Principles
At the heart of Shared Health Services is a simple but unwavering belief: wound care should be built on a foundation of clinical excellence, operational integrity, and a commitment to doing right by every patient.
"We don't just help hospitals open wound centers — we empower them to build programs that are clinically sound, financially sustainable, and fully compliant," Davis explains.
Shared Health Services benchmarks its partner programs not only against internal performance data but also against industry standards like the U.S. Wound Registry. This outward-looking approach helps ensure that SHS-affiliated centers are not just keeping pace with the industry, but striving to set a higher bar.
A Personal Connection to the Mission
Throughout his career, Davis has worked with countless patients, many of whom were living with chronic wounds associated with diabetes and other comorbidities. He understands firsthand the critical role that timely, appropriate wound care plays in preserving health, mobility, and quality of life.
This connection became even more personal through his family experience. Davis lives with Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease, a hereditary neuromuscular condition. He recalls how his father, who also battled CMT, came close to losing limbs later in life — yet ultimately passed away with both feet and all ten toes intact thanks to high-quality wound care.
"My father was almost amputated twice later in his life, but when he died in his late 80s, he had both feet and 10 toes," Davis shared. "High-quality wound care services are a personal passion for me — not just as a business leader, but as a healthcare advocate who has seen the difference that excellent care can make."
This profound personal perspective continues to fuel the mission at Shared Health Services: helping hospitals and physician practices deliver patient-centered wound healing services that preserve dignity, protect mobility, and save lives.
Challenges and Trends in Healthcare
After more than four decades in healthcare leadership, Davis has witnessed — and adapted to — dramatic shifts in how care is delivered, regulated, and reimbursed. One of the most transformative changes he highlights was the industry's move from fee-for-service payment models to Diagnosis-Related Groups (DRGs) in the 1980s.
"The transition to DRGs fundamentally changed the way hospitals operated," Davis notes. "Instead of being reimbursed for every service provided, hospitals received a set payment based on the patient’s diagnosis — creating enormous pressure to improve efficiency, documentation, and outcomes."
More recently, Davis observes another important trend reshaping outpatient wound care: heightened regulatory scrutiny from Medicare and other payers. Although Medicare's coverage guidelines for services like hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) have remained relatively consistent since the early 2000s, enforcement has tightened significantly.
Hospitals and providers are now expected to demonstrate not just that appropriate care was delivered, but that documentation fully supports medical necessity, adherence to coverage criteria, and proper coding practices. Failure to meet these expectations can lead to payment denials, audits, and clawbacks — even when quality care was provided. "Proper documentation has never been more critical," Davis explains. "It's not enough to deliver great care. You have to prove it — clearly, consistently, and according to payer expectations."
This evolving landscape reinforces why wound care expertise, operational compliance, and continuous education remain at the core of Shared Health Services’ approach today. SHS doesn’t just help hospitals treat patients — it equips them to thrive in an increasingly complex healthcare environment.
"We provide hospitals with the assistance they need because wound care is a niche market," Davis notes. "We provide their wound care team with the guidance on how to properly treat wounds, code and bill for the procedures they administer in their wound centers, optimize compliance, and ensure that patients get the evidence-based care they deserve. With over six million Americans suffering from chronic wounds, the need for these services has never been greater.
The Future of Wound Care
Looking ahead, Davis believes the future of wound care will be shaped by three critical forces: clinical innovation, operational accountability, and a renewed emphasis on patient-centered outcomes.
Advances in technology — from next-generation cellular therapies to improved diagnostic imaging and artificial intelligence tools — will offer wound care providers new opportunities to diagnose earlier, heal faster, and personalize treatments based on patient-specific needs. However, Davis cautions that these innovations must be paired with rigorous clinical validation and responsible use.
"Technology is exciting, but it’s not a replacement for sound clinical judgment," Davis emphasizes. "The best programs will blend innovation with evidence-based practice — never losing sight of the patient at the center."
At the same time, hospitals and providers will face even greater demands for compliance, documentation, and cost-efficiency. Regulators and payers are making it clear that high-quality care alone isn't enough — it must be consistently delivered, carefully documented, and justified under ever-evolving coverage standards.
In this complex environment, Davis sees a growing need for wound care programs that are not only clinically excellent but also operationally sophisticated.
Shared Health Services is committed to helping its partners meet these new challenges — equipping hospitals and physician practices with the training, tools, and expertise needed to lead the way forward in advanced wound healing.
"Our mission isn’t just to help our partners survive in this new healthcare landscape," Davis explains. "It’s to help them lead — to deliver better healing, smarter operations, and a higher standard of patient care."
By staying true to its founding values of integrity, partnership, and clinical excellence, Shared Health Services stands ready to support the next generation of wound care innovation — one patient, one partner, and one community at a time.
Advice for Future Healthcare Leaders
Drawing from more than four decades in healthcare and public service, Davis offers a clear perspective for those starting or advancing their careers: true success in healthcare demands passion, resilience, and a deep respect for both patients and colleagues.
"Before starting a career in healthcare, individuals should think about more than just financial benefits," Davis notes. "They should have a strong desire to help people — and understand that healthcare today requires flexibility, dedication, and a willingness to keep learning."
He emphasizes that newcomers must be prepared for the realities of healthcare environments, including long hours, occasional holiday or weekend shifts, and a growing expectation for formal education and ongoing professional development.
To build a strong foundation, Davis advises future healthcare professionals to:
Focus on the Basic Sciences: A strong grounding in anatomy, physiology, and biology is critical for understanding how the human body works and how to best support healing.
Pursue Complementary Education: Combining healthcare expertise with business and leadership education creates a powerful combination — one that has served Davis, his hospital partners, and countless patients well throughout his career.
"Blending healthcare knowledge with business leadership has been one of the most valuable decisions of my career," Davis shares. "It’s what allows you to not only deliver excellent care, but also build organizations that truly serve people."
When it comes to leadership itself, Davis has one core belief:
"The best leaders surround themselves with good people — and then let them do the job they're trained and capable of doing. True leadership is about valuing and respecting the insights and talents that others bring to the organization."
This enduring philosophy continues to shape the leadership culture at Shared Health Services, where collaboration, trust, and integrity remain foundational pillars.
Learn More About Partnering with SHS
If your hospital or physician practice is exploring ways to strengthen wound care or hyperbaric medicine services, Shared Health Services is here to help.
We empower our partners with the tools, guidance, and clinical expertise needed to navigate the future of wound care — with integrity, innovation, and results.
Contact us today at sales@sharedhealthservices.com to connect with one of our experts and discover how Shared Health Services can support your success.
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