Blain Claypool has three decades of hospital executive experience ranging from multi-facility leadership, non-urban and level one trauma academic medical centers. From hospitals in public, private and investor-owned sectors, the facilities Blain oversaw regularly led in quality and financial outcomes. Before joining HNI, Claypool worked closely with HNI as the leader of one of our contracted facilities, bringing his unique perspective to our organization. Blain has a bachelor's in marketing and a master's in health administration.

Dr. Tovar joined HNI in 2012 and is responsible for clinical leadership, CDI, utilization management and alignment of HNI physicians with the goals of their facilities. Since 2001, Dr. Tovar has served as a hospitalist. Prior to joining HNI, Dr. Tovar served as the president of a 60-hospitalist practice in Austin, TX. Dr. Tovar graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and earned his medical degree at the Baylor College of Medicine. He is board-certified in internal medicine and palliative care.

Merced Gonzales joined HNI in 2009, overseeing its interfacing and connectivity model, creating custom APIs for hospital information and practice management systems across the country. Previously, Merced was the vice president of technology at Resolution, a leading revenue cycle company, and held various leadership roles at Dell Computer. Merced holds a bachelor's in computer science from the University of Texas at Austin and numerous Microsoft and Cisco certifications.

Skip Courtney, former Chief Operating Officer of HNI, has transitioned into a new role as executive vice president of operations. He oversees the shared services division of HNI and works closely with operations in designing and managing new risk sharing agreements. Skip is spearheading the development of our latest entity, HNI Charities — a non-profit organization with the mission to make healthcare services accessible to underserved populations, domestically and internationally. From initial framework establishment to fundraising, Skip will work to bring this initiative to life.

Sean Burns joined HNI in 2024 and leads business development, including sales and marketing, as well as corporate development activities. Sean brings over 10 years of experience in healthcare technology and services companies with prior cross- functional roles across corporate development, finance, strategy and operations. He most recently held executive leadership positions at Healthgrades and Mercury Healthcare. Sean has a bachelor's degree from Brown University.