Stephen L. Ondra is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of North Star Health Care Consulting. A neurosurgeon and neuroscientist, Ondra has also served in senior positions in the Federal government, having a role in health reform efforts and the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. He advises corporations, provider organizations and early-stage start-ups on the transition to value-based care and health IT strategy.
Education
Ondra began his post-secondary education at the U.S. Military Academy, but he was injured in a training accident. Ondra graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University. Recovering from injuries, he re-entered military service in the Army and completed his doctorate at Rush Medical College. During his residency at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, he specialized in spine surgery and reconstruction in both neurosurgery and orthopedics.
Military career
Ondra is a veteran of the Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield, and he was awarded a Bronze Star Medal and the Army Commendation Medal for extraordinary service and heroism as a military doctor. Ondra served on the Veterans Affairs group in the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Team; he provided advice to the Obama-Biden Campaign on Health Policy and Veteran's Policy.
Prior to returning to Northwestern, Ondra was a member of President Barack Obama’s Administration. He was appointed as Senior Health Policy Advisor for the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on May 10, 2009. In 2010, he was assigned to the Executive Office of the President, where he served until February 2012. At the White House, Ondra served in the Office of Science and Technology Policy, as the health information technology co-Chair of the National Science and Technology Council. At the White House, Ondra also served on the Implementation Deputies Group for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Prior to his appointment to the Administration by President Obama, Ondra was a Professor of Neurological Surgery at Northwestern University, and he chaired the Medical Device and Technology Committee at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Ondra has also worked with the Department of Defense as the Chairman of the Defense Spinal Cord Board and Spinal Column Injury Program, and the Defense Spine Blast Injury Program. In partnership with other faculty at Northwestern, he pioneered new surgical procedures and the use of available motion analysis technology to assess treatment of spinal surgery patients.
Committees and board appointments
The Guiding Committee of the Health Care Payment Learning Action Network
Board of Trustees, Louis W. Sullivan Institute for Healthcare Transformation
America's Health Insurance Plans Core Quality Measurement Task Force
