Bio and Background
Andrew (Andy) J. Daniels is the President & Chief Executive Officer of Hills and Dales Healthcare, Cass City Michigan, Andy has a Juris Doctorate from Mitchell Hamline School of Law with certificates in Health Law & Health Care Compliance. He is a member of the Michigan Bar Association. Previous roles include the CEO of Memorial Regional Health, Craig, Colorado and the Chief Operations Officer of the Avita Health System headquartered in Galion, Ohio.
Andy has a Master’s degree in Health Care Administration from Ohio University, and a Master’s in Project Management from Keller Graduate School of Management. He is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE), a Project Management Professional (PMP) Certified by the Project Management Institute, a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) by the National Association for Healthcare Quality, and a Certified Professional in Health Care Risk Management (CPHRM).
Tell us about your professional journey since graduating and a little about your current position.
My professional journey since graduating is not that much different than my journey into law school. I did not “change” careers per se’ but obtained my law degree to enhance what I do. Now that I am admitted to the bar in Michigan, I enjoy doing some of the legal work that I used to outsource to others. I also enjoy helping others with their legal issues.
When did you realize you wanted a career in law?
This may sound a little silly, but I wanted to have a career in law ever since I read the book by Harper Lee “To Kill and Mockingbird.” I was in junior high school. However, being from a small town where college was a “novel” concept. You see, in my town growing up if you graduated from high school, you went to the steel mill in the neighboring town. My parents always encouraged all of us to go to college, but I had no scope of understanding of what was out in the big world. Becoming a lawyer seemed like something a person much smarter than I would be able to accomplish. It was not until later where I realized I could do innovative programs like the one offered at Mitchell Hamline to allow non-traditional students to obtain their J.D. existed. At heart, I am a life-long learner, and I couldn’t think of anything that I would rather invest my time in accomplishing.
How did the Health Law Institute help prepare you for the work you do now?
For me, the Health Law Institute helped connect the law behind much of the compliance work that we often struggle to understand in healthcare. I think the knowledge gained in the Health Law Institute is excellent training for not only lawyers who want to focus on Health Law, but for those trying to work in the field of Health Compliance and Risk Management. I found the program so helpful; I have and continue to recommend this program to others. I use the skills I learned in the Health Law Institute with other legal concepts I learned at Mitchell Hamline to clarify complex regulations, address risk management issues and help my organization.
What inspires you?
Finding solutions to problems and helping people.