Alan Pitt, MD is Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Vitalchat, a leading-edge telemedicine company delivering hands-free technologies that virtually connect providers, patients and loved ones. His visionary leadership has paved the way for Vitalchat to be the most effective and affordable inpatient solution in the market.

Alan has more than two decades of experience as an esteemed entrepreneur, neuroradiologist and Professor of Neuroradiology at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix. He has dedicated his life’s work to streamlining the healthcare experience and leveraging collaboration to enhance lifesaving services, human interaction and quality of care.

Working on the frontlines of clinical care, specifically with acutely and chronically ill patients, has given him an insider perspective of efficiency gaps within the healthcare system.

After spearheading a wide range of successful business initiatives in robotics, imaging, artificial intelligence (AI) and telemedicine, Alan helped develop Vitalchat as a next-generation telehealth software maximizing hospital-wide efficiencies, improving response rates and outcomes, and enabling cloud-based resources to address labor demands and costs.

Prior to launching Vitalchat, Alan honed his leadership skills as Chief Medical Officer for Avizia, a telehealth company merged with AmWell. He also co-founded Excelcius Robotics, which was acquired by Globus Medical in 2013.

Heavily involved with his community and multiple healthcare organizations, he currently serves as Chief Medical Officer of clinical AI platform CloudMedX, Key Opinion Leader (KOL) for Precision Diagnostics for Philips Healthcare, Adjunct Faculty for the University of Arizona School of Public Health and a Board Member for Axis for Autism.

With a Bachelor of Arts in Human Biology from Stanford University, Alan earned a medical degree from the University of Arizona, completing training in radiology and neurology at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and a fellowship in neuroradiology at Barrow Neurological Institute.

As Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Vitalchat, Ghafran Abbas’ decades of software development experience and in-depth technical know-how are guiding the telemedicine company to the forefront of the hybrid healthcare space.

With a history of building responsive healthcare technologies from the ground up, Ghafran keeps a trained eye on opportunities to bridge gaps within existing operations to consistently elevate the status quo of healthcare delivery. His ingenuity and creativity have enabled Vitalchat to provide world-class, hands-free technologies that ease provider burdens while helping hospitals cut costs, increase efficiencies, and improve response rates and outcomes for an enhanced patient experience.

Having delivered various products generating multimillion-dollar revenue within weeks of conception, Ghafran’s specialty is equipping lean startups with the software, tools and technology needed to scale efficiently. His storied background in tech-focused leadership roles provided him with a strong, strategic foundation enabling Vitalchat to quickly emerge as an industry leader.

Prior to co-leading Vitalchat, Ghafran was Senior Vice President of Acute Care Engineering for AmWell, a telehealth organization that merged with Avizia, where he had previously served as CTO. Additionally, he was the Director of Technology at tech-ed company Blackboard before co-founding and leading research and development for its subsidiary app, SocialRadar, which was later acquired by Verizon.

Adding to his extensive technology background, Ghafran also served as Chief Software Architect for digital development company TenPearls, Principal Software Engineer for Time Warner Cable and Senior Software Engineer for technology corporations IntelliDyne and Spacenet.

Ghafran earned both master’s and bachelor’s degrees in Management Information Systems from Johns Hopkins University. Outside of Vitalchat, he enjoys biking, swimming, martial arts and spending time with his family and friends.

As Vice President of Sales for Vitalchat, Katie Stoaks has nearly three decades of experience in pharmaceuticals, laboratory, medical imaging, population health management, data analytics and remote patient monitoring. She provides hospital systems and other clients with the tools and guidance to make informed, data-driven decisions focused on long-term growth, while meeting their specific needs in today’s healthcare environment.

In her role, Katie helps organizations implement Vitalchat’s suite of leading-edge technologies to virtually connect providers, patients and loved ones, enabling best-in-class care in a high-impact, cost-effective way.

Before joining Vitalchat, Katie served as Vice President of Business Development for Smartlight Analytics, where she helped establish a sales process for a software that uncovers fraud, waste and abuse in healthcare claims. She also drove the growth and impact of remote patient monitoring solutions as Vice President of Customer Development & Sales for Vivify Health.

Additionally, Katie has held various management and account roles for a range of integrated healthcare and technology companies, including Philips Wellcentive, Philips Healthcare and Esoterix Laboratory Services. Her compassionate, strategic approach in each position has helped companies large and small modernize their processes to enhance quality and efficiency of care.

Katie earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Ohio State University, as well as a marketing principles certification from John Carroll University.

As Vitalchat’s Chief Clinical & Experience Officer, Theresa O’Hollaren forges valuable partnerships with hospital systems and nursing leaders, empowering them with leading-edge inpatient virtual care and telehealth solutions that can’t be found elsewhere. Additionally, she leverages frontline nursing experience to inform product design and development, continually seeking creative ways to improve efficiency and safety in diverse care environments.

With decades of critical care nursing, healthcare technology sales, management and leadership experience, Theresa is a lifelong advocate for improving the lives of patients and caregivers. She strives to bridge the gap between technology and care delivery to help nurses maximize their time and talent, eliminate inefficiencies and reduce burnout. Moreover, she’s a clinical subject matter expert when it comes to patient beds and surface technology, room design, fall management, hospital-acquired pressure injury prevention, nurse call communication, and workflow.

Prior to joining Vitalchat, Theresa spent more than 30 years focused on advancing products in the patient room, nurse communication and workflow technology space. She most recently served as Chief Clinical & Experience Officer at a leading nurse call manufacturer and VP of Strategic Accounts & Clinical Integration at Linet Americas. She also spent years in direct customer-facing positions as a Senior Account Executive for Hill-Rom and Johnson & Johnson, and has collaborated with leading architects and hospitals on numerous construction and improvement projects.

A go-to nursing thought leader, Theresa has helped hospitals develop processes and education to improve HAPI and falls prevention. Additionally, she co-authored abstracts for the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel Biennial Conference, and she was a Patient Safety Movement Foundation participant in their workgroup for Falls and Fall Prevention in Adults. She also had the honor to work as a Project Advisor to Janice Morse, PhD, author of “Morse Falls Scale,” on a design project, “Reconfiguring the Patient Room as a Falls Prevention Strategy.”

Throughout her career, Theresa remains a true nurse at heart. Her experience as a critical care RN ignited a passion for improving patient experiences and outcomes, which drives her dedication decades later.

Theresa attended the Ona M. Wilcox School of Nursing and the Southern Connecticut State University.

Vice President of Nursing Diane King guides Vitalchat’s frontline operations, driving interdisciplinary teams toward seamless patient-provider logistics and organizational growth through person-centered technology. Adept in managing inpatient units, patient flow and throughput, she collaborates with stakeholders to successfully improve quality, efficiency and safety throughout the care journey.

Diane has more than 25 years of nursing, management and leadership experience. She merges frontline caregiver knowledge with robust business expertise to advocate for patient safety while ensuring hospital systems’ evolving demands are consistently and strategically met.

Having worked extensively in Level I tertiary academic facilities and rural communities, Diane excels at uncovering innovative ways to improve accessibility and safety among patients facing critical barriers to care.

She has also spearheaded successful corporate patient safety initiatives, helping implement a corporate falls policy for inpatient and critical care units, including ambulatory and OB/Labor & Delivery. Additionally, she drove the expansion of an existing Arizona transfer center to accommodate five facilities and 13 free-standing emergency rooms during COVID-19, partnering with the Arizona Department of Health to facilitate hospital transfers for underserved populations.

Prior to joining Vitalchat, Diane was the Nursing Director at a critical access hospital, overseeing all nursing operations — from the ED and hospital to assisted living and outpatient procedures. Still actively engaged at the patient bedside, she simultaneously works as a per-diem Hospice RN.

Before this, Diane held several leadership roles at a leading Phoenix healthcare institution. Most recently as Manager of Patient Logistics, she supported physicians, clinical areas and ancillary staff in developing goal-oriented throughput plans for seamless patient admission and discharge. She also served as a Quality/Safety RN and Neurosurgical ICU supervisor.

Moreover, Diane spent 20 years in several additional RN roles covering specialized areas such as critical care, administration and clinical instruction. She is a subject matter expert in patient experience, patient logistics, patient transfer centers and patient safety, and holds additional certificates as a Legal Nurse Consultant, Six Sigma Green Belt and End of Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) for critical care train the trainer.

Diane has co-authored two publications: “Implementing a Rapid Response Team to Decrease Emergencies Outside the ICU,” seen in the Med/Surg Nursing Journal of Adult Health, and “Collaboration on the Arizona Surge Line: How COVID-19 Became the Impetus for Public, Private and Federal Hospitals to Function as One System,” seen in the NEJM Catalyst Innovation.

Heavily involved in the healthcare community, she is also a member and volunteer Ambassador of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN).

Diane earned both a Master of Nursing & Education and Master of Business Administration with a focus in Health Care Management from the University of Phoenix after receiving an Associate of Science in Nursing from Mesa Community College and bachelor’s degree in business administration from Montana State University.

Coming soon…