Joshua Helms named COO of Physician Partners of America

Physician Partners of America has named Joshua “Josh” Helms its Chief Operating Officer. A recognized expert in managing national healthcare enterprises, he previously served as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

Working closely with PPOA founder Rodolfo Gari, M.D., MBA, he will guide the daily operations and development of a rapidly growing healthcare company and its affiliate divisions.

“I’m honored to have been chosen for this role, and I know with the title will come greater responsibility as we move PPOA into the future,” he said.

Since coming to Physician Partners of America in 2016, Helms has led a wide range of cross-functional operations: creating and implementing strategic initiatives in customer service, marketing, and patient acquisition and retention.

As COO, he is tasked with leading Physician Partners of America into a new growth phase: the Tampa-based company continues on a rapid expansion path that began with its inception in 2013.

This year alone, PPOA has added a minimally invasive spine division, three new interventional pain management locations, and two multi-specialty medical pavilions that are scheduled for completion in the coming weeks. It now has 30 medical practices and seven ambulatory surgery centers between Florida and Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. .

Helms came to PPOA with a remarkable history of providing executive leadership at Laser Spine Institute. There, he served in progressive leadership roles culminating in the position of Senior Vice President of CARE Operations.

He assumes operational responsibilities of PPOA from Tracie Lawson, MBA, MSN, ARNP-C, who will take a behind-the-scenes role focused on analytics. “Physician Partners of America is positioned for another wave of intense growth into new ventures that will exceed all expectations,” Lawson said. “We are very excited to welcome Josh into this new role and with our employees’ support, we are looking forward to seeing his vision for PPOA come to fruition.”

Helms earned his Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from the University of South Florida in Tampa and his MBA from the University of Tampa – John H. Sykes College of Business.

In his spare time, he serves as a board member and ambassador of Metropolitan Ministries.