Partners in Progress: Keith Bubblo and Gregg Lathrop, Senior Data Analysts with Stroudwater Associates

At Stroudwater Capital Partners, we know our work wouldn’t be possible without the clients and collaborators who share our vision for reinventing rural healthcare. Through our Partners in Progress spotlight series, we celebrate the people who make these projects possible, trace the journey that led them to their role, and learn more about the work they’re doing to make widespread health a reality. 

Today, we get to know Keith Bubblo and Gregg Lathrop, Senior Data Analysts of Stroudwater Associates in Portland, Maine.

An Ever-Diligent and Always-Dependable Duo

Here at Stroudwater Capital Partners, our work was born out of a partnership with Stroudwater Associates, the nation’s leading strategic advisor to rural healthcare systems. With nearly 35 years of experience serving communities from Alaska to Maine, their extensive knowledge of the USDA lending system and shared passion for building a better healthcare system have been key to our success here at Stroudwater Capital Partners.

Keith Bubblo and Gregg Lathrop, both Senior Data Analysts, are two trusted partners at Stroudwater Associates we turn to again and again as we work to bring meaningful care to the places that need it most. In the 23 years since he joined Stroudwater, Keith has been essential in developing the firm’s data-driven approach to client engagements. In Gregg’s 17 years at Stroudwater, he has created countless detailed client performance assessments. Their combined expertise in healthcare data management and analysis, market assessment, and strategic planning make them incredibly valuable allies to all of us here at Stroudwater Capital Partners. 

Unique Backgrounds, Unrivaled Expertise

Like many of our partners, Gregg and Keith bring specialized skill sets to their work—expertise that stems from their genuine passion for digging into and visualizing data. 

Keith holds bachelor’s degrees in English and Political Science from Wilkes University and a certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) from the University of Southern Maine. Keith’s role at Stroudwater evolved out of the increased availability of health-related datasets as well as desktop analytics software, such as GIS and data visualization programs, coupled with Stroudwater’s emphasis on providing its small, rural clients with the same data-driven approach to strategic and operational challenges that larger organizations had access to. As it so happens, as that approach grew Gregg was brought in to help further develop it.

Today, Keith’s role makes use of all of his past studies. On any given day he might be utilizing GIS and data visualization software to interpret and analyze geographic and demographic patient data, facility utilization estimates, or market share data to help healthcare leaders and policymakers better understand constituents and today’s evolving healthcare landscape.

In college, Gregg followed an early interest in cartography and studied Geography and Urban Planning/Geographic Information Science and Cartography at the University of Toledo. Before joining Stroudwater, he spent a decade applying those skills as a senior map tech at Delorme Mapping, utilizing GIS mapping software and SQL/Access databases to create paper and digital maps. He leans on that experience today to extrapolate and map mass quantities of clinical, administrative, and financial data for healthcare systems big and small. The detailed market assessments he creates are then used to shape important consultant recommendations. 

Ten years—even five years—is a long time in the world of healthcare, where medicine and technology advance quickly, local populations inevitably shift, and healthcare policy is ever-evolving. Many of Keith and Gregg’s clients become repeat customers, and as sweeping changes inevitably play out, the duo is ready to jump back in and reassess—so healthcare systems are armed with the localized data and critical counsel they need to look to the future.

“It’s really powerful and rewarding to step in and help hospitals that are truly on the frontlines on a day-to-day basis,” says Gregg. “Over time, we’re able to see the real impact of the work we’ve provided, and as hospitals grow and change, we’re there on that journey with them.” 

Making the Abstract Accessible- and Actionable 

In their roles at Stroudwater, Keith and Gregg play a key role in addressing some of today’s most pressing healthcare issues. These critical questions—the answers to which affect the lives and livelihoods of entire communities—demand a thoughtful decision-making process. That’s precisely where Keith and Gregg come in. 

Decisions, such as where to build, move, or expand a hospital or clinic, for instance, require considering countless details. For example: drive time to care. In some emergencies, minutes mean the difference between life and death. Barriers to everyday access combined with social determinants of health, such as a lack of transportation, can also mean missing out on important preventative care, such as making it to primary care appointments and to the pharmacy to retrieve medications. Analyzing and visually mapping realities helps to raise red flags where needed—ultimately ensuring more people receive the care they need close to home. 

These variables often evolve gradually over time as, say, new neighborhoods are built in a community and housing concentrations shift. But in some instances, they can change practically overnight. One timely example of this kind of rapid evolution is the moving target of state-level policies related to gynecological care, family planning, pregnancy care, and more. These changes can result in patients driving further for care and, in some instances, physicians choosing to practice in another state, widening the care desert further. 

One of the states that has seen the most change on this front in recent years is Texas, and key factors such as drive time to care continue to fluctuate. As a result, Keith and Gregg are closely mapping that change, at the granular level of specific clinical service lines, as it actively happens. Bringing a pressing national issue to the local level—down to individual census blocks—ensures that decision-makers on the ground are armed with up-to-date data that is relevant to their community.    

“Physician shortages are a reality in pockets all across the country, and those care deserts can move quickly,” says Keith. “Keeping tabs on where those are at any given time is critical, and being able to display that information visually in a way that is understandable with one glance is immensely impactful.” 

Looking Ahead to an Ever-Evolving Future 

The reality is that our work at Stroudwater Capital Partners is never truly done. Our healthcare landscape will continue to evolve, and the needs of both patients and professionals will continue to shift. We’ve seen the impact of landmark legislation like the Affordable Care Act. We all lived through, and continue to grapple with, the effects of a global pandemic and the strain it put on our health systems. Even seemingly minor changes like a tweak in the legislative definitions for primary and secondary hospitals can open up a new opportunity for systems to convert to critical access hospitals. 

We are fortunate to have the ability to lean on experts like Keith and Gregg who have the ability to navigate this change and parse through mountains of data from public and private sources to present meaningful analysis and projections. It is their work that helps to define and develop critical hospital markets across the country. 

“We don’t lose sight of the difference we can make working in rural healthcare. Even small investments can mean keeping the doors open for two more years in a hospital. Big or small, these investments are betting on and committing to a community and ensuring the future of what is frequently the biggest employer in the area,” says Gregg.

 

“In an ever-evolving healthcare landscape, knowledge is valuable,” says Keith. “Helping to ensure decision-makers addressing today’s most pressing challenges are able to view and understand that landscape is always rewarding.”