Ascendient on the Rise: Celebrating Our First 25 Years

In 1994, while pursuing a Masters degree in healthcare, our founder started a small consulting business on the side to help pay the bills. Before long, this side gig had morphed into a full-time — and, with a dozen clients, surprisingly successful — passion. It became clear that healthcare organizations needed thoughtful and innovative expertise to help solve their strategic and planning challenges — so a promising new firm was born.

Remarkably, many of the clients that hired Ascendient in our early years are still with us today. To date, we have served over 300 clients in states throughout the country and our staff has grown to more than a dozen professionals.

In 2012, we opened our Washington, DC office in National Harbor, Maryland to serve our clients in the Mid-Atlantic region. This office provides two additional benefits. First, it gives us local access to the lawmakers and regulators who shape our nation’s healthcare regulations. Second, it allows us to experience first-hand Maryland’s innovative all-payer fixed payment system for hospitals, lessons from which we can use to help clients forecast the impact of new payment models.

Research like this has been a driving force in our business. A few years ago, we began studying the societal, economic, and political forces shaping healthcare in the United States. Using this data, we launched Healthytown™, a model that providers can use to predict and adapt to transformations underway in the industry. This product gives our clients an invaluable tool as they strategize and plan for the future and solidifies Ascendient’s position as a leader in the healthcare consulting industry.

What’s next for Ascendient? Check back with us in 2044 and we’ll let you know.