Arnold P. Silver: A life dedicated to improving healthcare finance
Arnold P. Silver, FHFMA, CPA, who served as 1974-75 HFMA Chair, died on Nov. 21 at the age of 91. Silver, who joined HFMA in July 1963, was a founding member of the Association’s Principles and Practices Board, participated in the first exchange with HFMA’s counterpart association in the United Kingdom and received HFMA’s Frederick C. Morgan award in 1981.
His 50-plus-year career includes CFO positions at Samaritan Health Service (now Banner Health) in Phoenix; Illinois Masonic Medical Center (now part of Advocate) in Chicago; and Montefiore Eye and Ear Hospitals (now part of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center). He also was guest lecturer at Arizona State University, University of Southern California, Duke University, Indiana University and Northwestern University.
Silver started the healthcare financial newsletter Rate Controls in 1976, with hospitals and third-party payers using its cost projections in budgeting processes over the newsletter’s 22-year run. In 1990, Silver cofounded R-C Health Management Services, performing wage index reviews and guiding improvement processes to support hospital revenue enhancement.
Throughout his career, Silver would bring his family — including wife, Etta; three sons, Dan, Jay and David; and daughter, Judy Diringer — to HFMA’s annual conference, for many years referred to as the Annual National Institute (ANI). Silver continued attending HFMA events with son Dan, a current member of the HFMA Arizona Chapter, who worked with his father for 27 years.
“My dad was passionate about seeking improvements to the healthcare system,” said Dan Silver, who previously served as vice president and specialized wage index expert consultant at R-C Healthcare Management and is now with Aetna, a CVS health company. “His dedication to HFMA allowed him to learn and share his perspectives with fellow leaders across the country, many of whom became his lifelong friends.”
Kenneth Zill has joined AdventHealth Fish Memorial as CFO
On Oct. 19, Kenneth Zill, MBA, started as CFO of AdventHealth Fish Memorial in Port Orange, Florida. Most recently, the CFO of AdventHealth New Smyrna Beach in Florida, Zill led development of the hospital’s oncology program and surgical robotics program. Zill brings more than 30 years of healthcare finance experience to his new role, having served in leadership roles including director of business development and finance director at AdventHealth, formerly Florida Hospital, in Kissimmee and Orlando. He has been a member of HFMA’s Florida Chapter since joining in 2024.
Brian Day advances to CFO role at Mercy
Brian Day, MBA, has been appointed CFO at St. Louis-based Mercy, after over 20 years of finance leadership there. Since 2002, Day had held multiple leadership roles in financial planning and budgeting at Mercy, most recently as senior vice president of financial operations and planning. An HFMA member for over seven years, Day is currently a member of the Greater Heartland Chapter. He also serves on the board of St. Louis nonprofit Access Academies, which prepares middle school students in underserved communities for high school and college and helps them establish career paths.
