Daniel Carter

Partner
Education

East Carolina University

Master of Business Administration

Daniel received his Master of Business Administration with a Certificate in Finance from East Carolina University. In more than two decades at Ascendient, his primary responsibilities have included strategic planning, business planning, provider planning, public health planning, and community health needs assessments.

Daniel believes that every job is about fixing problems, and he's grateful that he gets to solve problems that matter – ones that have a real impact on people's lives.

On a day-to-day basis, Daniel's problem-solving focuses on strategy and planning efforts – helping clients discover what they need to best help their patients, and then finding the most effective path through the regulatory environment to get them what they need. He also enjoys leading an amazing team that works tirelessly to find workable solutions in one of the most complex but critical industries in America.

Having overseen hundreds of Certificate of Need applications in more than a dozen states, Daniel is nationally recognized as an expert in the field. He has produced successful CONs for almost every conceivable type of healthcare project, including: hospitals (new, replacement and microhospitals); facility renovation/expansion; inpatient beds (acute, rehabilitation, psychiatry, substance use disorder and long term care); post-acute facilities; freestanding emergency departments; imaging centers; inpatient and outpatient dialysis; home health; hospice; operating and endoscopy rooms (both in hospitals and in ambulatory surgical facilities); various tertiary and quaternary services; and medical equipment/technology such as cardiac catheterization equipment, MRI, CT, PET, linear accelerators, and simulators.

Daniel’s regulatory practice also includes various CON-related filings in multiple states. He has provided analysis and commentary on State Health Plans as well as regulatory rules and standards.

Daniel’s deep experience has made him a sought-after professional in litigation support. Numerous judges and hearing officers have admitted him as an expert witness in areas such as healthcare planning, healthcare analysis, health planning policy and regulation, healthcare finance, and Certificate of Need preparation and analysis.

Outside the office (or the courtroom), Daniel enjoys traveling and spending time with friends and family (a wife and three girls). A former high school teacher in his home state of South Carolina, Daniel continues his teaching role as an adjunct faculty member at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at UNC-Chapel Hill. He also offers personal financial coaching for families as a ministry of his church.

Daniel is highly proficient in German and some would say annoyingly conversant in 4 or 5 other languages – adding more as he travels to new places and wants to interact with the locals.

"This above all: to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man."

Hamlet, Act I, Scene 3 (William Shakespeare)

Speaking Topics

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  • The Maryland Fixed Payment Model
  • Physician/Provider Planning
  • Strategic Planning
  • Healthcare Industry Trends
  • Community Health Needs Assessments
  • Merger, Acquisition and Affiliation: Trends, Benefits and Consequences

Speaking Events

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  • “Observations on Women in Healthcare Leadership,” HPM Women in Healthcare Leadership Symposium, UNC Chapel Hill, Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC
  • “The Maryland Model – Strategic Considerations for a Fixed Payment System,” NC Hospital Association, virtual
  • “Consolidation in Healthcare,” University of Alabama Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration, Tuscaloosa, AL
  • “Community Health Needs Assessment: Why Just Checking the Box Isn’t Enough,” Carolinas Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development, Charlotte, NC
  • “A View from the Health Planner’s Perspective,” Third Southeastern Health Planning Symposium, Charlotte, NC