Ed is part of our marketing team of Infusion Specialists. This means, like his peer group, he is blazing a trail in our markets, building relationships with existing and prospective referring offices. Ed has a real knack for building the Vivo brand in new markets and territories where we have not yet fully ventured but are ready to stake a claim. Ed dives in headfirst and gets to know the territory, gets to know the players, and gets to know the needs at a local level. Most of us have heard businesses and sports teams talk about having a “Secret Weapon” or hidden bench strength or even having a “Secret Sauce”. It is more than fair to say that Ed is all of tho se things to us. He is in essence our own “Secret Sauce”.
Ed did not start his career in healthcare. He landed here, but not by accident. Ed is a hustler – not the bad kind that will swindle you. Ed is the hard-working kind. He hustles! He works hard, commits his whole self to his goals and sets out to achieve and exceed his goals. He attributes this habit to his upbringing and his college experience; and his post-college experience. Ed transitioned from athlete to coach. Ed’s early career was marked by his 10+ years of coaching leadership as Head Coach with the University of South Dakota’s football team. This is where Ed truly became “Coach”.
During his time leading the team, he learned all he could. Coach was regularly speaking at various events, fundraising and leading a collegiate football team. His energy, enthusiasm, and hard work have opened many doors for him. By nature, Ed is intuitively curious about people. He seeks to know their passions, their interests, and what motivates them. He also takes time to meet them where they are and to learn along the way.
Ed grew up in Chicago and was the first in his family to attend college and found himself playing football and baseball for Dakota Wesleyan. It was there that he met the love of his life, best friend and partner, his wife, Terri. After over 10 years of coaching and living in South Dakota, Terri accepted a job with Orlando Health and that is part of the story behind their move to Celebration, Florida. At this time, their son was also trying to make it into Division 1 baseball. Ed leaned into his past experiences and started calling on primary care offices 10-plus years ago to help them navigate changes and to help them streamline facilities so they could make money on ancillaries. Once Medicare stopped paying on these, it was time to pivot. Advice that Ed’s dad gave him rings true, “(You) have to be able to adjust on the fly and think out of the box”.
The best advice that Ed has for others is, “Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Repetition works,” and he goes on to say, “Never be outworked. You will lose battles, but not because you were outworked. Control the controllable.” Ed will tell you that he is not a sugar coater. He believes you have to treat people with respect and always stay on the high side. Ed credits some of his success to luck, and some of it to timing. He attributes his decision to be part of the Vivo Team as fortunate timing, and a call from Chris Reef, leading him back to the team he loves and credits: Margot Sala, Kylee Bradburn, Gene Odom, and Kim Boyd – all part of what he refers to as the OG MPP Crew.
Margot Sala, Vivo’s SVP of National Sales and Marketing, says it perfectly, “Ed Meierkort is the epitome of the Vivo difference. He’s always there to lend a helping hand to referring offices, Pharma partners and his teammates alike. Most people refer to him as just ‘Coach.’ Not only as an homage to his past career as a Division I College Football Head Coach but also as a reference to the support and guidance he offers the team on a daily basis. When he’s not sharing his knowledge and infusion experience, he’s keeping us all in stitches. All joking aside, Ed Meierkort has been an integral part of our Infusion Specialist team and seeding new markets as part of business development.”
Coach is inspired by his family and by sheer competition. He loves a challenge. And, we love him! Thank you for all that you do to bring our culture, our patients, our partners, our business, our teams, and our people to life! Thank you for being Vivo’s “Secret Sauce”!
