Her Story
About Cherie
For more than 25 years, Cherie Elledge has led healthcare organizations at a scale few executives ever experience—overseeing operations that span all 50 states and extend across nearly every segment of the care continuum. Her career is defined by enterprise-level leadership in environments where complexity, variability, and performance must be managed simultaneously—and consistently.
Today, as Chief Executive Officer of Central Pyramid, Elledge brings that national, multi-market experience to a sector undergoing fundamental change. Her focus is clear: building high-performing, scalable platforms in home health, hospice, and palliative care—areas increasingly central to the future of healthcare delivery.
Elledge’s expertise is not theoretical. It is grounded in decades of growth and operational leadership across home health, hospice, behavioral health, skilled nursing, assisted living, long-term acute care, rehabilitation, outpatient therapy, and acute care. This breadth has given her a comprehensive understanding of how care is delivered across settings—and how to align those systems to drive both performance and outcomes.
Her career has consistently placed her in roles with expansive scope, requiring coordination across diverse markets, regulatory frameworks, and clinical models. Leading at that level demands more than strategy—it requires disciplined execution, accountability, and the ability to translate complexity into results across an entire organization.
In her current role, Elledge oversees all aspects of the enterprise, including operations, clinical performance, finance, human capital, technology, and long-term strategy. There is no singular lane—her leadership reflects the full weight of running a modern healthcare organization.
One of her most significant recent achievements has been leading the integration of two healthcare organizations into a single, unified platform. The effort required alignment across leadership teams, operational structures, and brand identity—culminating in a newly positioned organization built for growth and long-term sustainability.
Despite the scale of her responsibilities, Elledge maintains a consistent focus: delivering high-quality, timely care that produces meaningful patient outcomes. For her, operational rigor and clinical excellence are inseparable—and essential to sustained performance.
Her path into healthcare was shaped by personal experience, an influence that continues to ground her leadership in the realities patients and families face every day.
As healthcare continues its shift toward home-based and value-driven models, the need for leaders who can operate at scale without losing precision has never been greater. Cherie Elledge has spent her career proving she can do both.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Cherie
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to a sustained commitment to growth, disciplined execution, and a strong belief in people. I have consistently focused on continuous learning, setting clear and ambitious goals, and holding myself accountable to achieving them—while also prioritizing the development of others as I progressed in my career. That mindset has been critical to building high-performing teams and driving results at scale.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
One of the most impactful pieces of advice I received early on was simple: do not become a “wilted flower” when the pressure rises. In leadership, intensity is inevitable, and those moments are often defining. The expectation is not to have perfect answers, but to remain steady, think critically, and lead with confidence. The ability to hold your ground and move forward with clarity in high-pressure environments is essential to sustained success.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I often tell young women to believe in themselves, lead with confidence, and move forward before they feel fully prepared. You do not need every answer to lead—you develop them through experience, decision-making, and growth. And just as importantly, choose your environment carefully: surround yourself with people who expect more, who pursue excellence, and who push you to operate at your highest level. Leadership is built by those who take ownership early and grow through action.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Healthcare is inherently dynamic. The regulatory landscape continues to evolve, often in ways that require organizations to adapt quickly and decisively. Even the most experienced leaders can find that established models shift overnight with changes from CMS or broader reimbursement structures. Success in this environment requires more than expertise—it demands agility, resilience, and a disciplined focus on execution.
Rather than reacting to disruption, the most effective leaders remain focused on how to navigate it. Rate adjustments, policy changes, and operational pressures are constants in this industry, but they do not eliminate the expectation to perform. Maintaining a forward-looking mindset, staying grounded in what can be controlled, and executing against a clear strategy are essential to sustaining success.
At the same time, the opportunities within healthcare—particularly in home-based care—are significant. There remains a critical gap in both access and awareness. Many patients and families are simply unaware of the full range of services available to them, from home health and palliative care to hospice support.
Across the country, individuals are navigating complex health challenges at home without realizing they may be eligible for services that could meaningfully improve their quality of life. Whether it is skilled care to support recovery, palliative services to manage serious illness, or hospice care that provides comfort and support during end-of-life transitions, these resources exist—but are often underutilized due to a lack of awareness and education.
Closing that gap represents one of the most important opportunities in healthcare today: ensuring that patients and families not only have access to care, but understand how and when to use it.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Integrity and transparency are central to my leadership philosophy. They inform every decision I make, both professionally and personally, and in healthcare, they are indispensable—trust and accountability are the foundation upon which quality care is built.
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