Building Hope: The Power of Peer Support in Trauma Care with Matt Kalina

This episode’s Community Champion Sponsor is Ossur. To learn more about their ‘Responsible for Tomorrow’ Sustainability Campaign, and how you can get involved: CLICK HERE

Episode Overview: 

Life-altering trauma creates ripple effects far beyond the initial injury, impacting survivors, families, and entire communities. 

Our next guest, Matt Kalina, is transforming trauma recovery through the power of shared experiences. 

As founder and CEO of TandemStride, Matt is building a virtual peer support platform that connects trauma survivors with mentors who have journeyed similar paths. 

Inspired by his brother's journey as a bilateral amputee after surviving a train accident, Matt combines his extensive healthcare AI technology background with deeply personal insights into trauma recovery. 

Join us to discover how TandemStride is revolutionizing post-trauma care by creating meaningful connections, reducing readmissions, improving mental health outcomes, and helping survivors rebuild their lives through the profound impact of lived experience. Let's go!

Episode Highlights:

• Learn how a personal tragedy- his brother's train accident and bilateral amputation- inspired Matt to build a technology platform transforming trauma recovery
• Discover how TandemStride connects survivors with peer mentors virtually, providing critical support beyond hospital walls and traditional timeframes
• Examine why improved trauma survival rates have created an urgent need for better post-trauma support systems across healthcare
• Uncover the impact of trauma: 140 million people face disability annually, with survivors experiencing 5x higher unemployment and significant PTSD risk
• Hear how TandemStride's rapid growth to 50 trauma centers demonstrates the pressing need for early intervention and peer support in recovery

 

About our Guest:

Matt Kalina started his professional life in public policy after graduating from The Ohio State University. For the last decade Matt has spent his time supporting growth and business development initiatives at digital health and healthcare technology startups. Matt is a solution and product enthusiast, with a passion for applying disruptive, emerging technology to the healthcare industry to improve efficiency and health outcomes. Most recently leading Strategy and Business Development at Olive AI where he spent 8 years driving growth that took the company from a handful of employees when he started to health tech unicorn at its peak - partnering with hundreds of hospitals and health plans. In 2024, Matt launched TandemStride, focused on supporting individuals that have experienced life-altering traumatic injuries - where he applies lessons learned from his high-growth start-up experience to a problem statement that he knows personally. In 2012, Matt’s brother, Mark, survived a pedestrian-train accident leaving him a bilateral amputee. This life-altering event led to the creation of The Mark Kalina Jr. Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to aiding individuals with severe traumatic injuries that Matt operates alongside his family.

Links Supporting This Episode: 

• TandemStride Website: CLICK HERE
• Matt Kalina LinkedIn page: CLICK HERE
• TandemStride LinkedIn: CLICK HERE
• Mike Biselli LinkedIn page: