EP116:The $100 Million Decision - Choosing Patient Outcomes Over Private Equity

When surgeons stop your heart during surgery, who keeps you alive? That's where Chet Czaplicka comes in.

This Detroit native went from ICU nurse to building the world's largest perfusion company—but not the way you'd think. After seeing post-op cardiac patients in the ICU, Chet asked one simple question: "What exactly do you guys do?" That curiosity launched a 42-year career.

Perfusionists are the people who become your heart and lungs during surgery. They manage the machines that keep your blood flowing and oxygenated while surgeons work on your stopped heart. During COVID, when patients' lungs failed by the thousands, Chet's teams provided extracorporeal life support at levels he'd never seen in four decades.

Here's what sets Chet apart: He's turned down multiple private equity offers that would've made him wealthy beyond measure. Why? "I wasn't put on this earth to buy a yacht. My purpose is way different than that."

Instead, he measures success in reduced kidney injuries, lower stroke rates, and better patient outcomes. He's poured tens of millions back into advancing the technology because, as he puts it, "When I walk out of that operating room, I want to know I delivered the best possible care to that patient."

From a partnership offer in Fort Wayne he turned down (too small-town for a Detroit guy in his 20s) to building operations across the globe, Chet's story shows what happens when purpose drives profit, not the other way around.

Chet's Bio:

Chet Czaplicka is the Founder and CEO of Comprehensive Care Services, a perfusion led company providing perfusion, autotransfusion and related allied health services to hospitals across the United States and internationally. He founded CCS in 2002, building it from a handful of hospital accounts into the largest perfusion provider in the world and now a global perfusion leader. As a practicing perfusionist and registered nurse, Chet keeps CCS focused on patient care, clinical excellence, data-driven decision making and strong hospital partnerships. He continues to lead the organization through growth, innovation and an evolving healthcare landscape.

Chet on LinkedIn.