In Remembrance of John Kissick

by Vineet Singal, Co-Founder and CEO, CareMessage

I first met John Kissick a little more than 11 years ago on March 1st, 2012 at the Ares Management offices in Los Angeles. At the time, I was wrapping up my senior year at Stanford University, and was truly unsure about pursuing the idea that would eventually become CareMessage.

That first meeting with John changed my entire perspective. John was not only incredibly curious about the experiences I had that had led me to conceptualize the idea, but he was extremely encouraging about the potential of the idea, once he understood it. He believed that, if successful, CareMessage could potentially unlock enormous impact for underserved patient populations nationally, including in the Los Angeles area, for which he cared deeply.

Upon this first meeting with John, my ambivalence about jumping in headfirst to start CareMessage evolved into an inspired confidence that this idea could work. Not only that, John wrote the first check to support CareMessage (even before we received formal 501c3 status).

This meeting, and my dozen or so meetings and conversations with John and his wonderful family thereafter, cemented for me who he was as a person.

First, he truly cared about important issues facing underserved communities across the country; his interest came from a deep place of respect for the opportunities he had been afforded, and a desire to share those same opportunities and fortunes with others.

Second, he was the quintessential example of a true believer. At the time I met with John, I’d already had dozens of meetings with potential donors and supporters, almost all of whom were encouraging but noncommittal in terms of direct engagement. And I didn’t blame them. After all, who would believe in a Stanford undergrad with no credentials and an idea with zero validation behind it?

However, John did believe. And his belief is one of the major reasons why CareMessage has reached the ~17 million patients we’ve been proud to reach cumulatively over the past 10 years via 400 million messaging interactions (and more every day). That belief was critical in inspiring this naive 21 year old that his idea wasn’t too crazy after all.

Since John’s initial gift of $10,000 to help kickstart CareMessage, John and the Kissick Family Foundation have contributed more than $1 million to CareMessage, support that has been critical in enabling us to build the foundation of CareMessage over the past decade.

Belief is a powerful thing. John exemplified that. I am so sorry that he has left this world, but I know that his legacy and impact will live on forever.

Thank you, John, for everything. May you rest in peace.