Radiology Summit — Speakers
Brian Baker has enjoyed over twenty years in the Diagnostic Imaging and Technology sectors of healthcare as a strategist and serial entrepreneur. Today, as Vice President for Regents Health Resources Inc., a Brentwood, Tennessee-based consulting firm specializing in the diagnostic imaging industry, he is focused on business strategy and development for their clients. In addition to being published in several trade journals and one book, Mr. Baker also volunteers for the Center for Practical Health Reform as an advisor on healthcare technology.
JoAnn M. Berk is a Sr. Vice President in the Client Services division of Dominion Medical Management. She manages a team of experienced Revenue Cycle Management professionals in support of Dominion’s clients across 10 states. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, and has held regional and national sales management positions with several medical products’ sales and distribution organizations.
John Boyes, MD, MBA attended medical school at the University of Wisconsin, and then went on to a radiology residency at the University of Washington. He was president of his radiology group for nearly 30 years, during which time he founded numerous imaging joint ventures. After his retirement from clinical practice, he earned an MBA from the University of Massachusetts and served as board chairman of a four-county Blue Shield plan. He spent two years as the physician ombudsman for a four-state Blue Shield plan and is currently the executive director of Washington Managed Imaging, a statewide radiology IPA.
Ted Burnes, MPA earned an undergraduate degree in government and politics from George Mason University and a Masters of Public Administration from The George Washington University. Mr. Burnes has worked as a consultant on numerous political campaigns at the local, state and federal levels. He has also lobbied at the state and federal levels on various issues, including health policy. Most recently, Mr. Burnes worked at The Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Association as the Director of National Advocacy Outreach.
Karen Damon, BS RT(R), RCC is a MedLearn Senior Healthcare Consultant whose responsibilities and expertise include: Data Quality Chargemaster and Record Reviews, Charge-Capture Operational Assessments, Charge-Capture and Coding Education for the departments of radiology, cardiology and radiation oncology. As a healthcare professional of 30 years, Ms. Damon has held the position of administrative director in both Minnesota and Oklahoma healthcare systems, which included management of the departments of radiology, cardiac catheterization and radiation oncology. She has also fulfilled the role as a quality facilitator and has performed clinical procedures as a technologist in the areas of radiography, ultrasound and special procedures and cardiac catheterization. Ms. Damon graduated from Minneapolis Abbott-Northwestern Hospital School of Radiologic Technology and earned her bachelor’s degree in Organizational Administration from Northwestern College in Roseville, Minnesota. She has co-authored an AHRA publication in 2004 and writes a radiology publication for Medical Learning Incorporated. Ms. Damon maintains her radiographer and coding credentials with the American Registry of Radiologic Technologist (ARRT) and the Radiology Coding Certification Board (RCCB).
Cindy Daniels, MS, ARRT, RT (R), is Chairman of the Board for the American Society of Radiologic Technologists. She began her career as a radiologic technologist at Washington University’s Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology. Ms. Daniels has been a staff radiologic technologist, a clinical instructor, and a radiography program education coordinator. She received her undergraduate degree and certification in radiologic science from the University of Missouri – Columbia and her Master of Science in Human Resource Management and Development from National-Louis University.
W. Kenneth Davis, Jr., JD is a partner in the law firm of Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP. He counsels healthcare providers on the structuring, growth and ongoing operations of all types of businesses and relationships including initial business model development, analysis of regulatory, compliance and reimbursement issues, negotiation of contracts, various types of financings, and mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Davis received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Chicago and his law degree with honor from DePaul University College of Law.
Senator David F. Durenberger, JD served as Senior United States Senator for Minnesota from 1978 to 1995. He now serves as Senior Health Policy Fellow at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis Minnesota and chairs the National Institute of Health Policy (NIHP). Senator Durenberger gained national health policy leadership as a result of his many years of service and leadership with the Senate Finance Committee , the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and the Environment Committee.
Today, he influences the future of the nation’s two major public health programs as a member of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), the Kaiser Foundation Commission on the Future of Medicaid and the Uninsured, the National Committee on Quality Assurance (NCQA) and the National Commission for Quality Long-term Care. He is also Advisory Board Chair of the Medical Technology Leadership Forum. He is author of Prescription for Change and Neither Madman Nor Messiahs and teaches and speaks nationally on the future of healthcare delivery and policy.
Mary T. Fedele, MS is the Executive Director of Carolina Regional Radiology located in Fayetteville, NC. She has over twenty years of practice management experience involving billing office operations, contract management, compliance, facilities development, budgeting, and marketing. Ms. Fedele worked for five years in the medical billing software industry managing new practice implementations. She has both private practice management experience as well as, academic practice management experience. She has served on several Boards including being a past president of the CNY Chapter of the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
David B. Feldstein, JD, is corporate counsel of AmeriFinancial Solutions, LLC (AFS) a collection agency specializing in the collection of healthcare receivables. AFS is headquartered in Sparks, Maryland. Mr. Feldstein has been with AFS since 1993 and in addition to the general counsel duties, he serves as compliance officer overseeing all compliance matters. Prior to joining AFS, Mr. Feldstein was a general practitioner with an emphasis on debt collection. Mr. Feldstein earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland, College Park and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Baltimore School of Law. Mr. Feldstein gives compliance training to groups on both the FDCPA and HIPAA. He is a member of the American Collectors Association Member Attorney Program.
L. Scott Garrett is the Corporate Compliance Officer for PresGar Medical Imaging in Tampa, Florida. PresGar Medical Imaging owns and provides administrative services to single and multi-modality Diagnostic Imaging Centers in eight states. He has over 30 years experience in healthcare in the areas of clinical laboratory and corporate compliance. Prior to his current position, Mr. Garrett was the Director of Corporate Integrity for the University Community Health System in the Tampa Bay area. He holds a BS degree in Medical Technology and an MBA from the University of South Florida. Mr. Garrett is a past President of the Florida Healthcare Corporate Compliance Association of the Florida Hospital Association.
William F. Jessee, MD, FACMPE is president and chief executive officer of the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA), headquartered in Englewood, Colorado. He holds academic appointments at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver, and at the University of North Carolina School of Public Health, Chapel Hill. Dr. Jessee is Board Chair of Exempla Health System (Denver), Board Treasurer of National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF), and Board Chair of Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME). He received his undergraduate degree at Stanford University and his medical degree at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.
Eartha Jean Johnson, JD, SPHR is president and chief executive officer of LegalWATCH, a risk mitigation training company she formed in 1997 after practicing law for a Fortune 100 company, and working for the United States Department of Justice and an international law firm. She uses the knowledge and expertise she acquired practicing law to help companies avoid mistakes that can often force them into settlements or litigation. Ms. Johnson currently serves on the boards of Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) and National Institute for the Severely Disabled (NISH). She just completed an unprecedented eight-year term as chair/vice chair of the Women’s Lawyers Division of the National Bar Association. She also served on the National Women’s Business Council, a bi-partisan Federal government council that advises the President, Congress and the US Small Business Administration on economic issues important to women.
Lauren Krebs is a radiology recruitment specialist for American Medical Recruiters. She is formally trained and extensively experienced in recruiting, marketing, and placing physicians. She attended the University of South Florida majoring in Business Administration and Public Relations. Ms. Krebs currently represents private practice radiology groups as well as academic radiology departments throughout the country. Through her relationships with numerous administrators and radiologists, she has become very familiar with the procedures utilized when adding a radiologist.
Patrica Kroken, FACMPE, CRA is a former radiology practice manager and has worked as a business consultant to radiology practices, billing companies, hospitals and imaging centers for the past 8 years. She is a regular contributor to the RBMA Bulletin and various national radiology publications--as well as a frequent speaker on radiology management topics. She is a Fellow in the American College of Medical Practice Executives and a Certified Radiology Administrator.
Wendy Lomers, CPA, MBA, administrative director for Radiology Associates of San Antonio, is responsible for strategic planning and management of a multi-hospital based practice as well as nine wholly owned imaging centers. The practice is wholly owned by 14 shareholder radiologists and has a staff of 24 subspecialty trained radiologists. A Certified Public Accountant, she also holds an accounting degree and a Master's degree in management. Ms. Lomers has served on the RBMA Board as a Southern Regional Director and is currently serving as a member of the RBMA Finance and Membership Committees along with RBMA's Managed Care Task Force. Past privileges include presidency of Texas RBMA Affiliate.
Christine J. Lung, CAE is the director of government relations for the American Society for Radiologic Technologists. One of ASRT’s initiatives she is directly involved in is statutory and regulatory recognition of the radiologist assistant, or RA. Since 2004, Ms. Lung has worked with over 20 states, Congress and federal agencies to facilitate the adoption of this new medical imaging discipline. Ms. Lung holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s certificate in public administration from the Florida State University, and is a certified association executive by the American Society of Association Executives.
Robert Maier, CPA is CEO and founder of Regents Health Resources, Inc. He is a former CPA, and from 1977 to 1984, was the CFO and then CEO of Heights General Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Since 1984, he has been CEO of LINC Management Services, Healthcare Resource Management and most recently as president and CEO of Regents since 1996. He has extensive experience in planning medical imaging services including the formation of joint ventures and the development of new imaging centers.
Carolyn Merriman, FRSA is president of Corporate Health Group, LLC (CHG), providing consultation on customer-focused healthcare strategies for physicians, employers, payors and consumers. She facilitates strategic development, program assessments and implementation and provides training in sales, customer service, leadership and teleservices. Ms. Merriman has been a professional sales and leadership trainer for over thirty years; her training audiences include physicians, senior leadership, board members, clinical/operations teams and dedicated sales and service staffs. She brings a blend of strategic and “hands on” experience to the customer’s situation, helping build a customized approach that the client can implement with demonstrated results.
Elizabeth Miller is vice president of client services for AmeriFinancial Solutions, LLC (AFS) a full service collection agency with an emphasis on the collection of past due healthcare debt. AFS is located in Sparks, Maryland, and collects debt for practices and facilities throughout the United States. Ms. Miller has been employed with AFS since the company was established in 1990. In her capacity as a vice president, she is responsible for overseeing AFS’s Client Service Department, which includes servicing and retention of existing clients, as well as overseeing all front-end processing, including data processing, IT and the payment processing department. Prior to her employment with AFS, Ms. Miller spent six years as a manager for a national receivables company.
BethAnn Neynaber, CPBA, CPVA, TriMetrix is president of Fast Track Conversations. Her 25 years of consulting experience includes helping firms like International Dairy Queen, Medtronic, Fisher Rosemount or The Arizona Republic attract the right team members, develop the right team members and retain the desirable team members. She is an author of “The G.I.F.T.S. of Joy, 20 Gifts You Give Yourself to have More Fun.” Her undergraduate and graduate work was at St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, Minnesota.
Joshua S. Pollatsek, MBA, with over twenty years experience in the health care industry, is the Vice President of Client Services for CodeRyte, Inc., and responsible for implementations and account management. Before joining CodeRyte, he spent almost twenty years with 3M Corporation, most immediately as the Six Sigma Director for the Health Care Business, a diverse four-billion dollar healthcare enterprise. As the Six Sigma Director, Mr. Pollatsek was responsible for overall Six Sigma direction including process improvement, product development and Lean Manufacturing implementation. Mr. Pollatsek holds an MBA from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Pitzer College.
Maurine Spillman-Dennis, MPH, MBA
Maurine Spillman–Dennis, MPH is a Senior Director in the Department of Economics and Health Policy at the American College of Radiology (ACR) and has worked at the ACR for two years. She is a graduate of Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin and also holds a Masters of Public Health/Masters of Business Administration from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Ms. Spillman-Dennis has a wealth of experience in the new code development and payment valuation process, having served with the American Medical Association (AMA) as Senior Health Policy Associate in the area of physician payment services from 1992-1997. She also has experience as a Senior Health Care Consultant with Ernst & Young and the Alliance Consulting Group. Prior to joining the ACR staff, Ms. Spillman-Dennis worked at the American Society of Neuroradiology (ASNR) for several years as the Director of Clinical Practice Services. In that role, she monitored CPT coding, RBRVS, FDA regulations, and Practice Guidelines.
Jill Stratton has worked at the senior level of healthcare outreach and sales program development, training and management for almost 20 years. Her expertise is in working with healthcare organizations that want to start outreach and consultative sales to the physician, employer and payor markets, and working with existing outreach and sales programs that want to assess their programs and train their staff to maximize organizational goals and strategic initiatives. Her work in the field as a consultative sales and outreach specialist further enhances her ability to connect with her clients through the sharing of real life experiences during training and planning consulting engagements. Ms. Stratton has served as faculty and presenter for several healthcare societies and associations, such as AHA Society for Healthcare Strategy & Market Development, Forum for Healthcare Strategists, Ryan-NAOHP, and Healthcare Financial Management Association. She is also a member of the AHA Society for Healthcare Strategy and Development, National Association of Occupational Health Professionals and the National Wellness Institute. Ms. Stratton received her Bachelor’s of Science from Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
Timothy P. Trysla, JD joined Alston & Bird in March 2005 and is counsel in the Health Care Group. He has nearly twenty years of health care policy experience in the private sector, as well as the executive and legislative branches of the federal government. Most recently, Mr. Trysla served as senior policy advisor to the administrator at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). In addition to advising the administrator on matters of Medicare and Medicaid policy, he worked as liaison for CMS to the White House and Congress on Medicare reform and prescription drug coverage issues. He served as administrator-designee and speechmaker to large medical specialty and beneficiary groups and helped manage the development, passage and implementation of the Medicare Part D program.
Mr. Trysla counsels clients on regulatory and transactional healthcare matters and investigations, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement and legislative strategy and represents a diverse group of clients, including hospitals, investment banks, medical device manufacturers, PBM’s, long-term care pharmacies, diagnostic suppliers and durable medical equipment manufacturers.
Mr. Trysla speaks regularly on pharmaceutical pricing, Medicare Advantage reimbursement and health care reform to provider and investment groups such as Pharmaceutical Education Associates, Financial Research Associates “Medicare Advantage Summit,” and Wharton Health Care Business Conference.
Mr. Trysla received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Nebraska, a Masters in Health Economics from the London School of Economics and a J.D. from Columbus School of Law of Catholic University. He is admitted to practice in the state of Nebraska and the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.
Andrew B. Wachler, Esq. is the principal of Wachler & Associates, P.C. He graduated Cum Laude from the University of Michigan in 1974 and Cum Laude from Wayne State University Law School in 1978. Mr. Wachler is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, Health Care Law Section (Health Providers Subcommittee, past member Health Care Law Section Council), American Bar Association, Health Care Law Section, and the American Health Lawyers Association.
