Schedule

Liz Even, BSN, MSN, RN, CEN currently serves as the Associate Director of Clinical Standards Interpretation in the Division of Healthcare Improvement at The Joint Commission. In this role, she collaborates with the Standards Interpretation Group by interpreting the intent of standards, providing guidance to organizations and Surveyors, and supporting the accreditation process.

Ms. Even has over 14 years of acute care hospital experience specializing in emergency medicine. With a focus on communication and safety, she is committed to professional development, safe environments of care, and nursing leadership. Prior to joining The Joint Commission, Ms. Even served as the Patient Care Manager of Emergency Services at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. She also held a leadership position within the department of surgical education at Northwestern University in Chicago where she served as the Nurse Educator for all medical students in addition to serving as a contributing author for several publications. She is BCEN certified in emergency medicine as well as trauma nurse certified and has served as one of the clinical leads in developing a 3-tiered security approach in response to violent traumas.

Ms. Even earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing and a Master’s Degree in Nursing Administration from University of Illinois at Chicago in Chicago, Illinois.

Herman McKenzie is currently a Director in the Standards Interpretation Group at The Joint Commission. In this role, he manages all activities associated with the daily operations of the Physical Environment Department, provides standards interpretation and education to Joint Commission Surveyors and accredited organizations, reviews equivalency requests and survey reports, conducts surveys and Intracycle Monitoring conference calls, serves as faculty for educational programs, and is a speaker for national, regional, state, and local audiences.

Mr. McKenzie has over 30 years of health care experience having held managerial and director-level roles in Clinical Engineering, Plant Operations and Facilities Services throughout the Chicagoland area. Previously, he was a part of the team that opened the first new hospital in Illinois in over 25 years.

Mr. McKenzie is a certified healthcare safety professional (CHSP), and is a member of the American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE) and the Healthcare Engineers Society of Northern Illinois (HESNI) serving as president from 2013 - 2014. Mr. McKenzie has also been selected as Board Director for the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI).

Mr. McKenzie earned his Master of Business Administration from Governors State University, University Park, Illinois, and a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics Management from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois. Mr. McKenzie is a Certified Yellow Belt. With this designation, he supports The Joint Commission’s activities associated with establishing and sustaining a Robust Process Improvement® (RPI®) culture. As a Certified Yellow Belt, he is trained in the foundational concepts and tools of problem solving and makes improvements to better meet customer expectations and organization objectives.

Terry is Vice President of Ambulatory Surgery Centers for Community Health Systems in Nashville, Tennessee. Terry served as President of the national ASC Association (ASCA) from 2014 to 2016 and as President of the California Surgery Center Association (CASA) from 2012 to 2014. Terry was Vice President of Operations for two national surgery center companies and has been Administrator of a large, multi-specialty ASC.

Terry is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and a Certified Administrator Surgery Center (CASC). He holds a master’s degree in Healthcare Administration and an undergraduate degree in Accounting. He served as adjunct assistant professor at the University of Florida in the Masters in Healthcare Administration program. He retired as Commander in the United States Navy Reserve after 24 years of military service.

John Goehle is the Chief Operating Officer and partner with Ambulatory Healthcare Strategies, LLC - a Rochester, New York-based ASC management and consulting services company.

Prior to forming AHS, Mr. Goehle developed and managed two Rochester New York-based ambulatory surgery centers and provided management consulting services for a wide range of health care organizations, primarily in the Northeast.

Mr. Goehle has a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh Scotland, and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from Ithaca College in Upstate New York. He holds the prestigious Certified Administrator Surgery Center (CASC) credential. He is also a Certified Public Accountant in the State of New York. Mr. Goehle is also an accreditation surveyor with the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Healthcare (AAAHC).

Mr. Goehle is the host of the ASC Podcast with John Goehle available on iTunes and Google Play. He is also a frequent speaker on health care finance, technology and administration and has authored or co-authored eight books related to the ASC Industry including Ambulatory Surgery Center Governance - A Guide for Ambulatory Surgery Center Owners & Governing Body Members and The Survey Guide for ASCs – A Guide to the CMS Conditions of Coverage & Interpretive Guidelines for Ambulatory Surgery Centers. He is a former board member with the Federated Ambulatory Surgery Association and one of the founders of the New York State Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers.

Jan Kleinhesselink, RN, BSHM, CPHQ is the Chief Quality Officer of Lincoln Surgical Hospital and associated entities. As CQO Ms. Kleinhesselink oversees the leadership of Health Information Technology, Laboratory services, Quality services and the Regulatory Compliance departments for the hospital and ASC. She has participated in the development and management of Ambulatory Surgery Centers and Specialty Hospitals.

Ms. Kleinhesselink has been a surveyor for Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) since 2008 and is the immediate past president of the AAAHC Institute for Quality Improvement. A seasoned professional; she has several published articles and has spoken at multiple national conferences including AAAHC Achieving Accreditation. She has been named in the Becker’s publication “130 Women Hospital and Health System Leaders to Know” years 2015-2018.

David Shapiro, M.D. is an anesthesiologist from Florida who has had extensive experience serving as a department chair, medical director, and board member of several ambulatory surgery centers. Dr. Shapiro currently serves on the Boards of both the Florida Society of Ambulatory Surgery Centers (FSASC) and the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) and is a Past President of ASCA. Additionally, he is Chair Elect of the Board of the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC), an organization for which he also conducts healthcare facility surveys on behalf of AAAHC and Medicare.

Dr. Shapiro is also on the Board of the Ambulatory Surgery Center Quality Collaboration (ASC QC), which develops, measures, and publicly reports national ASC quality data. Further, he serves on the Board of the Facility Guidelines Institute (FGI) and participates as a member of their Health Guidelines Review Committee (HGRC).

Captain Shults is a former Southwest Airlines pilot and the captain of the crippled Southwest 1380 flight, which made an emergency landing in Philadelphia after an unexpected engine failure and rapid depressurization. Captain Shults’ ended her incredible journey with Southwest Airlines in September 2020, with a final commercial flight she regards as “bittersweet." Captain Shults became a carrier qualified Navy pilot, earning her wings of gold in 1987 at Beeville, Texas. She then served as a flight instructor in the T-2 Buckeye before going on to fly as an electronic aggressor pilot in the A-7 Corsair and then the F/A-18 Hornet. She was one of the first women to go through A-7 weapons training, as well as being one of the first to fly the F/A-18 Hornet. Captain Shults also holds a split degree in PreMed and Agribusiness from MidAmerica Nazarene.

Captain Shults’ incredible and uplifting novel, Nerves of Steel, tells the story of her tireless pursuit of becoming a pilot and the challenges she faced along the way, including safely landing the severely crippled Southwest Airline Flight 1380. Through her experiences, Captain Shults teaches readers how to face challenges with grace, cultivate strong habits, and turn adversity into strength.

Captain Shults captivates audiences with her life story and the adversity she faced on her path to becoming a pilot. Through her fierce determination, Captain Shults demonstrates the building blocks necessary to lead and manage a crisis even under severe pressure. Through her insight, Captain Shults has motivated thousands of individuals to transform adversity into strength, and strength into the courage to take action.

In 2020, Captain Shults committed herself to joining a network of pilots dedicated to volunteering for the nonprofit organization, Angel Flight. The organization arranges free, non-emergency air travel for children and adults with serious medical conditions and other compelling needs. Captain Shults will serve among many other honorable pilots who donate their aircraft, piloting skills, and flying costs to help families in need. To learn more about Angel Flight or get involved, visit Angel Flight’s website at the link below.

Speaker Bio

Speaker Bio

Nina Goins lives in Nashville TN and serves as Vice President of Quality and Clinical Services for AMSURG. She has more than 30 years of healthcare leadership, quality and safety experience. Before joining AMSURG, she served as Vice President of Quality and Performance Improvement with Ardent Health Services where she developed the corporate Quality Department and established a Patient Safety Organization resulting in outcomes improvement across the organization. Goins earned her nursing degree from St. Mary’s Nursing School and University of Tennessee and a Master of Science in Nursing from Vanderbilt University.

Kimberly Mezera, MD, grew up in Wisconsin; in 1987, she graduated from the University of North Texas and received her medical degree and training at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. She completed her residency for general surgery at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas and then finalized her expertise in hand and micro-vascular procedures at the prestigious Hand Fellowship Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, New York.

Dr. Mezera is recognized not only as a leader in her industry, but she has a love for teaching others as well. As the director of Parkland’s hand and upper extremity services, she has spent over 13 years teaching residents about the latest techniques and procedures for helping patients recover from fractures, lacerations, tendon injuries, soft tissue and nerve damage. Dr. Mezera is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon who specializes in the treatment of hand and upper extremity conditions, including pediatric cases. She has been honored by D Magazine as “Best” by her peers and in Texas Monthly for the past several years as a top physician.

Carrie Millsap is Chief Operating Officer at Monterey Peninsula Surgery Center, an ambulatory surgical center with 5 facilities on the Monterey Peninsula. Carrie boasts more than 18 years of experience in healthcare, with expertise in ASC operations, revenue cycle, and strategic growth and quality re-engineering. She launched her career as a clinical nurse and ascended the ranks to administration and outpatient facility management. She has an extensive track record reflecting high marks in ASC management. Carrie oversees the development of strategic initiatives and market expansion on the Central Coast, manages payer and partner relationships, and manages the development of new service lines to support physician and patient needs. Carrie served as Director of Operations for Northern and Central California at Surgical Care Affiliates where she managed five surgery centers and delivered over $30M in annual revenue. She is co-owner of Wellspring Associates, a management firm servicing healthcare organizations.

Caitlin Zulla serves as Chief Executive Officer of Surgical Care Affiliates (SCA), a specialist alignment organization and leader in the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) industry with more than 260 surgical facilities and 10,000 teammates across the country. Prior to her role as Chief Executive Officer, Caitlin served as SCA’s Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer.

Under Caitlin’s leadership, SCA has experienced increased profitability and significant growth – adding 96 ASCs in the past three years. In 2022, Newsweek recognized 89 of SCA’s ASCs as “America’s Best” – doubling that of industry competitors. In her tenure as CEO, Caitlin led the organization through the COVID-19 pandemic, maintaining industry-leading NPS scores of 92, preserving 100% employment of all teammates with no furloughs, and improving teammate engagement index score by 480 bps.

Beyond her key involvement in SCA’s growth, Caitlin has been the architect of SCA’s diversity, inclusion and belonging program. Caitlin and the SCA Women’s Network were bestowed the Healthcare Businesswoman’s Association 2020 ACE Award for exemplary workplace initiatives that are working to close gender and racial inequities in healthcare. She also serves on the Board of Directors for One World Surgery – a nonprofit aimed at delivering quality, accessible surgical care in developing countries.

Caitlin earned a Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University, a Master of Public Health and Health Management from Colombia University, and a Master in Healthcare Delivery Science from Dartmouth College.

Since joining HST as Chief Operating Officer in 2014, Tara has been responsible for training, support, marketing, and product management during a period when the company’s client base increased by 250 percent.

She has deep expertise in helping healthcare organizations leverage information technology to improve operational efficiency and revenue cycle management. Her introduction to HST came when she was Vice President, Finance Operations, for Surgery Partners, where she oversaw the selection and implementation of a unified ASC practice management system that enabled the company to improve workflow, facilitate operations, standardize reporting, and enhance the management of financial processes.

Before that, she served as a radiology software sales executive for acute care hospitals and revenue cycle expert for corporate owned independent diagnostic treatment facilities.

Tara holds an MBA from the University of Alabama, Birmingham, and a BS in Psychology from the University of Florida.

Gina Throneberry is the Director of Education and Clinical Affairs for the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA). In this role she educates members and non-members to the Medicare Quality Measure Reporting Program for ASCs. She also works with federal agencies (Medicare, CDC, FDA, OSHA) in regards to clinical, regulatory, and quality issues/concerns among the ambulatory surgery center industry. Ms. Throneberry is a board member of the Tennessee Ambulatory Surgery Center Association. She is also a surveyor with the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Healthcare (AAAHC).

Larry Taylor has over 30 years of experience in healthcare delivery, management, and physician relations. Currently serves as Vice President of Business Development for Surgical Care Affiliates. Current responsibilities entail M & A as well as leading the companies de novo process. Prior to joining SCA, he founded Practice Partners in HealthCare, Inc, an ASC company heavily focused on the development of ASC projects. Larry’s commitment to clinical outcomes, patient safety and healthcare providers who deliver them have remained priorities throughout his career. Larry has served as an adjunct professor in healthcare at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, participates as a Board Member on several non-for-profit entities, is a current board member of ASCA and Immediate Past President. He is a graduate of West Virginia University and a Nationally Certified Athletic Trainer and CASC.

Andrea Lessner is currently the Senior Director of Perioperative Services at USPI's OASIS Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. Andrea has focused her perioperative career in Orthopedic and Neurosurgery service lines and the implementation and execution of robotic technology. In addition to her hands-on clinical experience, she acted as the perioperative clinical supply manager for an Arizona based hospital system where she led value analysis and new product and technology committees reviewing the most current surgical implants and capital technologies. Early recognition of industry site of care changes provided Andrea the opportunity to use her hospital robotics program expertise to design strategy specific to ambulatory surgery centers. Under her direction, robotics cases were performed in just 3 business days after the delivery of their robotic system. Andrea credits multidisciplinary clinical pathways focused on precision and reproducibility for service line success and supports robotics in our value-based care era.

Jay B. Umansky is an attorney, and principal of THE LAW OFFICES OF JAY B. UMANSKY, P.C., a St. Louis based law firm. A 1979 graduate of St. Louis University School of Law, Mr. Umansky has devoted his forty plus years in the practice exclusively to the representation of creditors, and has become a specialist in the collection needs of health care providers. For fifteen years, Mr. Umansky was the partner supervising the health care unit of the Midwest’s largest creditors’ rights law firm. He decided to form his own firm in order to better meet the needs of his health care clients, and opened his own office in February of 2002. Mr. Umansky has been a frequent lecturer on the subject of creditor’s rights, speaking before the Healthcare Financial Management Association, the American Guild of Patient Accounts Managers, the Clinic Managers Association of Greater St. Louis, the Midwest Healthcare Management Association, the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, and has been a faculty member speaking before attorneys at seminars sponsored by the Missouri Bar, the Commercial Law League of America, the National Business Institute, Lorman Business Institute, and the University of Missouri, Kansas City Law School.

My architectural firm, Marasco & Associates, has helped design/develop over 400 ASCs across the country, making our experience, thus expertise, unmatched in the industry. We have helped complete dozens of additions/remodels and understand the complexities of this type of project. I have lectured at AAASC, ASCA, Becker’s ASC, OOSS… & written for The Monitor, OR Today, SurgiStrategies, Outpatient Surgery… on ASC design/development. I was the first architect to be recognized by Today’s Surgicenter as a “Who’s Who in the Ambulatory Surgery Industry.”

Speaker Bio

For over 20 years, Janie Kinsey has been serving and delivering excellence to the healthcare industry. She is a seasoned veteran who genuinely loves what she does. Her passion dates back to 1998 when she began her career as a surgical nurse. Janie later grew into an administrative role where she managed staff members and directly focused on patient satisfaction. With CASC credentials, Janie strives to provide progressive care by developing and implementing programs that improve patient experience. Janie stays active in the healthcare community by attending conferences, speaking at events, and serving as a board member. Janie enjoys speaking on various topics and interacting with her peers in the healthcare field. She currently serves the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association as the Vice President of the Board of Directors. Personally, she enjoys spending time with her family and traveling.

For the past five years, Mr. Fazio has been a senior director of financial analysis for the ambulatory surgery center division of Community Health Systems. Mr. Fazio's primary responsibilities in his current role include managed care analysis, case costing, and financial modeling for potential de novo projects or acquisitions. Prior to his current role, he spent more than eighteen years as a healthcare equity analyst for several Wall Street firms.

Pauline Wilson is an Associate Vice President of Patient Relationship Solutions, Revenue Management at AMSURG Corp. Over the course of her 20 years at AMSURG, she has worked in Finance, Marketing, Business Operations and Revenue Management in addition to collaborating with senior leadership, stakeholders, and various other departments. Currently, Pauline is primarily responsible for patient engagement and satisfaction across all centers with a specific focus on the business office. Her work involves providing customer service content and training at the corporate office and at centers, performing assessments to improve efficiency at front offices in the ASC and practices, and managing and co-writing business office policies.

Pauline holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and a Master’s in Business Administration from Tennessee State University. She currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee.

Michael S. Powers, MBA, RRT -Administrator, Children’s West Surgery Center which is a pediatric, free standing ambulatory surgery center in Knoxville TN. Michael has over 35 years of healthcare experience with many of those years being focused on Pediatric Ambulatory Surgical Care. He is currently a member of the TASCA Board of Directors and participates on the legislative committee. Michael’s accomplishments include being published in professional journals for both pediatric surgery center administration and studies performed in the field of respiratory care. He was also listed twice by Becker ASC Review as an ASC administrator to know. His hobbies include just about anything to do with the outdoors and traveling.

Fawn Esser-Lipp has been in the OR for over 20 years and has held various positions, including SPD and scrub nursing. Fawn is currently the Executive Director for a multi-specialty ASC in a suburb of Milwaukee WI. She has held the role of Infection Prevention Coordinator in the past and has helped to train the current infection prevention coordinator. Currently Fawn serves on the COVID Task Force at her center, as well as in charge of Risk Management and Quality Assurance. She serves on her state's ASC Board Association (WISCA), maintains various certifications in the nursing and OR industry, and has been part of the ASCA community for the past 10 years.

Speaker Bio

For the past five years, Mr. Fazio has been a senior director of financial analysis for the ambulatory surgery center division of Community Health Systems. Mr. Fazio's primary responsibilities in his current role include managed care analysis, case costing, and financial modeling for potential de novo projects or acquisitions. Prior to his current role, he spent more than eighteen years as a healthcare equity analyst for several Wall Street firms.

Terry is Vice President of Ambulatory Surgery Centers for Community Health Systems in Nashville, Tennessee. Terry served as President of the national ASC Association (ASCA) from 2014 to 2016 and as President of the California Surgery Center Association (CASA) from 2012 to 2014. Terry was Vice President of Operations for two national surgery center companies and has been Administrator of a large, multi-specialty ASC.

Terry is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and a Certified Administrator Surgery Center (CASC). He holds a master’s degree in Healthcare Administration and an undergraduate degree in Accounting. He served as adjunct assistant professor at the University of Florida in the Masters in Healthcare Administration program. He retired as Commander in the United States Navy Reserve after 24 years of military service.

Salvatore Puccio is a Partner at Garfunkel Wild, P.C., which he joined in 2008. He is a member of the firm’s Employment Law, Cannabis, Litigation and Arbitration, and Appellate Groups. Sal's practice primarily focuses on advising and counseling health care providers on their day-to-day business operations.

Sal has particular experience in counseling clients concerning the employer-employee relationship including the defense of age, race, gender, national origin, disability discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuits, compliance with workplace regulations and employment statutes, and wage and hour lawsuits. Sal also focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation matters and has represented clients in breach of contract matters, managed care disputes, partnership disputes and breakups, antitrust matters, construction litigation, landlord/tenant disputes, and employment disputes.

Nader Samii, as CEO of National Medical Billing Services, has guided the company into its position as the largest and most reputable revenue cycle management company in the ASC market. Nader leads the company’s strategic direction with a strong emphasis on exceptional client services, lean and efficient processes, cutting edge technologies, and insightful analytics. Prior to National Medical, Nader was the co-founder and President of Ajuba International, a leading healthcare revenue cycle outsourcing company that was created in 2001 and grew to approximately 2,000 employees by 2009. Prior to Ajuba, Nader was an investment banker at both Merrill Lynch and Dillon Read & Co. (now UBS Securities) and also served as a corporate finance attorney at the 400-member law firm of Dykema Gossett.

His business experience and understanding of the ASC market has created deep consultative ties with our clients. Nader is currently a member of the Public Affairs Committee for the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association, as well as an active member of the Healthcare Financial Management Association. Nader has a BBA/BA in finance/economics from the University of Notre Dame, where he played on the Men’s Varsity Tennis team, and he has a JD/MBA from the University of Wisconsin.

Michael J. Patterson is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Mississippi Valley Health.

For the past 20 years, his professional career has encompassed a variety of positions in healthcare ranging from a Registered Nurse in a Level I Trauma Center to the Chief Administrative Officer of a 350 bed community hospital and Chief Nurse Executive of a 3 hospital health system.

Michael has served over 23 years in both the Active and Reserve components of the US Navy and was deployed multiple times to provide Trauma care around the world. He retired with full honors in 2012.

Michael is a graduate of Northern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and the University of Illinois at Chicago with a Master of Science in Nursing where he was awarded the Distinguished Nurse Alumnus in 2010. He is also a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Joan Dentler is president and chief executive officer of Avanza Healthcare Strategies, which provides healthcare organizations with strategic guidance, with a focus on outpatient services and community collaborations. For more than 25 years, Joan has been consulting on, developing or operating ambulatory surgery centers, hospital outpatient services and outpatient strategy. She founded ASC Strategies in 2007 and Outpatient Strategies in 2011, unifying the two companies under a single brand, Avanza Healthcare Strategies, in 2013.

Joan's breadth of experience and disarming nature help her quickly build trust and establish credibility with clients and other stakeholders. She is known for her incisive business acumen and elegant solutions to complex problems. Before founding Avanza, Joan worked in healthcare administration, serving as a hospital liaison for physician-hospital joint ventures and as an administrator of community-based women's health and pediatric primary care facilities.

Speaker Bio

Lisa has 30 years of experience in the ASC industry and has been doing infection prevention for over 25 years. She has developed programs to train new infection preventionists and is certified in sterile processing and holds the CAIP certification.

Lisa has worked in every area of the surgery center including circulating, scrubbing, safety officer, infection preventionist, business office manager, administrator and corporate clinical leader. In a previous role, Lisa was the epidemiologist for her county Health Department. In her current role, Lisa is Director of Clinical Education & Training for Surgical Care Affiliates. In this role, she develops onboarding and training programs for the clinical staff at the corporate enterprise level. Lisa is a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt. Lisa has a BSN from the University of Cincinnati and a MSN and MEd from Xavier University.

Mary learned to scrub while in Nursing school at the University of Iowa and has remained in the perioperative field ever since. Early in her nursing career, she was appointed the Director of Nursing role for a startup surgery center and accepted the Administrator position in 2001. Mary held positions such as Regional Manager and Clinical Consultant for Health Inventures. She assisted start up centers as they became certified, helped others achieve or maintain accreditation. Additionally, Mary has served as a Group Clinical Director for Surgical Care Affiliates responsible for the clinical results for 18 centers. She currently is a Senior Consultant for Amblitel. Mary was one of the founding members of the Iowa ASC Association and served as the first President. Mary currently serves on the Board of Ambulatory Surgery Certification (BASC) and is one of the speakers for the Management Essentials for ASC Administrator course.

I have worked as a teacher, supervisor, professor, instructional designer, change leader, mentor, and facilitator. I have a bachelor's in Sociology and a Master's in Anthropology and in Information Science. For over 20 years I have helped teams develop and grow. I have certifications in DiSC, Change Style, Teamwork, coaching, facilitation and more. I have worked with non-profits, NGO's, government, higher education, and corporate groups to grow individuals, create team, and impact customer experience.

Karen, CEO of DISC Surgery Center at Newport Beach (DISC), delivers best in class patient care and complex outpatient Spine surgery management. Karen grew DISC from the initial concept of the company (2005) to the platform asset sold to Surgical Care Affiliates (SCA) (2014). Foreseeing healthcare’s evolution, Karen guided DISC’s Surgeon repurchase of DISC from SCA (2018). Today, Karen leads DISC's ASC and Practice growth and operational efficiencies. Since departing SCA, volume has more than doubled. Through Karen, DISC extends beyond the confines limited by SCA, delivering a best-in-class business model with denovos in partnership with Surgeons and Payors. Lastly, Karen leads Valor-For-Life, DISC's charity coordinating medical and financial assistance to Special Forces members and their Families.

Karen is a Vizient Council Member, is published in AORN journal and frequently presents at Becker’s, AORN Congress, ASCA, CASA and OR Excellence.

Daren Smith is Director of ASC Solutions for Surgical Information Systems. In this role, Daren serves as a product and industry subject matter expert, frequently speaking at industry events and contributing to industry publications. Previously, Daren worked as the director of clinical services for Surgical Management Professionals (SMP), an ASC and surgical hospital management and development company. Daren has also held the position of director of outpatient services for Avera McKennan Hospital, administrator and CEO of Fremont Surgical Center, and nurse manager at Grand Island Surgery Center.

He is a graduate of Clarkson College and the University of South Dakota.

Speaker Bio

Speaker Bio

Speaker Bio

Speaker Bio

Will graduated from the University of California, San Diego, in 1986, and graduated from the University of San Diego School of Law in 1989. Will is an Equity Partner with the San Diego, California, law firm of Higgs, Fletcher & Mack, LLP, and is the former Chairperson of the Firm’s Health Care Group (years 2011-2021). For the past 31 years, Will’s practice has included civil trial litigation, with an emphasis in the representation of healthcare clientele in both State and Federal courts.

Will represents healthcare clientele in their business litigation, administrative law, and medical malpractice matters; to date, he has represented both national, and state-wide, healthcare clientele in over 500 matters. His clients include Ambulatory Surgery Centers, Hospitals, Physicians, and other Allied Health Professionals.

Will has received the highest rating (A-V) available from Martindale-Hubbell for legal ability and ethics, has been distinguished as a designated “Super Lawyer for Southern California” by Thomson Reuters, the “Best of the Bar” by the San Diego Business Journal, and a “Top Lawyer” by San Diego Magazine.

Debra Stinchcomb has 30 years of health care experience including development, clinical, administrative, operations and sales. The last 20 years have been focused exclusively in the ASC industry.

Her responsibilities have included budget development/management, revenue/expense management, contract negotiation, licensing/certification/accreditation compliance, marketing, risk management, quality improvement and benchmarking.

Debra is a Registered Nurse having received her BSN and MBA. She is the founder/past President of Arkansas Ambulatory Surgery Association and has served nationally as a past board member of FASA and the ASC Association. She is currently the past President of the Arkansas Ambulatory Surgery Association. She received her CASC credential in 2002.

Debra was an AAAHC surveyor 2001 - 2007 and is Past Chair of the Ambulatory Joint Commission Professional and Technical Advisory Committee.

Debra participates on Quality Committee of ASCA as well as the BASC Board.

Naya Kehayes is a Principal and Ambulatory Surgery Practice Leader at ECG Management Consultants. Prior to ECG, she was the Founder and CEO of Eveia Health Consulting. She has spent more than 25 years in the healthcare industry and 20 years in consulting. She has devoted her career to working with ASCs, surgical hospitals and surgeons, and has a proven track record as a strategic adviser to clients in ASC operations, managed care contracting, reimbursement, and financial analysis. Naya is a member of the ASCA Government Affairs Committee. She is a board member, the Payment Policy Chair and past President of the Washington Ambulatory Surgery Center Association. She has numerous publications, is a national speaker and a lecturer at Yale University School of Public Health. Naya earned a B.A. from the University of Rochester and a Masters of Public Health from Yale University.

Rebecca began in ASC leadership as Business Director for two high volume, multi-specialty surgery centers in south Florida. Rebecca joined SurgCenter Development in 2008 as Director of A/R & Materials where she worked to help develop over 20 ASCs. Rebecca then went on to become VP, Revenue Cycle & Managed Care Contracting for a surgery center/surgical hospital management company directing a CBO for its 18+ Clients. As a founding partner of NSN Revenue Resources, Rebecca served as President and built an unmatched team with diversified experience serving over 100 clients.

In January 2021, Rebecca joined USPI as Vice President, Revenue Cycle Operations, overseeing revenue cycle services provided to 210+ ASCs. In this role, Rebecca is focused on developing operational strategy, seeking and embracing innovation, and leveraging organizational culture to continuously improve outcomes for clients.

Robert Marinich, Senior Vice President of Sales at HST, leads a national sales team working with Ambulatory Surgery Centers to identify operational and clinical efficiencies utilizing HST's integrated ASC software platform. As a leader within HST, Robert acts as an agent of change and liaison between the centers and the HST organization. He is continuously working with clients to facilitate an increase in the quality of healthcare by delivering meaningful solutions to the market.

Marcus Crider is a partner in the Labor & Employment group at Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP. A broad range of companies – from some of the world's largest employers in manufacturing, healthcare, transportation, retail, and grocery, as well as various hospitality companies, start-up companies and family-owned businesses – rely on Marcus to defend them in labor and employment matters. Marcus’s experience includes numerous federal jury trials involving alleged violations of Title VII, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, and common law retaliation. He also defends matters involving the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Department of Labor, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and the National Labor Relations Board. Chambers USA and Best Lawyers recognize Marcus as a leader in his field. He earned his J.D. from the University of Arkansas and his undergraduate degree from Northwestern Louisiana State University.

An experienced trial attorney, Flynne Dowdy represents employers in federal and state courts, mediation proceedings, settlement negotiations, EEOC hearings, and other adversarial proceedings. Flynne counsels employers on their enforcement of company policies and procedures, and advises human resources professionals in the recruitment, hiring, employment, and termination of employees. Clients across a wide range of industries rely on Flynne to investigate and resolve labor and employment matters including allegations of harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful discharge.

Speaker Bio

Arnaldo Valedon, MD is an anesthesiologist practicing outpatient perioperative management for twenty five years. He received his BS at Cornell University and his MD degree at the University of Pennsylvania. He continued his training in anesthesiology and critical care medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, with sub-specialty training in pediatric anesthesia at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He is currently serving as the Medical Director for Outpatient Perioperative Services at WellSpan Health. He is a Past Chair for the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Healthcare (AAAHC) and a board member of AAAHC-International (Acreditas Global). He is a member of the General Assembly and Executive Committee for the International Association for Ambulatory Surgery (IAAS), and Past President of SAMBA. He has been involved with the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) as part of the ambulatory surgery committee.

Dr. Valedon is the president and CEO of Knightstone Consulting Group and has been actively consulting on day surgery and perioperative management in the U.S., Central and South America, India, and the United Kingdom. He has been an invited speaker at multiple conferences nationally and abroad.

Greg DeConciliis began his career as a Physician Assistant in Orthopedics in 1999 at New England Baptist Hospital. In May of 2004, he left the hospital to start-up Boston Out-Patient Surgical Suites in Waltham, MA, an Orthopedic and Pain Management ASC. BOSS, as the Center is known, averages around 450 cases per month, and consistently achieves monthly profit margins over 40%. Greg is also President of the Massachusetts Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers, and a Member of ASCA's State Affairs Committee. Greg has been named one of the top Administrators to Know numerous times in Becker’s ASC Review; has authored numerous articles for the outpatient surgery industry, speaks nationally, and he continues to be active as a Physician Assistant, still scrubbing in on complex cases each week.

Julie K. Moyle, MSN (Duke '91), BSN (Vanderbilt '86) has worked in staff, charge nurse, and manager roles in the ORs of UF Health Shands Hospital and Duke University Medical Center. She was drawn to Colorado and the opportunity in 2003 to open and manage the surgery department at the first LEED certified hospital in the US, Boulder Community Foothills Hospital. She currently practices at Avista Adventist Hospital Ambulatory Surgery Center, and in 2015, joined the staff of Practice Greenhealth, a non-profit organization of more than 1300 hospitals and health system members working to reduce their environmental impacts. She has spoken at ASHE, CleanMed, AORN and OR Business Manager events, national webinars, and other forums on implementing environmental best practices in inpatient and outpatient surgical settings. A current member of AORN, Julie served on the Guideline Advisory Board, and authored the AORN Environmental Responsibility Statement as a subject matter expert in health care sustainability.

Dr. Norris joined Tenet Healthcare and United Surgical Partners International in 2016 and serves as the Vice President of Clinical Operations and Group Chief Nursing Officer with oversight for USPI’s nursing operations, clinical practices, quality, and safety. She serves as an Editorial Board Member for the International Journal of Nursing Sciences and Clinical Practices, and as a board member for the Ambulatory Surgery Center Quality Collaborative.

As a clinician, Tamala worked frontline in hospitals and was a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner. After leaving the bedside she served as a hospital then system leader of Quality, Patient Safety, Risk Management, and Regulatory Operations. Tamala holds a bachelor’s in nursing from South University and a Doctorate in Healthcare Administration from Walden University.

Alfonso del Granado, MBA-HC, CASC, is the Administrator of Covenant High Plains Surgery Centers (CHPSC) in Lubbock, Texas. He has 25 years of leadership experience in practice management, hospital administration, compliance, and corporate development and is a regular presenter at Becker’s ASC and Becker’s Spine, Ortho & Pain conferences. He joined CHPSC just before the COVID shutdown, helping keep the center open and profitable, and recently guided its bariatric program to “Center of Excellence” recognition and Blue Distinction Center designation, as well as developing the first ASC-based robotic joint replacement program in West Texas and ranking in the top 5% in Newsweek’s America’s Best Ambulatory Surgery Centers. He is currently developing CHPSC’s DaVinci surgical robot program, another West Texas ASC first.

CHPSC is a joint venture with Covenant Health System, Azura NCP, and 44 physician partners and 85 surgeons performing 8,000 cases per year in a wide range of specialties.

Speaker Bio

Becky is an avid proponent of the ASC industry, is certified as a Surgery Center Administrator, and currently serves on the ASCA Board. She has been employed at a multi-specialty, independent surgical center for the past thirteen years.

With a background in leadership, healthcare compliance, survey preparation, health information management, performance improvement, and revenue cycle management, her career expands the entire healthcare spectrum, encompassing acute care, long term care, psychiatric care, outpatient clinics, and outpatient surgery.

As a seasoned ASC professional, she has undergone a multitude of CMS surveys and has led her organization in strategies that provide ongoing survey readiness. Becky is dedicated to the ASC industry and being able to demonstrate the provision of quality, safe care through ongoing compliance with regulatory standards.

Marcus Crider is a partner in the Labor & Employment group at Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP. A broad range of companies – from some of the world's largest employers in manufacturing, healthcare, transportation, retail, and grocery, as well as various hospitality companies, start-up companies and family-owned businesses – rely on Marcus to defend them in labor and employment matters. Marcus’s experience includes numerous federal jury trials involving alleged violations of Title VII, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, and common law retaliation. He also defends matters involving the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Department of Labor, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and the National Labor Relations Board. Chambers USA and Best Lawyers recognize Marcus as a leader in his field. He earned his J.D. from the University of Arkansas and his undergraduate degree from Northwestern Louisiana State University.

An experienced trial attorney, Flynne Dowdy represents employers in federal and state courts, mediation proceedings, settlement negotiations, EEOC hearings, and other adversarial proceedings. Flynne counsels employers on their enforcement of company policies and procedures, and advises human resources professionals in the recruitment, hiring, employment, and termination of employees. Clients across a wide range of industries rely on Flynne to investigate and resolve labor and employment matters including allegations of harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful discharge.

Michelle George is Vice President of Clinical Services with Surgical Care Affiliates. Michelle has over 35 years of experience as a registered nurse. She has worked in various areas of nursing including critical care, emergency and trauma, and surgical services. Michelle has served in multiple hospital and ambulatory surgical center leadership roles, served on professional advisory boards, as affiliate faculty to a nursing program and professional speaker to professional and state healthcare organizations. She has authored various nursing journal articles and been contributing author to a healthcare textbook. Michelle completed a Master’s in Nursing Administration program at San Diego State University and holds a Certified Administrator Surgery Center certification. She serves on the ASCA Education Committee, is a past-president for ASC Quality Collaboration Board of Directors and is the current President for California Ambulatory Surgery Association.

Speaker Bio

Lea Schilit graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelors in Food Science and Human Nutrition in 2000, a Masters in Nutrition from Florida International University in 2003, a Doctorate in Pharmacy from Nova Southeastern University in 2009, and then completed a pharmacy practice residency at Nova Southeastern University/Broward Medical Center in 2010. In 2010 she joined HCA as a clinical pharmacist and in 2011 transitioned to HCA’s Ambulatory Surgery Division (ASD) as the Division Director of Clinical Pharmacy for HCA East Florida and helped to create the role of the pharmacist in the ASD. In 2017 she was promoted to Assistant Vice President of Clinical Pharmacy for the Eastern Region of the ASD of HCA. Dr. Schilit has been a speaker on pharmacy related topics at state and national ambulatory surgery society and anesthesia society conferences over the last ten years.

Dr. Grichnik is the Chief of Anesthesiology Services at Surgical Care Affiliates, where she supports strategic partnerships and models to create stakeholder value, align anesthesiology services and supports quality, safety and operational success. She has extensive executive experience as the President of American Anesthesiology (2019-2020), the VP for Clinical Development, Surgical Directions Consulting (2018-2019), the CMO for the Cleveland Clinic’s Indian River Hospital (2016-2020) and the VP of Quality and Safety at Mednax Inc. (2013-2016). She was a Cardiothoracic Anesthesiologist at Duke University, rising to Full Professor (1991-2013). At Duke, she was also the Associate Dean for CME, a member of the Duke Patient Safety Center, the Director of the Center for Educational Excellence, and the Director of the Chancellor’s Clinical Leadership Program. Dr. Grichnik earned her MD from Tufts University School of Medicine, completed her anesthesiology residency, thoracic, vascular and pain management fellowship training at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and her cardiac fellowship at Duke University.

Kimberly Prinsen has over 36 years of experience as a nurse in the perioperative specialty. Kim holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Allen College in Waterloo, IA, and a Master of Science in Nursing Leadership from the same institution.

Kim joined 3M in 2014. She is an Advanced Clinical Application Specialist with 3M Medical Solutions Division. Her current role focuses on antiseptics including, nasal decolonization and perioperative skin preparation. Her work involves both product and program development. She has presented on HAI related topics throughout the United States and in turn created educational content for her colleagues to present globally.

Prior to joining 3M, Kim served as a Clinical Director of Surgical Services at a Hospital in Iowa. Kim also served in the Navy Reserves as part of the Fleet Hospital and is a member of AORN and APIC.

She currently serves as Director of Revenue Cycle at in2itive Business Solutions in Overland Park, KS. She is a Certified Revenue Cycle Executive and former Certified Professional Coder. Throughout her career, Jessica has placed an emphasis on applying strategic thinking to advance operations, decrease expenses, improve customer satisfaction, maximize revenue, and increase growth for the clients and organizations she serves. Prior to joining in2itive, Jessica earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Capella University while gaining valuable experience throughout her 10-year career with HCA Healthcare. At HCA, Jessica held various roles beginning with checking in patients, working her way up to practice management, and eventually centralized business office management where she served 8 Ambulatory Surgery Centers. In her current role, Jessica enjoys serving her teams in providing world-class revenue cycle services to ASC's across the country.

Matt is a Principal with ECG Management Consultants and has spent more than 20 years leading and advising organizations focused on ambulatory services. He has guided surgery centers, health systems, and physician group practices through the process of assessing and improving financial and operational performance. Matt often assists distressed providers in re-engineering their managed care relationships and business operations. Moreover, he has helped a number of new ASCs prepare for success by negotiating appropriate initial commercial contracts that positioned start-up providers for immediate as well as long-term success.

Speaker Bio

Speaker Bio

Jason is a partner at Wood, Smith, Henning & Berman, LLP's San Diego office where his practice focuses on labor and employment. He represents employers of all sizes in a myriad of complex employment matters.

His work includes representing clients in single-plaintiff employee litigation, wage and hour class actions, and Private Attorney General Act (PAGA) representative actions. Jason represents clients in state and federal court, arbitrations, and administrative proceedings, in addition to counseling clients on employment issues. Jason also handles complex business litigation disputes involving real estate, business dissolution, unfair competition, breach of contract, and trade secret claims. He has successfully represented clients in appeals in the California Court of Appeal and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. He has secured countless victories for clients, including a reversal of a class certification decision on an interlocutory appeal, resulting in the decertifying of a statewide class of more than 20,000 retail employees in an expansive wage-and-hour case. Jason also obtained a full defense judgment after trial of a PAGA representative action involving wage-and-hour claims of over 20,000 retail employees who had made nine-figure demands. He is frequently called upon to present on employment matters at both statewide and national conferences.

Rena Courtay is currently the AVP of Perioperative Ambulatory Surgery at Duke University Health System where she oversees the ambulatory surgery platforms for the Health System. Before this Rena was President of Solutions for Outpatient Surgery, an ASC consulting firm. Prior to this Rena was the Vice President, Executive Director of HSS (Hospital for Special Surgery) Florida. Rena has over 25 years of experience in the ASC industry and has been an operating room nurse, a DON, a surgery center Administrator and spent over 15 years as an RVP for HCA and Surgical Care Affiliates. Rena served on the Board of Directors of the Florida Society for Ambulatory Surgery Centers for many years. She also serves on the ASCA education committee. Rena earned her BSN from The Ohio State University and her MBA from Youngstown State University.

Scott Grubman is an attorney who represents healthcare providers of all types and sizes in connection with government investigations, both criminal and civil, False Claims Act litigation, and regulatory compliance. Scott has successfully represented ASCs in connection with these matters. Prior to joining private practice, Scott worked for the United States Department of Justice, where he investigated and prosecuted healthcare fraud matters and was a member of his district's healthcare fraud task force. In addition to his law practice, Scott speaks at conferences nationwide on topics of government enforcement and healthcare compliance, and also serves as an adjunct professor of law at both Emory University Law School and Georgia State University School of Law, where he teaches courses related to healthcare fraud and abuse and white collar crime.

Christopher M. Dembny R.Ph. is president and owner of Dembny Pharmacy Consultants LLC. He is a graduate of the University of Kansas School of Pharmacy and has been a consultant pharmacist since 1991. He currently provides consulting services to over 200 healthcare entities, including ambulatory surgery centers, free-standing emergency rooms, specialty hospitals, and physician office practices. He served on the Board of Directors of the Texas Pharmacy Association for five years, most recently serving as the vice-president in 2011-12. He also served for 5 years on the Texas State Board of Pharmacy. He provides years of expertise and experience as a consultant pharmacist.