Here are 107 great women leaders in the ASC industry, listed in alphabetical order.
Margaret Acker, RN, MSN, CASC. Ms. Acker is the CEO of the Blake Woods Medical Park Surgical Center in Jackson, Mich., a multi-specialty, physician-owned surgery center. Previously, she served as nursing supervisor/house manager at Foolinte Hospital and clinical nurse manager for Foote Health System (now Allegiance Health) in Jackson.
Amy Allard. Ms. Allard is administrator of Ramapo Valley Surgery Center in Ramsey, N.J. The center opened in the fall of 2005, and surgeons at RVSC perform around 4,500 cases annually. The multi-specialty ASC focuses on orthopedics, general surgery, ENT, podiatry, pain management, ophthalmology, gynecology and dentistry. Ms. Allard has been with RVSC since early in its construction phase.
Lisa A. Austin, RN, CASC. Ms. Austin serves as vice president of ASC operations for Pinnacle III. She currently is a board member of the Colorado Ambulatory Surgery Center Association and serves on the surgery center advisory board of MedAssets.
Sandy Berreth, RN, MS, CASC. Ms. Berreth is the administrator of Brainerd Lakes Surgery Center in Baxter, Minn., a multi-specialty ASC that performs approximately 4500 cases a year. She has been in the ambulatory surgery management arena for 12 years and has been with the center in Baxtor since 2004. Recently she completed her AAHC surveyor training and has obtained her privileges from AAAHC as a participating surveyor.
Cristina Bentin, CCS-P, CPC-H, CMA. Ms. Bentin is a principal and the founder of Coding Compliance Management, a consulting company specializing in coding support, reimbursement and training for ASCs and specialty hospitals. She is nationally recognized as a leading freestanding ASC coding educator, speaker and writer with more than 19 years of hands-on experience in ASC multi-specialty surgical coding as well as physician office coding.
Lee Anne Blackwell, RN, BSN, EMBA, CNOR. Ms. Blackwell is a director of clinical services, quality and safety for Surgical Care Affiliates. In this position, she is responsible for developing and coordinating clinical-quality strategies, best practice programs, and patient safety initiatives for over 60 facilities including surgery centers and surgical hospitals. Ms. Blackwell's accomplishments include patient care and surgical services in the hospital and surgery center arenas and development of several formal and self-paced nursing clinical education programs,
T. Taylor Burnett. Ms. Burnett is CEO of Plastic and Hand Surgery Associates, a large plastic surgery practice that is the parent company of The Plastic Surgical Center of Mississippi, a physician-owned multi-specialty licensed surgery center in Flowood, Miss. Ms. Burnett is the administrator for The Plastic Surgical Center and lead the turn key operation that opened in August 2003. She is the current president of the Mississippi Ambulatory Surgery Center Association and occasionally consults for other ASCs and their particular concerns.
Regina Boore, RN, BSN, MS. Ms. Boore is the principal and CEO of Progressive Surgical Solutions. She has more than 25 years of clinical, administrative, teaching and consulting experience in ambulatory surgery. Prior to coming to Progressive Surgical Solutions, Ms. Boore worked as a perioperative nurse, OR supervisor and ASC director.
Bonnie Brady, RN. Ms. Brady is the administrator of Specialty Surgical Center, a multi-specialty, two-OR ASC in Sparta, N.J. Ms. Brady has served as administrator of SSC since May 2008. Ms. Brady is a board member of the New Jersey Association of Ambulatory Surgical Centers and has written articles for Becker's ASC Review and Source Medical webinars. Her ASC was recently featured in a New Jersey physician magazine as a notable surgery center.
Mary Beth Brust, CASC. Ms. Brust, vice president of operations for Health Inventures, joined the company in 2000 and was promoted to her current position in 2003. She has over 18 years of progressive experience in healthcare administrative positions and has been involved in outpatient service delivery for 12 years. She began her career as a medical lab technologist and has since advanced through a series of hospital and administrative positions.
Kathy J. Bryant, JD. Ms. Bryant is the president of the ASC Association and leads the activities of the nation's largest ASC membership association. She also serves as president of the Ambulatory Surgery Foundation. She recently announced she will leave the association this fall.
Sue Dill Calloway, RN, MSN, JD. Ms. Calloway is a nurse attorney and president of Patient Safety and Healthcare Consulting. She was the past vice president of legal services at a community hospital in addition to being the privacy officer and the compliance officer. She worked for over 8 years as the director of risk management and health policy for the Ohio Hospital Association. She was also the immediate past director of hospital patient safety and risk management for The Doctors Insurance Company in Columbus area for five years. She does frequent lectures on legal and risk management issues and writes numerous publications.
Susan Charkin. Ms. Charkin is president of Healthcents, an ASC and physician-specialty hospital contracting and consulting group. She has 15 years of experience in senior contracting positions with Health Net, Blue Shield of California, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Washington, D.C., Aetna and MaxiCare. Ms. Charkin is also an author and national speaker on managed care contracting issues and has been published in several journals.
Monica Cintado-Scokin. Ms. Cintado-Scokin is the senior vice president of development for United Surgical Partners International, and she has been with USPI since 1998. Prior to joining USPI, Ms. Cintado-Scokin provided development and operations support in the international group at HCA.
Kelli Collins, RN. Ms. Collins is regional vice president for Surgical Care Affiliates, which manages more than 125 ambulatory surgical facilities and surgical hospitals. With 30 years of experience in the medical field and an operating room nurse by trade, Ms. Collins currently oversees the development, operations and management of a network of surgery centers in North and South Carolina. She has extensive experience in creating and nurturing physician partnerships and developing joint ventures with health systems such as the Wake Med Health System in Raleigh, N.C.
Mary Ann Cooney, RN. Ms. Cooney is the administrator of Riverside Outpatient Surgery Center in Columbus, Ohio, a multi-specialty facility with six ORs and one minor procedure room. Currently, ROSC is a joint venture between OhioHealth and a physician group and is managed by Health Inventures. Ms. Cooney began her career in nursing and gained valuable experience in the hospital setting prior to joining the surgery center in 1981 as the administrator.
Rebecca Craig, RN, CASC. Ms. Craig is CEO of Harmony Surgery Center, a multi-specialty ASC in Fort Collins, Colo. Ms. Craig has been with the center since it opened nearly 10 years ago. She began her career as a registered nurse, working at a rural hospital in the OR, PACU, gastroenterology and pain management areas. She held several management roles in perioperative services before moving into outpatient and ambulatory surgery.
Deborah Lee Crook. Ms. Crook is the administrator of Valley Ambulatory Surgery Center in St. Charles, Ill., a seven-OR, multi-specialty surgery center. Ms. Crook has been with Valley ASC since 1993 as a pre-op nurse. She served as director of nursing at Valley's post-surgical recovery care center before becoming administrator of both facilities in 2006. Ms. Crook began her career as a staff nurse with experience in cardiac and ICU nursing.
Vicki Dekker. Ms Dekker is the director of business development at Blue Chip Surgical Center Partners. Prior to joining Blue Chip, she was responsible for the business office supporting the ENT, Neurosurgery and Neurology Departments at the University of Minnesota. Ms. Dekker also managed an ENT Group in Atlanta, where she developed and managed a single-specialty ENT surgery center that included facial plastic surgeries.
Ann S. Deters, MBA, CPA. Ms. Deters is CEO and co-founder of Vantage Outsourcing (formerly Vantage Technology), which provides complete cataract outsourcing services to hospitals and ASCs throughout the midwest, south, southeast and west into Colorado. She also serves as founder of 7D, a consulting and management service company for ASCs across the United States.
Renee Duff. Ms. Duff has more than 14 years experience managing physician practices owned by a large integrated health system. During that tenure, she was responsible for the general office functions (including coding, billing, and collections) for a number of primary care physicians and surgical specialists. Ms. Duff oversees MCG Billing Services, a Medical Consulting Group affiliate that provides billing and collection services to ASC clients.
Vicki Edelman, RN. Ms. Edelman is the administrator of Blue Bell (Pa.) Surgery Center, a four-room, multi-specialty ASC that opened in Sept. 2008. Ms. Edelman has been with Blue Bell since May 2008, during the center's construction phase. She has been a nurse for 32 years and began her career in medical surgical nursing and high-risk obstetrics.
Rose Eickelberger. Ms. Eickelberger is the director of surgical services at Summit Surgical Center and Beacon West Surgical Center, both part of Beacon Orthopaedics in Sharonville, Ohio. Ms. Eickelberger began at Beacon in May 2006. Previously, she was the director of nursing at the Cincinnati Eye Institute for eight years, after having served as its assistant director for six years.
Stephanie Ellis, RN, CPC. Ms. Ellis is the president of Ellis Medical Consulting and has worked with most surgical specialties, assisting ASCs, physician practices, hospitals and outpatient clinics around the country in her consulting work. Prior to starting the company, she worked as a fraud investigator for the Medicaid program in Tennessee and served as a case manager and utilization review nurse.
Judith English. Ms. English is the vice president of business operations and a partner with Serbin Surgery Center Billing and Surgery Consultants of America. She has more than 35 years of experience in the healthcare industry and has assisted in the development and management of multiple ASCs.
Carolyn Evec, RN, CNOR. Ms. Evec is the administrator at The Surgery Center at Beaufort (S.C.) for eight years. Prior to coming to the center, Ms. Evec opened a surgery center in Missouri and served as the nurse manager at that location. She has 30 years of nursing experience and primarily worked in the OR.
Alisa Fischer, RN, MHSA, CASC. Ms. Fischer has several years in health care with administrative management experiences in a variety of settings including corporate, free-standing centers, and inpatient and outpatient areas. Ms. Fischer is currently the administrator of St. Augustine (Fla.) Surgery Center. Prior to St. Augustine, she served as an administrator at HCA and BayCare Health System. She also ran the operating room schedule at a 16-suite OR in Lexington, Ky.
Ann Geier, RN, MS, CNOR, CASC. Ms. Geier is senior vice president of operations with ASCOA and has been involved in the ambulatory surgery industry in management roles since 1985. She has worked in all areas of freestanding ASCs and HOPDs, including pre-assessment, pre-op, OR, and PACU. She has been a CNOR since 1992 and obtained her CASC certification in ASC administration. Ms. Geier speaks frequently at national meetings on topics relating to case costing, financial topics for ASCs, human resources and staffing, and clinical issues.
Mary Ann Gellenbeck, RN, CASC, CNOR. Ms. Gellenbeck is the COO of Prexus Health and is responsible for operations and quality of care for the company. She holds degrees in surgical technology, nursing and healthcare administration and has more than 28 years of experience in the surgical arena. Ms. Gellenbeck is a member of several associations including the ASC Association and AORN and is an advisory board member for Cincinnati State College.
Judy Graham. Ms. Graham is administrator of Cypress Surgery Center, a free-standing, multi-specialty ASC that opened in Dec. 2000. Ms. Graham has been with Cypress for more than nine years, since construction began. She has a strong clinical background in the operating room and ambulatory surgery and previously served as an OR manager and a clinical director in ASCs before becoming an administrator. Ms. Graham has over 35 years of clinical, managerial and administrative experience in the ASC industry and was named "operating room director of the year" in 1997 while employed by HCA.
Julie Greene, MBA. Ms. Greene is the executive director of the Grand Valley Surgical Center and Grand Valley Health Management in Grand Rapids, Mich. In her diverse roles, Ms. Greene oversees operations of one of the largest ambulatory surgery centers in western Michigan, and also consults with other centers and physician groups who are either exploring the development of a surgery center or require assistance in operations, regulatory compliance and business planning. In addition to her daily responsibilities, Ms. `Greene is an outspoken legislative advocate of surgical centers at both the federal and state level.
Amanda Gunthel. Ms. Gunthel is the administrator of Wilton (Conn.) Surgery Center, a two-OR, two-procedure room ASC that specializes in ophthalmology and pain management. Ms. Gunthel has been with Wilton since its inception, and before taking on the role of administrator, she worked for four years as director of practice management and development for the healthcare management firm that first opened the center.
Barbara Ann Harmer, RN, BSN, MHA. Ms. Harmer is a senior consultant for Healthcare Consultants International, the for-profit subsidiary of the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Healthcare. She is responsible for providing national and international consulting services for organizations seeking or maintaining compliance with national accreditation standards and other services such as office-based surgery development, assistance with policy and procedure formation, licensure and Medicare certification preparation. Before joining Healthcare Consultants International, she was a director of surgical services for Florida Hospital in Orlando and East Pasco Medical Center in Zephyrhills, Fla., and executive director of Surgical Services for Kennedy Health System in Cherry Hill, N.J.
Dare Hartsell, RN, MSN. Ms. Hartsell serves as vice president of clinical services for Practice Partners in Healthcare. She has over 15 years of healthcare experience including direct patient care experience in CVICU, PACU and PRE-OP. She has experience in capital equipment planning, accreditation support, state licensure, clinical policy and procedure development and staff education, physician credentialing, infection control, risk management, compliance and development in the ASC industry, which enables her to offer a broad scope of services to meet the clinical and regulatory support needs of ASCs.
Colleen Heeter. Ms. Heeter is senior vice president of operations design for Nueterra Healthcare. In her current position, Ms. Heeter oversees the financial, business and clinical components of operations design. She previously served as a group vice president for Nueterra and has more than 10 years of clinical experience coupled with an additional seven years of managing surgical services within the healthcare industry. Prior to joining Nueterra, Ms. Heeter served as administrator of Shawnee Mission Surgery Center, where she was responsible for financial administration, operations and human resource allocation.
Laurie Hendrix, RN, BSN, CASC. Ms. Hendrix is a senior vice president of Ambulatory Surgical Centers of America with over 20 years experience in all aspects of the ASC setting, including administrator, clinical coordinator and OR nurse. Ms. Hendrix was administrator of The Surgery Center in Columbus (Ga.) from 2000-2004. She has an associate degree in nursing from Highline Community College and a BSN from Columbus State University.
Carolyn R. Hollowood, RN, CASC. Ms. Hollowood is the administrator of City Place Surgery Center in Creve Coeur, Mo., which is located in West County of St. Louis. The center is housed in a medical office building and has four operating rooms. The physician-owned, multi-specialty facility focuses on orthopedics and pain management. City Place opened in Dec. 2000 and moved to its current location in April 2006. Ms. Hollowood has been a part of the center for 10 years, since it was at its original location. Prior to coming to City Place, she was a RN first assistant at an acute care center. She has 20 years of nursing experience.
Tracey Hood, RN. Ms. Hood is the administrator of Ohio Valley ASC and Mid Ohio Valley Medical Center in Belpre, Ohio. She previously worked as an ASC charge nurse, OR circulating registered nurse, PACU nurse, certified emergency RN, cardiac catheterization lab nurse and a critical care nurse.
Georganna Howell, RNFA, CNOR, CEN, LNC. Ms. Howell is administrator of Greenspring Surgery Center in Baltimore, part of OrthoMaryland, which opened in 2006. Ms. Howell joined Greenspring in June 2009.
Anita Hunter, RN, CASC. Ms. Hunter has been with Austin (Texas) Gastroenterology since 2000 as the administrator and chief nursing officer. She has more than 30 years of nursing experience and spent most of her time in the emergency and trauma department in varying positions. Ms. Hunter maintains membership in ASGE, SGNA, ENA, ASC, ASPAN and APIC. She has been actively involved in gastrointestinal nursing and looks forward to a long career in GI nursing. Ms. Hunter's management experience includes the director of trauma at Desert Regional Medical Center for several years and director of ER, GI, day surgery, employee health and post anesthesia recovery at the Heart Hospital of Austin as part of their opening management team.
Lauren Jensen, RN. Ms. Jensen is the nursing director of endoscopy centers for Digestive Health Management, which manages the Digestive Health Associates of Texas. The centers were developed over the last seven to eight years, and include Endoscopy at Redbird Square, Old Town Endoscopy Center, Central Park Endoscopy Center, Park Ventura Endoscopy Center and North Richland Hills Endoscopy Center. In addition to helping develop new centers, Ms. Jensen serves as a CPR instructor for her employers and for staff at the physician offices.
Beth Ann Johnson, RN. Ms. Johnson joined Blue Chip Surgical from LCA Vision where she was vice president of operations responsible for the growth of the ophthalmic surgery center business. Previously, Ms. Johnson was with Aetna as director of provider relations, recruitment and contracting for the tri-state region. She has extensive experience in the development and ongoing management of hospital-owned, minimally invasive surgery centers. She also supervised 13 operating rooms and the post-anesthesia care unit in Cincinnati's Good Samaritan Hospital, a major tertiary care medical center.
Ellen Johnson. Ms. Johnson is vice president and COO of Facility Development and Management and has more than 20 years experience within the healthcare arena. She has held management positions within a physician management firm and in various departments of a 370-bed suburban regional medical center. She also served as nursing director for a home care agency and a staff nurse in a medical surgical unit and newborn nursery of a community hospital. Prior to joining FDM, Ms. Johnson was director of clinical services and executive director of an emerging group purchasing organization for a physician management company.
Jen Johnson. Ms. Johnson is the managing director of professional service agreements with VMG Health. Her expertise is related to the in-depth knowledge required to understand fair market value challenges, market data and regulatory guidelines associated with valuing professional service arrangements associated with healthcare systems and life sciences companies. She previously worked with KPMG in their forensic and litigation services department and at University of North Texas as a finance professor. She earned her MBA in finance and her CFA designation while working for several companies as a consultant.
Milla Jones. Ms. Jones serves as vice president of communications and government relations for United Surgical Partners International. Ms. Jones has 35 years of healthcare experience, most recently with Baylor Health Care System in Dallas. Her responsibilities include coordinating and managing state and federal advocacy efforts for USPI and its partners and the development of a communication plan that will tell the "USPI story" to the community and USPI employees.
Sandra J. Jones, BA, MSM, MBA. Ms. Jones is executive vice president of ASD Management, a board member of the ASC Association and Ambulatory Surgery Foundation, and member of the ASC Advocacy Committee. She also owns Ambulatory Strategies. She has 30 years of experience in healthcare and has overseen or contributed to the successful establishment and development of more than 80 ASCs nationwide.
Kelly Kapp, RN. Ms. Kapp is the administrator of Specialty Surgery Center in Westlake Village, Calif. Ms. Kapp began her nursing career as an OR nurse at L.A. County Hospital. She then was an assistant at Southern California Orthopedic Institute and served as orthopedic coordinator at St. John's Regional Medical Center in Oxnard, Calif., for 13 years before accepting a director of nursing position at SSC.
I. Naya Kehayes, MPH. Ms. Kehayes is the founder, managing member and CEO of Eveia Health Consulting & Management. She is a nationally recognized expert in reimbursement, managed care and insurance contract negotiations for ASCs and surgical practices. Ms. Kehayes is a former president of the Washington Ambulatory Surgery Center Association.
Cindy King. Ms. King serves as director of quality services for Health Inventures. She has worked in professional nursing and management for over 32 years, including nearly 26 years in ASCs. She was instrumental in the development, launch and governance of several freestanding ASCs, including an Ohio center currently ranked among the nation's busiest. She was also an assistant director of nursing in a major long-term care facility. As director of quality services, Ms. King monitors quality management activities and assures that centers are in compliance with state, federal regulations and corresponding accreditation standards.
Beverly Kirchner, RN, BSN, CNOR, CASC. Ms. Kirchner is the owner and CEO of Genesee Associates. She has served on the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses board of directors, has authored many AORN manuals and leads research in collaboration with the organization on violence in the nursing workplace. Ms. Kirchner also sat on the Joint Commission Task Force that assisted in developing the 2009 standards format and content, as well as a task force to revise the National Patient Safety goal on medication reconciliation. She has been a member of the ASC Quality Collaboration group since it was founded.
Susan Kizirian, BSN, RN, MBA. Ms. Kizirian is the COO of ASCOA and has more than 23 years of experience in all aspects of ASC operations. Ms. Kizirian has served as an administrative executive and a consultant for ASC management and development, physician practice management, and clinical site research. She is one of the founders and lifetime president emeritus of the Florida Society of Ambulatory Surgical Centers, past president of the Ambulatory Surgery Management Society of the Medical Group Management Association and past treasurer of the American Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers.
Catherine W. Kowalski, RN. Ms. Kowalski is the executive vice president and COO for Meridian Surgical Partners. She has more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry and is the former executive vice president of operations and co-founder of Surgical Alliance Corp., a specialty surgical hospital company. Ms. Kowalski is also a registered nurse.
Beth LaBouyer, RN, BSN, CNOR. Ms. LaBouyer is the executive director of the California Ambulatory Surgery Association and has been a board member of CASA since 2000. Ms. LaBouyer previously served as director of Feather River Surgery Center in Yuba City, Calif., and as a surgical nurse and manager at Rideout Hospital in Marysville, Calif.
Anita Lambert-Gale. Ms. Lambert-Gale serves as vice president of clinical operations of HealthMark Partners. In addition to having operational accountability for Ambulatory Surgery Centers, she is responsible for managing the development of new facilities. Before coming to HealthMark Partners in 2002, Ms. Lambert-Gale served as director of quality standards for HealthSouth for six years. Ms. Lambert-Gale brings more than 25 years experience in healthcare and a decade in ambulatory care to HMP. She has extensive knowledge in licensure, certification and accreditation in addition to the operations experience.
Mary Beth Lang. Ms. Lang is senior vice president of business intelligence for Amerinet and president of Diagnostix, an Amerinet subsidiary. In her position, she oversees a team that analyzes data to help Amerinet members recognize and sustain significant savings. Prior to joining Amerinet, Ms. Lang directed pharmacy distribution and process improvement efforts at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
Linda LeBlanc. Ms. LeBlanc is the chief administrative officer for AH Holdings, a new entity created to provide shared services to TriMedx and its sister organizations — Axess Ultrasound, eProtex and TriMedx Foundation. Each AH Holdings organization provides medical equipment expertise in a different capacity. AH Holdings is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ascension Health, one of the nation's largest nonprofit health networks. Ms. LeBlanc was previously vice president of human resources at TriMedx. Prior to joining TriMedx in 2006, she worked as a human resources executive for ATA, Hillenbrand and Brown-Forman. Ms. LeBlanc has 30 years of experience in human resources.
Rebecca Lynn. As director of payor relations for Health Inventures, Ms. Lynn directs projects for multiple ASC clients and assists clients in all phases of third-party payor relations, financial forecasting and identifying opportunities to increase revenue. She has extensive experience in managed care and helps clients with new policy and procedure development as well as HIPAA regulations.
Marian Lowe. Ms. Lowe serves as a partner at Strategic Health Care in Washington, D.C., where she advises clients on Medicare policy and strategy. Through her work at SHC, she has represented the ASC industry in various capacities, including as a consultant to the AAASC and the ASC Association. She currently serves as executive director of the ASC Advocacy Committee, where she directs political, policy and public relations work on behalf of the industry. She has worked to improve Medicare payments to ASCs, expand the list of Medicare-covered services and maintain equitable policies for participation in Medicare. Prior to joining SHC, Ms. Lowe worked in a number of capacities at MedPAC, most recently as special assistant to the executive director.
Debbie Mack, RN, MSN, CNOR, CASC. Ms. Mack is vice president of operations for National Surgical Hospitals and president of the California Ambulatory Surgery Association. She has more than 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry and worked as an OR nurse, with experience in all surgical specialties. During the course of her career, she has been responsible for many operating room duties including serving as director of surgical services and staff development coordinator in an acute care hospital. Ms. Mack has also served on the CASA board of directors since 2003.
Sara McCallum. Ms. McCallum has worked and has actively been involved in the ambulatory surgery center industry for many years. She had worked all phases of peri-operative nursing prior to obtaining her MBA from Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. She has opened seven surgery centers from construction to operation and has served as an administrator at five of those centers. She is a licensed healthcare risk manager and obtained her certification as and many professional organizations. Three years ago she moved to Fond Florida Society of Ambulatory Surgery Centers in 1991 and served on the board of directors as president, treasurer and has maintained a board member emeritus status since 2001.
Dawn Q. McLane, RN, MSA, CASC, CNOR. Ms. McLane serves as CDO for Nikitis Resource Group, a firm that specializes in development, management, accreditation preparation and consultative work in the ambulatory surgery industry. She has developed and managed more than 20 surgery centers with Aspen Healthcare, NSC, Nikitis Resource Group and independently. Ms. McLane has worked in the hospital setting as director of surgical services and as a staff nurse in surgery, ER and OB.
Suzanna D. Majewski, CASC. Ms. Majewski possesses over twenty years of leadership experience in healthcare management. In 1994, she was employed by the Bedford Ambulatory Surgical Center, where she currently serves as COO. Her expertise includes overall management of facility and staff operations, oversight of compliance with state and federal regulations and development and implementation of marketing and strategic planning ventures. Additionally, her primary responsibilities include payor relations, including negotiation/maintenance of contractual agreements and oversight of all aspects of the accounts receivable process. Ms. Majewski currently serves at the ASC executive member on the board of directors of the New Hampshire Health Care Quality Assurance Commission, and is vice president of the New Hampshire Ambulatory Surgical Association.
Becky Mann. Ms. Mann is the director of Houston Orthopedic Surgery Center in Warner Robins, Ga. Ms. Mann came to Houston Orthopedic in May 2007 and was involved in the development of the center. Houston Orthopedic Surgery Center was featured in the September/October issue of FOCUS as a notable surgery center. Ms. Mann has been working in the medical industry for 37 years and in surgery or in post-surgical care for her entire career.
Marianne Maravich. Ms. Maravich is an account executive-clinical specialist at Kimberly Clark. With more than 30 years in the medical sales industry, Ms. Maravich is responsible for the launch and development of new pain management technologies for Kimberly Clark. She works with neurosurgeons, orthopedic and pain management physicians to sell new devices for spine pain relief. Prior to her career in pain management, she worked in sales and market development for several product and procedure lines for Ballard Medical and Kimberly Clark. The lines included a patented brand of suction catheters, which prevent hospital acquired infections in ventilator-dependent patients and a low-profile feeding tube for children.
Sarah Martin, MBA, RN, CASC. Ms. Martin is a regional vice president of operations for Meridian Surgical Partners. She has over 30 years of healthcare experience, focusing in the ambulatory surgery area for the past decade. Prior to joining Meridian, Ms. Martin was the regional director of ASCs for Universal Health Services and a regional vice president with Symbion Healthcare, where she managed both ASCs and specialty hospitals. She presently serves on the board of the ASC Association.
Chris McMenemy. Ms. McMenemy has been with Ortmann Healthcare Consultants since 2004 as vice president for administration. Before joining Ortmann Healthcare Consultants, Chris worked with IT consulting and software training at a large hospital system in Columbia, SC. With this background, Chris specializes in IT consulting for the centers OHC develop and with other pre-development activities, such as financial feasibility studies, ASC financing, ASC insurance, and HR benefits.
Melody Mena, RN, CNOR. Ms. Mena is director of surgical services for Southern Regional Health System in south metro Atlanta, and Spivey Station Surgery Center in Jonesboro, Ga. She began her career as an x-ray technician and then as an OR nurse. In 2006, Ms. Mena became director of surgical services for the former Surgery Center at Mt. Zion (now Spivey Station). She has also served director of surgical services for the entire Southern Regional Health System in 2008.
Evelyn S. Miller, CPA. Ms. Miller is the vice president of development for United Surgical Partners International and is responsible for the strategic direction of USPI's mergers and acquisitions efforts. Before joining USPI, she was executive vice president of Medway Health Systems, overseeing the financial operations of its medical clinics.
Krystal Mims. Ms. Mims is president of Texas Health Partners. She is responsible for the overall management of five managed facilities. These facilities are Texas Health Center for Diagnostics & Surgery Plano, Texas Health Surgery Center Denton, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Flower Mound, Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southlake and Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Rockwall. Ms. Mims was instrumental in the successful development and management of each of these facilities and has been with Texas Health Partners since its inception. Her background in healthcare began in physician practice management. She was CFO of Texas Back Institute and also administrator of Steadman Hawkins Denver Clinic. With extensive knowledge and experience in working with physicians, Ms. Mims has been successful in improving the health of the people in the communities Texas Health Partners serves.
Melodee Moncrief, RN, BSN, CASC. Ms. Moncrief is the administrator for the Big Creek Surgery Center in Middleburg Heights, Ohio. She has been with the center since Oct. 2005 and helped with the development, initial staff hiring and start-up of the center. She has more than 15 years of experience in the ASC industry after previously serving as a nurse's aid and an ICU nurse at a hospital. Ms. Moncrief served as an administrator of another center for 3.5 years before coming to Big Creek.
Amy Mowles. Ms. Mowles is president and CEO of Mowles Medical Management. As a fee based regulatory consultant, she not only provides rare and valuable expertise, but also educates, prepares and assists her clients with putting into practice all policies and procedures, provisions and standards; resulting in a facility that meets the highest standards for regulatory conformance and third part accreditation, without need to surrender exclusive ownership in an effort to secure outsourced management. She has successfully guided hundreds of single and multi specialty centers in 20 states across the USA.
Cindy Moyer. Ms. Moyer is the administrator of the Surgery Center of Pottsville (Pa.), a multi-specialty, two-OR center. Ms. Moyer has been with the center since it opened in 2006. She previously ran an ENT and allergy practice for 21 years and prior to that worked with an internal medicine group.
Theresa Palicki, MHA, MBA, CASC. Ms. Palicki is the administrator of Eastside Surgery Center, a multi-specialty surgery center in Columbus, Ohio. The center is a joint venture between physicians and OhioHealth and is managed by Health Inventures. Ms. Palicki joined Eastside in Nov. 2005, but she has held positions in healthcare administration since starting her career. She served as administrative director for Consolidated Health Services and was practice administrator for University Orthopaedic Physicians prior to coming to Eastside.
Elaine Peterson, RN, CNOR. Ms. Peterson has 22 years of experience working in a surgical environment as a nurse and consultant, managing a wide range of operational functions for orthopedic, neurological, pain management, ENT, GYN, plastic, and general surgeons. Prior to joining Medical Consulting Group, she served as the director of surgical services for a large orthopedic ASC that also offers pain management services. Ms. Peterson assists MCG clients with licensure, staff training, implementation of policies and procedures, equipment procurement, customization of supply packs, scheduling, accreditation preparedness, and clinical management for operating centers.
Linda Peterson, MBA. Ms. Peterson is CEO of Executive Solutions for Healthcare and has more than 30 years of experience in development and operational management of healthcare organizations. Her previous experience includes executive director for ambulatory care at The Joint Commission, corporate director of development/registered representative for HealthSouth, senior vice president of development for a startup ASC development company and ASC development consultant for a national ASC management and consulting firm. Ms. Peterson areas of expertise include the design, development and operational management of new business and product lines, mergers and acquisitions in the ambulatory service sectors for independent practices, groups, hospitals and integrated delivery systems.
Lori Ramirez. Ms. Ramirez founded Elite Surgical Affiliates in 2008, and now leads as its president and chief executive officer. In 2009, Lori helped launch Elite Orthopedics and Spine – which manages the day-to-day operations of physician practices. Elite Orthopedics and Spine provide the full continuum of services to their doctors. Before founding Elite Surgical Affiliates, Ms. Ramirez was a senior vice president at United Surgical Partners International. She was directly responsible for developing the second-largest network of surgical facilities for USPI in Houston and supervised more than 600 employees. Ms. Ramirez oversaw more than 20 surgical facilities, including two surgical hospitals.
Anne Roberts, RN. Ms. Roberts is the administrator at the Surgery Center at Reno (Nev.). She came to the Surgery Center at Reno in Feb. 2006 when it opened and became administrator in Oct. 2006. She began her career as a nurse in the emergency department, spending 16 years as a staff nurse and 10 years as the manager of a busy ED seeing 55,000 patients annually.
Lisa Rock. Ms. Rock serves as president of National Medical Billing Services, one of the largest ASC billing companies in the country. Ms. Rock is a seasoned healthcare management veteran with over 25 years experience in the industry. Her wide ranging background consists of director of training and education for Mid-Atlantic Medical Services and vice president of business office operations for an ASC development and management company. She has also managed private practices in the specialties of orthopedics, retina surgery, cardiology and anesthesia.
Suzanne Rogers. As vice president of human resources for Health Inventures, Ms. Rogers is responsible for all facets of human resources services provided to Health Inventures' ASCs. She has been employed by Health Inventures since 2000 in a variety of human resources roles and currently has operational responsibility for Employment Management Solutions, an employee staff leasing company owned by Health Inventures. She previously worked for CH2M Hill Companies and The Washington Group.
Mary Ryan, RN, CASC, MBA. Ms. Ryan is the administrator of Tri-State Surgery Center in Dubuque, Iowa, a multi-specialty facility with three operating rooms and two procedure rooms that is currently managed by Health Inventures. Ms. Ryan has over 20 years of experience in the OR. She joined TSSC in 1998 as director of nursing and then became the administrator of the center in 2001. Ms. Ryan has served as regional director during her tenure with Health Inventures and continues to provide clinical consultation. Ms. Ryan is also a past AORN chapter president and a founding member of the Iowa Ambulatory Surgery Center Association, where she is currently serving her second term as president.
Karen Sablyak. Ms. Sablyak is the CFO at Physicians Endoscopy. She has more than 20 years of experience in healthcare finance, billing and business operations. Prior to joining PE, Ms. Sablyak worked as a vice president of practice management for Allegheny University Hospitals in Philadelphia, PA. In her role at PE, Ms. Sablyak has directed a transition to a paperless AR billing system and strives to enhance performance through PE's payer contracting services, group purchasing discounts and performance benchmarking.
Donna St. Louis. Ms. St. Louis currently serves as a vice president for ambulatory services at BayCare Health System. Before joining BayCare, she was a group president for Symbion and responsible for more than 45 ASCs.
Molly Sandvig. Ms. Sandvig was named the executive director for the Physician Hospitals of America, then the American Surgical Hospital Association in November 2005. As such, Ms. Sandvig leads the organization's day-to-day business and operational functions and directs PHA's membership recruitment, public relations and political advocacy efforts. In addition, Ms. Sandvig serves as the president of the South Dakota Association of Specialty Care Providers, representing specialty hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers in South Dakota. She is currently serving a third term as a governor appointee to the South Dakota Healthcare Commission.
Marcy Sasso. Ms. Sasso is currently the administrator at Raritan Valley Surgery Center in Somerset, N.J. She previously was the director of operations at the Ambulatory Surgical Center of Union County in Union, N.J., since May 2004. Previously she served in many roles at other surgery centers and at Saint Barnabas Hospital. She was also the financial and legal administrator for a multi-physician practice and office manager for an outpatient physical therapy center. In 2000, Ms. Sasso and a fellow administrator started, and now co-chair, a surgery center coalition. The SCC now has over 75 other New Jersey centers as its members. She is also a very active volunteer and recently organized the shipment of medical supplies to Haiti following the earthquake.
Tona Savoie, RN. Ms. Savoie is administrative director of Bayou Region Surgical Center in Thibodaux, La. The ASC operates as a 50-50 partnership between physician investors and a subsidiary of the local community hospital, Thibodaux Regional Medical Center. It is managed by ASD Management. Ms. Savoie has been with Bayou Region since its start-up in 2007. Prior to becoming an administrator, Ms. Savoie worked as a circulator for three and a half years at a large hospital and three years as an operating room coordinator in an ASC converted to a hospital, where she previously circulated.
Caryl Serbin, RN, BSN, LHRM. Ms. Serbin is the president and founder of Surgery Consultants of America and Serbin Surgery Center Billing. She has more than 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry, with the last 18 years spent in ambulatory surgery administration and consulting.
Lynda Dowman Simon. Ms. Simon is the administrator at St. John's Clinic: Head & Neck Surgery in Springfield, Mo, the only ASC in Missouri dedicated solely to ENT procedures. The center performed its 30,000th case this July and has a patient satisfaction rating of 98.17 percent. Ms. Simon has been at her center since 1994. Prior to coming to St. John's, she worked for 13 years at a local hospital in the open heart center and urology. Ms. Simon is proud to say her coworkers stay at the center once hired, and she has not hired a new staff member in over three years.
Donna Slosburg. As executive director of the ASC Quality Collaboration, Donna Slosburg, RN, helps ASCs improve healthcare quality and safety by developing standardized quality measures, publically reporting quality data and assembling tools for infection prevention. Ms. Slosburg has worked in the healthcare industry for over 30 years and joined the ASC industry in 1987. As a leader in the ASC industry, she has served as a nurse manager, administrator and regional operations coordinator, as well as a senior vice president of surgery operations and national surgery specialist for HealthSouth, one of the nation's largest healthcare services providers.
Christina Smith, RN, MSN. As vice president, Ms. Smith leads the Amerinet Clinical Advantage consulting team on developing and implementing a process driven, evidence-based program which delivers improved margins and reduced supply costs for physician preference products. Ms. Smith joined Amerinet in 1998 with more than 18 years of progressive clinical leadership experience in perioperative services including staff member, nurse manager and administrative director of surgical services. Her varied healthcare background includes knowledge of both large urban teaching hospitals and small community-based facilities.
Cassandra T. Speier, RN. Ms. Speier has served as senior vice president of operations since November of 2007. She has senior clinical responsibility for NovaMed's surgery center operations and manages NovaMed's multi-specialty surgery centers. Prior to joining NovaMed, Ms. Speier was a vice president for Symbion Healthcare, a surgery center company from 2001 until she joined NovaMed. She managed a significant portion of Symbion's multi-specialty surgery centers, handled development of selected surgery centers and hospital joint ventures. From 1994 to 2001, she was senior vice president and chief compliance officer for Vision America. She also served in senior management positions for Medcath, Medivision and Medical International.
Christy Stafford. As director of information technology at Borland-Groover Clinic, Ms. Stafford is responsible for ensuring IT drives a diverse organization toward aggressive goals. She facilitates the successful direction, implementation, support and maintenance of software, hardware and telecommunications for a 15-node, 400 end user base throughout the state of Florida. She has 17 years of healthcare experience, 15 of which have been spent focusing on and directing IT for a multi-specialty private clinic in Florida. She is currently undertaking a BAS in information technology management from Florida State College of Jacksonville.
Debra Saxton Stinchcomb, RN, BSN, CASC. Ms. Stinchcomb a consultant at Progressive Surgical Solutions and has more than 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry, including positions in administration, operations, sales and clinical areas. She previously served as director of operations preparation and transition management for Health Inventures. She has also held positions as an ASC administrator, assistant regional vice president and regional vice president.
Stephanie Stinson, RN, BSN, CASC. Ms. Stinson is the administrative director of Strictly Pediatrics Surgery Center in Austin, Texas. Ms. Stinson has been administrative director for six years and has been at Strictly Pediatrics since its inception in 2006. She has been a nurse for 17 years and has served as a staff nurse in neuro-surgical ICU, surgery and the recovery room.
Alsie Sydness-Fitzgerald, RN, CASC. Ms. Sydness-Fitzgerald is the chair of the ASC Association and participated in the development of the Certified Administrator Surgery Center credential. She has been involved in the ASC industry since 1976 and has built up outstanding experience in the clinical, business and management aspects of the ASC industry as the director of clinical operations for HCA's ambulatory surgery division.
Stephanie Tarry. Ms. Tarry is senior vice president, business development for Nueterra Healthcare. Since joining Nueterra in 2000, she has successfully recruited physician partners and syndicated 22 ASCs and real estate private placement offerings, of which six have been joint ventures with hospitals. Ms. Tarry is a licensed securities representative knowledgeable in Reg "D" offerings. Her extensive background in finance and accounting allows her to thoroughly understand and explain the financial structure of the partnerships. She began her career with 12 years of banking experience. Before joining Nueterra, she served as the director of treasury for a major Midwestern integrated health system and, before that, as the treasurer for the largest school district in Missouri.
Joyce (Deno) Thomas. Ms. Thomas is senior vice president for Regent Surgical Health. Before joining Regent, she served as the executive director of Loveland (Colo.) Surgery Center and worked for HealthSouth as a regional director of quality improvement and as an administrator. Ms. Thomas recently opened a new facility in Mount Dora, Fla., coordinated the quality, risk and values program for Regent and was involved in the development of two new facilities.
Anne Hargrave-Thomas. Ms. Hargrave-Thomas is CEO of Lakes Surgery Center in West Bloomfield, Mich. The ASC has continued to grow despite a local struggling economy and was recently named to Becker's Hospital Review and Becker's ASC Review list of the "100 Best Places to Work in Healthcare." She is a member of the Michigan Ambulatory Surgical Association and has more than 30 years of experience in healthcare and nursing.
Kimberly L. Tude Thuot, MAOM, CMPE. Ms. Tude Thuot is the administrator of Yakima (Wash.) Ambulatory Surgical Center, a three-OR, physician-owned, multi-specialty ASC. Ms. Tude Thuot has been with YASC since Aug. 2009, and her career spans many arenas in healthcare. She began as a nursing and dental assistant before moving into administration at dental practices. She also worked as a general manager for a dental brokerage firm and as administrator of an orthopedic group, a sports medicine group, a multi-specialty group, and a pain group.
Dianne Wallace, RN, BSM, MBA. Ms. Wallace is executive director and CEO of the Menomonee Falls Ambulatory Surgery Center near Milwaukee, Wis. She has been with MFASC for over 11 years and has helped lead the organization through three successful AAAHC accreditation surveys. Most recently Ms. Wallace worked with several other ASC colleagues on development of an MGMA benchmarking tool for use by ASC managers and administrators. This tool allows a facility to enter their center's data into a Data Gateway tool which automatically compares their implant and staffing costs with other participants in that organization's most recent financial performance survey.
Michelle Warren, RN, BBA. Ms. Warren is the executive director of Powder River Surgery Center in Gillette, Wyo. She began her career in healthcare as a surgical tech and soon pursed her nursing license and a bachelor's in business administration. She spent many years as an operating room traveling nurse, working mostly in trauma, orthopedic, spine and open heart specialties.
Michelle J. Weidner-Jordan, RN, BSN. Ms. Weidner-Jordan serves as the administrator for Lewis & Clark Specialty Hospital. She has worked as a registered nurse in Norfolk, Nebraska before joining the nursing staff of Lewis & Clark when the facility opened in 2002. Since then, Ms. Weidner-Jordan has been promoted to the position of director of nursing in 2003, and most recently was promoted to the position of administrator in 2006. She oversees the daily operation and management of the hospital, while promoting the values of the hospital's mission and vision statements.
Suzanne Wienbarg, RN. Ms. Wienbarg is a senior vice president of operations at Ambulatory Surgical Centers of America with over 25 years of experience in healthcare management and operations. Prior to joining ASCOA, Ms. Wienbarg was a vice president of operations for the ambulatory surgery division of HealthSouth Corporation. During her career with HealthSouth, she worked extensively in development, operations and physician recruitment. She has been active as a member and officer in healthcare professional organizations.
Kathleen Whitlow, RN, BS, CASC. Ms. Whitlow is the COO for Blue Chip Surgical Center Partners. She has more than 25 years of experience in the medical/healthcare industry and has worked as an ASC administrator and consultant with expertise in development, marketing, operations and strategic planning in support of facilities across the country. As director of surgical services for a large national hospital system, she developed and directed the outpatient and ambulatory surgery programs, clinics, case management and endoscopy department. She has served as an advisor/consultant to a group of attorneys representing physicians.
Stephanie York. Ms. York is the director of business operations for Health Inventures, where she oversees business office operations of 30 ASCs across the country. She performs business office and reimbursement audits for both Health Inventures' clients and the ASC population in general. She has over 25 years experience in medical coding, billing, reimbursement, business office personnel and physician training and has worked with hospitals, physician groups and healthcare organizations.
Cindy Young, RN, CASC. Ms. Young is the administrator of the Surgery Center of Farmington (Mo.), where she started as a staff nurse and moving into the administrator position in 2002. Prior to coming to the center, she was a nurse at a rural hospital for five years and served for two years in the OR at the hospital.
Peggy Zampetti, RN. Ms. Zampetti is senior vice president of facility development and clinical operations for Titan Health. Ms. Zampetti joined Titan in 1999 from HealthSouth where she served as administrator and regional coordinator for Joint Commission accreditation. Previous positions include administrator and director of nursing for ASC Network. With more than 20 years of experience in ambulatory surgery development and operations, Ms. Zampetti has extensive experience in ASC design and construction to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. She has personally developed 30 centers nationwide from design and construction to first case and has intimate knowledge of ASC licensure, accreditation and Medicare certification.
Becky Ziegler-Otis, RHIA, CPHQ, CHC. Ms. Ziegler-Otis is the administrator of the Ambulatory Surgical Center of Stevens Point (Wis.), a position she has held since Jan. 2008. For two years before coming to the center she worked in an orthopedic/neurology physician practice where she was responsible for implementation of their electronic health record. Prior to this she spent ten years at Bay Area Medical Center in Marinette, Wisconsin where she held a variety of positions including administrative director of process effectiveness, compliance officer, director of performance improvement and interim director of health information management.