222 People to Know in the ASC Industry

Sami S. Abbasi. Mr. Abbasi is the chairman and CEO of National Surgical Care. Prior to joining National Surgical Care, he served as president and CEO of Radiologix, a leading national provider of diagnostic imaging services. Mr. Abbasi is the director and chairman of the audit committee for Behringer Harvard Multifamily REIT I and serves on the board of directors for American CareSource Holdings.

David J. Abraham, MD.
Dr. Abraham is a physician at the Reading Neck and Spine Center in Wyomissing, Pa. He is a board-certified in orthopedic surgery and a member of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, North American Spine Society and the Pennsylvania Orthopedic Society.

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 Foote Hospital and clinical nurse manager for Foote Health System (now Allegiance Health) in Jackson.

Clifford G. Adlerz. Mr. Adlerz is president and COO of Symbion. Before co-founding Symbion, he served as COO of UniPhy, as division vice president of HCA (formerly Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corporation) and as a regional vice president for HealthTrust.

Ross Alexander.
Mr. Alexander is administrator at The Surgery Center of Fort Collins (Colo.), a multi-specialty ASC owned and managed by a group of surgeons, Poudre Valley Health System and Surgical Care Affiliates. Mr. Alexander began at SCFC in 2003 as its business manager but was promoted to administrator a year later when his predecessor took a position with an ASC management company.

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.

Brent Ashby. Mr. Ashby is the administrator of Audubon Surgery Center and Audubon ASC at St. Francis and Women's Surgical Center, all located in Colorado Springs, Colo. Mr. Ashby has been with Audubon Surgery Center since it opened in June 2000, and he opened the two other ASCs in Sept. 2008. Previously, he was the administrator of the Provo (Utah) Surgical Center for seven years, and he practiced law at a large firm in Phoenix.

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 Med Assets.

David Ayers. Mr. Ayers is the president of the surgical facilities division of Nueterra Healthcare. He has 20 years of experience developing, building and managing ambulatory facilities including surgery, imaging, physical therapy and urgent care centers. Mr. Ayres previously was vice president of a Fortune 500 company that specialized in ambulatory care product lines.

David "Buddy" F. Bacon Jr., CPA.
Mr. Bacon is the CEO of Meridian Surgical Partners, which develops, finances and operates ASCs. He previously served as CEO and CFO for Medifax EDI, a healthcare information technology company based in Nashville, Tenn.

Gregary W. Beasley. Mr. Beasley is the president of the ambulatory surgery division of HCA and previously served as COO and senior development office, Western region, for the division. Prior to coming to HCA, he served as controller and COO at HealthSouth Medical Center (formerly Dallas Specialty Hospital).

Timothy Beluscak II. Mr. Beluscak is the administrator of Jacksonville Beach (Fla.) Surgery Center, a four-OR, multi-specialty surgery center that is part of the Symbion Healthcare family of surgery centers. He originally worked for Jacksonville Beach from Jan. 2001-Oct. 2005, and returned in Aug. 2009 as administrator. He previously served as director of outpatient surgery and endoscopy at Shands Jacksonville (Fla.) Medical Center.

Sandy Berreth, RN, MS, CASC.
Ms. Berreth is the administrator of Brainerd Lakes Surgery Center in Baxter, Minn., a multi-specialty ASC that performs general surgery, gynecology, orthopedics, ophthalmology, facial plastics, ENT, urology, podiatry and pain management. She has been with the center since it opened in 2005.

Chris Bishop. Mr. Bishop is senior vice president of acquisitions and business development for Blue Chip Surgical Center Partners. He previously served as vice president of business development for Ambulatory Surgical Centers of America. He has 15 years of experience in leadership roles in the medical device and surgery center industries and was responsible for developing Smith & Nephew Endoscopy's surgery center sales team and strategy.

Shannon Blakeley.
Mr. Blakeley is vice president of operations for National Surgical Care and works on business development, physician recruitment, financial management, operations and human resources issues. Before joining National Surgical Care, he was a vice president at HealthSouth Corp. and created a continuum of care model for HealthSouth's outpatient services.

Jeff Blankinship. Mr. Blankinship is the CEO and president of Surgical Notes, which provides transcription services to more than 450 surgery centers and 6,500 physicians in 42 states. Under his leadership, Surgical Notes has partnered with several large ASC development and management companies and leading surgeons throughout the United States.

Steven Blom, RN, MAHSM, CASC. Mr. Blom is the administrator at the Specialty Surgery Center, a multi-specialty surgery center that specializes in ENT, ophthalmology, podiatry and pain management based in San Antonio, Texas. Prior to coming to the Specialty Surgery Center in Oct. 2000, Mr. Blom started his career as an ICU nurse and progressively moved up the management ladder. He spent most of his career in critical care and cardiac catheterization labs.

Henry H. Bloom. Mr. Bloom is the founder of The Bloom Organization, a healthcare-consulting firm devoted to providing project-related services to healthcare providers. He has structured and negotiated numerous healthcare transactions including physician practice acquisitions and divestitures, joint venture arrangements between physicians and surgery center companies and syndicated physician-owned surgery centers.

T. Taylor Burnett.
Ms. Burnett is CEO of The Plastic Surgical Center of Mississippi, a physician-owned surgery center in Flowoods, Miss. Ms. Burnett has been with The Plastic Surgical Center since it opened in August 2003. She started her career as a marketing major and worked as a production assistant for film and ran the office of her family's business. She later pursued a career in nursing and worked PRN in at her local hospital.

Tom Bombardier, MD. Dr. Bombardier is a board-certified ophthalmologist, Ambulatory Surgical Centers of America's COO and one of its three founding principals of the company. Before founding ASCOA, he established the largest ophthalmic practice in western Massachusetts, two ASCs and a regional referral center. Over the past 15 years, he has been a real estate developer on Cape Cod, Mass.

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. She previously served as a regional director of nursing for three ASCs.

Brett Brodnax. Mr. Brodnax is executive vice president and chief development officer at United Surgical Partners International and is one of the ASC industry's leading development executives. Due to his leadership, efforts and integrity, he has made USPI one of the fastest-growing ambulatory surgical chains, with a portfolio of nearly 100 surgical centers and several surgical hospitals located across the country.

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 with will leave the association this fall.

Jason B. Cagle. Mr. Cagle is general counsel for United Surgical Partners International. Before joining USPI, he was in the corporate and securities section at Vinson & Elkins in Dallas.

Robert J. Carrera.
Mr. Carrera is the president of Pinnacle III. With more than 20 years of healthcare experience, he has spent the last 15 years developing and managing ASCs, physical/occupational rehabilitation centers, diagnostic imaging facilities and occupational medicine clinics nationally. Mr. Carrera has been active legislatively at the state level regarding issues affecting ASCs in Colorado, Minnesota and Utah.

John Caruso, MD. Dr. Caruso has more than 16 years of neurological surgery experience. Since completing residencies at the Eastern Virginia Graduate School of Medicine and the University of New Mexico, he has been in private practice with Neurosurgical Specialists in Hagerstown, Md.

Frank J. Chapman, MBA. Mr. Chapman is the COO of Asheville (N.C.) Gastroenterology Associates and is past president of the Medical Group Management Association Gastroenterology Administrators Assembly and currently sits on the MGMA Patient Safety and Quality Committee. He is the first non-physician to hold a seat on the practice management committee of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and is also a member of the board of directors of the AAAHC.

Thomas Chirillo. Mr. Chirillo is senior vice president of corporate development at NovaMed. Mr. Chirillo has spent over 17 years in the healthcare industry, many of which were spent in eye care, with Becton Dickinson, CILCO, Ioptex Research and Guidant Corp.

Rajiv Chopra. Mr. Chopra is the director of strategic planning for The C/N Group. He has prior work experience in the banking and management consulting industries. Before joining The C/N Group, Mr. Chorpa was a principal consultant in the strategic change practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting.

Raman Chopra. Mr. Chopra is principal for The C/N Group. He oversees the firm's diagnostic imaging and hospitality operations and all marketing and technology related activities. Prior to joining The C/N Group in spring 1997, Rum spent seven years in strategic consulting, with his last position as director of consulting services for Equifax.

Ravi Chopra. Mr. Chopra is the president and CEO of The C/N Group, which is involved in the development of surgery and imaging centers throughout the country. Under his leadership, The C/N Group has completed healthcare-related projects totaling more than $80 million in capital expenditures.

Richard N. Christie, MD.
Dr. Christie is a vice president of acquisitions and development for ASCOA and is a board-certified OB/GYN with a private practice in Newport Beach, Calif. As an investor and physician at The Newport Beach Surgery Center, he has extensive personal knowledge of the ASC industry.  Dr. Christie was also involved in real estate development in Newport Beach and Palm Springs, Calif. He is a graduate of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and completed his residency in San Diego.

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.

Joseph Clark. Mr. Clark is the executive vice president and chief development officer of Surgical Care Affiliates and previously held the position of COO. He previously served as president of HealthSouth's surgery center division and was president and CEO of HealthMark Partners. He is on the board of directors of ASC Association.

James H. Cobb. Mr. Cobb is the founder, president and CEO of Orion Medical Services. With 37 years in management, he has focused the last 25 years in the medical field. Mr. Cobb previously served as CEO for the Pacific Cataract Laser Institute and Pacific Eye Center. He has been a member of the Medical Group Management Association for 20 years as well as a member of the American Society of Ophthalmic Administrators.

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.

Daniel Connolly.
Mr. Connolly is the vice president of payer relations for Pinnacle III. He performs all aspects of managed care contracting including contract negotiations, renegotiations, analysis, market analysis, implementation and compliance monitoring for ASCs in multiple markets. Mr. Connolly has worked in the healthcare industry for 20 years.

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.

Bill Cramer. Mr. Cramer co-founded Access MediQuip in 1997 and developed the business model which serves as the foundation for the company's current portfolio of strategic medical device solutions and continues his involvement in planning for the company's strategic growth. He serves as vice chairman of the board, focusing his time and energy on strategic relationships and government affairs. He has more than 20 years of healthcare experience in the hospital, pain management and device manufacturing sectors.


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.

Gregory R. Cunniff.
Mr. Cunniff is the CFO of National Surgical Care and directs the financial activities of the company, including treasury, budgeting, accounting, information technology, long-range forecasting, risk management and investor relations. He was previously vice president and treasurer of United Medical Corp. and Western CFO for ASCs for HCA Healthcare Corp.

R. Blake Curd, MD. Dr. Curd is the interim executive director of Surgical Management Professionals, and is an upper-extremity and general orthopedics physician with the Orthopedic Institute in Sioux Falls, S.D. He completed his fellowship training at the Indiana Hand Center, the largest freestanding center dedicated to hand and upper-extremity care, research and education in the world. He is currently a member of the South Dakota House of Representatives.

David Daniel.
Mr. Daniel is the CEO of Lakeland (Fla.) Surgical and Diagnostic Center, a large, independently-owned, freestanding, multi-specialty ASC. Mr. Daniel is a retired Navy Captain, having served for 26 years in the Navy Medical Service Corps where he managed naval hospitals and clinics in a worldwide medical system. He has also served as administrator and COO of a large medical clinic and a physician group practice before coming to the LSDC.

Eric Day, MBA, ATC, LAT.
Mr. Day is the administrator at The Center for Special Surgery at the Texas Center for Athletes medical complex in San Antonio. Mr. Day started his career as an athletic trainer, working with athletes and doing sports medicine outreach activities in the Austin market for HealthSouth Corp. He made the transition into administration at outpatient rehabilitation and diagnostic imaging centers and then moved to the ASC industry.

Joey Daugherty, RN.
Mr. Daugherty is the administrator of Total Pain Care, a single-specialty ASC that focuses on pain management procedures in Meridian, Miss. Mr. Daugherty has been at Total Pain Care since it opened in 2006 but has worked in healthcare since 1992, starting as a registered nurse in the emergency room at Rush Foundation Hospital in Meridian, Miss., and transferring to the Pain Treatment Center at Rush before becoming a department manager and then moving to Total Pain Care.

Gregory P. DeConciliis PA-C, CASC. Mr. DeConciliis is the administrator of Boston Out-Patient Surgical Suites and has served as administrator of Boston Out-Patient since its inception. Mr. DeConciliis is a licensed physician assistant and worked at New England Baptist Hospital prior to assuming the role of administrator at the center. He continues to remain on staff at the hospital and assists with surgical procedures at the center.

Richard DeHart. Mr. DeHart is the co-founder and CEO of Pinnacle III and has more than 18 years of experience in the outpatient healthcare industry. He provides Pinnacle III's clients with expertise in strategic planning, development and management of ASCs, diagnostic imaging and physical rehabilitation services.

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.

Ann S. Deters, MBA, CPA. Ms. Deters is CEO and co-founder of Vantage Outsourcing (formerly Vantage Technology), which provides cataract outsourcing to hospitals and ASCs throughout the Midwest, South and Southeast. She also started 7D, a consulting and management service company for ASCs.

Ken Drazan, MD. Dr. Drazan is a physician and managing director of healthcare services investments for Bertram Capital Management based in San Mateo, Calif., which includes GENASCIS among its portfolio companies. He has been a leader and is also an investor in different businesses that serve the ASC market. Previously, Dr. Drazan was the CEO and founder of Arginox Pharmaceuticals and was a leading academic liver transplant surgeon and basic scientist at Stanford University and UCLA.

Tom Ealey, CPA. Mr. Ealey is an associate professor of business administration at Alma (Mich.) College. He has been in healthcare for more than 30 years, working as an accountant with physician offices and long-term care organizations and then as a healthcare consultant with interests that include improving administration and regulatory compliance. He went on to serve as a practice administrator, working for two orthopedic groups and a family medicine group. He recently received MGMA's Edward B. Stevens Article of the Year Award his article, "Heads Up! How You Can Model Financial Uncertainty in Anticipation of Healthcare Reform."

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 the operations manager of a national case management services placement firm and served as a case manager and utilization review nurse.

Christian Ellison. Mr. Ellison is the vice president of business development for Health Inventures. He has formed numerous physician/hospital joint-venture partnerships and been instrumental in building Health Inventures' business domestically and internationally during his more than 10 years with the company. Mr. Ellison was previously a senior consultant to the healthcare industry with Arthur Andersen.

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.

James "Jay" Etheridge Jr.
Mr. Etheridge is the CEO of Implantable Provider Group. With a career in the medical industry, first pharmaceutical and then medical devices, he has a proven track record as a results-oriented senior level operating executive with a keen understanding of the implantable medical device industry.

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.

Paul G. Faraclas. Mr. Faraclas is president and CEO of CTQ solutions. Prior to CTQ, he served as vice president of ISH in Fairfield, N.J., for four years, where he helped grow the practice into the nation's largest acute care consulting firm. Prior to his work with ISH, Mr. Faraclas served as national director of sales for professional services for USInternetworking and also spent fourteen years in managed care with Anthem Health Plans, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Connecticut and The Travelers in numerous capacities.

Alisa Fischer, CASC. Ms. Fischer is 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.

John Fitz, MD.
Dr. Fitz is the founder of The Surgery Center of Farmington (Mo.), a 10-year-old, multi-specialty surgery center, where he works as a physician. Under his guidance, the center has operated under a very successful rural-area surgery center model.

Robin J. Fowler, MD. Dr. Fowler is chairman and medical director of Interventional Management Services and the medical director of the Interventional Spine and Pain Management Center in Atlanta and is also an active staff member at the Newton and Rockdale Medical Centers. He is board-certified by the American Society of Anesthesiologists and has performed more than 5,000 epidurals and revolutionary pain procedures that have improved the quality of life for thousands of patients.

Richard E. Francis Jr. Mr. Francis serves as president and CEO of Symbion and has helped transform the company into one of the country's leading ASC management and development firms. Prior to co-founding Symbion, he served as president and CEO of UniPhy and was the senior vice president of development for HealthTrust.

Brandon Frazier. Mr. Frazier is a vice president of acquisitions and development for ASCOA, where he is focused on the recruitment of key surgeon partners in existing ASCOA centers. Before joining ASCOA, Mr. Frazier served Smith & Nephew Endoscopy in a leadership position that was exclusively focused on the ASC market. Prior to that, he spent 11 years at the nation's largest GPO working on behalf of hospitals and surgery centers across the U.S.

Jon H. Friesen.
Mr. Friesen is the president of Foundation Surgery Affiliates. He previously served as the chief financial and strategic planning officer of FSA's parent company, Foundation HealthCare Affiliates. Mr. Friesen has spent the last 20 years in the healthcare industry where he has served in such progressive management positions as CFO, COO and CEO of various managed healthcare organizations.

Ed Gallo. Mr. Gallo is CEO of GENASCIS. He has over 25 years of financial, technical and general management experience in healthcare. He is responsible for GENASCIS' rollout of its single-source revenue cycle solution for ASCs, as well as all other strategic initiatives of the company.

Tom N. Galouzis, MD, FACS.
Dr. Galouzis is president and CEO of the Nikitis Resource Group. He is also a practicing general surgeon in northwest Indiana and previously served as associate staff in the department of surgery as a clinical instructor of surgery at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine.

Nap Gary. Mr. Gary is chief operating officer for Regent Surgical Health. He has worked in the healthcare industry for 23 years and previously served as senior vice president and assistant corporate counsel for HealthSouth Mr. Gary currently serves on the board of directors for the ASC Association.

Ann Geier, RN, MS, CNOR, CASC. Ms. Geier is a senior vice president of operations for ASCOA. She has 20 years of experience in all aspects of ASC operations, including perioperative services, and has served as a clinical coordinator, administrator and chief operating officer of a multi-specialty ASC.

David S. George, MD. Dr. George is a board-certified ophthalmologist at the Eye MDs (of George, Strickler and Lazer) and specializes in topical cataract surgery, glaucoma and diabetic eye care. He has served as a member of the board of directors for the ASC Association and the Outpatient Ophthalmic Surgery Society.

Gregory George, MD, PhD. Dr. George is founding principal of SurgCenter Development and a practicing ophthalmologist. He graduated from M.I.T., received his medical degree and a PhD in ocular physiology from Duke University in Durham, N.C. Under Dr. George's leadership, SurgCenter Development has developed over 60 physician-owned ASCs.

Eric Gleichman. Mr. Gleichman is an executive vice president and the chief development officer of Foundation Surgery Affiliates. Prior to this role, Mr. Gleichman had served as FSA's vice president of legal services since joining the company in 2003. Mr. Gleichman has 17 years of progressively responsible healthcare experience on both the payor and the provider sides, most notably in strategic development, contract negotiations, and mergers and acquisitions.

John J. Goehle. Mr. Goehle is the COO and partner in Ambulatory Healthcare Strategies, which specializes in providing high-level strategic, administrative and financial oversight services to ASCs. A 20-year veteran of the industry and former FASA board member, he is a nationally recognized industry leader, a frequent speaker at conferences and the author of three books on the ASC industry.

Brett Gosney. Mr. Gosney is a founder and CEO of the Animas Surgical Hospital in Durango, Colo., the first physician-owned hospital in Colorado. He is the current president of the Physician Hospitals of America. Mr. Gosney has a diverse background in healthcare spanning more than 25 years.

Michael Gossman, BSBA, CASC. Mr. Gossman is the administrator at the Cedar Lake Surgery Center in Biloxi, Miss., a multi-specialty center. Before coming to Cedar Lake in 2005, Mr. Gossman served as administrator at Methodist Ambulatory Surgery Center in New Orleans, where he oversaw the start-up of the center.

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.

Michael Guarino. Mr. Guarino has been in the surgery center business for more than a decade and currently works at the Orthopedic Surgery Center of Clearwater (Fla.). An accountant by trade (and former IRS employee), he has been successful in working the day-to-day operations of ASCs, along with long-term planning.

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.

John Hajjar, MD, FACS, MBA. Dr. Hajjar is the chief medical officer and chairman of Surgem and is a urologist. He developed one of the first ASCs in New Jersey at Fair Lawn and has been managing facilities profitably since 1992. Dr. Hajjar also operates one of the largest private practices of urology in the United States.

David Hall. Mr. Hall is chairman at Titan Health, an ASC management company; director of Cogent Healthcare, a hospitalist staffing company; and a board member for the National Pain Foundation. He has more than 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry.

Mark Hall. Mr. Hall is managing partner of Wasatch Healthcare Management, a Salt Lake City-based healthcare management and development company. Mr. Hall has 23 years of experience creating physician empowerment opportunities and ancillary income strategies.

Thomas S. Hall. Mr. Hall is president, CEO and chairman of NovaMed. Previously, he served as president and COO of Matria Healthcare and president and CEO of TSH & Associates, an independent consulting and management services company.

David Hamilton. Mr. Hamilton is the president and CEO of Mnet Financial, based in Aliso Viejo, Calif., and has become a trusted name within healthcare collections for ASCs, imaging centers and outpatient hospitals. Since 1999, he has assisted more than 300 facilities with collections. Prior to coming to Mnet, Mr. Hamilton worked in receivables management for CitiBank.

Kenneth N. Hancock. Mr. Hancock is the president and chief development officer of Meridian Surgical Partners. He has more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry developing ASCs and surgical hospitals, and recruiting and building relationships with physicians. He is the former executive vice president, chief development officer and co-founder of Surgical Alliance Corp.

Richard Hanley. Mr. Hanley is the president, CEO and founder of Health Inventures. He has held leadership positions in healthcare for the past 20 years and, throughout his career, has been instrumental in creating more than 100 successful outpatient ventures. He is a leading national advocate for ASCs and is a board member for the Ambulatory Surgery Center Foundation.

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 / 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.

Andrew Hayek. Mr. Hayek serves as president and CEO and a member of the board of directors of SCA. Prior to SCA, he served as president of a division of DaVita Inc., a $6 billion publicly traded renal dialysis company, and as president and CEO of Alliance Healthcare Services Inc., a $500 million publicly traded diagnostic imaging and radiation therapy company. Mr. Hayek worked previously for Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., a global private equity firm, and the Boston Consulting Group, a leading strategy and operations consulting firm. He serves on the board of directors of Senior Home Care, a home healthcare company.

Bill Hazen. Mr. Hazen is the administrator of the Surgery Center at Pelham, a four-OR, two-procedure-room, multispecialty center that is a joint venture between a hospital and local physicians in Greer, S.C. Prior to coming to the Surgery Center at Pelham, Mr. Hazen was director of special projects at Spartanburg (S.C.) Regional Medical Center. He also opened and developed the Hyperbaric Medicine and Wound Center at the hospital and spent some time as a neuro-trauma ICU nurse.

Allen D. Hecht, MBA. Mr. Hecht is president of Health Resources International, which is engaged in developing ambulatory care programs in new and emerging markets. Previously, he served as executive vice president and COO of the ASC Network, a national surgical center company formed as a result of a merger between SunSurgery and Premier Ambulatory Systems of Pasadena, Calif.

Tom Hearn, MBA. Mr. Hearn is senior vice president of ambulatory care at Novant Health. Before joining Novant in 2008, he served and CEO and before that as chief development officer at MedCath. He has also worked for VHA and Carolinas HealthCare System during his career.

Edward P. Hetrick. Mr. Hetrick is president and CEO of Facility Development & Management and has more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry. Before founding FDM, he was vice president in Healthcare Facilities Management, a firm that specializes in reimbursement consulting for physicians and outpatient hospital accounts, a position which he still holds today.

Jeremy Hogue, JD, MBA. Mr. Hogue is the president, CEO and co-founder of Sovereign Healthcare, a privately-held company based in Orange County, Calif., that partners with physicians for the ownership and management of ASCs. He previously served as vice president of Audax Group and was an associate with Lehman Brothers where he was a member of the firm's investment banking group in their New York office

Christopher Holden. Mr. Holden is the president, CEO and director of AmSurg. He has more than 21 years of experience in the healthcare industry, most of which he has spent in multi-facility and multi-market healthcare management. Before joining AmSurg, Mr. Holden served as senior vice president and a division president of Triad Hospitals.

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.

Joseph W. (Woody) Hubbard. Mr. Hubbard is vice president of ambulatory care for Novant Health, a North Carolina Health System that includes 12 hospitals and 12 ASCs. Previously, Mr. Hubbard was chief development officer for Bariatric Partners, a single-specialty surgical services provider. Mr. Hubbard has more than 25 years in healthcare operational management and business development.

Thomas Jacobs. Mr. Jacobs is CEO and co-founder of MedHQ, a business office solutions provider for outpatient healthcare businesses. As CEO he has led MedHQ from start-up to a profitable company that operates in 10 states.

Richard K. Jacques. Mr. Jacques is president and CEO of Covenant Surgical Partners and has more than 15 years in the ASC industry, including holding senior management positions with both public and private healthcare companies. He previously served as president and director of Surgical Health Group, a developer and manager of single- and limited-specialty surgery centers.

Marc Jang. Mr. Jang is president, CEO and founder of Titan Health and has held executive positions in healthcare for almost 20 years. Since 1991, his focus has been specifically in ASCs. His experience encompasses finance, mergers and acquisitions, and development and operations. Mr. Jang served as vice president of finance for Sutter Surgery Centers and regional vice president for ASC Network.

Leslie R. Jebson, CMPE. Mr. Jebson is the executive director of the Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine Institute at the University of Florida. After assuming the role four years ago at the new 130,000 square-foot facility, Mr. Jebson has been a driving force in the institute's momentous volume and market growth. The Institute has doubled its number of surgical cases and outpatient visits during his tenure — with over 100,000 patient visits and more than 6,000 surgical procedures performed.

Marion K. Jenkins, PhD. Dr. Jenkins is the founder and CEO of QSE Technologies. He has held many strategic C-level positions in technology, communications and operations, including COO of NAREX, which provides artificial intelligence-based software for financial service companies; executive vice president and chief technology officer at FirstWorld Communications, a DSL, Internet services, hosting and data center provider; and vice president of sales operations at Qwest Communications.

Beth Ann Johnson, RN. Ms. Johnson is vice president of clinical systems for Blue Chip Surgical Center Partners. She joined Blue Chip from LCA Vision where she was vice president of operations responsible for the growth of the ophthalmic surgery center business. Previously, she was with Aetna as a director of provider relations, recruitment and contracting. Ms. Johnson has extensive experience in the development and ongoing management of hospital-owned, minimally invasive surgery centers.

Douglas V. Johnson, MBA. MR. Johnson is COO of RMC Medstone Capital and serves on the board of directors of Physician Hospitals of America as its immediate past president. He is a seasoned professional and administrator with more than 35 years in the healthcare industry. He has worked in many capacities in the industry and at all levels in both freestanding as well as system institutions. He has held leadership positions in both rural and urban healthcare organizations.

Sandra J. Jones, BA, MSM, MBA. Ms. Jones is a principal of Ambulatory Strategies and has served on the board of the ASC Association. She has 30 years of experience in healthcare and has overseen or contributed to the successful establishment and development of more than 75 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.

Mike Karnes. Mr. Karnes is the CFO and co-founder of Regent Surgical Health. He recently served as chief administrative officer of GTCR-Golder Rauner, one of the nation's largest and oldest venture capital firms. He also has been CFO for Prime Group Realty Trust and Balcor, a subsidiary of American Express.

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.

David Kelly, MBA, CASC. Mr. Kelly is the administrator of Samaritan North Surgery Center, a multi-specialty center with four ORs and two procedure rooms in Dayton, Ohio. Mr. Kelly joined the facility in late 2006 and has a background in finance, IT and operations.

William Kennedy. Mr. Kennedy is senior vice president of business development for NovaMed. He joined NovaMed in 1996 as vice president of acquisitions. From 1992 to 1995, Mr. Kennedy was Regional Manager of CIT Group/Business Credit where he successfully rebuilt the Chicago office by restructuring a troubled portfolio, upgrading the staff and refocusing the marketing effort. Previously, Mr. Kennedy was a principal and founder of his own firm specializing in consulting and investing in middle-market companies.

R. Matthew Kilton, MBA, MHA. Mr. Kilton is a member and COO of Eveia Health Consulting & Management. His expertise is in ASC and surgical practice managed care contract negotiations and reimbursement analysis. Prior to joining Eveia, he was the CEO of Valley Orthopedic Associates and Valley Orthopedic Surgery Center, a division of Proliance Surgeons in Renton, Wash.

Beverly Kirchner, RN, BSN, CNOR, CASC. Ms. Kirchner is the owner and CEO of Genesee Associates. She 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.

Susan Kizirian, BSN, RN, MBA. Ms. Kizirian is the COO of ASCOA and has more than 20 years of experience in all aspects of ASC operations. She most recently worked with the University of Virginia Health System ASC program. Ms. Kizirian has served as an executive director and a consultant for ASC management and development.

Marc E. Koch, MD, MBA. Dr. Koch is the president and CEO of Somnia Anesthesia Services, where he focuses on furthering the company's mission of offering high-quality and cost-efficient anesthesia solutions to hospitals, ASCs and office-based facilities nationwide. He co-founded the medical practice Resource Anesthesiology Associates in 1996.

Greg Koonsman, CPA. Mr. Koonsman is a senior partner and founder of VMG Health. He specializes in providing valuation, transaction advisory, feasibility and operational consulting services to the firm's healthcare clients. Mr. Koonsman has acted as an advisor to more than 150 hospitals, 300 surgery centers, 20 HMOs, 1,500 physician organization transactions and a variety of other healthcare entities in the United States.

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.

Donald Kramer, MD. With a medical practice spanning more than 25 years, Dr. Kramer has developed several successful ASCs in the Houston market. He founded Northstar Healthcare, which develops and, in conjunction with physician partners, owns and operates significant ASCs in concentrated markets. He served as CEO of the company until Sept. 2008.

Brent Lambert, MD. Dr. Lambert is the chairman of the board and a founder of ASCOA. He is a board-certified ophthalmologist and responsible for business development at ASCOA. Prior to the founding of ASCOA, Dr. Lambert was the developer and owner of three ASCs, including the first eye ASC in New England. He is on the board of the ASC Associtaion.

Luke Lambert. Mr. Lambert is the CEO of ASCOA and has a background in finance, strategy and operations. Before joining ASCOA as its CFO in 1997, he worked in equity research for Smith Barney and has management consulting experience with Booz, Allen & Hamilton and Ernst & Young.

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.

John W. Lawrence Jr. Mr. Lawrence is the senior vice president and general counsel for NovaMed and has served as NovaMed's Corporate Counsel since 1996. He is responsible for all legal matters relating to NovaMed and its operations, including structuring and negotiating all development transactions. Mr. Lawrence's background is in general corporate practice with a focus in mergers and acquisitions.

Scott Leggett. Mr. Leggett is CEO of Surgery One, which manages four multi-specialty ASCs in the San Diego area. He has more than 17 years of experience in orthopedics and holds a master's degree in exercise and sports science from the University of Florida in Gainesville. He has also been featured on a series of educational videos on healthcare employment and interviewing on the career resource and job seeker website, www.jobing.com.

Jeff Leland. Mr. Leland is a managing partner with Blue Chip Surgical Center Partners, which focuses on developing spine, ENT, sleep, radiosurgery and multi-specialty ASCs. He previously served as executive director for Lutheran General Medical Group, a 260-physician, multi-specialty medical group located in Chicago. Mr. Leland was also once a senior-level executive with Advocate Health Care in Chicago and was responsible for both business development and Advocate's 225,000-member health plan.

Mike Lipomi, MSHA. Mr. Lipomi is the president of RMC Medstone Capital and has more than 30 years of experience in hospital and ambulatory facility management. At RMC Medstone, he and a team of experts cover all aspects of healthcare facility development, conversion and management with RM Crowe's real estate professionals. Prior to joining RMC, Mr. Lipomi was CEO of Stanislaus Surgical Hospital in Modesto, Calif., which he grew from a small surgery center into one of the nations leading specialty hospitals.

Rodney H. Lunn. Mr. Lunn is the principal of the Surgical Health Group. Over the past 17 years, he has developed more than 150 ASCs throughout the United States. He is often considered the original pioneer in taking the concept of ASCs and transforming it into a practical, successful business model in dozens of states.

James J. Lynch, MD, FACS. Dr. Lynch is the president, founder and CEO of SpineNevada based in Reno, Nev., and he also serves as the director, spine service, for Regent Surgical Health. Dr. Lynch is a board-certified neurological surgeon who specializes in complex spine surgery, cervical disorders, degenerative spine, spinal deformities, trauma, tumor infection and minimally invasive spine surgery.

Sara McCallum. Ms. McCallum is administrative director of Sheboygan (Wis.) Surgery Center, a multi-specialty surgery, endoscopy and pain management center. Ms. McCallum has many years of experience in ASCs and has opened six surgery centers throughout her career. She worked at most of the centers in a variety of roles including executive director, director, risk manager and staff nurse.

Rob McCarville, MPA. Mr. McCarville is a principle with Medical Consulting Group. He has an extensive portfolio in the field of healthcare facility management, administration and strategy. Before joining the MCG consulting team, Mr. McCarville was responsible for overseeing 16 separate physician practices, building a strong reputation by developing innovative strategies to increase profitability.

Dawn Q. McLane, RN, MSA, CASC, CNOR. Ms. McLane serves as chief development officer for Nikitis Resource Group. She was formerly a vice president for National Surgical Care in Chicago. Ms. McLane has worked in the hospital setting as director of surgical services and as a staff nurse in surgery, ER and OB.

Neal Maerki, RN, CASC. Mr. Maerki is the administrator of Bend (Ore.) Surgery Center. He started his career with BSC in 1997 as a nurse, then nurse manager and finally as administrator. He previously worked as a telemetry floor manager and an ICU staff nurse before moving into ambulatory surgery.

Tom Mallon. Mr. Mallon is a co-founder and CEO of Regent Surgical Health, which specializes in working with physician and hospital partners in the development, management and turnaround of surgery centers and specialty hospitals. Before founding Regent, he served as a founding member and remains a general partner with Gryffindor Capital Partners, a Chicago-based venture-capital fund.

Laxmaiah Manchikanti, MD. Dr. Manchikanti is the medical director of the Pain Management Center of Paducah (Ky.) and Ambulatory Surgery Center in Paducah. He is the CEO and chairman of the board of the American Society of Inteventional Pain Physicians. Through his work with various organizations, Dr. Manchikanti has been instrumental in the preservation of interventional pain management through specialty designation, mandatory Carrier Advisory Committee representation, reimbursement and the passage of NASPER.

Ajay Mangal, MD, MBA. Dr. Mangal is the founder, CEO and a board member of Prexus Health Partners and is also a board-certified ENT physician. As a hands-on executive at Prexus, Dr. Mangal has been instrumental in developing ASCs and assisting existing centers and hospitals to prosper. He is on staff at Butler County Medical Center, Fort Hamilton, Mercy Fairfield and Cincinnati Children's Hospitals.

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. Ms. Mann has been working in the medical industry for 37 years and in surgery or in post-surgical care for her entire career.

Tyler Marsh. Mr. Marsh is executive vice president of business development at Wakefield & Associates. He was formerly the co-owner of Affiliated Credit Services and has specialized in healthcare debt collections for the past nine years. He leads the business development unit at ACS and has been responsible for expansion into several states including California, Florida, Illinois, New Mexico, Nevada and Oregon providing collection services for ASCs, hospital systems and physician groups.

Sarah Martin, RN, CASC. Ms. Martin is a regional vice president of operations for Meridian Surgical Partners. She has close to 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 where she managed both ASCs and specialty hospitals. She presently serves on the board of the ASC Association.

Todd J. Mello, ASA, AVA, MBA. Mr. Mello is a principal and co-founder of HealthCare Appraisers and manages the firm's Colorado office. He has 18 years of healthcare finance and valuation experience. Mr. Mello is an accredited senior appraiser, accredited valuation analyst and holds an MBA in finance and accounting. He is a frequent speaker and author on healthcare valuation topics.

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.

Tyler Merrill. Mr. Merrill is a vice president of acquisitions and development for ASCOA. Prior to joining ASCOA he worked as a sales representative for Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. In addition to traditional sales training, Mr. Merrill has experience developing business strategy for online start-ups as well as storefront ventures.

Keith Metz, MD, JD, MSA. Dr. Metz is a practicing clinical anesthesiologist and medical director at Great Lakes Surgical Center in Southfield, Mich. He has served on the board of directors for the ASC Association.

Thomas A. Michaud, CPA. Mr. Michaud is the CEO of Foundation Hospital Affiliates. Prior to founding FHA's parent company, Foundation HealthCare Affiliates, in Jan. 1996, he held the positions of COO and CFO of a regional surgery center management company. During his career, has also developed bariatric centers. Mr. Michaud is a CPA, which he earned while serving as a staff accountant with Ernst & Young.

Evelyn S. Miller, CPA. Ms. Miller is the vice president of development for United Surgical Partners International. Before joining USPI, she was executive vice president of Medway Health Systems, overseeing the financial operations of its medical clinics.

T.K. Miller, MD. Dr. Miller is the medical director at Roanoke (Va.) Ambulatory Surgery Center and physician with the Roanoke Orthopedic Center, which merged with the Carilion Clinic in Nov. 2009. He has specialty experience in sports medicine, arthroscopy and knee and shoulder reconstruction.

Krystal Mims. Krystal Mims is president of Texas Health Partners. She is responsible for the overall management of five managed facilities: 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 has been with Texas Health Partners since its inception.

Kristian M. Mineau II. Mr. Mineau is the president and CEO of Constitution Surgery Centers, based in Newington, Conn., which operates 12 ASCs in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. He co-founded CSC in 1997 and has led the company's growth for over 10 years. Mr. Mineau was also the founding president of the Connecticut Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers.

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. She has successfully guided numerous new ventures and established ASCs and physician practices through the complicated maze of regulations, licensing, certification and accreditation processes.

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.

Tom Mulhern, MBA. Mr. Mulhern is the executive director of Limestone Medical Center, a large medical office building complex and ASC in Wilmington, Del. He has been a leader in the development of ambulatory surgical services and as an advocate for the industry.

James E. Mutrie. Mr. Mutrie serves as assistant general counsel and compliance officer for USPI, an owner and operator of more than 165 surgery centers and surgical hospitals in the United States and the United Kingdom. In his position, Mr. Mutrie is responsible for legal, governance and corporate compliance matters at USPI's facilities. Prior to joining USPI, he was in the corporate and securities section at Vinson & Elkins in Dallas.

Charlie Neal.
Charlie Neal is the COO of HealthMark Partners. He was CEO of Alliance Surgery before its merger with HealthMark and was formerly with Symbion where he was president of the multi-specialty group that managed 47 ASCs in 17 states. He also served as the CEO of various hospitals in Georgia and Florida for HCA.

David W. Odell, CPA.
Mr. Odell is the founder and president of MedBridge Surgery Center Billing, which has been providing comprehensive billing services exclusively to ASCs for more than 10 years. As a CPA by trade, Mr. Odell has over 12 years' experience in the ASC industry, with a focus on maximizing net revenue through enhanced billing and collection processes.

Jon O'Sullivan. Mr. O'Sullivan is a senior principal and founding member of VMG Health where he provides financial valuation, joint-venture development and transaction advisory services exclusively in healthcare. He has performed extensive engagements in facilities including acute care and specialty hospitals, ASCs, imaging centers, cath labs, radiation therapy, dialysis centers and physician organizations.

Fred W. Ortmann III. Mr. Ortmann is founder and CEO of Ortmann Healthcare Consultants and has more than 17 years of experience developing ASCs. He has served as an administrator with Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque, N.M., and as vice president for center development at AmSurg Corp. He left AmSurg in 2001 and founded Ortmann Healthcare Consultants.

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.

Scott Palmer. Mr. Palmer is the president and COO of the ambulatory service center division of SourceMedical. He has more than 25 years of experience working with several companies offering services and business solutions for outpatient healthcare facilities.

Michael Pankey, RN, MBA. Mr. Pankey is the administrator of the Ambulatory Surgery Center of Spartanburg (S.C.). Before coming to the ASC of Spartanburg, he served as administrator and clinical resources manager at different locations. Mr. Pankey also served as the president of the South Carolina Ambulatory Surgery Center Association.

Richard D. Pence.
Mr. Pence is president and COO of National Surgical Care and leads the development and management of the company's surgical centers. Before co-founding NSC, he served as executive vice president and COO of MAGELLA Healthcare, COO for National Surgery Centers and as controller and vice president for Medical Care International.

Jeffrey E. Péo. Mr. Péo is a vice president of acquisitions and development for ASCOA. Before joining ASCOA, he ran a knowledge management and information technology consulting division for a Fortune 100 company.

Thomas J. Pliura, MD, JD.
Dr. Pliura is a physician, attorney and the founder and manager of several ASCs. Additionally, he is the founder of zChart EMR, an electronic medical records company.

John Poisson. Mr. Poisson is the executive vice president and strategic partnerships officer of Physicians Endoscopy, the leading company in the development and management of freestanding endoscopic ASCs. Prior to joining PE, he had more than 14 years of experience in the healthcare field, specifically focused on medical service outsourcing.

Lori Ramirez. Ms. Ramirez is the founder of Elite Surgical Affiliates and previously served as a senior vice president with USPI where she was directly responsible for developing the second-largest network of surgical facilities for USPI in Houston. In this role, Ms. Ramirez oversaw 20-plus surgical facilities. Ms. Ramirez also has extensive experience in joint venturing with health systems such as Memorial Hermann in Houston and CHRISTUS Health System in South Texas.

J. Michael Ribaudo, MD.
Dr. Ribaudo is the founder of Surgical Synergies and has more than 27 years of experience as a surgeon, healthcare executive and real estate developer. He has served as executive vice president of Surgical Health Corp. and HealthSouth Surgery Centers. He currently serves on the board of directors for Flow International and chairs its compensation committee. He is also co-founder of Surgical Anesthesia Services.

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 is the president of National Medical Billing Services, which specializes in freestanding outpatient surgery center coding and billing. She has been in the healthcare field for 23 years.

Jay Rom, MBA, CPA.
Mr. Rom is the president of Blue Chip Surgical Partners. Before joining Blue Chip, he served as CEO of a cardiology group in Cincinnati with 15 physicians and was vice president for physician services of the Franciscan Health System, where he was responsible for a 60-physician multi-specialty group.

Stephen Rosenbaum. Mr. Rosenbaum is CEO for Interventional Management Services. He has more than 15 years of healthcare experience, having worked with physicians and physician-owned facilities, with the majority of his work for hospitals, surgery centers and physician practices. Prior to joining IMS, he created SourceRevenue, an independent healthcare consulting company. He also held positions with MedCath and Ernst & Young in the Carolinas Healthcare Consulting Practice.

Mary Ryan, RN. Ms. Ryan is the administrator of Tri State Surgery Center, a multi-specialty facility in Dubuque, Iowa. Currently managed by Health Inventures, the center was launched in 1998 by Medical Associates Clinics and Health Plans and Mercy Hospital. Ms. Ryan began her career in nursing in 1986 and joined TSSC in 1998 as director of nursing. She then became the administrator in 2001. Mary has also served as regional director during her tenure with Health Inventures.

Kenneth L. Rosenquest.
Mr. Rosenquest is the vice president of operations at Constitution Surgery Centers, based in Newington, Conn., and oversees the company's hospital joint ventures. He served as administrator of one of the top performing orthopedic surgery centers in the country and has experience in all aspects of ASC management from operations to billing to equipment acquisition.

Michael E. Russell, II, MD. Mr. Russell is president elect of the Physician Hospital Association and is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon at Texas Spine & Joint Hospital in Tyler, Texas. He practices at Tyler-based Azalea Orthopedics and received his MD from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, where he also completed his residency. He then completed a fellowship in spine surgery at The Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, N.C.

Dan Saale. Mr. Saale is the executive vice president and CFO of Nueterra Holdings. He oversees all the financial activities of the company and directs the financial services within each of Nueterra's physician partnership ventures.

Karen Sablyak. Ms. Sablyak is the CFO and executive vice president of management services at Physicians Endoscopy. She has more than 10 years of experience in healthcare finance and business operations. Prior to joining PE, Ms. Sablyak worked as a vice president of practice management for Allegheny University Hospitals in Pittsburgh.

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.

Nader J. Samii.
Mr Samii is CEO of National Medical Billing Services, a leading revenue cycle outsourcing company focused strictly on ASCs. He was the co-founder and president of revenue cycle company, Ajuba International and has also worked as a corporate finance attorney and an investment banker at both Merrill Lynch and UBS.

Molly Sandvig, JD.
Ms. Sandvig is the executive director for the Physician Hospitals of America. In this role she leads the organization's day-to-day business and operational functions and directs PHA's membership recruitment, public relations and political advocacy efforts.

Marcy Sasso.
Ms. Sasso is currently the administrator at Raritan Valley Surgery Center in Somerset, N.J. She was previously 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. Prior to becoming an administrator, Ms. Savoie worked as a circulator for three and a half years at a large hospital and one year as a circulator at an ASC, which was converted to a hospital.

John Schario, MBA.
Mr. Schario is CEO of Nueterra Healthcare and brings together the extensive resources that let Nueterra develop, operate and nurture ambulatory care facilities including ASCs and surgical hospitals, and other ambulatory care facilities created through partnerships. Mr. Schario's managerial background includes the development and operation of surgery centers, imaging facilities and occupational medicine clinics.

Bob Scheller Jr., CPA, CASC.
Mr. Scheller is the COO of the Nikitis Resource Group. In the past 15 years, he has been involved in the development and management of more than 50 surgery centers. He is currently responsible for nationwide development, management and consulting services for NRG.

Donald Schellpfeffer, MD.
Dr. Schellpfeffer is CEO of Medical Facilities Corp., and has over 18 years of experience in ambulatory surgical environments and 22 years in general, cardiovascular and trauma practices. He is currently medical director of Sioux Falls Surgical Center, which he co-founded, and president of Anesthesia Associates, the largest anesthesia services provider in South Dakota.

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.

David Shapiro, MD, CPHRM, LHRM, CHC.
Dr. Shapiro is a partner in Ambulatory Surgery Company, an ASC consulting firm, and is a Florida-based anesthesiologist. Previously, Dr. Shapiro was senior vice president of medical affairs for Surgis, an ASC management company, serving as the corporate medical director for more than 20 facilities.

Jeffrey Shanton. Mr. Shanton is the director of business management at Journal Square Surgical Center in Jersey City, N.J. He is an ASC industry activist and has met with New Jersey lawmakers on ASC-related legislation. Previously, Mr. Shanton served as director of billing for American Surgical Centers.

Jeff Simmons. Mr. Simmons is chief development officer of Regent Surgical Health and has more than 20 years in the healthcare industry. He served as vice president of marketing for American Medical International and founded the Immune Suppressed Institute to serve HIV patients. Mr. Simmons also founded and served as executive vice president of IntensiCare, a venture-financed hospitalist company.

Lynda Dowman Simon. Ms. Simon is the administrator at St. John's Clinic: Head & Neck Surgery in Springfield, Mo. 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.

Bill Simon. Mr. Simon is founder and president Innovative Healthcare, which he founded in 1995. Mr. Simon also developed the Pain & Rehabilitation Medical Group, a 7,000-square-foot outpatient facility located in the South Bay of Los Angeles. He holds a bachelor's degree in finance, as well as a juris doctorate, and is currently a member of the State Bar of California.

John Smalley. Mr. Smalley is a principal with Healthcare Venture Professionals. He has more than 30 years of experience with both public and private healthcare organizations. Prior to co-founding HVP with partner Chuck Owen, Mr. Smalley served as senior vice president for Quorum Health Resources and its predecessor companies.

Sheldon S. Sones, RPh, FASCP. Mr. Sones is president of Sheldon S. Sones and Associates, a pharmacy and accreditation consulting firm based in Newington, Conn. Established in 1985, the group, serving more than 100 sites in five states, specializes in safe medication management and pharmacy consulting to freestanding and hospital-based ambulatory surgical, endoscopy and renal dialysis centers, with expertise in accreditation success.

William Southwick. Mr. Southwick is president and CEO of HealthMark Partners. He is chiefly responsible for ASC turnaround strategies and creative joint-venture structures that have enabled HMP to partner with both physicians and hospitals in developing new or taking over underperforming facilities.

Kenny Spitler. Mr. Spitler is chief development officer for Interventional Management Services. In his role as CDO for IMS, he oversees all development activities for the company, including syndications and acquisitions. He is also responsible for all sales, marketing and promotions for the company. Mr. Spitler previously served as senior vice president – development for HealthMark Partners for four years. He has more than 20 years in healthcare business development.

Donald E. Steen. Mr. Steen founded USPI in Feb. 1998 and served as its CEO until April 2004. He continues to serve as chairman of the board of directors and the executive committee.

Jim Stilley. Mr. Stilley is the CEO of Northwest Michigan Surgery Center, a multi-specialty surgery center in Traverse City, Mich. He has been with NMSC for 4.5 years. Prior to coming to the surgery center, he was an executive director with National Surgical Care and served as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy.

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.

Barry Tanner. Mr. Tanner is the president and CEO of Physicians Endoscopy. Before joining PE, he was the co-founder, CFO and COO of Navix Radiology Systems of Miami. Mr. Tanner also served as COO of HealthInfusion, a Miami-based provider of home intravenous therapy services.

Larry Taylor. Mr. Taylor is the president, CEO and founder of Practice Partners in Healthcare. He has 25 years of experience in healthcare delivery, management and physician relations. Prior to founding Practice Partners, he served as president and COO of the largest provider of ASC services in the United States.

Larry Teuber, MD.
Dr. Teuber is the founder and physician executive of Black Hills Surgery Center, one of the country's most successful small surgical hospitals, and is a board-certified neurological surgeon. He is president of Medical Facilities Corp., and the founder and managing partner of The Spine Center in Rapid Falls, S.D.

David Thoene. Mr. Thoene is managing member of Medical Surgical Partners. Prior to that, he was the vice president of business development for Titan Health. He has 24 years of experience consulting for and developing ASCs along the West Coast. His background and expertise includes the turnkey development of ASCs, hospitals and medical office buildings. He has developed surgery center investments for physicians, academic medical centers and health systems.

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.

George Tinawi, MD.
Dr. Tinawi is a co-founder of Surgery Center Partners and its management subsidiary, Endoscopy Management Services Organization. He was a practicing physician in Mountain View, Calif., from 1986-2004. As a practicing physician, Dr. Tinawi developed a clear understanding of the business issues faced by physicians in today's challenging environment.

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 specialties 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 manager of an orthopedic group and a sports medicine group.

Jon Vick.
Mr. Vick is the president and founder of ASCs, Inc., and has participated in more than 200 transactions on behalf of physician-owned ASCs, GI centers, heart centers, surgical hospitals and the associated real estate. He has extensive experience in surgery center development, business planning, operations, valuations, sales, purchases and mergers and acquisitions.

George A. Violin, MD. Dr. Violin is a board-certified ophthalmologist and one of the three founding principals of Ambulatory Surgical Centers of America. He owned and developed two ASCs and a large, multiple-office ophthalmic practice in eastern Massachusetts.

Brice Voithofer.
Mr. Voithofer is vice president anesthesia and ASC services for AdvantEdge Healthcare Solutions, where he leads the AHS anesthesia, pain management and surgery center division and is responsible for operations, client support and growth. Prior to joining AHS, Mr. Voithofer worked in sales, client management, consulting and operational roles at several leading firms in the medical billing and payor industries.

Dianne Wallace, RN, BSM, MBA.
Ms. Wallace is the executive director and CEO of the Menomonee Falls (Wis.) Ambulatory Surgery Center, located a few miles northwest of Milwaukee. She has been with MFASC for 10 years. She has administrative experience in hospitals, home health, medical groups and ambulatory surgery. She served as past president of the Wisconsin Surgery Center Association and the MGMA ASCA executive committee.

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.

Michael Weaver.
Mr. Weaver is a vice present of acquisitions and development at Symbion. He is a nationally recognized speaker on surgery center and physician-owned hospital acquisitions and development, and is a contributor to several national trade publications.

Robert Welti, MD.
Dr. Welti is senior vice president and corporate medical director for Regent Surgical Health. He previously served as the medical director and administrator of the Santa Barbara Surgery Center and also was affiliated with Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital for 20 years. His experience includes both hospital-based surgery centers and physician-owned surgery centers.

Robert Westergard, CPA.
Mr. Westergard is the CFO of ASCOA. Before joining ASCOA, he worked as the controller for Truman Capital Advisors. Mr. Westergard has an additional eight years of finance and accounting experience in the software, chemical and healthcare industries.

Kathleen Whitlow, RN, BS, CASC.
Ms. Whitlow serves as COO for Blue Chip Surgical Center Partners, a position she was promoted to in Jan. 2010. She joined the company in April 2008 as a partner and vice president of operations. She has more than 25 years of experience in the medical/healthcare industry, working in a variety of capacities and positions. She has worked as an ASC administrator and consultant for Health Inventures and as a director of surgical services for a large national hospital system.

William H. Wilcox.
Mr. Wilcox serves as the president and CEO of USPI. Before joining USPI, he served as CEO of United Dental Care, president of the Surgery Group of HCA and president and CEO of the ambulatory surgery division of HCA.

Donald Wilson.
Mr. Wilson founded a predecessor to Cirrus Health in 1996 and now serves as Cirrus' CEO. Over the last 10 years, Mr. Wilson's focus has been exclusively devoted to the development of medical operations platforms and medically oriented real estate projects. In addition to his work in medical operations, he has participated in more than 40 medical real estate development projects including ASCs, specialty surgical hospitals, acute-care hospitals, medical office buildings, primary care clinics, radiation oncology units and other complex medical facilities.

David Woodrum.
Mr. Woodrum was a co-founder of Woodrum/Ambulatory Systems Development (now ASD Management). He is a long-time ASC industry veteran and previously served as executive vice president and COO of the American Hospital Association.

Thomas R. Yerden, MHA.
Mr. Yerden is president and CEO of TRY Health Care Solutions. He was the founder and CEO of Aspen Healthcare before selling it to National Surgical Care. He has helped to plan, develop, open and manage more than 75 ASCs in 26 states.

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.

Joe Zasa, JD. Mr. Zasa is the co-founder and managing partner of ASD Management and leads the company's Dallas office. He specializes in strategic joint ownership arrangements with physicians, hospitals and strategic partners, as well as assisting the firm's clientele in raising capital to finance their ambulatory care requirements.

Robert Zasa, MSHHA.
Mr. Zasa is a co-founder and founding partner at ASD Management. He is experienced in all phases of business development in multi-service ambulatory care facilities, group practices, ASCs and hospitals, including management, development, expansion, acquisition, ownership structuring and marketing.

Becky Zigler-Otis. Ms. Zigler-Otis is the administrator of the Ambulatory Surgical Center of Stevens Point (Wis.), a position she has held since Jan. 2008.  Before coming to the center, she worked at Bay Area Medical Center in Marinette, Wis., where she held many positions over a 10-year period, including administrative director of process effectiveness, compliance officer, director of performance improvement and interim director of health information management.

J.A. Ziskind, JD, MBA, PhD.
Mr. Ziskind is the founder and CEO of Global Surgical Partners, which focuses on developing and managing hospital/physician and physician-owned joint-ventured ASCs. He has been actively involved in Florida's healthcare industry over the past 35 years, having served as CEO of Cedars Medical Center and as a healthcare lawyer since 1984.

Greg Zoch.
Mr. Zoch is a partner with Kaye/Bassman and has been involved with the marketing of healthcare organizations and services, and with the recruitment of healthcare professionals since 1990. His primary focus is on the strategic growth and staffing initiatives of client companies that develop, manage, consult with or own and operate ASCs and specialty hospitals throughout the United States.

Bryan Zowin. Mr. Zowin is the president of Physician Advantage, a healthcare management company based in Peoria, Ill. The company provides management services to a wide range of healthcare specialties including ASCs, anesthesia, orthopedics, urology, ENT, OB/GYN, facial plastic, pain management and primary care.

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