Here are profiles of 29 great presidents and CEOs in the surgery center industry. Each of these presidents and CEOs is a speaker at the 9th Annual Orthopedic, Spine and Pain Management-Driven Ambulatory Surgery Center Conference: Improving Profitability and Business and Legal Issues (June 9-11; Chicago). Note: Presidents and CEOs are listed in alphabetical order by last name.
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.
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.
Robert Carrera. Mr. Carrera is president of Pinnacle III. He has spent the last 15 years developing and managing ASCs, physical/occupational rehabilitation centers, diagnostic imaging facilities and occupational medicine clinics in a multi-state region maintaining responsibility for over $150 million in annual revenue. Mr. Carrera has been active legislatively at the state level for issues affecting ASCs in Colorado, Minnesota and Utah. He was also a founding member of the Colorado ASC Association and formerly service as its vice president.
John Cherf, MD. Dr. Cherf is an orthopedic surgeon, president of the Chicago Institute of Orthopedics, president of OrthoIndex and clinical advisor to Sg2. He has more than 20 years of clinical experience in orthopedics and sports medicine. He co-founded the orthopedic department at the Neurological & Orthopedic Institute of Chicago and founder of Midwest Orthopedic Institute in Eastern Indiana.
David Fitzgerald. Mr. Fitzgerald is the CEO of Proliance Surgeons. He has more than 16 years of experience in healthcare, particularly in the finance arena, as well as experience as an administrator and CFO-level leadership positions for physician practices. Mr. Fitzgerald received his MBA from the University of Utah.
Brett Gosney. Mr. Gosney is a founder, partner and CEO of Animas Surgical Hospital in Durango, Colo., the first physician-owned hospital in the state focused on surgical care and diagnostic imaging. He is also director of development for Symbion. Mr. Gosney has diverse background in healthcare, spanning more than 28 years. He is currently president elect/vice president of the board of directors for Physician Hospitals of America.
Kenneth N. Hancock. Mr. Hancock is the president and chief development officer for Meridian Surgical Partners. He has 23 years of experience in the healthcare industry developing ASCs and surgical hospitals. He is the former executive vice president, chief development officer and co-founder of Surgical Alliance Corp. Prior to Surgical Alliance, Mr. Hancock was a co-founder of OrthoLink Physicians Corp., which was acquired by United Surgical Partners International.
Andrew Hayek. Mr. Hayek is the president and CEO and a member of the board of directors for Surgical Care Affiliates. He also serves on the board of directors of Senior Home Care. He previously served as president of a division of DaVita and president and COO of Alliance Healthcare Services.
Edward P. Hetrick. Mr. Hetrick is founder, president and COO of Facility Development and Management in Orangeburg, N.Y. He has more than 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry and has been involved in the development of more than 50 ASCs. He previously served as vice president of a reimbursement and consulting firm and has held management positions at major New York teaching institutions.
Richard Hynes, MD. Dr. Hynes is a spine surgeon who has been serving as president of The B.A.C.K. Center in Melbourne, Fla. since 1996. The B.A.C.K. Center originates from the Brevard Orthopaedic Clinic, which was founded in 1981 by Glenn Bryan, MD. The clinic shifted its focus to treatment of the neck and spine with the addition of Dr. Hynes in 1992.
Tom Jacobs. Mr. Jacobs is co-founder, president and CEO of MedHQ. His responsibilities include human resources outsourcing, management accounting, administrative and credentialing support to ASCs, hospitals, physician practices and other healthcare businesses. He is also administrator of EndoLabs and previously worked in management positions at Duke Engineering & Services.
Marion Jenkins. Mr. Jenkins is founder and CEO of QSE Technologies, an IT systems integrator in Denver. He has authored more than 50 articles and presentations on the role of technology in business, and serves on the Colorado Regional Health Information Organization Technology Advisory Committee. He previously served in leadership positions with a variety of high-growth technology companies.
Naya Kehayes, MPH. Ms. Kehayes is the founder and managing member of Eveia Health Consulting & Management. She is a national speaker on contracting and reimbursement and serves as a managed care advisor to ASC corporations. She previously served as regional director of operations and managed care for National Surgery Centers and was a surgical hospital administrator with Columbia/HCA Healthcare.
Richard Kube, MD. Dr. Kube is the CEO, founder and owner of Prairie Spine & Pain Institute in Peoria, Ill. He is also currently affiliated with four hospitals in southern Illinois and is a clinical assistant professor of surgery at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria. He has presented or lectured at professional seminars in South Korea, Canada, Germany and Hungary, among other locations.
Vishal Lal. Mr. Lal is the CEO of Advanced Pain Management, based outside of Milwaukee. Founded in 1998, APM is the largest pain group in the United States, with 28 physicians and almost 300 employees working at 11 pain centers in Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Luke M. Lambert, MBA. Mr. Lambert is the CEO of ASCOA. He has a background in finance, strategy and operations. His previous experience includes work with Smith Barney and Booz, Allen & Hamilton. He has consulted with entities to start new ventures, enter into new markets and reengineer business processes.
Jeff Leland. Mr. Leland is managing partner with Blue Chip Surgical Center Partners, based in Cincinnati. He was previously with ASCOA and responsible for de novo surgical center development and surgical center management. He has also served as executive director of Lutheran General Medical Group and as a senior level executive with Advocate Health Care, both in Chicago.
Michael J. Lipomi. Mr. Lipomi is president and CEO of Surgical Management Professionals in Sioux Falls, S.D. He has spent the past 30 years developing and running ambulatory surgery centers and acute care hospitals. He previously served as president of RMC MedStone and CEO of Stanislaus Surgical Hospital in Modesto, Calif.
Thomas 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. He earned a BA from Denison University and his MBA from the Harvard Business School.
Amy Mowles. Ms. Mowles is the president and CEO of Mowles Medical Practice Management, a company dedicated to assisting pain management and other specialists develop practices and ASCs. She has experience with beginning new ventures and marketing physician practices and ASCs. She regularly speaks at society meetings and has published articles in professional journals.
Harwood "Woody" Runner. Mr. Runner has been CEO of Kerlan-Jobe since 2004. Between 2003 and 2006, Mr. Runner was acting CEO of Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic. He also represents investors in the governance of Sovereign Healthcare, a developer and operator of surgery centers and specialty surgery hospitals.
Marshall Steele, MD. Dr. Steele is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon, founder and CEO of Marshall | Steele, a firm that implements musculoskeletal service lines and programs in hospitals. Dr. Steele is the author of Orthopedics and Spine, Service Line Strategies for Superior Performance, his most recent publication.
Troy P. Stockman. Mr. Stockman is the CEO of Nebraska Spine Hospital. He has held leadership positions within the fields of diagnostic imaging, surgery imaging and radiology for the U.S. Army. Mr. Stockman has also served as president and held other elective offices with the Iowa Society of Radiologic Technologists and Southwest Iowa Radiology Technologists Society.
Larry D. Taylor. Mr. Taylor is the president and CEO of Practice Partners in Healthcare. He has more than 30 years of experience in healthcare delivery, management and physician relations. He previously served as president and COO of a large provider of ASCs, while his initial entry into healthcare was focused on the delivery of sports medicine and orthopedics.
Marsha Thiel. Ms. Thiel has been CEO of Medical Advanced Pain Specialists, a Minneapolis-based practice that specializes in care for chronic pain patients with nine locations, since 1997. Prior to her role with Medical Advanced Pain Specialists, Ms. Thiel held management positions with North Memorial Hospital in Robbinsdale, Minn.
Michelle Trammell. Ms. Trammell is president of The Securities Group, which is a privately held broker/dealer firm specializing in healthcare partnerships with physicians. TSG has raised more than $100,000,000 having syndicated over 200 healthcare projects including whole hospital exemptions, ASCs, surgical hospitals and others.
Kelly D. Webb. Mr. Webb is the CEO of ASC Billing Specialists in Glendale, Ariz. The company provides billing and revenue cycle expertise to healthcare providers, including coding and claim denials support.
Jack Wagner. Mr. Wagner is president of Micro-Scientific Industries, which produces and distributes antimicrobial products. Micro-Scientific was established in 1996 and produces more than a dozen disinfectant products.
Terry Woodbeck. Mr. Woodbeck is CEO of Tulsa (Okla.) Spine and Specialty Hospital. He has more than 30 years of healthcare experience, including physician practice management, clinic administration and research in the field of capitation rates and managed care contracting. He joined Tulsa Spine & Specialty Hospital after serving as CEO at Oklahoma Spine and Brain Institute for four years. Mr. Woodbeck also serves also a consultant for physicians or groups wishing to develop new hospital systems.