Our 2018 Conference Speakers
Jennifer Archie
Partner
Latham & Watkins LLP
W5A: Healthcare Enforcement Trends for Healthcare Finance Professionals
Jennifer Archie, a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Latham & Watkins and a member of the firm’s Litigation & Trials Department, has broad experience over her 28-year career at the firm, representing diverse industries in government investigations and civil lawsuits involving the collection, use, handling and security of personal data, trade secrets and other types of valuable or sensitive data.
Kevin Brennan, CPA, FHFMA
Executive Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer
Geisinger Health System
T1: The Calling: Authentic Stewardship
Kevin F. Brennan, CPA, FHFMA is the Executive Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Geisinger Health System – a physician-led, integrated health services organization that has as its main components an array of health services providers, including eight acute care hospitals, a multispecialty physician group practice of more than 1,702 physicians practicing at 220 primary and specialty clinics, and Geisinger Health Plans, which is one of the nation’s largest rural health insurance organizations with commercial, Medicare Advantage, Medical Assistance and self-insured insurance products and Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (“GCSOM”) with 399 medical students and 105 graduate students headquartered in Scranton, PA. Geisinger operates in 45 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, with a significant presence in central, south-central and northeastern Pennsylvania, outside the major metropolitan areas, and in 7 counties in southern New Jersey. As of March 31, 2017, Geisinger cared for approximately 1,202,000 patients and managed over 586,000 health plan members, approximately 286,000 of whom were both members and patients resulting in a unique population of approximately 1,502,000. Serving as the executive vice president of finance, chief financial officer of the System since 1995, he is responsible for all of the System’s financial operations and directs key functions including: strategic financial management, treasury management, revenue cycle, financial reporting, budgeting, third party contracting, compliance, payroll, accounts payable, tax, decision support and financial systems (including workforce management), corporate insurance, safety, employee health and enterprise risk. Mr. Brennan also serves as Treasurer of the parent foundation, Geisinger Health, a member of the AtlantiCare Health System Board and is a member of the Board of Directors of Geisinger Assurance Company, LTD, Cayman Islands, B.W.I, Treasurer/member of the Board of Directors of Geisinger Insurance Corporation, Risk Retention Group, Vermont and member of the Board of Directors of English Creek Assurance, LTD, Bermuda. Mr. Brennan holds a Master of Business Administration degree in Healthcare Administration and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, both from LaSalle University in Philadelphia. He has been a Certified Public Accountant since 1979 and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Before his tenure with Geisinger Health System, he served as a CFO with other large health systems and tertiary care hospitals. Mr. Brennan serves as Chair-Elect on the National Board of Directors of the Healthcare Financial Management Association (“HFMA”), having served three years as a National Director and one year as Secretary-Treasurer. Mr. Brennan has been a member of HFMA since 1981 and a Fellow since 1992.
Drew Brown
Sr Manager & National Service Offering Lead, Data Strategy and Analytics
nThrive
W4B: “Machine Learning – Its Uses in Predicting Readmissions to Avoid CMS Penalty”
Biography coming soon!
William L. Caron, Jr
President
MaineHealth
T3: Closing CEO Panel
Biography coming soon!
Joanne Conroy, MD
President and CEO
Dartmouth-Hitchcock
T3: Closing CEO Panel
Joanne M. Conroy, MD serves as CEO and President of Dartmouth-Hitchcock and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health, the largest private employer in the state of New Hampshire. Prior to arriving at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, Dr. Conroy served as CEO of Lahey Hospital and Medical Center (formerly the Lahey Clinic), a large, integrated delivery system with more than 1,400 physicians, 18,000 employees, $4 million in grant funding for medical research and $2.0 billion in annual revenue. From 2008 to 2014, she served as Chief Health Care Officer of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), focusing on the interface between the health care delivery system and academic medicine, paying particular attention to how health care in academic settings can manage the challenge of health care reform and the operational implications of the Affordable Care Act. Dr. Conroy represented the interests of approximately 350 teaching hospitals and health systems, including 40 Veterans Affairs medical centers, through the AAMC Council of Teaching Hospitals and Health Systems. From 2001 to 2008, she served as Executive Vice President of Atlantic Health, Chief Operating Officer/ President of Morristown Memorial Hospital, a 695-bed flagship teaching hospital. From 1986 to 2001, Dr. Conroy served many roles at the Medical University of South Carolina, including Vice President for Medical Affairs, Chair of Anesthesiology and Senior Associate Dean of the College of Medicine.
Emily Cook
Partner
McDermott Will & Emery LLP
T2B: “340B Update”
Emily J. Cook provides counsel to health care providers on complex regulatory and reimbursement matters. Her regulatory experience includes fee-for-service Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, billing and coding, licensure, survey/certification and accreditation, and compliance with Medicare and state fraud and abuse requirements. She also has significant experience counseling health care providers and other stakeholder entities on issues related to 340B drug pricing program implementation, compliance and advocacy. Prior to law school, Emily served as the lead Medicare policy analyst at the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy where she counseled hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and clinics on Medicare reimbursement and regulatory issues. Emily also served as the senior policy advisor to the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services, advising the committee on key issues related to health care policy.
Sarah Goodman, MBA, CHCAF, COC, CCP, FCS
President and CEO
SLG, Inc.
T2A: ” Got Revenue Integrity? Strong Processes for a Strong Program”
Sarah L. Goodman, MBA, CHCAF, COC, CCP, FCS, is president/CEO and principal consultant for SLG, Inc., headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. She is a nationally known speaker and author on the charge description master, outpatient facility coding, and billing compliance, and has more than 30 years’ experience in the healthcare industry. Goodman has been actively involved and held leadership roles in a number of professional organizations on the local, state, and national levels, including the North Carolina chapter of the HFMA board of directors and the NAHRI national advisory board, and is co-author of NAHRI’s “Core Functions of Revenue Integrity” handbook.
Aaron Green
Principal
Green Reimbursement LLC
W2B: “Washington Update”
Aaron Green is a principal in Green Reimbursement LLC specializing in federal and state regulatory issues. Aaron has over 22 years of healthcare experience and has represented healthcare organizations in CMS and state audits and reviews. He has led the preparation and review of Medicare and state cost reports for hospitals and healthcare systems. He has also managed numerous reimbursement projects focusing on wage index, disproportionate share, medical education, Medicare bad debts, organ acquisition costs and cost-based reimbursement. Aaron has a Master of Accountancy from the University of South Florida. Prior to forming Green Reimbursement LLC, Aaron served as a Big Four health care advisor for nine years and as a Medicare auditor for four years.
Michelle Guarneiri
Director of Financial Clearance
BIDMC
W4A: “Clinical and Financial Collaboration Yields Success”
Michelle Guarnieri is currently the Director of Financial Clearance at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Michelle has over twenty years of healthcare experience and prior to joining BIDMC, held a leadership position at Newton-Wellesley hospital for ten years. Michelle’s knowledge spans a wide range of healthcare experience, including; operations of the financial clearance process, scheduling, registration, authorizations, charge capture, and admitting. Michelle has managed on a large scale, practice administration, reporting, customer service improvements, cost reductions, and system implementations. Michelle has extensive experience in bridging the gap between clinical and financial avenues to bring about better collaboration, communication, and a streamlined financial clearance workflow that aims to elevate the patient experience from the clinical and financial perspective. Michelle is a graduate of the Partners’ Clinical Process Improvement Leadership Program.
Dr. Ayad Hamdan
Medical Director
BIDMC
W4A: “Clinical and Financial Collaboration Yields Success”
Biography coming soon!
Gary Havican
President, Central Region
Hartford HealthCare
W4C: “The Journey to Affiliation – A Glimpse Into Two Connecticut Systems and Integration of a Large Physician Group”
Gary Havican is president of the Hartford HealthCare Central Region, which includes MidState Medical Center in Meriden, and The Hospital of Central Connecticut with its Bradley Memorial campus in Southington and its New Britain campus. Mr. Havican is responsible for the leadership and oversight of the three acute care hospitals in the HHC Central region. Prior to coming to Hartford Healthcare, Mr. Havican was Vice President, Strategic Planning and Ambulatory Operations at Middlesex Hospital. Mr. Havican joined Middlesex Hospital as Cancer Center Administrative Director in 2008 and previous to that was Director, Cancer Center & Oncology Services. In 2006, Mr. Havican was an administrative manager for The Carole & Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Connecticut Health Center. Between 1997 and 2006, he held various management positions at Hartford Hospital, the State of Connecticut Department of Public Health and Waterbury Hospital. A licensed Paramedic since 1994, Mr. Havican is also a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and is board-certified in healthcare management. Mr. Havican received his bachelor’s degree from Western Connecticut State University, a master’s degree in business administration from the University of New Haven, and Green and Black Belt Certifications in LEAN – Six Sigma (for organizational efficiencies) from Villanova University. Mr. Havican is the 2012 recipient of the American College of Healthcare Executives Regents Award and currently serves as President of the Connecticut Association of Healthcare Executives. He holds Directorships on the Boards of the New Britain and MidState Chambers of Commerce, the University of New Haven MSHA Program and the United Way. He has also received numerous other awards for professional contributions and community service.
Jeff Johnson
Hawes Group
T2C: “Creating and Inspiring a Winning Team”
Jeff Johnson is a nationally acclaimed motivational trainer, speaker, and facilitator, as well as, a veteran in the credit and collections industry.
Prior to joining Hawes, Jeff had more than 10 years of experience as manager of client relations for Columbia Ultimate Business Systems, a premier provider of collection and receivable management software. Jeff also served as a director of the International Division of the Franklin Covey Leadership Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he worked with many Fortune 500 companies to improve internal processes through pinpoint training.
Originally from Colorado, Jeff earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business management with a minor in human resources from Brigham Young University. He is a certified 7-Habits Trainer and has numerous professional memberships, including the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA). Jeff is the Oregon HFMA’s past president and serves on the HFMA regional committee.
Peter Logue
VP Operations
Northeast Medical Group/ Yale New Haven Health System
W4C: “The Journey to Affiliation – A Glimpse Into Two Connecticut Systems and Integration of a Large Physician Group”
Peter Logue is Vice President for Operations for Northeast Medical Group, the medical foundation of Yale New Haven Health System. Northeast Medical Group encompasses over 800 clinicians working throughout the hospitals of Yale New Haven Health System and in 130 practice locations in Westchester County, NY, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Prior to joining Yale New Haven Health System he was Director and Vice President of Practice Management for ProHealth Physicians in Farmington, Connecticut. Mr. Logue has led numerous practice acquisitions and affiliations over his career spanning from small independent primary care group practices to large multispecialty groups and hospital affiliated with over 100 providers. He received his BS in political science from the University of Vermont and his MHA from the Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University.
Cynthia McGuire, FACHE
CEO
Monadnock Community Hospital
W5C: “The Journey to Affiliation – A Long Road to Success, a New Hampshire Experience”
Cynthia McGuire, FACHE joined Monadnock Community Hospital as President and CEO in February of 2014. She has over 25 years of experience working in a variety of healthcare settings, and was most recently the Chief Operating Officer with Adirondack Health based in Saranac Lake, NY. Cynthia has a Master of Science Degree in Healthcare Administration from Sage Graduate School in Troy, NY. She is certified as a Healthcare Quality Professional and is a Fellow with the American College of Healthcare Executives. She has served on many nonprofit boards over the last several years including the Russell Sage Evening College Alumni Board of Trustees, the Schenectady YMCA and the Capital District YMCA, the Pendragon Theatre in Saranac Lake, N.Y., the Adirondack Housing Development Corporation and the NYS Health Care Managers Association (ACHE Chapter). Cynthia currently serves as Vice Chair of the New Hampshire Hospital Association Board and as alternate delegate and member of the Section Small or Rural Hospitals Regional Policy Board 1 of the American Hospital Association.
Dr. Griffin Meyers
Chief Medical Officer
Oak Street Health
W3: Capstone Address: Innovative Practice Model for Higher Risk Patients, Oak Street Health
Dr. Griffin Myers is Co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of Oak Street Health. Prior to founding Oak Street, Griffin was a physician at Massachusetts General and Brigham & Women’s Hospitals, where he specialized in emergency medicine. Before completing his residency at Harvard Medical School, Griffin was a member of the healthcare practice at The Boston Consulting Group. He is currently an Adjunct Instructor of emergency medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. Griffin holds a BS from Davidson College, an MD from the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine, and an MBA from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.
Joseph Pepe, MD
CEO
Catholic Medical Center
W5C: The Journey to Affiliation – A Long Road to Success, a New Hampshire Experience
Biography coming soon!
Gary Rosenberg
Council
Verrill Dana LLP
W5B: “Compliance Update”
For more than three decades Gary has assisted his clients in maneuvering successfully around the traps and pitfalls of the highly regulated world of health care. Gary represents clients on a wide variety of regulatory issues, primarily Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurer payment disputes and appeals, compliance with fraud and abuse rules, responding to investigations and audits, and provider-based and 340B drug pricing issues. Gary has handled hundreds of appeals and responded to audits and payer recoupment requests on behalf of hospitals, physicians, acupuncturists, labs, home health and home care agencies, and many other types of providers. Gary’s active reimbursement practice covers administrative appeals and litigation from both individual claims and cost reports disputes and mediations. The issues have been diverse, from disproportionate share to allied health programs, from medical education to RAC reviews of short-stays in hospitals. Sometimes patience and doggedness is necessary – Gary recently resolved some matters that resulted from government underpayments for up to 19 years prior, with interest sweetening the final amount. Over the decades Gary has garnered over $100 million in payments to his clients and managed to counsel his clients by keeping them on the safe side of any investigations, much less criminal activities. In addition, Gary is counsel to a number of physician groups on various issues, including employment contracts, fraud and abuse and Stark issues, and patient care. He also has advised hospitals and community health centers on the federal 340B drug discount pricing program. Gary also has advised hospitals and collection agencies on the IRS Section 501(r) charge and collection obligations of charitable hospitals. Gary is a frequent lecturer at national, regional and local conferences, including the Healthcare Financial Management Association, Massachusetts Hospital Association, Massachusetts Medical Society, and the medical staffs at various hospitals. Gary has been selected by his peers for inclusion in New England Super Lawyers under Health Care and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America under Health Care Law. He also has been awarded the Founders Medal of Honor by HFMA. Learn more about Gary at www.verrilldana.com/grosenberg
Anna Santoro, MBA, CCS, CCS-P, RCC
System Director Revenue Integrity/CDM
Hartford Healthcare
T2A: “Got Revenue Integrity? Strong Processes for a Strong Program”
Anna Santoro MBA, CCS, CCS-P, RCC is currently the Director of Revenue Integrity at Hartford Healthcare in CT. She is a member of HFMA, AHIMA, and sits on the board of directors for NAHRI. Anna has 20 years of experience with charge master, claim edits, denials and coding.
Charlie Saponaro
President/CEO
Medical Record Associates
W5B: “Compliance Update”
Charlie Saponaro is an experienced entrepreneur with a proven track record of both operating and investing in growing companies. Prior to Medical Record Associates, Mr. Saponaro was a key member of the ArchivesOne management team. While at ArchivesOne, Mr. Saponaro was instrumental in growing the business from a regional company to the third largest records management company in the United States before being acquired by Iron Mountain (NYSE: IRM). Before joining ArchivesOne, Mr. Saponaro was a Vice President at Brook Venture Partners, a Boston-based venture capital firm focused on expansion stage companies. Prior to Brook, Mr. Saponaro worked for Saturn Capital, a Boston-based venture capital and private equity firm focused on early stage technology companies. Before Saturn, he worked for Boston Capital, the largest apartment owner in the United States. Mr. Saponaro holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Vermont.
Donna Schneider, RN, MBA, CPHQ, CPC-P, CHC, CPCO, CHPC
System Revenue Compliance Officer
Yale New Haven Health
T2A: “Got Revenue Integrity? Strong Processes for a Strong Program”
Biography coming soon!
Adam Silverman, MD, FACP
VP of Population Health
St. Francis Health Partners
W2C: “The Clinically Integrated Network, A Value Driven Organization Structure”
Adam Silverman, MD, FACP is a Board Certified and re-Certified (twice) General Internist and Professor of Medicine at the Netter School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University. He currently serves as Vice President for Population Health for a regional clinically integrated network in Hartford, Ct, the Southern New England Healthcare Organization. In addition, he is the Co-Director of the Connecticut Institute for Primary Care Innovation. In his spare time, he still manages to practice primary care Internal Medicine. Adam’s career has included large and small group private practice, academic medicine, and large health system experience. Over his career he has sought to collaborate with others to improve patients’ experience with care, to knock down barriers to more seamless value-based care, and improve the health and function of the healthcare team. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and serves on the Internal Medicine Subspecialty Board of the American Board of Internal Medicine. He received his BA in Geography at Middlebury College, his MD at the Pennsylvania State University School of Medicine and completed his residency at the Northwestern University School of Medicine.
Kevin Stone
Senior Consultant
Helms & Company
W4C Moderator: “The Journey to Affiliation — A Glimpse Into the Connecticut Systems and Integration of a Large Physician Group” W5C: “The Journey to Affiliation – A Long Road to Success, a New Hampshire Experience”
Kevin Stone is a Senior Consultant and Principal at Helms & Company and works part-time at Dartmouth-Hitchcock as a Strategic Liaison focusing on Accountable Care Organization activities and Regional Services. Previously Kevin worked at Dartmouth-Hitchcock as the Executive Director of Managed Care and Contracting, and as Chief Operating Officer for the Southern Region. At Helms & Company, Kevin has helped develop physician hospital joint ventures and supported various organization affiliations, mergers, and acquisitions. He manages a consortium of home health and hospice agencies and a shared imaging service among hospitals and physicians. Kevin has published articles in the Journal of The American Medical Association, Family Medicine, and Medical Decision Making and has lectured at the National Institutes of Health and the University of Vermont and Dartmouth Medical Schools.
Kevin has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Johns Hopkins University and a Masters in Business Administration from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College where he was named an Edward Tuck Scholar. Kevin is a past President of the NH/VT Chapter of Healthcare Financial Management Association and currently serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors of One Care Vermont- a statewide multi-provider ACO.
Keni Thomas
Former Sargent of Bravo Company of the 3rd Ranger Batallion, award-winning Nashville recording artist, and spokesperson for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.
W1: Keynote Address- Get it On! What it Means to Lead the Way”
As a member of Bravo Company of the 3rd Ranger Battalion Sgt Keni Thomas was deployed to Mogadishu Somalia as part of a special operations package called Tasked Force Ranger. Their mission was to find and capture a criminal warlord named Mohammed Farrah Aideed. Outnumbered 10 to 1, the men of TFR distinguished themselves in an 18-hour fire fight that would later be recounted in the highly successful book and movie Blackhawk Down. 19 Americans died and 78 were wounded. Keni got out of the Army to pursue his music career and now works full time as an aware winning Nashville recording artist. His band Cornbread was featured in the movie Sweet Home Alabama and regularly tours with the USO to perform for our military personnel serving in the Middle East. As an entertainer, Keni has been recognized by congress, the White House, and was recently inducted into the VFW Hall of Fame for his dedicated work on behalf of our veterans and military families. Keni is also very proud to be a national spokesperson for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation which provides college educations to the children of our special operations personnel killed in combat or training. Keni Thomas is a graduate of the University of Florida, a recipient of the American Patriot Award and the Bronze Star for Valor.
David Tolley
Partner
Latham & Watkins LLP
W5A: “Healthcare Enforcement Trends for Healthcare Finance Professionals”
David Tolley advises healthcare and life sciences organizations, including hospitals, pharmacy organizations, health IT companies, medical device manufacturers and other organizations on a variety of regulatory, compliance and litigation matters. Mr. Tolley has represented healthcare and life sciences organizations, in addition to organizations and companies from other industries, under investigation by state and federal authorities and he regularly conducts internal investigations. Mr. Tolley has also assisted with development of comprehensive and effective compliance programs. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Tolley practiced at another leading firm in Boston.
Torchiana David
President and CEO
Partners Health
T3: Closing CEO Panel
Biography coming soon!
Jonathan Wiik, MSHA, MBA
Principal, Healthcare Strategy
TransUnion Healthcare
W2A: “Healthcare Revolution: The Patient Is The New Payer”
Jonathan Wiik brings over 20 years’ experience to healthcare, serving in acute care, insurance and business solutions settings. Jonathan is an officer on the Colorado HFMA Board, President of the Board of Directors at an Assisted Living Facility, and Principal of Healthcare Strategy for TransUnion Healthcare. As an active advocate of legislative changes to evolve the healthcare industry, Wiik recently authored Healthcare Revolution: The Patient is the New Payer, and has spoken at numerous national and state events. He has developed several nationally-recognized programs in Point-of-Service (POS) Collections, financial clearance, and operational best practices for hospitals. Jonathan holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Sports Medicine from Colorado State University and Master’s Degrees in both Healthcare Administration and Business from the University of Colorado. He enjoys spending time outdoors with his family in Colorado, which includes a wonderful wife and two very energetic red-headed boys. Jonathan is a certified whitewater rafting guide instructor, and as an avid traveler and has visited several continents—including a 6 month stay in Antarctica and a visit to the South Pole.
Denise Williams, RN, COC
SVP Revenue Integrity Services
REVANT Solutions
T2A: “Got Revenue Integrity? Strong Processes for a Strong Program”
Denise Williams, RN, COC is senior vice president of the revenue integrity division and compliance auditor at Revant Solutions, Inc. She has more than 30 years of healthcare experience, including a background in multiple areas of nursing. For the past 20 years, Williams has been in the field of coding and reimbursement and has performed numerous E&M, OP surgical, ED, and observation coding chart reviews from the documentation, compliance, and reimbursement perspectives. She serves as a contributing author to articles published in HCPro’s APC Insider and Briefings on APCs and is a nationally recognized speaker on various coding and reimbursement topics.