Speakers

Polly Weaver. Polly has been the Chief of Field Operations for the Division of Health Quality Assurance, Agency for Health Care Administration since 1995 and has over 25 years of regulatory experience.. Responsibilities include management of the eight Agency for Health Care Administration field offices located throughout Florida. These offices are responsible for the certification and survey functions and enforcement activities of the health care facilities that are licensed by this Agency and encompasses one of the largest survey programs in the nation. It is the responsibility of these field offices to ensure these facilities are operating as required by state and federal regulations. In addition, Polly currently oversees the staff training and quality assurance program, as well as, complaint administration activities. Her clinical expertise is in laboratory medicine, and she has worked as a Medical Technologist in the reference, hospital and physician office laboratory arenas. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Medical Technology from Stetson University.

Rick Harris received a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1980. He joined the staff of the Alabama Department of Public Health in 1989, beginning as legal counsel for the Division of Licensure and Certification, and from 1998 until 2010 he served as director of the Bureau of Health Provider Standards, the state survey agency for Alabama. He is a past president of the Association of Health Facility Survey Agencies and represented AHFSA on a national assisted living workgroup which was formed at the request of the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging. Rick is affiliated with the Birmingham, Alabama law firm of Starnes, Davis, Florie, in an of counsel capacity. His law practice is limited to health care regulatory matters. He currently is serving as a professional subject matter expert on various consulting projects for CMS, including the Complaint Investigation and Supervisory Review project and the State Agency Director Course project. He is also a principal in the company, Health Regulatory Policy Consultants, LLC, which provides training and consultation services to state survey agencies.

Betty Bennett is a registered nurse with over 30 years of experience in clinical services and the management of long-term care facilities. She has worked extensively with the regulatory process, both at the facility level as well as at the state level. She presently serves as the Program Developer/Director for the (AIPP), Arkansas Innovative Performance Program, a Medicaid funded Quality Improvement Program unique to Arkansas. This program offers clinical assistance to individual homes, as well as an extensive program for on-going state-wide regional training each year. AIPP is survey data driven and uses this information for proactive program development.

She has served as a member of the following taskforce committees at the corporate level to develop the following training modules: Clinical Admission Assessment – Immediate Plans of Care;

DNS Orientation Process; and, Nursing Policies and Procedure

SClinical Admission A

Opening Ceremony Mary C. Selecky Mary C. Selecky has been Secretary of the Washington State Department of Health since March 1999, serving under Governor Chris Gregoire and former Governor Gary Locke. Prior to working for the state, Mary served for 20 years as administrator of the Northeast Tri-County Health District in Colville, Washington. Throughout her career, Mary has been a leader in developing local, state and national public health policies that recognize the unique health care challenges facing both urban and rural communities. As secretary of health, Mary has made tobacco prevention and control, patient safety, and emergency preparedness her top priorities. Mary is known for bringing people and organizations together to improve the public health system and the health of people in Washington. Mary has served for two terms as the president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, receiving the 2010 American Medical Association’s Nathan Davis Award for Outstanding Government Service; and is a past president of the Washington State Association of Local Public Health Officials. Mary served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of City and County Health Official. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, she’s been a Washington State resident for 36 years.
Keynote Speaker (Monday) Jim Bergquist Jim Bergquist enjoys a distinguished career as an executive coach, meeting facilitator, trainer and public speaker. His career began as a classically trained musician and performer. Keenly interested in the practical applications of human creativity, he became engaged in the possibility of ending global poverty. Jim worked with The Hunger Project, now a United Nations non-profit NGO committed to eliminating hunger and malnutrition in the world. As a Hunger Project leader, volunteer coordinator and coach, his worldwide experience in empowering people to create positive change subsequently led to his forming a consulting firm. Jim founded Creative Business Futures (bizFutures), a consulting firm, in 1983. Along with the bizFutures team, Jim specializes in “cultural transformation” and “organizational creativity”. He is an expert at coaching leaders in generating organizational breakthroughs. The consultants at bizFutures are renowned for unleashing employee creativity and productivity, and greatly expanding overall organizational effectiveness. Recently, a series of best selling training videos and books about one of Jim’s long-time clients has documented his innovative approach for bringing about cultural transformation. In 1986, Jim began coaching the fishmongers at the now famous Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle, Washington. He coached them in developing an empowering company culture and in fulfilling their vision to be a “world famous in a way that makes a difference for people”. Using a unique approach called The Science of Possibility and the Technology of Being™, Creative Business Futures has produced amazing results with companies in industries as far ranging as retail, finance, government, healthcare, education and energy. Their focus is on management by inspiration and empowerment (coaching) versus the older management model of command and control.
Luncheon Speaker (Tuesday) Teepa Snow Teepa is an occupational therapist working as a dementia care and dementia education specialist. She has over 31 years of clinical experience in the field of geriatrics and dementia care. Currently, she has an independent practice as well as clinical appointments with Duke University's School of Nursing and UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Medicine. She provides interactive and creative educational and training sessions to organizations and providers throughout the US & Canada. She has been actively involved in teaching and clinical research projects throughout her practice career.
Keynote Speaker (Tuesday 8:30AM) Kent Rader Known as the “World’s Cleanest Comedian and Speaker,” Kent Rader helps people and associations learn and experience how laughter matters in reducing stress and building quality organizations. Kent graduated from William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri with a B.S. in Accounting. He survived five years in public accounting and twelve years as C.F.O. and C.E.O. of hospitals before becoming a professional speaker in 1997. Kent has authored the stress reduction book titled Let It Go, Just Let It Go, which is featured in 450 Country Inn and Suites Hotel’s Read It and Return program. Kent co-stars with Jan McInnis in the Baby Boomer Comedy Show, Clean Comedy for People Born Before Seat Belts, Safety Helmets, and Facebook and has been heard on NPR’s Talk of the Nation, Sirius Satellite radio, and Look Whos Laughing. He is also the winner of the 2007 Branson Comedy Festival.
General Session (Wednesday Morning 8:30) Dean Linneman Mr. Linneman is the Administrator for the Section of Health Standards and Licensure within the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. He received a BS in Biology/Medical Technology from Truman State University and later earned a Master’s Degree in Health Administration from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Mr. Linneman has worked in various capacities in the health care industry for greater than 20 years. Shelly Williamson Shelly Williamson is currently the Assistant Administrator for the Section for Long Term Care Regulation. Shelly began employment with the Section in 1995 as a Facility Surveyor. She is a graduate of the University of Central Missouri with a Master of Science in Social Gerontology. Teresa Generous Teresa A. Generous is Director of the Division of Regulation and Licensure of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS). Prior to joining DHSS, Ms. Generous practiced commercial and health law in the metropolitan St. Louis, Missouri area as Corporate General Counsel and as a partner in a large metropolitan law firm. Ms. Generous has served as President of the Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater Metropolitan St. Louis and as Chair of the Business Law Section of the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis. She is admitted to the practice of law in Missouri, Illinois and to the United States Supreme Court. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology/Chemistry from St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York; a Masters of Education and Counseling Psychology and a Juris Doctorate from University of Missouri-Columbia. Jeanne Serra Jeanne M. Serra is Deputy Director, Division of Regulation and Licensure, of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS). Prior to joining DHSS, Ms. Serra practiced health law in St. Louis, MO, as corporate general counsel for a national professional health association, assistant general counsel for the Missouri Department of Mental Health, and assistant attorney general for the Missouri Attorney General’s Office. She is admitted to practice law in Missouri and Illinois, and is a Registered Nurse in Missouri. Ms. Serra earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Webster University in St. Louis, and a Juris Doctorate from St. Louis University School of Law.
Center for Medicare/Medicaid Services (Wednesday Morning 9:45) Thomas Hamilton Thomas Hamilton is Director of the Survey and Certification Group within CMS ’ Center for Medicaid and State Operations. The Group is responsible for quality assurance for more than 100,000 providers that participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, including hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, rural health clinics, home health agencies, hospices, dialysis facilities, clinical laboratories, and nursing homes. The Group’s responsibilities include: § Comprehensive surveys to assure quality of care on the part of providers that participate in Medicare or Medicaid; § Investigations pursuant to quality of care complaints; § Quality assurance for clinical laboratories that test human specimens for health care purposes; § Ensuring that corrective action is taken when quality of care problems are identified; § Policy guidance and oversight for about 7000 surveyors in federal and State survey agencies; § Monitoring and approval of accrediting organizations; and § Working with professional associations, consumer organizations, States, and many others to take actions that promote the ability of beneficiaries to receive quality care in a safe environment. Mr. Hamilton previously served as the Director of CMS ’ Disabled and Elderly Health Programs Group where he led the development of Medicaid policies for low income elderly and disabled adults. He also co-led the President’s New Freedom Initiative, a collaborative effort of 9 federal agencies acting under Executive Order 13217 to improve the prospects of elderly and disabled people to obtain or sustain the supports needed to live in their own homes and to participate in their communities. The $1.75 billion Money Follows the Person Initiative passed by Congress in 2005 was one product of those efforts. For 21 years prior to joining CMS Mr. Hamilton was one of the principal architects of the Wisconsin long-term care system. During that time he designed and managed innovative programs for integrated programs that combine acute and long term care services, for long-term care, home and community-based services, managed care involving Medicare and Medicaid, income maintenance programs, and employment initiatives for people with disabilities. A native of Massachusetts, Mr. Hamilton received a bachelor’s degree in 1973 from Brandeis University before conducting graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin.
Breakout Sessions
A1	Dr. Leible is an internist with a CAQ in Geriatrics. During her geriatric fellowship she concentrated on long term care and palliative care medicine. She has practiced in 3 states Colorado, Florida and Georgia. She has spent time doing clinical practice in academic medicine at Emory University in Atlanta as well as private practice in Colorado and Florida. Currently she is the Chief Clinical Officer for Pinon Management in Lakewood Colorado. She is President of the American Medical Directors Association and has served on their public policy and education committees. In Colorado she is active with the state chapter for AMDA (CMDA) and served as a member of the Colorado Commission on Aging 2008-2010.
A2	Dr. Melissa Schaefer. I am a Medical Officer in the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. I work on the team that deals with healthcare settings outside the hospital. My work focuses primarily on infection control issues in ambulatory surgical centers and outpatient clinics and well as issues related injection safety and medication handling in all settings. Angela Mason-Elbert is the technical lead for Ambulatory Surgical Centers in the Division of Acute Care Services (DACS), within the Survey & Certification Group. Angela has been at CMS since 1998, joining the agency through the Presidential Management Fellowship program. Prior to joining DACS, she worked in the Division of Ambulatory Services and was responsible for Part B drug payment policy. Angela has a B.S. from James Madison University, a M.S. from the University of Baltimore, and a J.D. from the University of Maryland at Baltimore.
A3	Bea Rector was recently appointed as WA State Aging and Disability Administration’s Project Lead for the state’s planning grant to integrate care for individuals dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. Bea has worked within the Aging and Disability Services Administration since 1999 and has held a number of critical management positions, including the Office Chief of the State Unit on Aging and prior to that as Office Chief of the Home and Community Programs Unit, both within ADSA’s Home and Community Services Division. Prior to working with ADSA, Bea worked for a large home care agency that provided in-home personal care services to individuals with physical, cognitive and developmental disabilities. She received a Master of Public Administration from the University of Washington in 1993. She received the Governor’s Award for Leadership in Management in 2008.
A4	Donna Turner Cobb is Senior Counsel with the Washington State Attorney General’s Office. She supervises a team of nine assistant attorneys general, who handle various long-term care and Medicaid issues. Donna has represented the state’s nursing home program for sixteen years, handling a variety of issues related to state licensing and Medicare and Medicaid certification. In 1995, Donna’s first assignment with the Attorney General’s Office was to provide advice about the legal requirements related to implementation of the OBRA nurse aide registry. Donna has a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Washington, and a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley. Donna was in private practice for nine years before joining the Attorney General’s Office. Angela Coats McCarthy, a graduate of the University of Washington School of Law, is an assistant attorney general with the Washington State Attorney General’s Office. For the last seven years, Angela has represented the Medicaid and long-term care licensing and certification programs, including representation of the programs that regulate adult family homes, boarding homes (assisted living), and supported living for individuals who receive services through an agency. Angela also represents the Resident Client Protection Program, which makes civil findings of abuse, neglect and exploitation against individuals. During her representation of this program, it has expanded from making findings in nursing facilities, to making findings in all licensed or certified long-term care settings. Angela has also practiced in federal and state court. Angela also teaches a class for new long-term care survey and licensing employees about what to expect during an administrative hearing. Although, after handling more than 100 hearings, Angela firmly believes that expecting the unexpected is the best course of action.
A5	Lisa Tripp is an Assistant Professor of Law at John Marshall Law School in Atlanta, Georgia. Prior to joining John Marshall’s faculty she was an attorney in the Atlanta regional office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). While at HHS, she litigated many federal nursing home cases involving physical and sexual abuse, neglect, elopements, falls, pressure sores, malnutrition, and substandard quality of care. Prior to her employment at HHS, Professor Tripp was an associate in the commercial litigation practice group of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP in Atlanta. Professor Tripp received her law degree, with honors, from George Washington University Law School, in Washington, D.C.
B1	Dr. Leible is an internist with a CAQ in Geriatrics. During her geriatric fellowship she concentrated on long term care and palliative care medicine. She has practiced in 3 states Colorado, Florida and Georgia. She has spent time doing clinical practice in academic medicine at Emory University in Atlanta as well as private practice in Colorado and Florida. Currently she is the Chief Clinical Officer for Pinon Management in Lakewood Colorado. She is President of the American Medical Directors Association and has served on their public policy and education committees. In Colorado she is active with the state chapter for AMDA (CMDA) and served as a member of the Colorado Commission on Aging 2008-2010.
B2	Diane Rydrych is the Assistant Director of the Division of Health Policy at the Minnesota Department of Health. Ms. Rydrych is the department’s lead staff person on Adverse Health Events reporting and patient safety issues. She manages the state’s adverse events reporting system and writes about trends in patient safety for state and national publications, as well as working with the MN Alliance for Patient Safety, the Minnesota Hospital Association and other stakeholder groups both in Minnesota and other states to develop and implement system changes to promote safer patient care and a cultural shift in how we view adverse events. Ms. Rydrych has a master’s degree in public policy from the Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota, and has worked at the Health Department for eleven years.
B3	Polly Weaver. Polly has been the Chief of Field Operations for the Division of Health Quality Assurance, Agency for Health Care Administration since 1995 and has over 25 years of regulatory experience.. Responsibilities include management of the eight Agency for Health Care Administration field offices located throughout Florida. These offices are responsible for the certification and survey functions and enforcement activities of the health care facilities that are licensed by this Agency and encompasses one of the largest survey programs in the nation. It is the responsibility of these field offices to ensure these facilities are operating as required by state and federal regulations. In addition, Polly currently oversees the staff training and quality assurance program, as well as, complaint administration activities. Her clinical expertise is in laboratory medicine, and she has worked as a Medical Technologist in the reference, hospital and physician office laboratory arenas. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Medical Technology from Stetson University. Rick Harris received a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1980. He joined the staff of the Alabama Department of Public Health in 1989, beginning as legal counsel for the Division of Licensure and Certification, and from 1998 until 2010 he served as director of the Bureau of Health Provider Standards, the state survey agency for Alabama. He is a past president of the Association of Health Facility Survey Agencies and represented AHFSA on a national assisted living workgroup which was formed at the request of the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging. Rick is affiliated with the Birmingham, Alabama law firm of Starnes, Davis, Florie, in an of counsel capacity. His law practice is limited to health care regulatory matters. He currently is serving as a professional subject matter expert on various consulting projects for CMS, including the Complaint Investigation and Supervisory Review project and the State Agency Director Course project. He is also a principal in the company, Health Regulatory Policy Consultants, LLC, which provides training and consultation services to state survey agencies.
B4	Thomas J. Walsh II has served as a Senior Attorney in the General Counsel's Office of Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration since 2004. In addition to managing and prosecuting an active caseload of facilities regulation actions, Tom also heads the Emergency Licensure Action team. He has also served as the Agency's informal hearing officer on numerous occasions. A graduate of Stetson College of Law in Gulfport, Florida, and a member of the Florida Bar in excess of twenty years, Tom has extensive litigation experience in civil, family, and administrative law. He has served as Court Counsel to the Sixth Judicial Circuit of the State of Florida and has been a guest lecturer in numerous areas including guardianship, alternative dispute resolution, emergency administrative actions, and Florida Civil Practice. In addition to his legal career, Tom is active as a member of the board of directors for a national not-for-profit organization focusing on the treatment of addictions, mental health, and homelessness. Included in this service is serving as Chair for a Florida based not-for profit and a member of two other Florida based not-for-profit corporations. Previously Tom served as both a member and Chair of the Health and Human Services Board for District Five of Florida's Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services. A native of St. Petersburg, Florida, Tom resides in his home town with his wife of twenty-eight years, Susan.
B5	Mary Absolon, Program Manager -- Licensing and Certification, Home Care and Assisted Living, Compliance Monitoring Division, Minnesota Department of Health, March 1993 to present. Policy planning and survey program implementation related to federally certified and state licensed providers. Manage complex inspection and enforcement process for health providers statewide including nursing homes - overseeing implementation of QIS statewide, home health providers, assisted living, hospice, group homes for the intellectually disabled, hospitals/critical access hospitals, clinical laboratories, end stage renal dialysis, ambulatory surgical centers and therapy. Implement survey agency quality improvement initiatives. Work collaboratively to improve quality of heath care with stakeholders and consumers. Implementation of federal nursing home guidelines: QIS, pressure ulcers, urinary incontinence, medical director, unnecessary medications and other areas. Cecile Castello, RN, has more than 35 years of nursing experience, and since 2005 has served as the manager of field operations for the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, Health Standards Section. Her responsibilities include the management of 6 agency field offices located throughout the state of Louisiana, encompassing a staff of 158 survey staff, managers, and clerical support. These offices are responsible for the certification and survey functions and enforcement activities of the health care facilities that are licensed by this agency. It is the responsibility of these field offices to ensure these facilities are operating as required by state and federal regulations. Prior to coming to state government in 1998, she worked for 21 years in the hospital clinical arena as well as managing a hospital based home health agency. Her nursing degree was obtained from Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, LA in 1976. KathyMcCanna, R.N., B.S.N., CPHQ. Since 2000 Bureau Chief for the Bureau of Medical Facilities Licensing with the Arizona Department of Health Services, Division of Licensing responsible for the statewide health care institution state licensing and Medicare certification of health care institutions classified as Hospitals, Hospices, Home Health Agencies, Recovery Care Centers, Outpatient Surgical Centers, Dialysis Centers, Abortion Clinics and Outpatient Treatment Centers including Physical Therapy, Rural Health Clinic, Comprehensive Outpatient Rehabilitation, School based clinics, Primary Care and Portable X-ray. Served as interim Manager for Long Term Care during the 2010-11 QIS implementation. Licensed RN/BSN with Certification in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) and Certified Investigator (NCIT). Diversified background in quality management including continuous quality improvement principles and techniques, outcomes management, utilization management, customer satisfaction, risk management, infection control, case management and credentialing. Darryl Luyt is the supervisor of the regulatory Quality Assurance Program for the State of Washington. This position includes the role of State Training Coordinator for LTC. In October 2008 Washington was selected to implement the Quality Indicator Survey (QIS) process and Darryl was the implementation coordinator. Ms. Luyt is a Registered QIS Surveyor, a Certified QIS Trainer, and a QIS Trainer Instructor. As part of the QA program she does the DAR-SA analysis and follow-up training. Darryl obtained her Master of Science in Nursing degree from the University of Phoenix online. She is currently a member of the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.
C1	Sue Ann Guildermann has over thirty-five years experience providing education, leadership and consultation to non-profit and for-profit Long Term Care organizations. Sue Ann is a Registered Nurse with a BA and MA in communication and adult education. She designs and produces educational seminars and conferences for Empira, a consortium of 27 skilled nursing facilities. Sue Ann directs quality improvement projects based upon data interpretation and analysis and is currently completing a 3 year MN DHS grant project to reduce resident falls in Skilled Nursing Facilities. Sue Ann has edited, designed and written educational manuals, printed materials and videotapes. She also teaches at the University of Minnesota in their School of Public Health. Sue Ann is both a nationally and internationally recognized speaker. She received the 2005 Chairperson's Award from the Care Providers Association "in recognition of her outstanding leadership in educational programming."
C2	Dr. Joseph Perz is with the CDC’s Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, based in Atlanta, Georgia. He serves as the Team Leader for Ambulatory and Long Term Care in the Prevention and Response Branch. Dr. Perz entered the field of public health after training as an engineer and environmental scientist. After receiving a Doctorate in Public Health from Columbia University, he served as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer with the Tennessee Department of Health. During his 12 years with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Perz has guided dozens of outbreak investigations and special studies, drawing attention to the needs for injection safety and other basic infection control. He has authored or co-authored numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. His team’s activities are currently focused on interagency collaboration, support to health departments, and partnership efforts to expand prevention activities to ambulatory and long term care settings. Karen Hoffmann is the Infection Control Preventionist in the Survey and Certification Group at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, and a Clinical Instructor for the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of North Carolina’s School of Medicine in Chapel Hill. Ms. Hoffmann has specialized in the area of infection control and prevention for 30 years, beginning at the Detroit Medical Center, then at the University of Virginia Hospitals, and most recently for 23 years as the Associate Director of the North Carolina Statewide Program for Infection Control and Epidemiology. Ms. Hoffmann is a Fellow in the Society of Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA). She is a member of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control (APIC), currently serving as the Co-Chair on the APIC Annual Conference Committee, and also is certified in Infection Control. She has published many articles in the peer-reviewed literature, and serves on the editorial board of the journal, Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology. Ms. Hoffmann earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Indiana University and her Master’s in Healthcare Epidemiology from the University of Virginia. Dr. Daniel Schwartz, MD earned his Medical Degree at George Washington University and trained as an Urologist at University of Maryland in Baltimore. He practiced in the US Air Force at Keesler Medical Center in Biloxi, MS, and in Palm Springs, CA. In 1992, Dr Schwartz joined Kaiser Permanente in Baltimore, MD, and, in addition to his clinical practice, he held a variety of administrative positions. In 2000, he earned his Masters in Business Administration from Loyola College in Baltimore. Dr. Schwartz joined CMS as the Chief Medical Officer of Survey and Certification Group in May, 2010. He has focused primarily on infection prevention and control issues in multiple provider types. He works with DHHS, CDC, AHRQ, FDA, State Survey Agencies, and the private sector on ways to improve the survey process and patient safety.
C3	Lynne Korte is Project Director for Washington State’s ADSSP grants. She has been involved in the field of aging and dementia care for 30 years, as a family caregiver consultant, program manager for adult day services and specialized dementia residential care. For the past 20 years, she has worked for Washington State’s Aging and Disability Services Administration in the planning and development of services and support for people with dementia and their family caregivers. In this capacity she has been integral to the development of the state’s Specialized Dementia Care Program in Boarding Homes and the Family Caregiver Support Program, as well as the promotion of innovations and dementia capability within them. Lynne did her undergraduate work at the University of Michigan with a focus on gerontology and holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Lori Melchiori has worked in various roles directly with, and on behalf of, elders and persons with disabilities for three decades. She is currently the Assistant Director of Residential Care Services Division (RCS), DSHS. In this capacity, Lori oversees the RCS field operations related to licensing/certification and complaint investigations conducted in approximately 3800 Adult Family Homes, Boarding Homes, and Nursing Homes throughout Washington. Prior to this position, she served as the DSHS Adult Protective Service (APS) Statewide Program Manager for 7 years. Lori earned a commercial pilot license in 1981 from Big Bend Community College and a PhD. in 1994 from Washington State University.
C4	Page Ulrey is a Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney at the King County Prosecutor's Office. She graduated from Amherst College and Northeastern University School of Law. After law school, she worked for four and a half years as a public defender in Seattle. In 1998, she went to work at the King County Prosecutor's Office, where she has prosecuted domestic violence and mainstream cases, supervised the prosecution of misdemeanor cases, and chaired the Juvenile Unit of her office. Page was appointed to the then newly-created position of elder abuse prosecutor in the Criminal Division of her office in 2001. For the next five years, she prosecuted cases of vulnerable adult neglect, financial exploitation, sexual assault, physical assault, and homicide. She also founded and chaired the King County Elder Abuse Council and Criminal Mistreatment Review Panel. Since September, 2007, Page has been working as the elder abuse prosecutor in the office’s Economic Crimes Unit, where she handles cases of vulnerable adult financial abuse, neglect, and sexual assault and co-chairs the King County Elder Abuse Council and Elder Fatality Review Team. For the past five years, she has been involved in protocol development and has been a trainer on elder abuse investigation and prosecution for the Office on Violence Against Women and the National District Attorneys Association. Page conducts trainings on vulnerable adult neglect and abuse locally and throughout the country. Aileen Miller is the Deputy Director of the Washington Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU). The MFCU investigates and prosecutes provider fraud committed against the Medicaid program and resident abuse/neglect in Medicaid funded facilities. Aileen has also held positions as a Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office, an Assistant Attorney General in the Washington Attorney General’s Criminal Justice Division (CJD), and a Deputy Prosecutor in Hill County, Montana. In the CJD, Aileen represented the Washington State Department of Corrections and handled civil rights cases, including complex litigation such as class actions. As a member of the MFCU’s Long Term Care team, Aileen works on cases involving allegations of fraud, abuse and neglect in Medicaid funded facilities. Richard C. Harruff is Chief Medical Examiner of the King County Medical Examiner’s Office in Seattle, Washington. He earned his MD and PhD(Chemistry) degrees from Indiana University in 1976 and completed postgraduate training in pathology at University of Wisconsin (Madison), New York University, and University of Tennessee (Memphis). Dr. Harruff is certified in Anatomic, Clinical and Forensic Pathology by the American Board of Pathology. He has held faculty appointments in the pathology departments of Emory University (Atlanta) while working for the Public Health Service at Grady Memorial Hospital, University of Tennessee while serving as Assistant Chief Medical Examiner for Shelby County and the State of Tennessee in Memphis, and Indiana University while providing forensic pathology services to the Marion County Coroner in Indianapolis. He is currently Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology at University of Washington School of Medicine. Prior to being appointed Chief Medical Examiner in 2000, Dr. Harruff was Associate Medical Examiner at the King County Medical Examiner’s Office since 1993. In addition to practicing forensic pathology, Dr. Harruff lectures widely on topics related to pathology and the investigation of intentional and unintentional injuries, including those of elderly and vulnerable adults.
C5	Sharon I. Eloranta, MD, is the Medical Director for Quality and Safety Initiatives at Qualis Health in Seattle. She provides leadership and consultation for a variety of patient safety and quality improvement programs including the Safety Net Medical Home Initiative and the CMS Care Transitions program. Dr. Eloranta is a George W. Merck Fellow at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and a member of the IHI faculty. During her Fellowship year in Cambridge, she concentrated on the study of sustaining and spreading change, prevention of surgical site infections, and innovations in the prevention of birth trauma. Dr. Eloranta is an associate clinical professor at the University of Washington in the Health Services Department. Susan Hausmann, MS, is a Quality Improvement Consultant and Health Care Analyst with over ten years experience with Qualis Health. She currently works on patient safety initiatives in Washington, including reduction of health care acquired conditions, patient safety culture and improving communication and teamwork in SNFs. She also advises and collaborates with individual facilities, corporate chains and other stakeholders to implement best practices as common practices, with special focus on Washington’s long-term care facilities. Ms. Hausmann serves on the Washington Health Care Association’s Education Committee and regional projects to improve care transitions. Ms. Hausmann holds a Master of Science in Biology from Michigan State University, and a Bachelor of Science from the University of California at Berkeley.
D1	Tracy Niekamp is the Program Manager for the Licensure and Certification Unit in the Section for Long Term Care Regulation in Missouri. She has been involved in the field of regulation for 10 years, as a surveyor and a program manager. For the past 5 years, she has been an active member of the Association of Health Facility State Agencies (AHFSA), serving as the Regional Representative for CMS Region 7. As the manager for the L&C unit, Tracy is highly involved in the Special Focus Facility selection process and the state’s efforts to improve quality of care and quality of life in compliance challenged homes in her state. Tracy has a degree in Sociology from Lincoln University. Carol Shockley is the director of the Office of Long Term Care in the Division of Medical Services of the Arkansas Department of Human Services. Ms. Shockley has served in her current role since 1999. During this time, Ms. Shockley brought together the major long term care stakeholders in Arkansas. Ms Shockley is one of the state's leading advocates for residents and leads the state of Arkansas in the development of state wide culture change initiatives. She has encouraged both providers and surveyors to incorporate Eden Alternative principles in long term care through SSA and provider participation in the Eden Alternative training principles. One of her most recognized accomplishments is the increased cooperation with providers in the areas of training, improving state regulations and encouraging legislation that improved long term care for families, residents, and caregivers. s. Shockley, a graduate of the University of Central Arkansas, has a Master’s degree in speech pathology from Phillips University in Oklahoma and has served in various divisions in DHS. Prior to becoming director of the Office of Long Term Care, Ms. Shockley served in a number of positions with the Division of Developmental Disability Services, including assistant director for the largest ICF/ID. She is a member of the American College of Health Care Administrators and Arkansas Coalition for Nursing Home Excellence. Betty Bennett is a registered nurse with over 30 years of experience in clinical services and the management of long-term care facilities. She has worked extensively with the regulatory process, both at the facility level as well as at the state level. She presently serves as the Program Developer/Director for the (AIPP), Arkansas Innovative Performance Program, a Medicaid funded Quality Improvement Program unique to Arkansas. This program offers clinical assistance to individual homes, as well as an extensive program for on-going state-wide regional training each year. AIPP is survey data driven and uses this information for proactive program development. She has served as a member of the following taskforce committees at the corporate level to develop the following training modules: Clinical Admission Assessment – Immediate Plans of Care; DNS Orientation Process; and, Nursing Policies and Procedure SClinical Admission A She has served on committees that have revised the Arkansas CNA curriculum, developed the Arkansas Activity Director Training, and revision of the Arkansas State LTC Regulations. In her current role with the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care, she has been instrumental in the development of the following Process Indicators/ Best Practices to be utilized in state-wide training: Medication Management; Thickened Liquids; QM/QI Report Utilization; Advance Directives; Dietary Prep & Serve; Facility Training Toolkit.
D2	Sharon I. Eloranta, MD, see C5. Mary Ellen Palowitch is a hospital program analyst in the Division of Acute Care Services of the Survey and Certification Group in the Centers for Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Plan, and Survey & Certification at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in Baltimore, Maryland. In mid 2010 she joined the Federal government after working clinically and in managerial roles in a variety of healthcare settings. Most recently Ms. Palowitch served as the Director of the Emergency Department at Calvert Memorial Hospital in Prince Frederick, Maryland. She has also worked as a staff nurse, charge nurse, nurse manager and clinical director. Ms. Palowitch obtained her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania and completed a Masters in Health Administration degree from the University of Phoenix online. Current certifications include Basic Life Support, Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Pediatric Advanced Life Support, and Emergency Nursing.
D3	Dr. Tom Geary earned his M.D. in 1974 from Louisiana State University School of Medicine, NOLA. His internship was with Charity Hospital of New Orleans and his residency with the University of Alabama Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama. Dr. Geary was in private practice from 1977 to 2007 and served as Medical Director of several Alabama nursing homes between 1994 and 2007. He joined the staff of the Bureau of Health Provider Standards, Alabama Department of Public Health, in September, 2007, and serves as the Medical Director of the Alabama state agency and as the current agency interim Director. Ralph Lollar serves as Director of the Division of Long Term Services and Supports for CMS. He comes to CMS with over 30 years of experience in the disabled community. Mr. Lollar has worked in both institutional and HCBS settings and has served in a number of varied position which have allowed him to experience the systems that serve the community at many different levels. Mr. Lollar has a Masters Degree in Social Work from Rutgers University and is a Certified Public Manager. He believes that communication is key to success and is pleased to be given the opportunity to speak with you.
D4	Steve Kelly currently works for the Kent Police Department. He has been a police officer over 28 years, and a police detective for the last 17 years. He works in the major crimes unit that investigates crimes against persons, and primarily investigates violent crimes such as homicide, robbery, serious assaults, domestic violence crimes, sex crimes and crimes against children. Kathleen (Kathy) Van Olst graduated from the University of Santa Clara in 1981 with a degree in political science. In 1983, she graduated with a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Washington. In 1990, she graduated from Catholic University School of Law. Over the past decade, Kathy has successfully prosecuted dozens of felony cases including homicides and other violent crime, particularly in the area of domestic violence and sexual assault. In addition, she has supervised juvenile and adult domestic violence prosecution. In 2007, Kathy was named to the position of Chief of the Complex Prosecutions and Investigations ("CPI") Division. The CPI Division employed 13 lawyers working on complex economic crime, elder abuse, and special police investigations. Within this Division, dedicated attorneys are assigned to assist in the investigation and prosecution of elder financial and physical abuse and neglect matters. Since February of 2010, Kathy has worked in the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office as a Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for the Elder Abuse Project. Kathy is one of two attorneys assigned to assist in the investigation and prosecution of elder financial exploitation, physical and sexual abuse and neglect cases. Mary Moran graduated from the University of New York at Stony Brook on Long Island with a Social Science Interdisciplinary degree with major field of study in Trans-cultural Psychology. Mary conducted undergraduate fieldwork in Haiti. Mary began working in Seattle, Washington in 1983 with the Department of Social & Health Services (DSHS) where she was employed at an Intermediate Care Facility for the Intellectually Disabled as An Institutional Counselor providing technical expertise and development of a data base to determine goal efficacy within both the residential and vocational settings. Mary conducted risk analysis of behavioral treatment programs for dually diagnosed clients; intellectually disabled and mentally ill. Mary also was employed at the same facility from 1988 through 2004 as a Habilitation Plan Administrator and certified Qualified Intellectually Disabled Professional (QDDP formerly QMRP). Mary conducted facility investigations and presented written findings for action. She was directly responsible for directing the full interdisciplinary team’s health and behavioral active treatment programs and plans for the dually diagnosed. In 2004 Mary began her current employment as an Investigator with the Resident & Client Protection Program (RCPP) in the Residential Care Services Division of the Department of Social & Health Services (DSHS). Mary investigates individual(s) with an allegation(s) of abuse, neglect, financial exploitation, and abandonment towards a vulnerable adult who resides in a facility or home within the jurisdiction of the Department of Social & Health Services (DSHS). Those facilities or homes include Skilled Nursing Facilities, Adult Family Homes, Boarding Homes, Supportive Living, and Intermediate Care Facilities for the Intellectually Disabled.
D5	Ellen M. Berry, PT, Technical Director, Division of National Systems. Ellen is the CMS technical director for data specifications and data collection for the MDS 3.0, OASIS-C, and IRF-PAI assessment tools. She has more than 15 years of experience as a physical therapist and rehabilitation manager. She has spent more than 10 years in the long-term care and skilled nursing facility settings. She has received multiple awards for her work on SNF issues, post-acute care payment reform demonstration and nursing home value based purchasing, including two Administrator’s Achievement Awards, an Administrator’s Citation, a Chief Operating Officer’s Award, and a Secretary of Human Health Service award. Ellen was instrumental to the development and implementation of the MDS 3.0 and RUG-IV. She was also involved in designing the CARE tool and the design and implementation of the PAC demo. Tom Dudley has been with CMS since 2000 and is a Technical Advisor in the Division of Chronic and Post Acute Care in the Office of Clinical Standards and Quality. Duties include the development and public reporting of ESRD and Nursing Home quality measures and overseeing the development and implementation of MDS 3.0.Past CMS projects have included the development of ESRD and Nursing Home quality measures for public reporting as well as several of the search instruments on www.medicare.gov including the Prescription Drug Plan Finder and Online Enrollment Center, Dialysis Facility Compare, Nursing Home Compare (associated with the Nursing Home Quality Initiative), Your Medicare Coverage, and the Medicare Eligibility Tool. Professional health care background spans over 25 years in the public and private sectors with experience in the planning, implementation and management of multidisciplinary health care programs. Clinical nephrology experience includes acute and chronic dialysis, hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis, pediatrics and adults, transplantation, and general nephrology. Education includes a M.S. in Nursing and Business Administration and a B.S. in Nursing from University of Maryland. Jack Williams is the Director of the Division of National Systems in the Finance, Systems, and Budget Group of the Center for Medicaid and State Operations. During his 27+ years of service in the Federal Government, Mr. Williams has worked for the Department of Defense, the Social Security Administration (SSA), and for the past 20 years in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ( CMS .) Mr. Williams has worked in computer systems development for 24 years with SSA and CMS . At SSA he was responsible for the maintaining the Master Beneficiary Record and the Treasury files. At CMS , Mr. Williams has worked with the Peer Review/Quality Improvement Organizations systems, the Survey and Certification Online Survey, Certification and Reporting (OSCAR) system, and the Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (QIES.) He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Baltimore.. Alice Bonner has been a geriatric nurse practitioner for the past 20 years. From 2009-2011, Dr. Bonner was the Director of the Bureau of Health Care Safety and Quality at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health in Boston, MA. She is currently the Director for the Division of Nursing Homes in the Center for Medicaid, CHIP and Survey and Certification within the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) at the US Department of Health and Human Services in Baltimore, MD. Her research interests include improving nursing home quality, patient safety culture in health care organizations, safe medication prescribing and management, falls prevention and improving care transitions across settings.