Breakout Sessions

Harry E. Morgan, M.D., has developed and is President of The Center for Geriatric and Family Psychiatry, Inc., located in Glastonbury, Connecticut.  The practice is a unique multidisciplinary professional group committed to providing for the mental health care needs of the elderly and their families.  Dr. Morgan is a member of the active psychiatric staff at the Institute of Living/Hartford Hospital, the Masonic Health Center, and is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Connecticut Health Center. He is the Medical Director for the Alzheimer’s Resource Center of Connecticut in Southington, Connecticut.  He is Psychiatrist for the Southington Healthcare Alliance. He is an active Psychiatric Consultant to many agencies, care facilities, and homecare organizations.  Dr. Morgan is Board Certified in Geriatric Psychiatry.  He is a member of the Medical Advisory Board of the Alzheimer’s Association of Connecticut, an active member of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, and an active member of the American Psychiatric Association.  As a Geriatric Psychiatrist, his teaching interests include education related to Alzheimer’s disease and other dementing illnesses of later life, the diagnosis and treatment of depressive illness as it affects adults in later life, and the study of personality development during aging.  He has consulted and taught nationally related to Forensic issues in geriatrics and aging. Dr. Morgan’s clinical work with patients and families occurs in the office, in long term care facilities, and in patient’s homes.  Dr. Morgan was educated at Dartmouth College, where he received his B.A. degree.  He obtained his M.D. degree from Harvard Medical School and completed his psychiatric

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.
 

Lisa Re is Deputy Chief in the Administrative and Civil Remedies Branch in the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, focusing on health care fraud enforcement actions under the False Claims Act and the Civil Monetary Penalties Law.  Before joining the OIG, Ms. Re was a litigation associate at Koonz, McKenny, Johnson, DePaolis & Lightfoot.  Ms. Re is a graduate of St. Louis University School of Law.  Prior to attending law school, Ms. Re practiced as a critical care registered nurse.

Mark A. Crafton is the executive director of state and external relations for The Joint Commission.  He represents The Joint Commission in presentations to regulatory agencies, provider associations, business coalitions, Fortune 500 companies and other healthcare purchasers in an effort to promote the value of accreditation.  Before joining The Joint Commission, Mr. Crafton was the Senior Director of Advocacy for the Michigan Health & Hospital Association.  As senior director, he was responsible for monitoring all legislative and regulatory activity that affected member hospitals and health systems.  Mr. Crafton began his career as a Medical Technologist at Edward W. Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, Michigan where he worked in a variety of laboratory positions.  He has also held several other clinical positions, including Virology Technician and Infection Control Coordinator in acute care hospitals.  Mr. Crafton also worked as a Risk Management Consultant for the Michigan Hospital Association Insurance Company, where he provided guidance to over 100 client hospitals on loss avoidance and loss control issues.  Mr. Crafton is a 1984 honors graduate from Michigan State University, where he majored in Natural Science.  In 1985, he completed a one-year internship in Medical Technology and became registered as a Medical Technologist by the American Society of Clinical Pathologists.  Mr. Crafton received his Masters Degree in Public Administration from Western Michigan University in 1994.  He also is a certified Six Sigma Green Belt.

 Jennifer Hoppe currently serves as the associate director of state and external relations, within the Division of Business Development, Government & External Relations for The Joint Commission.  In this role, she works with state agencies, provider organizations, and payor/liability insurers to expand recognition of Joint Commission accreditation programs.  Ms. Hoppe has been with The Joint Commission for approximately twelve years and has held various positions within the organization.  Previous to her current role at the Joint Commission, Ms. Hoppe served as Project Manager, Standards Database within the Division of Standards and Survey Methods.  As Project Manager, she was responsible for supporting the business processes associated with the maintenance and monitoring of the standards development cycle.  Ms. Hoppe was also responsible for conducting and analyzing field reviews for various standard development initiatives, as well as the National Patient Safety Goals.  Ms. Hoppe has over three years of experience in the Division of Accreditation and Certification Operations at The Joint Commission.  In her current role, Ms. Hoppe acts as liaison with state regulatory agencies to monitor information about the status and substance of state legislation related to quality and patient safety.  She works with both state and federal healthcare associations.  Ms. Hoppe holds a master’s degree in public health from Northern University, DeKalb, Illinois, and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois.

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 since 1998 he has served as director of the Bureau of Health Provider Standards. 

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.

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.

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 the many databases 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.  Education includes a M.S. in Nursing and Business Administration and a B.S. in Nursing from University of Maryland. 

Tom Walsh 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-seven years, Susan.

Susan Davis serves as the Director of Enforcement for the Regulatory Services division of Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS).  Ms. Davis has a bachelor's degree in psychology, a bachelor's of fine arts degree in studio art, and a doctorate in jurisprudence, all from the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Ms. Davis spent approximately nine years working directly with persons with mental retardation in ICF/MR and Medicaid waiver settings. Ms. Davis has worked in both state operated facilities and in privately operated facilities. Ms. Davis' legal experience includes working as a law clerk for Advocacy, Inc. (the state protection and advocacy group) and for the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation. Ms. Davis previously worked for the Texas Medical Board (which regulates physicians, acupuncturists, and physician assistants) as a staff attorney and chief of compliance. In May 2000, Ms. Davis began working for the Texas Department of Human Services as assistant general counsel advising the state survey agency and then for DADS as an enforcement unit attorney advising the state survey agency.  Since June 2005, Ms. Davis has served as the Director of Enforcement for the Regulatory Services division of DADS. 

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.

Pam Bosley is a Technical Director in the Division of National Systems in the Data and Systems Group (DSG) of the Center for Medicaid, CHIP and Survey & Certification (CMCS.)   During her 29 years service in the Federal Government, Mrs. Bosley has worked for the Department of Defense, the Social Security Administration (SSA), and for the past 22 years in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS.)  At CMS, Mrs. Bosley has worked with the Online Survey, Certification and Reporting (OSCAR) system, the Year 2000 conversion of CMS systems and the Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (QIES.)  She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Mansfield University.

.Jeff Amirani is founder and managing partner of Alpine Technology Group (ATG) and has over 20 years experience designing and developing information systems supporting government healthcare agencies.   Jeff’s work also includes development of RUG scores for case mix payment systems, other health policy data analysis and, as a member the technical advisory group, he participated in the development of the standard MDS system. While technology manager at the Colorado survey agency, he developed the original ASPEN system under a grant from CMS.  Since then his company has developed ASPEN to support all S&C operations including the STAR and QIS survey systems for ESRD and NH providers.
 

Robert Solomon is the Division Manager for Building Fire Protection and Life Safety Codes at NFPA.   He oversees the operations of the department whose projects include NFPA 101, Life Safety Code and the NFPA Building Construction and Safety Code ™. Upon graduation from the University of Maryland, he worked with the Naval Facilities Engineering Command in Charleston, SC. Since 1986, he has held several positions at NFPA, including staff liaison for the NFPA water extinguishing systems projects.  He has been an editor for several technical handbooks for NFPA including the Automatic Sprinkler Systems Handbook, NFPA Fire and Life Safety Inspection Manual, first edition of the NFPA Building Construction and Safety Code Handbook and he currently serves as an Associate Editor for the NFPA Fire Protection Handbook 20^th Edition.  He has been active with numerous investigation projects for NFPA including the DuPont Plaza hotel fire, Meridian Plaza office fire, The Station nightclub and the Greenwood nursing home fire. He has managed much of NFPA’s effort in developing code analysis and subsequent changes following the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center.  He is an active member of The JC Committee on Healthcare Safety; Chairman of the Healthcare Interpretations Task Force; the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat; the UL Fire Council; and he serves as Secretary-Treasurer of the World Organization of Building Officials.

Jerry Fuller, MSW, LCSW, Executive Director, Network 8, Inc.  Administers the CMS contract for the ESRD Network region that includes Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee and has served as executive director for 14 of his 21 years with the company. Previous positions include renal social worker with a regional dialysis organization and foster care consultant with the Mississippi Department of Human Services. He serves on the board of trustees of the Mississippi Kidney Foundation.

Sheila McMaster, MSN, RN, CNN, Quality Improvement Coordinator, Network 8,Inc.  18+ years experience in all areas of ESRD including chronic outpatient dialysis, acute hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis training and staff education.　 Currently QI Coordinator with Network 8 with responsibilities for overseeing QI activities in 300+ outpatient dialysis facilities.　 Has been published in Nephrology Nursing Journal and has served as a literature reviewer for ANNA.　Certified Nephrology Nurse and holds certification as Acute Care Nurse Practitioner with specialty focus in Nephrology.

NaTasha Avery, LMSW, Patient Services Coordinator, Network 8,Inc.  Currently the PSC with Network 8 with responsibilities for overseeing patient and facility concerns for 300+ dialysis units and patient and staff education regarding conflict management. Previous work experience as a renal social worker for an independent dialysis corporation. Has presented at several ESRD professional and patient meetings throughout the region. The Chair elect for the ESRD National Patient Services Coordinators workgroup and serves as a member of the professional advisory board for the Mississippi Kidney Foundation.

David R. Wright Associate Regional Administrator, Division of Survey and Certification Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)-Dallas David entered CMS through the Presidential Management Internship program in June 1993.  He currently serves as the Associate Regional Administrator for the Division of Survey and Certification.  In this capacity, he is responsible for the professional and clinical staff charged with the certification and enforcement of over 9,000 long term and acute care Medicare-certified providers and suppliers in a five-state region.  David also served as the coordinator for the National H1N1 1135 Waiver Review Team, responsible for reviewing and approving requests from hospitals to operate under regulatory flexibilities to meet the needs of their communities during the H1N1 Pandemic.  David received his undergraduate degree in Political Science at Texas A&M University, and his Masters of Public Administration from the University of Texas at Dallas.

Mary Ellen Hennessy worked in hospital critical care for 6 years before joining the New York State Department of Health. Over the past 30 years her accomplishments have included creation, oversight and administration of multiple statewide reporting and surveillance programs for hospitals, long term care, home health care and public health providers. In 2002 she joined the New York State Hospital Bioterrorism Preparedness Program as the Deputy Director, and moved into her current Division position in 2005. She has been actively involved with Public Health Preparedness, serves on the Emergency Preparedness Coordinating Council established by The Greater New York Hospital Association, and Regional planning councils. After the September 11 2001 events changed healthcare in New York, she has been the program lead for the development and implementation of the Health Emergency Response Data System (HERDS), the Department’s key method of data collection and communications with healthcare facilities preceding, during and after emergencies in New York State.