Speakers
Kammy Bailey, RN, is admissions coordinator/quality specialist at Little River Nursing and Rehab Center in Ashdown. She has 14 years of long-term care experience as a charge nurse, wound care nurse, assistant director of nursing and director of nursing in addition to her current position. She is a member of the AHCA, AFC ANHNA, and the board of directors of the Texarkana Alzheimer's Alliance.
Pamela R. Brown, RN, BSN, CPHQ, is assistant vice president for the Health Care Quality Improvement Program (HCQIP) at the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care. She has more than 15 years of experience in quality improvement and 25 years in nursing in a variety of settings. As AFMC's AVP for health care quality improvement, she supports Arkansas health care providers through education, technical assistance, research references and collaborative support for a variety of clinical topics, as well as health information technology, patient safety and quality specific to the rural community.
Kathy Cheatham, RN, CPHQ, COS-C, is quality improvement RN for the state Department of Health in Izard County. She has also worked as utilization/education/risk management/performance improvement director for the Stone County Medical Center. Her work in quality improvement includes involvement in the OBQI and OBQM for the Northeast Region.
Ron Culberson, MSW, CSP, is a humorist, author and speaker. He is "director of everything!" at FUNsulting, etc. He worked for 10 years as a home care social worker and has more than 20 years of experience researching and speaking about humor.
Jennifer Dillaha, MD, is director of the Center for Health Advancement at the Arkansas Department of Health. She has played a leading role in the agency's health promotion efforts, using a life stage approach that focuses on population-based interventions to reduce the burden of chronic disease. Under her leadership, the health department has made improving health literacy a fundamental part of its prevention efforts. She is a specialist in internal medicine with subspecialty training in infectious diseases and geriatric medicine. She is also an assistant professor in the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Public Health and College of Medicine.
Amelia Elam is the senior provider relations representative for Medicaid Managed Care Services, a division of the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care. She serves the east central region, including Pulaski County. She has 25 years of experience in health care, including working as a consultant and office administrator for a certified rural health clinic. She conducts educational workshops and helps instruct primary care physicians and their staff about all new state regulations. She is a candidate for certification in the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA).
Karen Gabel, RHIA, CPUR, is the inpatient retrospective review director for the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care. In her 30 years at AFMC, she has also worked as a review coordinator, an area review supervisor and project manager for the Payment Error Prevention Program (PEPP), now called the Hospital Payment Monitoring Program (HPMP).
Shonda Grappe, RN, is a clinical instructor in the PICU at Arkansas Children's Hospital and a senior in the UALR RN-to-BSN program. She is a participant in the ACH pressure ulcer task force and has been a PICU staff nurse for 17 years.
Susan Greenwood, RN, BSN, MBA, CPHQ, FACHE, is vice president of risk management, quality and safety at St. Bernards Healthcare in Jonesboro. Her 24 years of experience in health care includes work in direct patient care, sales, clinic management and administration. In her current position she oversees activities related to risk assessment and reduction, quality assessment and improvement, regulatory compliance, safety and clinical effectiveness.
Kenya Harbin, RN, CPUR, is vice president for clinical review at the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care. She has more than 20 years of experience with Medicare and Medicaid utilization review.
Maj. David J. Harrison is a member of the ACOE Board of Examiners and the AIPE Board of Examiners. He is chief of the U.S. Army National Guard's Organizational Readiness Training Center.
Erin Beth Hays, PharmD, is a resident in pharmacy practice at White River Medical Center in Batesville. She earned her doctor of pharmacy degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in 2009 and received the Arkansas Pharmacists Association Award, which is given to the graduating pharmacy student who shows the greatest potential for the delivery of total patient care to the citizens of his/her community.
Rodney E. Haynes, MBA, CMPE, is chief executive officer of the Pocahontas Medical Clinic. He has 18 years of experience in management, predominantly in the health care industry. He has worked with providers from a diverse range of perspectives, including clinic management, hospital management, and provider enrollment/provider relations on both the governmental and commercial insurance sides of the industry.
Sally Johnson is manager of beneficiary relations for the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care. She has 28 years of experience working with providers on Medicare notices of non-coverage and quality of care complaints. In her current position, her responsibilities include processing immediate appeals and keeping up with changing notices and requirements.
Johnny W. Jones, MD, FACOG, MBA, is medical director of Wadley Regional Medical Center in Texarkana, Texas. He is an obstetrician/gynecologist with more than 30 years of experience. He has also been medical director of the Wadley Prenatal Clinic and a member of the board of directors of Wadley Regional Medical Center from 1997-2006, and served as the hospital's chief of staff in 2005.
Julia Kettlewell, BSN, RNP, CPH, is director of quality programs for the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care. Through her work for AFMC, the Quality Improvement Organization for the state of Arkansas, she has become familiar with individuals and their clinical settings and the quality improvement projects they work on daily.
Edmund (Ned) Lafer, MD, MBA, FACHE, CPE, Six Sigma Black Belt, is medical director for utilization review and quality at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia. He is the leader for utilization review and RAC at the hospital and has previously presented on RAC preparedness at the National RAC Summit and to the New Jersey Healthcare Financial Management Association.
Charles Mabry, MD, FACS, is medical director of quality at Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Pine Bluff and a surgeon in the private practice of general, vascular and thoracic surgery. He has been involved with health care policy for almost 20 years. He is also associate professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and is the compliance and quality director for the Department of Surgery. He is the Arkansas Medical Society's representative to the Governor's Trauma Advisory Committee.
R. Todd Maxson, MD, FACS, is a pediatric trauma surgeon at Arkansas Children’s Hospital and trauma medical director for the Arkansas Department of Health. He is a past medical director of trauma services at Dell Children’s Medical Center in Houston, and his research experience includes studies of pediatric brain injury.
Susan B. Patton, DNSc, APN, is a board-certified pediatric nurse practitioner and co-proprietor of East Arkansas Children's Clinic in Forrest City. She serves as medical consultant to Kids for the Future, a developmental preschool located in Forrest City, and is on the faculty of the University of Tennessee College of Nursing. She has presented on quality improvement at conferences regionally, nationally, and internationally.
Frank D. Scott Jr., MBA, is deputy director of policy for Gov. Mike Beebe. He develops and organizes implementation of Gov. Beebe's legislative agenda and advises the governor on broadband, health care, health information technology, human services, economic development, workforce development, budget, and personnel policies. He was the governor's lead policy advisor in the development of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services HIT grant application for $7.9 million, which was fully funded.
Ray Scott, MSW, is state coordinator for health information technology. He oversees the HIT implementation effort in the state of Arkansas. His 35 years of experience in the health and human services field includes serving as director of the state Department of Human Services under governors Frank White and Bill Clinton, and as deputy director of the department under governors Mike Huckabee and Mike Beebe.
Barry M. Straube, MD, is currently the director of the Office of Clinical Standards and Quality (OCSQ) and the chief medical officer at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). He received an A.B. degree (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) from Princeton University and received his medical degree from the University of Michigan Medical School. He is board certified in internal medicine and nephrology.
John N. Robbins, FACHE, is interim president and chief executive officer of the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care. He is currently president of Robbins and Associates Consulting of Germantown, Tenn., and is past president and chief executive officer of Conway Regional Health System. He previously served as senior vice president and executive vice president of the Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation, Inc., in Memphis. He has more than 35 years of experience in health care administration in Arkansas, Tennessee, Florida and Mississippi, and is board-certified in health care management as a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Lisa Thomas, RN-BC, is state training coordinator at the Arkansas Department of Human Services’ Office of Long Term Care. She is responsible for the training of all new surveyors and providing education on all updates and regulation changes from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). She has more than 17 years of nursing experience, 15 of which are in geriatrics. She has held board certification in nursing practice through the American Nurse Credentialing Center since 1997.
Cecilia Vinson, MSN, RN, is the registered nurse supervisor for the state Office of Long Term Care. As the Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI-MDS) coordinator for Arkansas, she is responsible for RAI-MDS training for all new state surveyors, nursing homes and hospital-based skilled nursing facilities. She has more than 20 years of nursing experience.
J. Gary Wheeler, MD, MPS, is associate medical director of quality for the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care. His role includes overseeing quality improvement projects and analysis for AFMC's work with Arkansas Medicaid. He is also a professor in the Department of Pediatrics and the College of Public Health at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. He is the past chair of the Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Advisory Committee and serves on a number of other public boards, including the Governor's Commission on Children’s Behavioral Health, and holds a master's degree from the Clinton School of Public Service. His research expertise includes wellness and prevention research; tobacco and obesity; antibiotics overuse; and vaccine policy.
Michael Wisely is director of quality information for Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Pine Bluff. He has 14 years of experience in hospital information systems, and has worked in the quality department for two years.