Speakers

BIO

Hans Christopher Rickhoff represents clients in legislative, regulatory and administrative matters at the federal, state and local levels. Mr. Rickhoff also advises health care clients on the development and implementation of strategies to enhance their relationships and advocate their specific policy objectives before the legislative and executive branches of the U.S. government.

Mr. Rickhoff has significant experience in representing U.S. clients before the U.S. Congress. He regularly assists clients in developing, implementing and managing targeted legislative strategies to further client interests. Mr. Rickhoff also counsels clients in navigating and understanding the U.S. federal agency decision-making process. He also provides advice regarding the ethical rules and standards of conduct that apply to executive and legislative branch officials. Prior to joining Akin Gump Mr. Rickhoff was senior principal and general counsel at a public policy firm and has worked in the federal and state legislatures.

Mr. Rickhoff has received his J.D. from Texas Tech University School of Law and BA from UT at Austin.

Calvin McDaniel is the Director of Government Affairs for the National Association for Home Care and Hospice. He serves as NAHC’s voice in Washington advocating for all things home care and hospice. He has deep experience on Capitol Hill dating back to his days as a congressional staffer. He has previously worked in health care consulting, and in direct patient care in medical imaging.

 Session: New Frontiers in Home Care Advocacy

Rachel Hammon, BSN, RN received her Bachelors of Science degree in Nursing from the University of Texas in Austin. She has 26 years of experience in nursing with 22 years’ experience in the home health industry. During her employment with a home health agency, she served in many roles (i.e. Pediatric Case Manager, Medicare Case Manager, DON / Administrator and Corporate Director of Clinical Services), which gave her a diverse knowledge of the industry. At the Texas Association for Home Care and Hospice Rachel assisted member agencies with compliance with state and federal laws (Medicare, Medicaid, OSHA, BON, etc.), served as a liaison with state and federal government officials, and on the Nurse Practice Advisory Committee for the Board of Nurse Examiners, the committee that developed the RN Delegation Rules we are talking about today. As the Executive Director, Rachel is responsible for implementing the mission of the association which is to advocate for ethical practices, quality, and economic viability of licensed providers of home and community support services in Texas. As part of that advocacy she routinely works with legislators and state agency staff on legislation and policy that affects the home care industry.

Tim Burningham is an experienced leader in the health care industry, having worked in both acute care as well as skilled nursing. As a licensed nursing home administrator, Tim led his team and facility to multiple deficiency-free surveys, a 5-star CMS rating, several awards for outstanding performance, and recognition as a top 100 Nursing Home by U.S. News and World Report. He also worked as an area president overseeing multiple SNFs.

Currently, Tim is President and Principal Consultant of The Center for Company Culture, a management consulting firm specializing in organizational culture, leadership, and team development. Tim’s practical and straightforward approach has helped leaders tackle some of their biggest challenges, such as employee engagement, company culture, leadership, teamwork, and more.

Tim is an author of several books including Be an Awesome Boss!: The Four C’s Model to Leadership Success, and  How Leaders Can Strengthen Their Organization’s Culture. He is also host of The Culture Guide podcast—a podcast dedicated to helping leaders create healthy company cultures. 

Kimberly Gunter is a Director of Home Health and Hospice Documentation Improvement with Corridor. She is a Registered Nurse that brings over 14 years of experience in Post-Acute Care. Prior to joining Corridor, Kimberly worked in acute care facilities and in the military health system on a Korean AFB while in the U. S. Army. After the military, she worked in the hospital in surgery, post-operative care, neonatal, maternal, and medical-surgical patient care. Kimberly has worked in home health and hospice agencies where she has served patients both directly, as a case manager, and indirectly by way of management and oversight of patient care teams. Since 2005, her work has spanned across clinical, operational, quality assurance, compliance and regulatory operations, and education.

With Corridor, Kimberly is responsible for full life cycle project management within the home healthcare and hospice landscapes. She has passionately coached and educated clinicians and auditors on current regulations and requirements. One of her main goals is to implement evidence-based practices that will assist agencies in improving productivity, reducing compliance risks, and improving revenue. Kimberly’s success in home care and hospice is in large part due to her ability to interface between clinical and business leaders to develop a plan that improves clinical outcomes, patient and employee satisfaction while meeting the financial goals of the organization.

Kimberly received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from The University of Southern Mississippi and her master’s degree in Nurse Management and Executive Leadership in December 2019  from Sacred Heart University. She is certified as a Homecare Coding Specialist – Diagnosis (HCS-D), Homecare Coding Specialist – OASIS (HCS-O), and Clinical Documentation Improvement – Practitioner (CDI-P).

Karl “Nick” Dobrzelecki is currently the Senior Vice President of Coding Services for Corridor, founded from a 2008 acquisition of Daymarck. He is responsible for oversight of day to day coding operations, strategic planning and sales team support. Corridor’s Coding Services process over 120,000 chart reviews per month for over 1,000 branch locations across the United States. Dobrzelecki is a senior-level executive with nearly 25 years of experience in the home healthcare and healthcare industries.

Prior to founding Daymarck, Dobrzelecki served as Performance Improvement Coordinator for Ohio-based Kettering Medical Center, a large, hospital based, non-profit home care agency. At Kettering, he was responsible for the total quality management of the home care agency; ensuring compliance with federal, state and local laws and regulations; medical center and agency defined policies and procedures; and accreditation requirements. While at Kettering, Dobrzelecki was recognized in the Home Health Care Management and Practice journal for his accomplishments including significant improvement in quality outcomes, and leveraging data and implementing specific programs targeting the data points to determine areas of opportunity for quality improvement. Before joining Kettering Medical Center, Dobrzelecki served as a Director of Nursing for the Home Care Network, a small regional proprietary home care agency. In this position, he was responsible for many aspects of the day to day including insurance authorizations, documentation review, budget and marketing. Prior to his service at Home Care Network, Dobrzelecki worked as Home Service Facilitator for State of Ohio Medicaid Waiver program where he was a case manager, overseeing 80-100 patient caseload. In this position, he was responsible for determining the necessity of homecare services, facilitating the process for patient accessing, and receiving homecare services to include nursing visits, aide services and a variety of therapies.

Nick holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Cincinnati, where he was commissioned as an Army Officer through Army ROTC and served 4 years on active duty. He is a Registered Nurse.

Brian Bruenderman brings almost 20 years of M&A experience to Stoneridge Partners - nearly a decade has been devoted exclusively to companies serving the health and human services arena.

Brian Bruenderman joined Stoneridge Partners after a successful stint as Director of Business Development for Almost Family, a leading provider of home health nursing, rehabilitation and personal care services with over 250 locations in 15 states. During his tenure, despite much uncertainty in the home health industry at the time, Almost Family acquired $160 million in annual revenues, including the largest transaction in the company’s history.

Prior to Almost Family, Bruenderman was the Senior Director of Development for ResCare, Inc., a national human services company with more than $1.6 billion in revenue and operations in 42 states. Bruenderman's strategic approach to developing new markets through selective acquisitions led to $350 million in growth for ResCare and launched the company into the Fortune 1000. Today, he has been involved in the purchase of over 125 health and human service companies.

Bruenderman received his Bachelor of Arts degree and Juris Doctor from the University of Louisville. While in college, he purchased several small businesses and credits his later success to that experience. His business background and legal education give him the skills and perspective to successfully negotiate transactions all the way through closing. Specifically, his almost two decades of involvement with strategic buyers gives him a unique insight into how they approach valuation, diligence and negotiation. This combination of education and experience makes him a valuable addition to any transaction.

Bruenderman runs the Louisville office.

Terry Anstee is a staff attorney at Disability Rights Texas, the federally-funded protection and advocacy organization charged with protecting the rights of persons with disabilities in Texas.  In this role, Terry has represented many children in fair hearings on a variety of Medicaid issues, including Comprehensive Care Program  services and Medically Dependent Children Program services. Terry is also a Registered Nurse and his nursing experience helps him to understand client’s medical issues and clinical records. He has dealt with Health and Human Services, Texas Medicaid and Health Partnership, and Medicaid Managed Care organizations on a variety of issues and their obligations under the law.

Shelby Betts is a consultant for small and mid-sized businesses who want to utilize great technology to enhance their businesses and drive their mission. Shelby is passionate about seeing owners succeed, creating great places to work for their employees, and making operational processes make sense. When she’s not at work, Shelby enjoys hiking, hanging with her sweet husband, and being the neighborhood cat lady.

Sylvia Salvato is a Manager of Medicaid Policy and Program Development with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.  She has a Master’s of Social Work degree from Texas State University.  In addition to nearly ten years of service to the state of Texas, Ms. Salvato has previous experience working in environments including the federal government, long term care, acute care, behavioral health services, and clinical research.

David Sabol is the Director of Clinical Informatics with experience and focus with Data Visualization and Database Management: SQL, OpenInsight, ArcGIS, Power BI; Experience in grant writing and outreach creating partnerships with local universities and cultivating talent and Extensive experience building AHCA approved EHR systems.

Michelle earned her Master of Social Work in 1997 from Arizona State University, and in 2011 her Master of Education in Human Resource Development from the University of Illinois.  The majority of Michelle’s work experience has been with people diagnosed with dementia, either in their homes or in memory care facilities. Michelle Toft is currently the Director of Memory Care Programs at Cypress HomeCare Solutions in Phoenix, AZ and a Program Specialist for Honor Care Network out of San Francisco, CA.  She is a public speaker at national conferences and provides consulting services to help others implement dementia programs within their own organization.  At Cypress HomeCare Solutions and Honor Care Network she has implemented a dementia training program for their caregivers, a family support and education program for the family members of those diagnosed, and provides public educational sessions.  Michelle has been a volunteer for the Alzheimer’s Association since 2013 as a support group facilitator, a member of their Speaker’s Bureau, and a member of the Alzheimer’s Impact Movement.  She is a member of the State of Arizona Alzheimer’s Task force and a volunteer for the Dementia Friendly Arizona movement.

Zaundra Ellis is the Hospice Product Manager for Axxess. She leverages her many years of expertise in the hospice industry to create a software that is easy to use and allows clients to be clinically, administratively and financially compliant. Prior to joining Axxess, Zaundra served as the Executive Director and Regional Director for Kindred Hospice and Heart to Heart Hospice agencies across Texas. In this role she oversaw an inpatient hospice facility, created and implemented a companywide QAPI program for an organization that served more than 2,500 patients, and used her experience to create operations that improved compliance and maximized reimbursements.  Zaundra is an active member of the Texas Association of Home Care and Hospice and has served on multiple committees including the Education,  Hospice and Medicare/Medicaid committees.

Valerie Montoya has been with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), Southwest Region, since 2005. She began her OCR career as an intern reviewing Civil Rights policies and procedures for Medicare applicants. In 2009, she was promoted to Equal Opportunity Specialist and began investigating Privacy and Security Rule cases. Subsequently, her caseload expanded to include breach and Civil Rights investigations. Valerie also travels frequently and conducts HIPAA and Civil Rights presentations to the community, covered entities and business associates throughout the year.

Camisha Banks is currently serving as Managed Care Compliance & Operation’s (MCCO) Interim Assistant Director. Camisha is currently the MCCO Director of Provider and Client Services over the managed care complaints, trending and reporting, as well as call centers for transportation and pharmacy. She has worked in several capacities of the Medicaid program for more than 25 years, and began her state career in 2007 as a Health Plan Specialist in MCCO (formerly Health Plan Management). Since that time, Camisha has served in increasing responsible positions as a health plan manager and as a senior manager overseeing several of the complex Managed Care Organizations (MCOs). 

Sr. Manager Managed Care Compliance and Operations

25 years of State Service with The Texas Department of Health and the Health and Human Services Commission.

17 years with the Vendor Drug Program, assisting with pharmacy providers with Point of Sale claims and software issues.

8 years with Managed Care Compliance and Operations, Senior manager of Research and Resolution. Coordinate complaints, from various stakeholders, against the MCOs to ensure the timely delivery of contracted services and benefits to members and reimbursement to the providers.

Jill Schuerman has over 14 years in hospice, serving as regional and national Director of Reimbursement overseeing billing/collections for 17 agencies in 6 states, and collaborating with the Compliance officers in the review of Medicare and Medicaid regulations and changes and the creation of related Policy and Procedures.

Currently, Ms. Schuerman is the Founder and CEO of Schuerman Business Consulting, LLC., which provides outsourced billing services, billing training, and billing due diligence audits for hospice agencies.  She has been an Associate Member of TAHCH since starting her business in 2016, as well as a member of the Palmetto Home Health and Hospice Provider Outreach and Education Advisory Group, and a Patron Member and Board Member of the Texas New Mexico Hospice Organization.  Ms. Schuerman holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting, and is a frequent speaker on hospice billing topics.

Kristi Bajer BSN, RN, COS-C, started her home health career as an RN case manager. Over time she became the Director of Nursing, Administrator and most recently, Regional Director over 6 agencies in Texas. As a regional director, she facilitated four successful accreditation surveys by The Joint Commission and used evidence-based practice and reduced her agencies readmissions by 70%.  Kristi works with agencies to align processes and efficiencies to meet PDGM and RCD standards.  She teaches agencies how to use data along with the QA team to ensure OASIS accuracy and drive clinical care to increase patient outcomes.

Charles Canaan has over 30 years of diverse nursing experience in a variety of healthcare settings, to include inpatient, outpatient, home and organizational settings.  His education includes a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia and a Master of Public Health Degree in Health Promotion and Education from the University of South Carolina and a Coding for Health Care Professionals Certificate from Trident technical College.  He currently provides education and consultation to Medicare providers with learning needs.

Cheryl Adams RN, BSN, MBA with 40 years of clinical nursing and healthcare executive experience.  Cheryl has been the administrator of At-Home Health Care of Sparta Community Hospital since its inception in 1996.  Cheryl is responsible for developing, implementing and sustaining the business plan for the hospital based home health agency known as At-Home Health Care.   The agency under her direction has a history of multiple deficiency free surveys, a reduction in acute care hospitalization rate, improved patient satisfaction and implementation of a telehealth program.  Cheryl is credentialed as a Home Health ICD-10 Coder and OASIS Specialist.  Cheryl is committed to having a voice for the home care industry and the people that are served.  She feels it is important that leaders of home care ensure access to care but also quality of care to those we serve all while staying compliant with rules and regulations of home health.   With the implementation of the pilot program of Pre-claim Review in IL,  Cheryl has succeeded in achieving a 100% affirmation rate through the education and implementation of processes to ensure accurate, complete documentation.

Sara serves as executive director of the Illinois HomeCare & Hospice Council (IHHC) working with its Board and our team to deliver exceptional member services, quality educational opportunities, industry leadership and advocacy on public policy issues. Sara has successfully lobbied Congress and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to benefit the IHHC membership. She has expertise in large group processes and thrives on coalition building, creative solutions and working toward consensus. A one-time high school art teacher, Sara earned a BFA in Art History from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Sara serves as the Treasurer of the Central Illinois Foodbank and is a member of the Community Foundation for the Land of Lincoln Young Philanthropists.

Ron serves as a Managing Director at Simione Healthcare Consultants, drawing on more than 30 years of progressive financial, operational and strategic experience as a home health and hospice executive, consultant and interim leader. He spearheads team consulting efforts in finance to support clients with financial reporting and analysis, budgeting, accounts receivable management, benchmarking, strategic planning, transition of new acquisitions, purchasing and Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement issues.

A resident of Alpharetta, Georgia, Ron previously served as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for the Visiting Nurse Association of Texas in Dallas/Fort Worth, and also served as a vice president of operations for a large for-profit home health agency. 

In his role as a consultant, he has assisted organizations in achieving enterprise wide goals for transformation and performance improvement, enhancing back office processes, systematizing end-to-end departments and their deliverables, and developing shared service functions.  As a highly experienced interim leader, Ron has served as executive director and chief financial officer, managing financial, operational and reimbursement functions for providers ranging in size from $25M to $280M+ in annual revenue.

An active member of the National Association for Home Care and Hospice, and the Home Care and Hospice Financial Managers Association, Ron is a seasoned speaker for state and national associations. 

He graduated with a B.B.A. in accounting from Lamar University. 

A nurse in home-based care since 1985, Laura Wilson, RN, BSN, COS-C, has served in progressively responsible clinical and regional leadership roles in the throughout the United States, including Minnesota, Washington, and Florida. Her extensive expertise includes multi-site operations, quality management, human resources, compliance, business development in home-based care.  With additional experience in home health consulting and acute care, she has worked to advance the role of home health, hospice and palliative care to support population health with health systems and networks. Wilson previously worked for Kindred at Home (MN), North Memorial Health Care (MN), Intrepid USA Health Care Services (TX), Nurse On Call Home Health Care (FL), Tender Loving Care/Staff Builders (Western US), In Home Health (MN), and Health One Home Care & Hospice (now Allina – MN). A certified OASIS clinical specialist, she earned her BSN from the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks.

AnnaMaria M. Turano is the Vice President of Marketing for Synzi.  She is responsible for leading all marketing and branding initiatives for the company.  Prior to her client-side roles, AnnaMaria co-founded MCAworks, a strategic marketing consulting firm advising Fortune 500 companies on developing growth strategies.  A published writer, she is the co-author of Stopwatch Marketing: Take Charge of the Time When Your Customer Decides to Buy (Portfolio: 2008) and has also been an Adjunct Professor of Marketing at NYU, Fordham University, and the University of Tampa. She received both her B.A. and M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. 

Dave is a clinical specialist with ANCC Board Certification in Nursing Case Management with emphasis in Public Health and Special Health Populations.   He has over 25 years of leadership experience in community and post-acute health care settings.  His vision has actualized disease management program strategies in a variety of settings including ambulatory health/rehab, home health, DME and hospice focused on an integrated post-acute care continuum.  He has engineered and implemented care re-design for Bundled Payment for Care Improvement (BPCI) with AccentCare as a Model 2 awardee convener including development of the Transitional Care and Care Management and telehealth products.

Ricky is the President of Innovative Business Technologies, a SOC II compliant Cloud Service Provider and Managed IT Service organization that works primarily with healthcare providers. Prior to IBT, Ricky spent 12 years with the homecare and hospice product group of McKesson Information Solutions. As Director of Technical Services, he became passionate about IT’s ability to facilitate patient care. In addition to 20 plus years in IT health-care, Ricky spent several years as a systems engineer and telecommunications technician in a high-profile financial and chemical engineering sector.  Ongoing research on technology trends, as it relates to healthcare providers, allows him to maintain expertise in data security, compliancy, business continuity, and risk analysis.

Brady Murphy is an accomplished marketer, speaker, and entrepreneur, he has been part of two start-ups in the technology field.  The first start-up brought to marketers the world of mobile marketing, his company was one of the first mobile marketing agencies to emerge in the digital boom in the early 2000s.  The second start-up was a pioneering software company to bring mobility to workforce management.  Today, Brady oversees sales and marketing of AlayaCare, a software company that offers home and community care provides one comprehensive solution to support healthcare in the home along with all the benefits of virtual care delivery (RPM, telehealth, video conferencing).

Sherl Brand is a registered nurse and health care executive with over twenty-five years of experience in both for profit and non-profit organizations.   Currently Sherl is Senior Vice President of Strategic Solutions at CareCentrix focusing on strategy, network engagement and partnerships. 

Prior to joining CareCentrix, she held the roles of Chief External Affairs Officer with Visiting Nurse Association Health Group, a state-wide non-profit home health, hospice and community based organization, National Director of Managed Care Contracting for Bayada Home Health, a national for profit home health, hospice and private duty organization and VP Government Affairs & Business development for Patient Care, a multi-state for profit home health and private duty nursing organization. Sherl also served as the CEO of the Home Care & Hospice Association of NJ and its related Home Care Foundation. She was also elected Chair of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice Forum of State Associations

Sherl has served on multiple national, state and local boards and advisory groups including, but not limited to, the National Association for Home Care & Hospice Board, National Government Services Provider Advisory Board, Hospital Joint Venture Boards and Partnership for Medicaid Home Based Care.

Sherl received her B.S.N. from Ohio Wesleyan University and was a Certified Case Manager from 1993-2008.

Jon’s career has been focused on patient engagement.  Before CareCentrix, Jon spent years working at CVS Health, overseeing a range of initiatives, including the redesign of the pharmacy ExtraCare rewards program, the launch of CVS’s audiology and optometry services in select markets nationwide, patient segmentation and acquisition efforts, retail technology rollouts, and numerous gross margin and operational efficiency initiatives. Before CVS, Jon worked at Target Corporation in financial forecasting and planning.

Jon holds a BA in political science from Yale University.