North Texas Chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives

After Hours Networking Event: Game Show Battle Rooms
2023-03-28 17:00 - 19:30 (America/Denver) | Game Show Battle Rooms 4887 Alpha Rd, Suite 250 Farmers Branch, TX 75244, 4887 Alpha Rd, Suite 250, Game Show Battle Rooms 4887 Alpha Rd, Suite 250 Farmers Branch,, TX, 75244
Come out and join your ACHENTX colleagues for a unique networking and entertaining experience!

Game Show Battle Rooms is the #1 new game show experience for everyone to enjoy!

Get ready to have some fun and make some new connections in an immersive game show arena with engaging live hosts and a mix of your favorite game shows.
Snacks and drinks will be provided. Beer and hard seltzers available for purchase.

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Check out his video:

https://youtu.be/a_TimxWrDYchttps://gameshowbattlerooms.com/dallas/

New Horizons: From Graduation to Leadership
2023-04-05 18:00 - 19:30 | Children’s Health Plano – Specialty Center 2, 7211 Preston Road, Plano, TX, 75024
The ACHENTX New Horizons event is a special two-for-one opportunity. By registering for this event, you will have be able to 1) attend the virtual New Horizons event on April 5 and then in the weeks that follow that event, 2) meet one-on-one virtually with a local healthcare Human Resources representative.

PANEL DISCUSSION
Come out and hear how the following panelists have gone from graduation to leadership.

Moderator:
Jyric Sims, PhD, FACHE – Chief Executive Officer, Medical City Plano and Frisco

Panelists:
Kris Sanders, MBA – Senior Vice President, Northern Market Growth & Development, Children’s Health
Sharita Butler, MHA – Vice President of Clinical Programs, Children’s Health
Felixia Colon, MBA, FACHE – Senior Vice President of Operations and eHealth Solutions, SCP Health
Crystal Brown, MBA – Chief Operating Officer, Methodist Hospital Mansfield
Ajith Pai, PharmD, FACHE – President, Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest Fort

As noted above, registrants are eligible for a virtual mock interview and/or resume review from a healthcare recruiter after the in-person event. These meetings are for the sole purpose of career development and self-improvement. Individual meetings are not actual job interviews. You will be contacted after you register for instructions on where to send your resume. You must be a registrant for the event to be granted a mock interview/resume review session.

Thanks to Children’s Health Plano for hosting this event!

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Speakers’ Bios:
Crystal Brown, MBA, is a native of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area of North Texas. She serves as the Vice President & Chief Operating Officer at Methodist Mansfield Medical Center in Mansfield, TX. In this role she is focused on service line growth and development, operational efficiency, and patient experience.
Crystal has a strong passion for personal and professional development that has been sharpened with over 20 years of experience in Human Resources, Supply Chain, and Hospital Operations. She is a proud graduate of Texas Woman’s University where she received her Master’s in Business Administration. She is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, National Association of Health Services Executives, and serves on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council Committee for Girls Scouts of Northeast Texas. She is certified in Lean Six Sigma, which has taught her to invest in human capital, eliminate waste, and maximize results.
Crystal has received numerous awards for her transformational leadership style and is passionate about teaching others what she has learned along the way. Through her authentic and down to earth approach, she has the ability to genuinely connect with people and assist them in overcoming obstacles to achieve their boldest career goals.

Sharita Butler is the Vice President of Clinical Programs in the Northern Market for Children’s Health. Her primary focus is leading and implementing growth of key clinical programs and service lines to align with the organization’s strategic goals. Sharita has more than 15 years of healthcare experience within Revenue Cycle and has served in several leadership capacities in the hospital and clinic setting. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Community Health from Stephen F. Austin State University and holds a Master of Healthcare Administration from University of Texas at Arlington.
Felixia Colón, FACHE, a native of Jacksonville, FL, brings over 25 years of healthcare experience to her role as a Senior Vice President with SCP Health. Ms. Colón leads SCP Health’s robust Telehealth Core Solutions for Emergency Medicine, Hospital Medicine, and Critical Care Medicine Practices. She maintains oversight and overall accountability for her clients’ clinical performance, quality care, operational excellence, and financial stability.
Ms. Colón has served in various roles in the healthcare field. Her background includes development of a physician outreach program with a major health insurance carrier, managing multi-specialty and multi-site physician practices in emergency medicine, academic hospital medicine programs, private hospital medicine programs, transitional care medicine, eHealth/TeleNocturnist programs, and post-acute practices (SNFs/LTACs).
Ms. Colón formerly served as Senior Vice President for one of the largest independent physician practices in Texas. While there, she was responsible for the oversight of the company’s operations, contracting, business development, marketing, recruiting, and healthcare payment reform programs, which included CMS’ Bundled Payment Care Initiative (BPCI) Program.
A graduate of Nova Southeastern University, Ms. Colón holds a Master of Business Administration, with a concentration in Management. She earned a Bachelor of Health Administration from the University of North Florida. She is also a Fellow and active member of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE). She holds an elected Board of Directors position with the North Texas Chapter of ACHE, serving as 2023 President. She has also previously served as Vice-Chair for the Diversity & Inclusion Committee under ACHENTX.
Ajith Pai, PharmD, FACHE, has served as President of Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest Fort Worth since July, 2022. Prior to this role, Ajith served as President of Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Cleburne for nearly four years. Texas Health Southwest is a CMS 5-star rated facility, ranked #16 in Texas and #5 in DFW on the 2022-23 U.S. News and World Report Best Hospitals list, and recently was recognized on Newsweek’s World’s Best Hospitals 2023 – United States list.
In the role of president, Ajith oversees day to day operations, works to advance physician engagement and promote effective employee, governance, and community relations. Ajith is responsible for ensuring the achievement of the hospital’s goals for patient safety, clinical and non-clinical quality, operational performance and patient, physician, and employee engagement.
Ajith received his Doctorate of Pharmacy (PharmD) from Texas Tech School of Pharmacy and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Texas at Dallas. Additionally, he is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE).
Ajith enjoys spending time with his family which includes his wife of 15 years, Myriam, their 7 year-old eldest daughter, Elyse, their 2 year-old son Nikhil, and their 1 year-old youngest daughter Yvette. He’s an avid runner and has participated in more than 15 marathons throughout the country and remains involved in the community through memberships on various boards and committees. Ajith is a proud Board member of ACHE of North Texas, and serves this year as the DEI officer: a newly created role across ACHE. Ajith was the 2020 national chair of ACHE’s Asian Healthcare Leaders Forum, continues to serve as an Asian Healthcare Leaders Community (AHLC) national committee member, and is a founding member of ACHE of North Texas’ AHLC. Ajith was also proud to receive the 2022 Regent’s Award for his work on DEI initiatives.
Kris Sanders, FACHE, serves as Senior Vice President, Northern Market Growth and Development for Children’s Health Plano. Kris oversees leadership and implementation of all market activities north of Dallas. She is responsible for the advancement of clinical programs and partnerships in this area.
Kris first joined Children’s Health in 2009 working in ambulatory services. She rejoined Children’s Health in her current role in 2022, after serving as Vice President of Operations for Envision Physician Services.
Kris graduated from Texas State University where she received a Bachelor of Healthcare Administration. She also earned a Master of Business Administration from University of Phoenix.
Jyric Sims, PhD, FACHE, was named president and chief executive officer at Medical City Plano and Medical City Frisco in 2021.
Together, both hospitals comprise over 700 acute care beds and 3,000 employees. Medical City Plano is an academic and Level 1 Trauma facility with advanced high acuity services inducing but not limited too comprehensive stroke, burn and reconstructive surgery, ECMO, and advanced cardiac care.
Dr. Sims brings more than two decades of healthcare experience to the role. Prior to this position, Dr. Sims served from 2017 to 2021 as CEO of Medical City Fort Worth, a 348-bed, acute care hospital. There, he led more than $115 million in expansions, including the addition of a patient tower with a 30-bed ER, a neuroscience/spine center and the opening of Medical City ER White Settlement.
Dr. Sims joined Medical City Healthcare’s parent company, HCA Healthcare, in 2011, serving as vice president and chief operating officer at Tulane Health System, in New Orleans, Louisiana; chief operating officer of St. Lucie Medical Center in Port St. Lucie, Florida; and associate chief operating officer at Clear Lake Regional Medical Center in Webster, Texas.
Dedicated to community service, Dr. Sims currently serves on the American Hospital Association Regional Policy Board, LSU Foundation Board as the chair of the finance committee, Plano Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and North Texas ACHE Chapter Board. He is a member of Young President’s Organization, Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
Dr. Sims has received numerous accolades, including 2015 Modern Healthcare Up and Comer Award, 2016 UAMS Alumnus of the Year, 2017 National Association of Healthcare Executives Young Executive of the Year, 2018 “40 Under 40” by the Fort Worth Business Press, 2021 Dallas Business Journal 40 under 40, and 2022 Becker’s Top 75 Black Healthcare Leaders to Know.
Dr. Sims holds a PhD in Public Policy from Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a Master of Health Administration from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and his undergraduate degree from Louisiana State University.

Ethical Challenges in Healthcare Leadership
2023-04-06 11:00 - 12:30 | Virtual
This event has been approved for 1.5 ACHE Virtual Face-to-Face Credits
Ethical challenges arise in all aspects of healthcare and service, from the bedside to the boardroom. Hospital leaders and boards set the ethical compass of the organization by making decisions about priorities, policies and resource allocation as they determine the best ways to meet the needs of their communities, while respecting their staff and the populations they serve. Understanding the expanding paradigm of planning, creating, and maintaining an ethical healthcare organization is crucial to help identify strategies for implementing ethics initiatives within your own organization and how an organization has addressed ethical challenges. Healthcare leaders must “walk the talk” and demonstrate their commitment to ethics throughout their organization.

Moderator:
Mark S. Schnitzer, MD, FACHE
Medical Director
Baylor Scott & White Quality Alliance

Panelists:
Archana Mahimkar
Senior Director Clinical Quality Improvement & Safety
Walgreens Health
Javier Montemayor
Division Ethics and Compliance Officer; North Texas HCA Facilities
Rapides Regional Medical Center – Louisiana; HCA Healthcare
Melanie Roberts
Chief Compliance and Ethics Officer
Parkland Health
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Speakers’ Bios:

As the Senior Director for Quality, Patient Experience & Safety, Archana Mahimkar is responsible for the overall quality framework delivered under Walgreens Health. In her role, Archana works cross functionally across the organization to lead development of strategies, plans and operational processes to ensure compliance with value-based care arrangements. Archana brings over 15 years of leadership and operational experience across a portfolio of industry-leading businesses and services in healthcare quality, quality improvement, clinical quality outcomes and process improvement. She has a CPHQ as well as a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.
Throughout her career, Archana has worked collaboratively with healthcare providers and administrators to provide standardized, patient-centric care and improve health & quality outcomes. This has become her area of focus as she operationalizes a comprehensive quality approach for Walgreens Health to further the company’s purpose to create more joyful lives through better health. As a transformational leader, Archana is passionate in her belief that a comprehensive, holistic, patient-centric model for care gap closures is needed – one that leverages the physical, virtual & digital sites of care, allows real-time access & availability to clinicians, focuses on health equity & SDOH and partners with payors to offer customized solutions for their population quality needs.

Javier Montemayor is an accomplished Healthcare Executive with 20+ years of experience in regulatory compliance. He brings expertise in risk ranking, avoidance, and mitigation; managing quality procedures, practices and processes; contributing to patient safety through departmental regulatory assessments; credentialing; managing human resources; training and education; budget planning; and strategic planning for healthcare facilities.

As the Division Ethics and Compliance Officer for North Texas HCA Facilities and Rapides Regional Medical Center – Louisiana – HCA Healthcare is one of the nation’s leading providers of healthcare services with 182 hospitals and 2,300+ sites of care, including surgery centers, freestanding ERs, urgent care centers, home health, and physician clinics located in 20 states and the United Kingdom. Javier oversees the implementation and direction in 14+ hospitals, in two states, the HCA Corporate Compliance Program. Responsible for leading and/or providing guidance to the Facility Ethics and Compliance Officers in the day-to-day activities related to Ethics and Compliance, Privacy, ADA, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

This followed his time at Children’s Health one of the largest pediatric non-profit health systems in the U.S., where Javier was the Senior Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer leading the Corporate Compliance Program and maintained strategic oversight of seven additional departments. He was responsible for Accreditation and Regulatory Affairs activities at the system level for three hospitals – a 490-bed pediatric academic hospital, a 72-bed community/academic pediatric hospital and a 39-bed specialty hospital; system-wide accreditation programs that included readiness of more than 52 ambulatory clinics; eight disease-specific certificated programs; and Internal Audit, Privacy, Emergency Management, Environmental Safety, Occupational Health and Policy Administration. In this role, he ensured policies and procedures, licensing, governmental and other regulatory body requirements were consistently maintained, and all areas of operations were patient-ready and in compliance with state and federal regulations. He also served as the system COVID-19 Incident Commander. Earlier at Children’s Health, Javier worked his way from Director to Vice President, Accreditation, Regulatory Affairs and Corporate Compliance.

Earlier in his career, Javier was at Texas Health Resources, one of the largest faith-based, nonprofit health systems in U.S. and the largest in North Texas in terms of inpatients and outpatients served, where Javier was Director of Quality Improvement – Presbyterian Hospital of Allen (TX). He was responsible for directing, managing and monitoring all Quality and Risk Management procedures and processes for a 62-bed hospital, including patient safety and department assessments. He provided administrative oversight to Case Management, Social Services, Guest Services and Volunteer Services Departments, and served as the hospital HIPAA/Compliance Security Officer and on the corporate Compliance/Privacy Committee. Prior to this at Texas Health Resources, Javier was Director of Quality Improvement Harris Methodist Erath County Hospital in Stephenville, TX, where he was responsible for managing and directing all Quality and Risk Management procedures and processes for a 98-bed hospital.

And the Facility Compliance Officer at Southwest General Hospital in San Antonio, TX, where he was responsible for Regulatory Compliance for a 286-bed hospital, including reviewing all compliance activities, employee-related issues, conflicts of interest and patient confidentiality.

Javier earned a Master of Jurisprudence in Health Law at Loyola University Chicago, a Master of Business Administration in Health Care Management at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from Texas A&M University. He was in the Class of 2017 for Dallas Regional Chamber’s Leadership Dallas program and completed a certification in Dispute Resolution at Southern Methodist University in University Park, TX. He is Just Culture certified, as well as certified in Health Care Compliance.

“The time is now or never to make a difference in today’s society; we all face difficult apprehensions and live through them but learning from them is what makes us better.”

Melanie Benitez Roberts is the Chief Compliance and Ethics Officer at Parkland Health. Parkland has been serving the Dallas community for more than 128 years as one of the largest public hospital systems in the country. The hospital averages more than 1 million patient visits annually. Services include a Level I Trauma Center, the first verified burn center in North Texas and a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The system also includes a network of community-based health centers, including primary care and women’s clinics, 5 school-based health centers and numerous outreach and education programs. Parkland is the primary teaching hospital for the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Mrs. Roberts has more than 28 years of healthcare experience in regulatory compliance, operations and quality management. She has served in various compliance roles Tenet Healthcare, Ochsner Health Plan and United Healthcare. Mrs. Roberts received her Master of Social Work degree from Tulane University and Bachelor of Science degrees in Political Science and Sociology from Loyola University New Orleans. She is Certified in Healthcare Compliance, Healthcare Privacy Compliance and Healthcare Research Compliance and is a member of the Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA) and the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE). Ms. Roberts currently serves as Chair for the North Texas Ethics and Compliance Council (NTECC).

Dr. Mark Schnitzer is an experienced Surgeon, Educator, Physician Advisor, Medical Director, and Consultant.

An interest in processes and mathematics led him to pursue an unlikely course of pre-medical study: electrical engineering. It was during his Ph.D. studies that he applied to medical school and completed his MSEE and MD concurrently. He completed his clinical training in neurological surgery and a fellowship in neurosciences critical care at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. His final year at Johns Hopkins was in the role of Assistant Chief of Service.

After fifteen years in solo, private neurosurgical practice and medical staff governance roles, he was recruited to Hawaii as the sole, full-time neurosurgeon for Kaiser Permanente with the mandate to set the groundwork for a completely internalized program. That experience led to his invitation to serve as the inaugural medical director of neurosciences and an ambitious project to unify the neurosciences programs across the government hospitals in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Once this unification was well underway, the program was handed off to the Cleveland Clinic. Subsequently, he served as the inaugural CMO for a start-up telemedicine company in Dubai and as an adjunct associate professor in a graduate program for healthcare administration.

He returned to the USA after four years in the Middle East and took on the role of physician advisor for SSM Health. Initially accountable for one hospital, he was elevated to a regional, multi-hospital role where he was accountable for insurance denial management including education of clinicians in evidence-based medicine and responsible stewardship as well as holding numerous roles in quality improvement projects.
Most recently, he has taken on the role of medical director for a large accountable care organization based in Dallas, TX.

Dr. Schnitzer is a Fellow of the American Board of Quality Assurance and Utilization Review Physicians and is board certified in healthcare quality and management with added qualification as a Physician Advisor. He is a certified professional in healthcare quality by the National Association for Healthcare Quality and is certified by the American Society for Quality as a Six Sigma Black Belt. Additionally, he is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Dr. Schnitzer has provided a number of invited publications and presentations in the areas of healthcare informatics, patient safety, and responsible stewardship and he serves as a senior examiner for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

Dr. Schnitzer considers himself an interface professional, like most clinicians who have transitioned into healthcare leadership roles. He maintains a state of constant inquiry and curiosity with the ever-present thought, “There is something I do not know, the knowing of which could change everything.”

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Telemedicine in the Healthcare Delivery System
2023-04-06 13:30 - 15:00 | Virtual
This event has been approved for 1.5 ACHE Virtual Face-to-Face Credits!

Telemedicine has become a healthcare access imperative. Its innovative benefits are of vital interest amid the implementation of most healthcare regulations. Telemedicine uses a variety of forms of electronic communication technology to provide a convenient method to deliver healthcare services and education. The program surveys its current uses and organizational deployment of telemedicine. The discussion includes adoption and innovation across clinical and patient perspective. Technical, operational, regulatory, and financial/reimbursement aspects of the development of telemedicine programs will be investigated. The expanding role that telemedicine holds in daily medicine and its direction into the future of the healthcare delivery system will be explored.

Moderator:
Nick Kagal, FACHE
Leader of Client Success
SpinSci Technologies

Panelists:
Mae Centeno, DNP, APRN, ACNS-BC
Chief Nursing Officer, Virtual Care Delivery Channel
Texas Health Resources
Julie Hall-Barrow, EdD
President
Maxwell Telecare
Vicki Nolan, LVN MAPD LSSYB
System Director, Clinical Excellence & Virtual Care
CHRISTUS Health
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Speakers Bios:
Julie Hall-Barrow serves as the President of Maxwell Telecare, spearheading the organization’s development and implementation of innovative care delivery models. She oversees strategic growth of the Network; a collaborative network of health providers, including community physicians as well as other like-minded providers, who work together to keep independent providers independent.

Since joining Maxwell Telecare in March of 2021, Julie has recruited strategic leaders to provide expertise in management and acquisitions, operations, technology, and launched services in Texas and Minnesota. She is a well-known expert in the field of telemedicine, remote patient monitoring and digital products aimed at improving access and health outcomes. Her leadership in facilitating collaboration between national technology and health care organizations has earned her accolades from industry publications, including recognition among the Most Powerful Women in Health Care IT by Health Data Management and the Achievement in Innovation in D CEO’s Excellence in Healthcare Awards.

Prior to joining Maxwell Telecare, Julie held executive leadership positions focused on health care transformation, joint ventures, increasing access to care through technology and overseeing the largest school telemedicine program in the country. In addition she launched behavioral national and regional mental health initiatives that included obtaining millions of dollars for care and infrastructure. She oversaw the building of new pediatric healthcare facilities in North and South Texas. She continues to advance the telemedicine field through research and education as an active member and Fellow of the American Telemedicine Association.

Julie holds a Doctor of Education (EdD) in higher education administration from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and a Master of Science in Kinesiology from University of North Texas.

Mae Centeno, DNP, APRN, ACNS-BC serves as the Chief Nursing Officer for the Virtual Care Delivery Channel at Texas Health Resources. She has over 30 years of critical care nursing, advanced practice, and nurse executive experience.

Dr. Centeno has implemented several care models to identify high-risk patients, scale scarce resources as well as increase bed capacity.

She is passionate about transforming health care, incorporating technology in the care delivery model, providing access to affordable, equitable, quality, and safe care.

Mae is married with two children and is passionate about spending time with her family and traveling.

Nick Kagal served as the Vice President of Marketing & Business Development and is now the leader of Client Success for SpinSci Technologies, a healthcare technology solutions provider focused on driving patient engagement. Nick previously led Customer Success for the Western United States for Premier Inc.’s Performance Services division supporting informatics solutions and services focused on cost, quality, and safety. He has over 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry and has held leadership roles with several Dallas/Fort Worth health systems including Parkland Health & Hospital System, HCA, and HealthSouth.

Nick received his BA in Biology & Psychology from Austin College and an MBA from Texas A&M University. He is a Fellow in both the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and the Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and is a board member of DFW HIMSS. Nick lives in Plano, Texas, and is an avid sports fan, a weekend warrior athlete, a long-distance cyclist, and plays guitar & bass in the local cover band Sonic Dissonance.

Vicki Nolen has oversight for clinical improvement, virtual care and telemedicine for the 26 acute care hospitals and 105+ physician offices, as well as CHRISTUS Health’s international ministries in Chile, Colombia, and Mexico. She has led the development of new models for providing innovative care through telemedicine both within the hospital setting and for outpatient ambulatory visits. She is a licensed vocational nurse and was her school’s valedictorian, but then went on to get a number of advanced degrees and is in the process of a PhD in Psychology. The majority of her 20+ years of healthcare experience has been in process improvement, operational excellence, strategy, operations, and digital/virtual strategic development. In 2021 she received the award for Outstanding Healthcare Innovator by D Magazine’s CEO Excellence in Healthcare awards.

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Boba with the A(HLC) Tea-m
2023-04-13 17:30 - 19:30 | 9 Rabbits Bakery, 2546 Royal Lane, Dallas, TX, 75229
It’s time to get bubbly!

Date: April 13, 2023
Location: 9 Rabbits Bakery
Address: 2546 Royal Ln, Dallas, TX 75229
Parking: Free to park in front of the boba shop and/or plaza.
Tickets: Free
Join the AHLC (Asian Healthcare Leaders Community) of North Texas for a tea-rrific hour and get to know the leaders and fellow members. Learn more about our upcoming events and ways to get involved. The drinks are free for the event attendees as long as you mention “AHLC” at checkout. Have a sip at the AHLC table!
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Breakfast with the EVP & CCO - Dr. Sam Bagchi
2023-04-18 07:30 - 09:00 | CHRISTUS Health, 919 Hidden Ridge, Irving, TX, 75038, United States
Join us for the next in our popular breakfast series!

Sam Bagchi, M.D. is passionate about helping patients get timely, effective, and efficient care, building a solid reputation for successful informatics and quality initiatives in leading U.S. health systems. For more than twenty years, his quest to bring together clinical and quality strategies with the promise of health technology has consistently uncovered new best-practices—many now serving as a guide for other healthcare organizations navigating the industry’s shift to value-based care.
As the CHRISTUS Health Executive Vice President, System Chief Clinical Officer, Dr. Bagchi is responsible for helping caregivers effectively and safely deliver the best possible evidenced-based care across the health system. Dr. Bagchi also serves as a Trustee for Texas Hospital Association and is a member of the American Hospital Association Region 7 Policy Board.
A board certified internal medicine physician, Dr. Bagchi previously served as Chief Quality and Medical Officer for Ascension Presence Health System in Chicago, which is a $2.5B, 12-hospital health system. Prior to that, he served as Senior Vice President, Chief Medical Officer for Methodist Health System, a seven-hospital health system in Dallas, Texas. He was recruited to Methodist to build a clinical informatics platform and department around the organization’s quality and patient safety initiatives. Dr. Bagchi earned his medical degree from Indiana University and completed the Internal Medicine residency program at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where he served as a Harvard teaching fellow.

A huge thanks to Dr. Bagchi and CHRISTUS Health for hosting this event!

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Dinner and Learn: Diversity & Inclusion with UT Southwestern
2023-04-20 17:30 - 20:00 | UT Southwestern Pegasus Building, 3000 Pegasus Park Drive, #LP6.202, Dallas, Texas, 75247
Please join us for a panel discussion with UT Southwestern Division of Diversity and Inclusion to learn more about D&I in the workspace and in healthcare.
Itinerary:
5:30-6pm: Guest arrival/check-in/pick up dinner
6-7pm: D&I panel discussion
7-8pm: Dessert reception/networking

Panelists:
Mary Bandoh, Manager of Diversity & Inclusion, Office of Institutional Equity & Access, UT Southwestern
Keneshia Colwell, Senior Diversity & Inclusion Specialist, Office of Institutional Equity & Access, UT Southwestern
Sharbari Dey, Director for Diversity & Inclusion, Office of Institutional Equity & Access, UT Southwestern

Moderator:
Tatiana Gonzalez, Intern, Division of Diversity and Inclusion, UT Southwestern

Dinner will be provided upon arrival with dessert to follow during the reception.

Thanks to UT Southwestern for hosting this event!

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Speakers Bios:

Mary Bandoh serves as the Manager of Diversity & Inclusion in the Office of Institutional Equity & Access. In this role, she oversees the BRG Mentorship Programs, leads Business Resource Groups through signature event planning, facilitates DEI trainings, and writes and edits content for 3 internal DEI publications. Before she came to UT Southwestern, Mary practiced in the field of immigration law for nearly a decade, and worked at a manufacturing company where she helped to develop the company’s first-ever DEI committee and programming. She holds a J.D. from Washington University School of Law. She is a proud mom to 9-month-old Audrey and dog mom to a 3-year-old, 8-pound fluff ball named Teddy.

Keneshia Colwell is the Senior Diversity & Inclusion Specialist for the Office of Institutional & Access. She is responsible for ensuring that diversity and inclusion are essential components of UT Southwestern’s tripartite mission to discover, educate, and heal through intentional high-impact programming, facilitating education and skill-building trainings, furthering institutional community outreach efforts, assisting with management of UTSW’s six business resource groups, and serving as the creative engineer for our division’s ‘Uncovered’ employee podcast. Prior to her current role, Keneshia worked as an Equal Opportunity Specialist conducting workplace investigations, provided religious and disability related accommodations, and facilitated trainings for leaders and managers. Keneshia also spent time at UT Austin helping handle employee experience concerns in the Office for Inclusion and Equity. In addition to her professional experience, Keneshia is a graduating master’s student at Southern Methodist University focusing on the role religion plays in social injustice.

Sharbari Dey is the Director for Diversity and Inclusion in the Office of Institutional Equity and Access at UT Southwestern. In this role she brings expertise in facilitation, policy impacts on employee lifecycle and designing evidence-based initiatives to advance high trust environments in the workplace. Her areas of interest include gender/racial equity, diversity metrics, professional learning and development of equitable policies. Prior to UT Southwestern, Sharbari worked in diversity roles at three large public higher education institutions: Louisiana State University, Virginia Tech and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has also worked in the corporate D&I environment overseeing global programs across Asia, Australia, Europe and Africa. Dey has MSWs from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in India and Louisiana State University, and her doctoral degree from North Carolina State University in Educational Leadership Policy and Human Development.

Tatiana Gonzalez is an intern with the Division of Diversity and Inclusion. She has two years of experience as a care coordinator and has a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from the University of Florida. She is now pursuing a master’s degree in health administration at UNTHSC. She believes that the healthcare system can build trust with the community through diversity, equity, and inclusion.

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Cocktails with the Chiefs: Realizing the Benefits of AI in Healthcare: Best Practices and Pitfalls to Avoid
2023-04-25 18:00 - 20:00 | Stirr in Addison, 5100 Belt Line Road, Suite 540, Dallas, TX, 75254
Reserve your ticket now for our next ACHENTX Cocktails with the Chiefs event. We’re back in Dallas for this program and this time, our content topic will be: Realizing the Benefits of AI in Healthcare: Best Practices and Pitfalls to Avoid. The panel will be preceded by a networking cocktail reception being hosted by the law firm, BakerHostetler.

Our panel will include the following speakers.

Moderator:
James Sherer
Partner & Co-lead of Emerging Technology Team
BakerHostetler

Panelists:
Julie Balluck
Chief Nursing Officer
Texas Health HEB

Emily Fedeles
Vice President, Assistant General Counsel Privacy
Medidata Solutions

Albert Karam
Vice President, Data Strategy & Analytics
Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation

Rob Nelson
Vice President & Head, Healthcare Transformation & Innovation Solutions
RCG Global Service

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A special thanks to BakerHostetler for hosting this event!
Speakers Bios:
Dr. Julie Balluck, RN has a career spanning over two decades with roles including direct care nurse, charge nurse, nurse manager, director, Associate Chief Nursing Officer and her current position, Chief Nursing Officer at Texas Health Hurst Euless Bedford (HEB). She is an AONL nurse director fellow and Nursing Executive Advanced-Board Certified by ANCC. She completed her Honors in Nursing Diploma at Sheridan College School of Nursing in Mississauga, Ontario, BSN at Metropolitan (Ryerson) University in Toronto, Ontario, and MSN at the University of Texas at Arlington. In May 2022, she completed her Doctor of Nursing Practice (Administration) program at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Houston, Texas.
She is an experienced nursing leader who strives to introduce new ideas to continuously improve and connect teams to achieve desired outcomes in our rapidly changing health care environment. She has authored and co-authored publications in the field of peri anesthesia nursing, the use of ADKAR in change management during the pandemic and leadership development for novice nurse leaders. She is a mentor to staff nurses and both emerging and experienced leaders in healthcare, with a special passion for students. Her vision is to develop multidisciplinary staff accountability through collaborative partnerships to create a quality healthcare consumer experience.
She has been recognized for her leadership by receiving the Texas Nurses Association, Districts 3 & 4 Great 100 Nurse, D Magazine Nursing Excellence Award for Surgery and Leadership, the Clinical Excellence Award from the University of Texas at Arlington and Community Service Award from the University of Texas Health Science Center, Cizik School of Nursing. She is a member of the American Nurses Association, American Organization of Nurse Executives – North Texas Chapter and ACHE of North Texas.
“What we know matters, but who we are matters more” –Brene Brown
Emily Fedeles serves as VP, Associate General Counsel of Privacy, at Medidata, where she advises internal and external stakeholders on privacy, data protection, risk, and risk mitigation issues. She also focuses on related data security and emergent technology-driven issues. Prior to her current role, Emily served as Chief Data Privacy Counsel at Colgate-Palmolive Company, where she was responsible for the establishment and maintenance of a comprehensive global data privacy compliance program for 30 brands worldwide. Before going in-house, Emily was an eDiscovery, Privacy, and Litigation associate at law firms in New York City; Geneva, Switzerland; and Tampa, Florida where she counseled a wide range of clients on issues ranging from discovery management processes, records and information governance, data privacy and security, artificial intelligence, and products liability litigation. She graduated from Emory University School of Law with a JD and from Emory University with a bachelor’s degree, and holds a CIPP/E certification.
Albert Karam is the VP of Data Strategy and Analytics for Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation, a nonprofit data science and technology company in Dallas Texas. He is a mathematician by trade with a Masters in Mathematics, Business Analytics and MBA with a healthcare administration concentration. With over a decade of healthcare analytics experience in both the hospital and payor spaces, Albert oversees all Data Science and predictive modeling for PCCI, having implemented over a dozen predictive models for Parkland Health, the safety net hospital in for Dallas County.
Dr. Rob Nelson is an innovative, results-driven leader with more than 20+ years of global experience in marketing, business/performance transformation, strategic business development, solution-product development/management, consulting and operations. His industry experience includes high -tech Fortune 30 corporations, startup/ pre-IPO’s, international not-for-profit organizations, and small privately held firm’s healthcare, high-tech, not-for-profit, higher education, consulting and a variety of others. Rob has an established record of establishing full-spectrum marketing, go-to-market, strategy, product, and business development and transformation strategies (including Leadership, Strategy and Management Systems) that help organizations achieve performance transformation and deliver strategic, operational, and financial results that ensure market leadership. He has also served as a Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer, Head of Business Development in addition to Operations leadership roles.
Rob has extensive experience in large scale transformations, digital transformations and culture transformations as well as a focus on all things “go to market and innovation”. He has led four different consulting practices, including the global Strategy, Leadership and Performance Transformation practice for General Electric which had a focus on the implementation of the culture-driven-performance model comprised strategy activation, productivity systems, management systems and leadership systems to drive high performance.
Rob’s employment portfolio includes IBM, GE, Motorola, Amazon.com (Pre-IPO), a privately held technology firm, two trade organizations and his own firm. His doctoral work focused on strategic transformation of firms through creation and market-orientation via cultural transformation to yield higher business performance, long-term. He has also led three business / enterprise Program Management Offices at high tech firms including Motorola and GE. Prior, Rob served as both enlisted and officer ranks with more than a decade of service in the United States Navy in communications, intelligence, surface warfare, and combat logistics.
Active in the academic and entrepreneurship community, Rob also teaches strategic marketing, strategy and business innovation at the MBA/Masters Levels at the Stuart School of Management, Illinois Institute of Technology and at the Jack Welch Management Institute. His highly regarded work involves live projects with companies including many innovative and award-winning start-ups in the Chicago area.
Rob holds a Doctor of Business Administration in Strategic Marketing from Grenoble Ecole de Management with dissertation on the implementation of market orientation Strategic Marketing involving the transformation of organizations to deliver higher performance. His MBA is in Management and Strategic Marketing from the Kellogg School of Management and his BA is in Political Science and Leadership from the University of Oklahoma, earned on scholarship while in the Navy. He holds certificates in Global Leadership and Strategy from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and is Pragmatic Marketing and trained in Miller Herman conceptual selling. He also holds executive certificates in :
• Innovation: How Leaders Create the Future (Dartmouth, Tuck School of business – April 2021)
• Digital Marketing Strategies: AI, Automation, Data and Analytic, Kellogg School of Management (2020)
• AI and Strategies for Leading Business Transformation, Kellogg School of Management (2020)
• Global Strategy, Leadership from Thunderbird School of Management
• Program on Negotiation for Senior Executives, Harvard Law School
• Blue Ocean Strategy (Blue Ocean Academy – 2021)
In his personal time, Rob practices mixed martial arts including Muay Thai Kick Boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Mixed Martial Arts and enjoys hiking, biking, sailing, kayaking and spending time with his pets.
Gittings Global – NE89710
A consensus builder focused on project delivery and matter success, James Sherer develops deep client relationships, responsively and pragmatically addressing client needs and requirements with subject-matter expertise while helping to develop and execute on long-term, years-long client strategies.
James co-leads the Emerging Technology team of BakerHostetler’s Digital Assets and Data Management group while directing the firm’s Artificial Intelligence and Information Governance engagements. His work spans litigation, transactions and regulatory enforcement while helping clients confront discovery management process issues; enterprise risk management; records and information governance; data privacy, security and bank secrecy; artificial intelligence and algorithmic transparency; technology integration issues; and related merger and acquisition, asset purchase and divestiture diligence.
Prior to joining BakerHostetler, James worked as in-house litigator and privacy and eDiscovery professional with a Fortune 500 company, and previously practiced litigation in New York. He holds an M.B.A., his CIPP/US, CIPP/E, CIPM, FIP and PLS data privacy professional credentials, the CIP and IGP information governance designations, the UCLA Extension Global Cyber Institute’s Cybersecurity Certification, and the CEDS and CMLAW-EPC eDiscovery specialist credentials. James is also a member of The Sedona Conference® Working Groups One, Six and Eleven; and writes and presents on e-discovery, information governance, privacy, investigation and merger and acquisition issues.

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Second Quarter ACHENTX Education Event
2023-04-27 15:00 - 19:00 | SpinSci Technologies LLC, 14850 Quorum Drive #150, Dallas, TX, 75254
These panels have been approved for 1.50 ACHE Face-to-Face Credits Each (3.00 if you attend both).

Itinerary for the day:
3-3:30pm – Check-In & Networking
3:30-5pm – Panel 1: Managing for Morale— Effective Management Techniques to Retain Your Staff
5-5:30pm – Networking Break
5:30-7pm – Panel 2: Developing Mentoring and Coaching Skills
Thanks to Spin Sci for hosting this event!

Register Here

Panel 1: Managing for Morale— Effective Management Techniques to Retain Your Staff

Moderator: Nick Kagal, FACHE; Leader of Client Success, SpinSci Technologies
Panelists:
Katie Bata Heeter, FACHE; Baylor Scott & White Health System; SVP – Human Resources Strategic Business Services
Kathi Cox; Texas Health Resources, COO; Ambulatory & Virtual Channel
Priti Jain; Texas Health Physicians Group; Regional Director of Specialty Clinics

Panel 2: Developing Mentoring and Coaching Skills

Moderator: Dr. Jennifer “J” Alexander, FACHE; UTSW; Operations Manager of Imaging Systems & Services

Panelists:
John E. Phillips, FACHE; Methodist Dallas Medical Center; President
Jackie Sifuentes, MBA, LSSYB; Children’s Health; Manager of Patient Capacity Ambulatory Services
Tanya Stinson, MHQS, CMBB, MCBA, CRP; Leaning Towards Change, LLC; Founder/Owner/Coach/Consultant

Speakers’ Bios:

Dr. Jennifer “J” Alexander is the Operations Manager for Imaging Services at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Serving, collaborating, and mentoring healthcare professionals is Dr. Alexander’s passion. She frequently attends healthcare conferences and events since she is a passionate scholar. Dr. Alexander has also spoken at colleges, universities, and other events on networking, creating connections, and the valuable social media tool LinkedIn. She routinely posts healthcare-related content on social media to inform her followers about the fast-evolving healthcare market and the branding and exposure needed to stay relevant.

She has earned a doctorate in healthcare administration from the Virginia University of Lynchburg and an MBA and an MHA from the University of Texas at Arlington. She is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and a Certified Radiology Administrator with AHRA.

Katie Bata Heeter is senior vice president of human resources strategic business services at Baylor Scott & White Health, the largest not-forprofit health system in Texas. The system’s integrated delivery network includes Baylor Scott & White Health Plan, Baylor Scott & White Research Institute, Baylor Scott & White Quality Alliance and its leading digital health platform, MyBSWHealth. Through 51 hospitals and more than 1,100 access points, including flagship academic medical centers in Dallas, Fort Worth and Temple, the system offers the full continuum of care, from primary to award-winning specialty care, as well as an array of virtual and in-home services.

In her role, Bata Heeter oversees implementation of HR programs that support system leaders in advancing the mission of Baylor Scott & White Health. Previously, she served as vice president of strategic business services.

Prior to joining Baylor Scott & White, Bata Heeter served in multiple human resources leadership roles including vice president and regional executive director at Advocate Aurora Health and its predecessor, Advocate Health Care. She also previously served as vice president and chief human resource officer at Sherman Health Systems and as human resource director at Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital.

Bata Heeter received her bachelor’s degree in business from Eastern Illinois University and a master’s degree in business management from Northern Illinois University.

photo, headshot, pic
Kathi Cox is the Chief Operating Officer of the Ambulatory and Virtual Channel at Texas Health. She is charged with forging innovative new models of care for North Texans.

Kathi started her career with Texas Health almost 30 years ago and advanced through positions of increasing responsibility in hospital operations, information technology and patient and family experience. This diverse background has provided her a wealth of knowledge across the continuum of care that has been paramount to her work to establish a seamless experience for consumers across the Texas Health ecosystem. Her work now includes building and supporting new models of care using both physical and virtual interactions. She brings a passion for the consumer experience and using technology to streamline operations.

Kathi is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and holds an MBA from Western Governors University. In her spare time you will find her playing board games with friends, smoking meat and making sausage or in the fall cheering on her Texas Longhorns or Dallas Cowboys.

Priti Jain is an innovative leader, able to produce actionable insights through lean process improvement, and engage multi-disciplinary teams to achieve results. She is passionate about mentoring and helping others grow on their healthcare journey. Her expertise spans establishing a quality and risk management program at a hospital level, driving strategic project deployment at system level, as well as leading service line and ambulatory practice operations.

Priti’s accomplishments include leading system level improvement projects yielding substantial savings, decreasing Serious Safety Events (SSE)s such as deaths and severe harm, as well as operational dashboard development and deployment at several facilities. In her current role, as the (Regional) Director of Specialty Care Operations with Texas Health Physicians Group, she thrives in engaging specialists and practice care teams to optimize patient throughput, outcomes, safety, and optimal experience.

Priti believes in giving back to the community, and has been an active member of the ACHE of NTX chapter, most recently as the chair of the membership and networking committee. She also engages in several local community based organizations like Southlake Association of Gift & Talented and District Advisory Council with Carroll ISD. On the personal front, Priti enjoys staying active indoors and outdoors, reading, cooking, and spending time with her family.

Nick Kagal served as the Vice President of Marketing & Business Development and is now the leader of Client Success for SpinSci Technologies, a healthcare technology solutions provider focused on driving patient engagement. Nick previously led Customer Success for the Western United States for Premier Inc.’s Performance Services division supporting informatics solutions and services focused on cost, quality, and safety. He has over 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry and has held leadership roles with several Dallas/Fort Worth health systems including Parkland Health & Hospital System, HCA, and HealthSouth.

Nick received his BA in Biology & Psychology from Austin College and an MBA from Texas A&M University. He is a Fellow in both the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and the Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and is a board member of DFW HIMSS. Nick lives in Plano, Texas, and is an avid sports fan, a weekend warrior athlete, a long-distance cyclist, and plays guitar & bass in the local cover band Sonic Dissonance.

John Phillips, FACHE, serves as president of Methodist Dallas Medical Center.

Since stepping into the role in 2018, Phillips has guided the hospital through accomplishments including recruitment of additional medical staff members to meet the growing needs of the hospitals service area, further development of the Da Vinci minimally invasive surgical program, established the MHS Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) Program and numerous hospital expansion and renovation projects providing the hospital’s patients access to high-quality healthcare services. Under his direction, Methodist Dallas
has received accreditations as an American Nurses Credentialing Center Magnet Facility, Level I Trauma re-designation and Level III maternal and neonatal intensive care designation.

Phillips has been a member of the Methodist Health System family since 2011. Philips served seven years as president of Methodist Mansfield Medical Center, a 254-bed non-profit acute care hospital. Under his leadership in Mansfield, the hospital achieved Magnet designation for excellence in nursing and opened the $118-million Amon G. Carter Foundation Heart and Vascular Center as well as a new patient tower and $11.8-million professional office building.

Prior to joining Methodist, Phillips served as Chief Operating Officer at CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System in Texarkana and Chief Operating Officer at Davis Regional Medical Center in North Carolina.

Phillips earned a Bachelors in Physical Therapy from UT Southwestern, an MBA from Hardin-Simmons University and a Master of Health Care Administration from Trinity University. Outside of his role at Methodist Dallas, Phillips, his wife and two children enjoy family vacations, hiking and traveling.

Jackie Sifuentes, MBA, serves as Manager of Patient Capacity in Ambulatory Services at Children’s Health in Dallas, Texas. She works with ambulatory department leadership and frontline service representatives to improve and streamline patient appointment request scheduling, provider appointment utilization, patient experience, and increase patient access to ambulatory care.

Jackie is a graduate of the UT Southwestern Aspiring Leaders program, is EPIC Cadence and Lean Six Sigma certified. She earned her master’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Healthcare Administration from Texas Woman’s University in Dallas, Texas and a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Southern Methodist University also in Dallas, Texas.

Prior to joining Children’s Health, Mrs. Sifuentes was with UT Southwestern for over nine years and has an array of experience in the laboratory, clinical and business administrative setting. She started out exploring her Chemistry degree from SMU in a lab setting in the Touchstone Diabetes Lab. Later, she felt the need to build on her people skills which lead to becoming a Clinical Staff Assistant in the Internal Medicine Subspecialty Clinic. With that experience she then transitioned to the Central Registration role verifying insurance for outpatient clinics & learning more about managed care. Her Aspiring Leaders project led her to discover process improvement & project management skills within EPIC which she then further developed in her role as a scheduling capacity analyst II. She aims to leverage this experience in the ambulatory access strategy & capacity team growth as these two organization’s partner through the Joint Pediatric Enterprise.

Outside of work, she pours into the National Association of Latino Healthcare Executives (NALHE) DFW Chapter by serving as President, has served as president-elect, and spearheaded the founding of the National La Mesa Emerging Leaders mentorship program. She also serves on the Hispanic Alumni of SMU board. As a leader of several organizations, Ms. Sifuentes’s hope is to inspire other Latinos to pursue health care leadership positions to help provide access and representation in underserved communities.

Originally born in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua Mexico and raised in El Paso, Texas, nothing fills Jackie more than watching a West Texas sunrise.

Tanya Stinson is a Performance Improvement Engineer. She has a Master’s Degree in Healthcare Quality and Safety and is a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt. Tanya has 14 years of experience in leading large Lean Six Sigma transformational initiatives along with training, coaching, and certifying others (clinical and non-clinical) in leading performance, process, and quality improvement projects. She is extremely passionate about making positive changes that will improve outcomes for the consumer, employees, and leadership, as well as empower project leaders through coaching and mentoring that will help others to become successful and grow the PI culture. She has worked in various Quality and PI settings, inside and outside of healthcare. Tanya was awarded the 2020 ACHENTX Mentor of the Year award and recently started her own consulting firm, Leaning Towards Change, LLC, and is training, coaching, and mentoring students and leaders in getting their Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt, Green Belt, and Black Belt certifications as well as work with organizations to reduce their defects, wastes, inefficiencies, and costs therefore improving quality, cost, efficiency, safety, and productivity.

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After Hours Rangers Game - Networking Event
2023-05-02 19:00 - 22:00 | Globe Life Field, Globe Life Field 734 Stadium Drive, Arlington, TX, 76011
Join us for a casual evening at the ballpark and enjoy a fantastic view of the game from the suite of our host, SBL Architecture, Inc., while the Rangers take on the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Foods and beverages will be served.
The suite will be open to guests at 6:30 PM, and first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM.
SPACE IS VERY LIMITED AND AVAILABLE ON A FIRST COME/FIRST SERVED BASIS, SO REGISTER TODAY!!!

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A big thanks to SBL Architecture for their ongoing support of ACHENTX and for hosting this event for us!

SBL Architecture, Inc. is a healthcare architectural, interior design and planning/consulting firm located in Arlington, Texas. Since 1994, SBL has worked on thousands of projects — with extensive experience in new construction, expansion, master planning and rehabilitation of older healthcare facilities. Healthcare design is their focus and their passion.

Advocacy 101: Getting Involved in the Legislative Process
2023-05-15 12:00 - 13:00 | Virtual
Advocacy is a key part of hospital leadership responsibilities – whether that is advocacy at the hospital, state, or federal levels. Attend this webinar session to learn how a bill becomes a law, the highs and lows of the legislative process and the role that grassroots funding plays in a successful advocacy program. Please join John Hawkins Texas Hospital Association President& CEO.

John M. Hawkins took the helm as president and chief executive officer of the Texas Hospital Association on Jan. 1, 2022. He is the organization’s sixth CEO since its inception in 1930. A longtime advocacy veteran, Hawkins has more than 35 years of experience in legislative, leadership and policy circles and has deep knowledge of health care and hospital funding issues. As CEO, he represents the Texas hospital industry locally and nationally and helps ensure hospitals have the resources they need to deliver the highest quality health care to all Texans.
Over the years, Hawkins has fostered critical relationships among business, consumer and medical communities and continues to position THA as a thought leader and single, powerful voice for Texas hospitals.
Prior to being named CEO, Hawkins served as THA’s senior vice president of advocacy and public policy since 2004. With a long tenure at the association, his team consistently secured important resources for Texas health care, including hospital Medicaid rates, funding for trauma and behavioral health services, funding for workforce training and protections for the state’s critical safety net Medicaid supplemental payment programs. Hawkins’ team also was an integral force during the COVID-19 pandemic, helping to secure staffing, supplies, vaccines and flexibilities for hospitals to keep patients safe.
Before to joining THA, Hawkins had a key role in streamlining state agencies at the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission, where he managed teams of analysts and testified on issues for the commission. He also gained early experience as a legislative staffer in the Texas House of Representatives and as a legislative liaison at the Texas Department of Information Resources.
In 2020, Hawkins completed a six-month immersive hospital residency program at Baylor Scott & White Hillcrest, where he gained hands-on hospital operations experience, shadowing leadership, interacting with staff and participating in governing board activities.
Hawkins graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor’s degree in government. He is married to Cami Hawkins, CEO of Marathon Kids, and they have two children, Madi and Jack.

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ACHENTX Networking Blitz
2023-05-16 17:30 - 20:00 | Texas Health Resources, 612 E Lamar Blvd., Arlington, TX, 76011
A tremendous networking opportunity for new and more seasoned members alike!

This event is for all ACHE of North Texas members who want to become more involved and/or become more connected/networked with their fellow ACHENTX members.
The ACHE North Texas Networking & Membership Committees cordially invites you to the ACHE of North Texas chapter’s next Networking Blitz. This fun event will allow members to get to know one another in meaningful ways. There will be special fun activities, where personal connections will be made. The intent of this program is to bring members together to get a real in depth view of ACHENTX, to enable you to meet some of the chapter’s leadership and other fellow ACHE members, and to help you map out how to best take advantage of the plethora of local and national benefits and opportunities available to you through ACHE. It’s a way to “let us get to know you” as well and become a part of your professional network.
We will start with informal networking between 5:30-6pm, and at 6pm, we will dive into the more structured portion of the evening.
Our guest speaker for the evening will be Kris Sanders, MBA, FACHE – Senior Vice President, Northern Market Growth & Development, Children’s Health.
We are looking forward to meeting each of you and/or getting to know you better.
A light dinner will be offered.
Kris Sanders, MBA, FACHE, currently serves as Senior Vice President, Northern Market Growth and Development. Kris oversees the leadership and implementation of all Northern Market activity. She is responsible for helping to advance the clinical programs and partnerships, as well as helping cultivate relationships in the community – poising and preparing the Plano campus and Northern Market operations to care for many future generations.
Kris is a Children’s Health alum, having worked in Ambulatory Services with responsibilities in both Plano and Dallas. Kris has extensive experience in operations, process and performance improvement, business development, and people leadership, all within the health care industry. She previously worked at Envision Physician Services, which she joined as Vice President of Operations in March 2016. Other previous non-Children’s Health roles include opportunities at Methodist Health System and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Kris is a board-certified Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE), holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Phoenix and received a bachelor’s in health care administration from Texas State University. She also serves as a board member for ACHE North Texas, Live Oak Surgery Center, and Colin County Child Advocacy Center. Currently she is enrolled in Leadership Plano, Class 39. Kris is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated as well where she serves the community of Colin County.
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ACHE of North Texas BOG Exam Review
2023-05-19 08:30 - 16:30 | Texas Health Harris Methodist Hurst-Euless-Bedford, 1600 Hospital Parkway Bedford, TX 76022, Bedford, TX, 76022
Are you a healthcare management professional who wants to demonstrate your commitment to your healthcare career?

The ACHENTX Advancement Committee announces our 2023 Board of Governors Exam Review Course. This course is designed to support our members on the path to achieving FACHE designation. This program will provide the opportunity to learn from Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) on how to successfully pass the BOG exam and will include exam drills.

If you have been putting off beginning the process to achieve FACHE designation, we invite you to register today.

BOG Review Session (All Knowledge Areas)
Date and Time: Friday, May 19, 2023, from 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM
Location: Texas Health Harris Methodist Hurst-Euless-Bedford
1600 Hospital Parkway
Bedford, TX 76022

Review of all BOG Knowledge Areas by SMEs
o Healthcare
o Management, Leadership and Business
o Finance
o Human Resources
o Quality
o Healthcare Technology and Information Management
o Governance and Organizational Structure
o Professionalism and Ethics
o Laws and Regulations

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Subject Matter Experts’ Bios:
Healthcare
Lee Ann Benson serves as the Senior Vice President of Maternal-Child Program Development for Children’s Health and UT Southwestern Joint Pediatric Enterprise (JPE). In this role, Lee Ann is responsible for leading strategic planning, development and execution of the Maternal-Child Program including Maternal Fetal Medicine, Neonatology and Obstetrics.
Prior to joining Children’s Health in 2022, Lee Ann served as the Vice President of the East Valley Market for Phoenix Children’s.
Lee Ann graduated from Auburn University with a Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Administration. Lee Ann earned a Master of Science in Health Administration and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Lee Ann is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives. Outside of work, Lee Ann enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband Beau and 6-year old twins, Lynlee and Reid.
Laws & Regulation
Salma Khaleq is the Vice President of Commercial and Individual at Elevance Health, Inc. Salma’s passion for justice and equity work stems from her background as an immigrant to the United States and her experience seeing the harmful intersections of the immigration and criminal legal systems, along with her experience as a healthcare professional concerned about solutions to structural determinants of health.
Prior to joining Elevance Health, Salma was a former lawyer and held several Vice President roles at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Illinois.
Health Information Technology (HIT)
Nick Kagal served as the Vice President of Marketing & Business Development and is now the leader of Client Success for SpinSci Technologies, a healthcare technology solutions provider focused on driving patient engagement. Nick previously led Customer Success for the Western United States for Premier Inc.’s Performance Services division supporting informatics solutions and services focused on cost, quality, and safety. He has over 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry and has held leadership roles with several Dallas/Fort Worth health systems including Parkland Health & Hospital System, HCA, and HealthSouth.
Nick received his BA in Biology & Psychology from Austin College and an MBA from Texas A&M University. He is a Fellow in both the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and the Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and is a board member of DFW HIMSS. Nick lives in Plano, Texas, and is an avid sports fan, a weekend warrior athlete, a long-distance cyclist, and plays guitar & bass in the local cover band Sonic Dissonance.
Finance
April Audain has been with Parkland Health for a decade. In her current role she is VP Finance. She oversees two teams: one that handles the financial administration of the Medical Services Agreement (MSA) between UT Southwestern and Parkland and the second Financial Planning & Analytics. She completed her undergraduate work at the University of Texas at Austin, where she majored in Biology and also holds a degree in Healthcare Administration from Texas Woman’s University. She has worked in healthcare finance for almost twenty years and has been an active member of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) on various committees and a Fellow for over a decade.
Human Resources

Merridth D. Simpson is the Assistant Vice President of Human Resources for Cook Children’s Health Care System. Serving the community for more than 100 years, the non-profit is comprised of nine companies and over 9,000 employees. Merridth has system-wide responsibility and oversight for the Employee Relations, Talent Acquisition and Occupational Health divisions. She partners with the organization to provide consultative support and counsel, and aligns HR strategies with system needs to enhance business outcomes.
Merridth previously served as Director of Human Resources for Methodist Charlton Medical Center, part of the non-profit Methodist Health System. She oversaw programs and policies covering talent acquisition, compensation, benefits, employee relations, performance management, leadership development and compliance with federal and state employment laws. She also served on the health system’s Intentional Inclusion & Diversity (II&D) Council, and Best Southwest Workforce committee.
Prior to Methodist, Merridth served as the Diversity and Inclusion Manager at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center where she led the strategic development and implementation of the Institution’s diversity and inclusion strategy, impacting 15,000 faculty and staff. Merridth ensured that diversity, equity and inclusion were essential components of the Institution’s core missions of research, education, and patient care, and implemented the Institution’s first Business Resource Groups (BRGs).
Before joining UT Southwestern, Merridth held leadership roles spanning communications, human resources and diversity at Raytheon, an aerospace and defense contractor, in their Intelligence and Information Systems (IIS) business segment.
While at Raytheon Merridth handled workforce planning of nearly 3,000 engineers, scientists and technical professionals. She spearheaded community outreach efforts in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), grew the maturity of nine Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), and steered multiple diversity councils.
Merridth is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management, Society for Diversity and National Association of Health Services Executives. She serves on the Greater Dallas Advisory Board of the Texas Diversity Council, and previously served on the Board of Management for the Lakewest YMCA of Dallas.

Governance & Organizational Structure
Marva Goins, PharmD, MBA, DPLA, FACHE is currently the Pharmacy Director for Texas Health Harris Methodist Southwest Fort Worth and Texas Health Hospital Clearfork in Fort Worth, TX. She has been in this role since December 2013. Marva’s career is marked by continuous growth and expansion of responsibilities. Prior to joining Texas Health Resources, she served in pharmacy leadership at Baylor Scott & White (formerly Baylor Healthcare System), and a several years as a clinical pharmacist in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Baylor University Medical Center Dallas, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Driscoll Childrens Hospital (Corpus Christi, TX), and staff Clinical Pharmacist at Doctors Regional Medical Center (Corpus Christi, TX) and William Beaumont Hospital (Royal Oak, Michigan).
Her commitment to the healthcare professions is demonstrated in her role as a Pharmacy Student Preceptor (Pharmacy Administration)for University of North Texas Health Science Center College of Pharmacy and University of Texas Austin. Marva is an active member of ACHE of North Texas serving on the Advancement Committee. As a Fellow of ACHE, she is honored to encourage and support the advancement of future ACHE fellow through her work on the Advancement Committee.
Marva earned a Doctor of Pharmacy from Xavier University of Louisiana College of Pharmacy, a Masters of Business Administration Healthcare Management New England College in New Hampshire, Diplomat of Pharmacy Leadership from American Society of Health System Pharmacist (ASHP) Foundation. She, also, completed an ASHP accredited Pharmacy Practice Residency at Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital in Milwaukee, WI.
Quality
Brenda Slade MSN, MHA, RN-BC, CPHQ
Director, Quality, Patient Safety & Risk Management
Texas Health Resources Harris Methodist Hospital – Hurst-Euless-Bedford
Brenda’s education includes a Master of Nursing and a Master of HealthCare Administration. As a registered nurse for 28 years her clinical practice focused on the care of acute care medical-surgical patients. She has held nursing leadership roles including Administrative Supervisor, Nurse Manager and Director of Nursing prior to transitioning into Quality, Patient Safety and Risk Management. Currently Brenda serves as the Director of Quality, Patient Safety and Risk Management for Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford where she supports the team charged with helping hospital leaders and staff in their ongoing quality and patient safety work as well as on their journey to high reliability. When not at work Brenda enjoys spending time with her family, dogs, and serving the community as a member of the board of directors for Taylor’s Dream, a non-profit supporting child living with childhood cancer.
Professionalism & Ethics
Javier Montemayor is an accomplished Healthcare Executive with 20+ years of experience in regulatory compliance. He brings expertise in risk ranking, avoidance, and mitigation; managing quality procedures, practices and processes; contributing to patient safety through departmental regulatory assessments; credentialing; managing human resources; training and education; budget planning; and strategic planning for healthcare facilities.
As the Division Ethics and Compliance Officer for North Texas HCA Facilities and Rapides Regional Medical Center – Louisiana – HCA Healthcare is one of the nation’s leading providers of healthcare services with 182 hospitals and 2,300+ sites of care, including surgery centers, freestanding ERs, urgent care centers, home health, and physician clinics located in 20 states and the United Kingdom. Javier oversees the implementation and direction in 14+ hospitals, in two states, the HCA Corporate Compliance Program. Responsible for leading and/or providing guidance to the Facility Ethics and Compliance Officers in the day-to-day activities related to Ethics and Compliance, Privacy, ADA, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
This followed his time at Children’s Health one of the largest pediatric non-profit health systems in the U.S., where Javier was the Senior Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer leading the Corporate Compliance Program and maintained strategic oversight of seven additional departments. He was responsible for Accreditation and Regulatory Affairs activities at the system level for three hospitals – a 490-bed pediatric academic hospital, a 72-bed community/academic pediatric hospital and a 39-bed specialty hospital; system-wide accreditation programs that included readiness of more than 52 ambulatory clinics; eight disease-specific certificated programs; and Internal Audit, Privacy, Emergency Management, Environmental Safety, Occupational Health and Policy Administration. In this role, he ensured policies and procedures, licensing, governmental and other regulatory body requirements were consistently maintained, and all areas of operations were patient-ready and in compliance with state and federal regulations. He also served as the system COVID-19 Incident Commander. Earlier at Children’s Health, Javier worked his way from Director to Vice President, Accreditation, Regulatory Affairs and Corporate Compliance.
Earlier in his career, Javier was at Texas Health Resources, one of the largest faith-based, nonprofit health systems in U.S. and the largest in North Texas in terms of inpatients and outpatients served, where Javier was Director of Quality Improvement – Presbyterian Hospital of Allen (TX). He was responsible for directing, managing and monitoring all Quality and Risk Management procedures and processes for a 62-bed hospital, including patient safety and department assessments. He provided administrative oversight to Case Management, Social Services, Guest Services and Volunteer Services Departments, and served as the hospital HIPAA/Compliance Security Officer and on the corporate Compliance/Privacy Committee. Prior to this at Texas Health Resources, Javier was Director of Quality Improvement Harris Methodist Erath County Hospital in Stephenville, TX, where he was responsible for managing and directing all Quality and Risk Management procedures and processes for a 98-bed hospital.
And the Facility Compliance Officer at Southwest General Hospital in San Antonio, TX, where he was responsible for Regulatory Compliance for a 286-bed hospital, including reviewing all compliance activities, employee-related issues, conflicts of interest and patient confidentiality.
Javier earned a Master of Jurisprudence in Health Law at Loyola University Chicago, a Master of Business Administration in Health Care Management at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from Texas A&M University. He was in the Class of 2017 for Dallas Regional Chamber’s Leadership Dallas program and completed a certification in Dispute Resolution at Southern Methodist University in University Park, TX. He is Just Culture certified, as well as certified in Health Care Compliance.
“The time is now or never to make a difference in today’s society; we all face difficult apprehensions and live through them but learning from them is what makes us better.”
Leadership, Management & Business
Dr. Matt Richardson was appointed as the Director of Public Health for Denton County in the summer of 2014. Dr. Richardson previously served as Director with the City of Amarillo and Potter/Randall Counties for 9 years. Dr. Richardson has authored peer-reviewed publications, testified to the Texas Legislature regarding public health issues and continues to advocate for public health practice and resources for Denton County and the state of Texas.
He has a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Abilene Christian University and both Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Public Health from the University of North Texas. He is currently board certified and Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. Dr. Richardson also serves as an accreditation site reviewer for public health programs in universities across the US.
Matt lives in Argyle with his wife of 27 years and their two daughters.

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Post-Legislative Session Update & Healthcare Impact to North Texas
2023-06-20 18:00 - 20:00 | Moody Outpatient Center at Parkland Hospital, 5151 Maple Avenue, Dallas, TX, 75235, United States
This discussion will focus on the most recent Texas legislative session and its impact on the health care community in North Texas. The panel will be comprised of healthcare policy experts in our region.

Panelists:

Dustin Anthamatten-Dominguez
Vice President of Operations, Corporate
Methodist Health System

Dan Blizzard
Vice President, Strategic Priorities
Methodist Health System

John Hawkins
President & Chief Executive Officer
Texas Hospital Association

Edna Z. Ruano
Public Policy Advisor
Parkland Health & Hospital System

Richard K. Scotch
Professor of Sociology and Public Policy & Political Economy
University of Texas at Dallas

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Speakers’ Bios:

Dustin Anthamatten-Dominguez currently serves as the Vice President of Operations, Corporate for Methodist Health System, a 12, soon to be 13-hospital health system serving the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Dustin previously served as Methodist Charlton Medical Center’s Vice President of Finance/CFO (2014), Vice President of Operations/COO (2015), and in a dual role of Vice President of Operations and Finance/COO & CFO (2021).

In addition to his current role, Dustin serves on several boards of directors including Methodist Transitional Care Center, Methodist Rehabilitation Hospital, Texas Oncology & Methodist Cancer Centers, the American College of Health Care Executives of North Texas (ACHENTX), the North Texas Healthcare Laundry Cooperative, Mammogram Poster Girls, Girls, Inc., and Collin County College. He was the 2021 President of ACHENTX and a professor for New York University’s (NYU) Masters in Healthcare in Administration (MHA) program.

Recently he was recognized as 2022’s 40 under 40 by the Dallas Business Journal, selected for the Leadership Dallas Class of 2021 by the Dallas Regional Chamber, recognized as 2020’s Young Healthcare Executive of the Year by the Dallas-Ft. Worth Hospital Council, awarded both 2019’s Early Careerist of the Year and Mentor of the Year by the ACHENTX, and was selected for the Leadership Southwest Class of 2017.

Prior to his roles at MHS, Dustin began his career at Fidelity Investments, holding roles as an investment advisor, financial analyst, and was also as an adjunct instructor of economics at both the high school and undergraduate levels. He transitioned to healthcare in 2012 at UT Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW) and operated in progressive roles until he was the Manager of the Office of Financial and Capital Planning, where he developed large projects which supported the growth of UTSW.

Dustin holds a Bachelors in Business Administration, a Bachelor of Science in Economics, a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA), and a Master’s of Arts in Economics from the University of Texas at Arlington. In addition, he holds a graduate certificate in advanced technical accounting, is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE), and is a Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt (LSSYB).

Dan Blizzard is an accomplished corporate executive with broad experience advancing organizational goals across a range of public, private and non-profit organizations. Recognized for his business acumen, emotional intelligence, mental agility and ethical standards, he has been a valued contributor to numerous leadership teams in building corporate value, enhancing operational performance, and strengthening community relations.

Dan began his career in materials management and logistics, first at Houston Lighting and Power Company and then with assignments in Dallas and the U.K. for Integral Corporation, a cable-in-conduit manufacturing company. After establishing the foundation of his career in operations and logistics with these companies, he obtained an MBA in production operations management from the University of North Texas.

While attending graduate school, he was recruited to join Span Instruments in Plano, Texas, a manufacturer of instrumentation devices, as vice president of materials. There he led a team of more than 60 in overseeing procurement, inventory management, production planning, logistics HR and customer service.

In 1995 Dan was recruited as director of supply chain management by PrimeCo Personal Communications in Westlake, Texas, a startup wireless venture of Bell Atlantic, NYNEX, US West and Air Touch Communications. There he spent the next four years creating teams, systems and processes to support the rapid launch of the business.

With his background and track record in building operational capability, he was recruited in 1999 to Belo Corp. in Dallas, a publicly-traded media company, to manage a variety of operational functions as well as key corporate initiatives, including leading the company’s increasingly important civic mission to revitalize downtown Dallas. Over the following nine years Dan served in multiple high profile roles leading government relations, the company’s extensive real estate portfolio, strengthening internal operations and affirming Belo’s legacy as a civic leader and champion for urban planning.

In 2008, as Belo’s core business required increased focus in the face of challenging economic and market conditions, Dan was made senior vice president and a member of the Management Committee to help lead the spinoff of the company’s $700M publishing division. In 2009 he was elevated to board secretary and assistant treasurer, charged with facilitating communication among senior management, board members and shareholders, as well as managing a variety of operational and corporate financial functions.

In 2015, Dan joined Methodist Health System in Dallas as vice president strategic priorities and is responsible for government relations and real estate and he serves on several joint venture partnership boards.

In addition to his MBA, Dan holds a BSBA in management from Oklahoma State University. He previously served on numerous Civic boards and advisory committees in support of revitalizing downtown Dallas. Dan and his wife, Helaine, are empty nesters and enjoy living in uptown Dallas.

John M. Hawkins took the helm as president and chief executive officer of the Texas Hospital Association on Jan. 1, 2022. He is the organization’s sixth CEO since its inception in 1930. A longtime advocacy veteran, Hawkins has more than 35 years of experience in legislative, leadership and policy circles and has deep knowledge of health care and hospital funding issues. As CEO, he represents the Texas hospital industry locally and nationally and helps ensure hospitals have the resources they need to deliver the highest quality health care to all Texans.

Over the years, Hawkins has fostered critical relationships among business, consumer and medical communities and continues to position THA as a thought leader and single, powerful voice for Texas hospitals.

Prior to being named CEO, Hawkins served as THA’s senior vice president of advocacy and public policy since 2004. With a long tenure at the association, his team consistently secured important resources for Texas health care, including hospital Medicaid rates, funding for trauma and behavioral health services, funding for workforce training and protections for the state’s critical safety net Medicaid supplemental payment programs. Hawkins’ team also was an integral force during the COVID-19 pandemic, helping to secure staffing, supplies, vaccines and flexibilities for hospitals to keep patients safe.

Before to joining THA, Hawkins had a key role in streamlining state agencies at the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission, where he managed teams of analysts and testified on issues for the commission. He also gained early experience as a legislative staffer in the Texas House of Representatives and as a legislative liaison at the Texas Department of Information Resources.

In 2020, Hawkins completed a six-month immersive hospital residency program at Baylor Scott & White Hillcrest, where he gained hands-on hospital operations experience, shadowing leadership, interacting with staff and participating in governing board activities.

Hawkins graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor’s degree in government. He is married to Cami Hawkins, CEO of Marathon Kids, and they have two children, Madi and Jack.

Edna Z. Ruano, a first-generation American, is a government relations and communications executive whose career spans the federal and county governments, nonprofits, and corporate. After serving in Washington, DC, she continued her public service in her hometown, Dallas, at Parkland Health, one of the largest public hospital systems in the country which serves the most vulnerable in the community to the U.S. President when in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. In her government relations role, she advocates on legislative and regulatory initiatives impacting Parkland and the patients it serves at the county, state, and federal government levels. During her tenure in the healthcare industry, she experienced a global pandemic and public health emergency, COVID-19, and saw how it transformed hospital operations, shaped employees’ resiliency, and informed public policy.

In the nation’s capital, she served in President Barack Obama’s administration as a national security appointee at the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Department of Homeland Security. She served in communications leadership roles covering global public health, immigration benefits, and immigration enforcement.

In the nonprofit arena at Carter BloodCare, the largest not-for-profit community blood center in Texas, and the New America Alliance, a national organization comprised of prominent Latino business leaders committed to economic empowerment and philanthropy, she used her communications expertise to persuade and influence – from changing behaviors and perceptions to positioning thought leaders among influential, high-profile audiences.

As the first bilingual corporate spokesperson for Southwest Airlines, a Fortune 200 company, she developed and led the first multicultural public relations efforts and infrastructure to increase brand visibility among Hispanic consumers, along with growing its presence among African American and Asian audiences. Working at the airline pre- and post-9/11, she experienced firsthand the impact national security had on the industry.

In 2003, Edna made a bold and calculated career move to focus on writing and communications – a life-long passion and source of many recognitions and accolades. Keenly aware of the growing influence and power of the Hispanic community and media, she chose to lead in a completely new arena – communications – after first cutting her teeth in the airline’s audit department. Prior to her career transition, she began her financial career at Deloitte, one of the nation’s “Big Four” leading professional services firms.

Edna graduated magna cum laude and honors in business from Southern Methodist University. She is a former Certified Public Accountant. Edna is proud to be bicultural and bilingual.

Richard K. Scotch is Professor of Sociology and Public Policy & Political Economy at the University of Texas at Dallas. His teaching includes courses on medical sociology, public health, social stratification, and social and health policy, while his research focuses on a variety of social policy topics related to disability, health, and education.

Dr. Scotch received his B.A. with honors from the University of Chicago in 1973 and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in sociology from Harvard University in 1975 and 1982 respectively. Prior to joining the UTD faculty in 1983, Dr. Scotch worked on the evaluation staff of the Virginia Division for Children and as an analyst with the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare. In 1982-1983, Dr. Scotch served as a Congressional Science Fellow in the office of U.S. Representative Paul Simon (D-Ill).

Dr. Scotch is the author of several books and numerous articles and monographs on social policy reform and social movements in disability, health care, education, and human services including. From Good Will to Civil Rights, Disability and Community, Disability Protests: Contentious Politics 1970-1999. His 2020 book, coauthored with Pam Block and Allison Carey, is Allies and Obstacles: Disability Activism and Parents of Children with Disabilities; the book received “best book” awards from the North Central Sociological Association and the Section on Disability in Society of the American Sociological Association. His current research projects include a follow-up edited volume of narratives by activist parents of children with disabilities, interviews with political candidates with disabilities, and a five year study with Dohyeong Kim that examines social and community barriers experienced by burn injury survivors.

Dr. Scotch serves as a reviewer for numerous professional journals, university presses, private foundations, and government agencies. He has been active in the local health and human service community in North Texas for four decades, working with agencies that include the North Texas Behavioral Health Authority, Collin County, Dallas County, the Dallas Healthy Start Initiative, the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, Educational First Steps, the Texas Pride Impact Funds, and Parkland Health and Hospital System.

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Community Event: Feed the City Rockwall
2023-07-15 08:30 - 10:30 | On the Border, 747 I-30 Frontage Rd, Rockwall, TX, 75087
ACHENTX members, friends and families come out and join us as we make sandwiches for people in need.
Date: Saturday, July 15
Time: 8:30-10:30am
Location: Feed the City Rockwall/On the Border
747 I-30 Frontage Rd
Rockwall, TX 75087
Who can attend? Anyone! This is a fun event atmosphere for all ages.
What to wear? The color orange represents “Hunger Awareness,” otherwise closed-toes shoes required.
What to bring? We recommend each person attending bring enough supplies for 25-30 sandwiches

1 loaf sliced bread (prefer wheat)
1 package deli meat (turkey, chicken, ham) nothing from a deli counter
1 packaged pre-sliced cheese
1 family size bag potato chips
1 bag tangerines
1 box Ziploc sandwich bags

Donations are welcome! Whether or not you are able to attend, if you would like to make a donation to Feed the City, you may do so by clicking on Make a Donation button on the Eventbrite tickets page.
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WHAT IS FEED THE CITY?
The first Feed The City happened in Dallas, Texas on Saturday, January 10, 2015. It was created after TangoTab broke the Guinness World Record for the Most People Making Sandwiches Simultaneously. Many participants wanted to do something similar on a regular basis and months following the event… Feed The City was launched.

Feed The City is a monthly volunteer opportunity where individuals come together at a local venue to make lunches for people in need. The lunches consist of sandwiches, chips, and fruit. Feed The City events are open to all.

There have been nearly 1,000 Feed The City events that have welcomed over 75,000 volunteers in 5 countries, 11 states, and 53 cities that have provided over 3 MILLION meals to people in need. The event is led and hosted by volunteers who are dedicated to the fight against hunger. Companies, religious groups, schools, organizations have also hosted pop-up events in their communities.

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Better Together - Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Mixer
2023-07-20 17:30 - 20:00 | CHRISTUS Health, 919 Hidden Ridge, Irving, TX, 75038
The North Texas chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHENTX) works closely with its diverse partner groups to advance executive diversity. To recognize this essential collaboration, ACHE North Texas’ Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee has coordinated this event with local chapters of healthcare organizations with one mission—we are better together. The National Association for Latino Healthcare Executives (NALHE), the National Association of Health Services Executives (NAHSE), Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS), North Texas Association for Healthcare Quality (NTAHQ), and Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) along with ACHENTX and it’s Asian Healthcare Leaders Community of North Texas (AHLC) and Women’s Healthcare Executives’ Network (WHEN), will co-host a reception for members of these organizations and others who are interested in learning more about the individual and collective work of these groups.

Keynote Presentation by:

Richard G. Greenhill, DHA, CPHQ, HACP-CMS, PMP, FACHE is an internationally recognized healthcare quality leader and Director of the Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Management Program in the School of Health Professions at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. His career spans more than 30 years beginning in clinical and anatomic laboratory medicine to private sector multi-sectoral senior leadership [defense/not-for-profit/for-profit/federal/academia]. He honorably retired from the U.S. Navy after a robust career serving around the globe in support of Navy and Military Medicine.

Dr. Greenhill is American College of Healthcare Executives Faculty, board certified in healthcare management and Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE). He is a Content Expert for the National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ), an International Society for Quality in Healthcare (ISQua) Expert for patient safety and quality improvement, and Deputy Editor of the International Journal for Quality in Healthcare (IJCOMS), Communications. Additionally, he serves as an expert with the World Health Organization (WHO) Eastern Mediterrean Regional Office, Cairo Egypt for Hospital Resilience and Disaster Preparedness.

He has authored numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, textbooks, and publications to advance healthcare delivery both nationally and globally. He holds several industry and board certifications that highlight his commitment to professional excellence and life-long learning. His current research includes health equity implementation frameworks, high-reliability culture for patient safety, as well as machine learning and artificial intelligence integration into healthcare delivery operations.
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AHLCNTX:
The Asian Healthcare Leaders Community of NTX aims to increase representation of Asian-Americans in healthcare leadership in various healthcare settings and at all career stages. The AHLCNTX community addresses this mission through targeted education, networking, casual conversations, publications, social media spotlights and community visibility initiatives designed to provide opportunities for personal and professional growth.

HFMA:
HFMA is the nation’s leading membership organization for healthcare financial management executives and leaders. More than 34,000 members, ranging from CFOs to controllers to accountants consider HFMA a respected thought leader on top trends and issues facing the healthcare industry. HFMA members can be found in all areas of the healthcare system including hospitals, managed care organizations, physician practices, accounting firms and insurance companies.

HIMSS:
Healthcare Information Management Systems Society is a professional organization for healthcare and IT professionals providing leadership, professional development, education, and networking opportunities. The Mission of HIMSS is to reform the global health ecosystem through the power of information and technology.

NALHE:
The National Association of Latino Healthcare Executives is a national organization led by Latino/Latina executive leaders of U.S. hospitals and healthcare organizations and experts in the fields of health care policy and practice. NALHE was founded in 2005 to increase senior-level Latino/Latina representation in hospitals and health systems in the United States. Our goal is to create a future workforce of highly talented Latino/Latina healthcare executives who can meet the challenge of delivering and improving healthcare in our diverse communities.

NAHSE:
The National Association of Health Services Executives (NAHSE) is a non-profit association of Black health care executives founded in 1968 for the purpose of promoting the advancement and development of Black health care leaders, and elevating the quality of health care services rendered to minority and underserved communities. NAHSE’s purpose is to ensure greater participation of minority groups in the health field. Its basic objective is to develop and maintain a strong viable national body to effectively have input in the national health care delivery system.

NTAHQ:
The North Texas Association for Healthcare Quality (NTAHQ) is committed to excellence in healthcare through developing and promoting professional expertise in the art and science of healthcare quality. Additionally, NTAHQ provides opportunity for collaboration with area colleagues.

WHEN:
Our ACHE of North Texas Women’s Healthcare Executives’ Network (WHEN) started in 2018 – offering educational and networking opportunities specifically geared toward women working in and around the healthcare industry. These programs include our popular annual Women’s Conferences and annual Women’s Breakfasts – and other periodic gatherings spread throughout the year as well.
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Bubbles and Baseball
2023-07-21 19:05 - 22:05 | Globe Life Field, Globe Life Field 734 Stadium Drive, Arlington, TX, 76011
This event is bring brought to by ACHENTX’s WHEN & our host, SBL Architecture.

This event offers an opportunity to network with women in various stages of leadership, highlighting the accomplishments of our wonderful female leaders in healthcare, and also promoting successful businesswomen in our own backyard. The mixer is also open to all, helping everyone gain experience and connections!

It will be the Texas Rangers versus the Los Angeles Dodgers. The event will be taking place in the private Globe Life Field suite of SBL Architecture. Space is limited so register early!

Thanks to SBL Architecture for their gracious hospitality in hosting this event!

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Managing for Morale—Effective Management Techniques to Retain Your Staff
2023-07-27 15:00 - 17:00 | Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Waxahachie, 2400 N Interstate 35E, Waxahachie, TX, 75165
This panel has been approved for 1.5 ACHE Face-to-Face Credits.
Join us for this special event in Waxahachie, focusing on something all leaders deal with – how to effectively manage the morale of your team and retain your staff.

Agenda:
3-3:30pm – Check-In & Networking
3:30-5pm – Panel Presentation
Moderator:
Will Turner, FACHE
President
Baylor Scott & White Health Waxahachie
Panelists:
Dr. DeLancey Johnson, FACHE
Senior Vice President and Associate Chief Talent Officer
Parkland Health
Rachel Parscale
Director for HR Operations
Tenet Health
Kevin Stevenson, DHA, MBA, FACHE
Director of Strategic Operations
Ascension Providence

A special thanks to Will Turner and Baylor Scott & White Health Waxahachie for hosting this event!

Register Here
Speakers’ Bios:

Dr. DeLancey Johnson is the Senior Vice President and Associate Chief Talent Officer for Parkland Health.
In this role, Dr. Johnson provides strategic leadership in the planning and implementation of quality-based, integrated human resources (HR) programs.
Dr. Johnson has over 20 years of HR expertise across international and domestic markets, public and private sectors, and non-profit and for-profit organizations, including multiple health systems in Texas and Florida. He is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SHRM-SCP, SPHR, sHRBP) and an active member of the North Texas chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHENTX).
Dr. Johnson holds a Doctor of Business Administration (specializing in Human Resources Management) degree from Northcentral University in Scottsdale, Arizona, and a Master of Business Administration from Syracuse University. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts from Edward Waters University.

Rachel Parscale is an HR professional with nearly 20 years of healthcare experience that spans across various service lines.
She considers herself to be a ‘multipotentialite’ given her wide variety of career experience in healthcare spanning across service lines ranging from transplant, IT, PMO, and HR. These various career opportunities have been key in equipping her to becoming skilled in building relationships, consensus and strategic partnerships needed to move large-scale and challenging initiatives forward.
She currently works for Tenet Health. A for-profit multinational healthcare services company based in Dallas, Texas. Tenet Health operates 65 hospitals and over 450 healthcare facilities through its brands, subsidiaries, joint ventures, and partnerships, including United Surgical Partners International. Tenet Health has over 110K employees.
Rachel’s current role at Tenet is the system director for HR operations, which encompasses the employee lifecycle from onboarding to separation. HR operations has many facets as a COE within HR including, but not limited to, policy and procedures, compliance, HR operations system support, companywide movement, and educational assistance.
2022 was one of Rachel’s biggest career achievements. She onboarded 2 entirely new teams: 8 operations analysts at headquarters and 26 level 1-2 support team members in our global business center in the Philippines. All were trained within a matter of months in preparation for one of the largest HR system implementations the organization has seen.
During the height of covid, Rachel served as the HR Director at BSWMC Sunnyvale. One of the top challenges she faced at this time was staffing. Rachel implemented multiple initiatives to keep staff and leaders engaged, encouraged, and supported throughout some of the most challenging times in our history of healthcare. A couple of those initiatives included implementing a professional development program for the facility leadership team and launching ‘you asked, we listened’ campaign, which allowed staff to share what would make their workday better and implementing those initiatives at the facility.
In 2019, Rachel served as a division HR leader for CHI St. Luke’s, which is part of CommonSpirit Health. As covid swept through our nation, Rachel launched multiple division wide initiatives, such as staffing pools, implementing employee relief fund initiatives, setting up organized hotel housing for staff, so they could keep their families safe as well as organizing childcare at daycares for families who had to work, but had no one to keep their children.
Rachel has always had a calling for healthcare and helping others, but one of her strongest passions is utilizing her career experience for developing talent, helping individuals tap into key strengths, and growing their leadership skills in effort to equip them for success in their next career opportunity.

Dr. Kevin W. Stevenson, FACHE serves as the Director of Strategic Operations for Ascension Providence in Waco, where he oversees strategic development, service lines and numerous ancillary departments. He has served in various healthcare leadership roles throughout his 34 year career in five states. A native of Dallas, he earned a BBA and MBA from Baylor University and a Doctorate in Healthcare Administration from the Virginia University of Lynchburg.
Kevin earned his FACHE in 2001 and serves as the Past President of the ACHE of Central Texas Chapter, is a member of the Regent’s Advisory Council for Central and South Texas and served as the President of the ACHE-North Texas Chapter in 2018. Kevin was awarded the ACHE’s Exemplary Service Award in 2020 and the ACHE for Central and South Texas Regent’s Senior-Level Healthcare Executive Award in 2022.
Kevin serves on the board of directors for the Waco Rotary Club, Leadership Waco Alumni Association and Waco Cattle Barons Ball, is a member of the City of Waco Zoning Board of Adjustment, as President of the Alumni and Volunteer Corporation for the Texas Rho Chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, on the governance committee of the Texas EMS, Trauma & Acute Care Foundation, and co-chaired this year’s Waco American Heart Association Go Red for Women event with his wife, Michelle.
Kevin is the host of the ‘I Don’t Care with Dr. Kevin Stevenson’ podcast where he talks about healthcare and leadership with guests from across the globe, is a rabid Baylor sports fan and tailgater, and enjoys traveling, smoking a variety of meats and playing golf. He and Michelle have three cats, two daughters and one son-in-law.
Will Turner has been the president of Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Waxahachie since 2018. Will first joined the Baylor Scott & White family in 2012 serving in various leadership roles in Waco and Carrollton before joining the Waxahachie team. He has held a number of leadership positions across the enterprise, including oversight of both hospital and clinic operations.
He holds an MBA in healthcare administration from Baylor University, as well as an MBA in management and entrepreneurship and a Bachelor of Arts in biochemistry from Texas Tech University. He is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and is a member of the Texas Hospital Association.
Will is honored to serve on a number of community boards including the Waxahachie Chamber, Red Oak Chamber, DFW Hospital Council, and the Meals on Wheels of North Central

Please note this is a repeat of the same topic offered in north Dallas in April. All are welcome to attend this new panel in Waxahachie,
but ACHE national only allows Face-to-Face credits for one of these sessions.

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Breakfast with the EVP & COO - Edmundo Castañeda, FACHE
2023-08-01 07:30 - 09:00 | Parkland Hospital, 5200 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX, 75235
Be sure to join us for the next in our popular Breakfast Event series – Edmundo Castañeda, FACHE, EVP & COO, Parkland Health.

Edmundo Castañeda, FACHE, was named Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Parkland Health in January 2022. Edmundo directs all health services delivery operations while developing and implementing short-term tactics within long term strategies that provide high quality and cost effective health care to Parkland patients and which support the objectives and relationships of a teaching hospital.
He comes to Parkland with more than 20 years of experience in healthcare leadership, administration and operations, serving as the CEO of hospitals with increasing scope and complexity in the Triad, Tenet, and Dignity Health systems since 2005.
He most recently worked for Dignity Health, part of CommonSpirit Health, in the greater Sacramento area. There he served as President of Mercy General Hospital since 2012 and also Woodland Memorial Hospital since 2020. During his tenure with Dignity Health, he collaborated with approximately 1,000 active staff physicians to help the system sustain the market leading position in cardiovascular services, grow acute rehab services and operate two physician joint-ventured outpatient centers. He also oversaw a 112-unit assisted living facility.
Edmundo, who is fluent in Spanish, is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives. He earned his Master of Healthcare Administration from Texas State University, San Marcos, TX; and his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Trinity University in San Antonio.

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Boba with the A(HLC) Tea-m
2023-08-02 17:30 - 19:30 | Dingtea Arlington, 2425 Southeast Green Oaks Boulevard, #Ste 115, Arlington, TX, 76018
Let’s have a sip at the AHLC table again! Register for our upcoming boba social!

Your $5 registration fee will include your complimentary boba onsite.
Join the AHLC (Asian Healthcare Leaders Community) of North Texas for our second casual fun hour of networking and enjoying each others’ company.

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After Hours Rangers Game - Networking Event
2023-08-14 19:00 - 22:00 | Globe Life Field, Globe Life Field 734 Stadium Drive, Arlington, TX, 76011
Join us for a casual evening at the ballpark and enjoy a fantastic view of the game from the suite of our host, SBL Architecture, Inc., while the Rangers take on the Los Angeles Angels.
Foods and beverages will be served.
The suite will be open to guests at 6:30 PM, and first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM.
SPACE IS VERY LIMITED AND AVAILABLE ON A FIRST COME/FIRST SERVED BASIS, SO REGISTER TODAY!!!

A big thanks to SBL Architecture for their ongoing support of ACHENTX and for hosting this event for us!

SBL Architecture, Inc. is a healthcare architectural, interior design and planning/consulting firm located in Arlington, Texas. Since 1994, SBL has worked on thousands of projects — with extensive experience in new construction, expansion, master planning and rehabilitation of older healthcare facilities. Healthcare design is their focus and their passion.

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AHLC Pop-Up Lunch at Asian Mint
2023-08-18 12:00 - 13:00 | Asian Mint, 11617 North Central Expressway #Suite 135, Dallas, TX, 75243
You are invited to come share your lunch hour with Asian Healthcare Leaders to build community, swap stories and learn something new about diverse representation in healthcare leadership! We only have 10 spots at this location, so please be sure to reserve your seat at this community table!
Please note: Lunch will be user pay.
There are two AHLC lunches taking place in the Metroplex at this same time. By registering for this event, you will be signing up to go to Asian Mint location in Dallas at 75 and Forest Lane.
Asian Mint
11617 N Central Expressway, Unit 135
Dallas, TX 75243

The conversation leaders at this location will be:
Aditi Mulgaonkar
Assistant Professor, Department of Radiology
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Archana Mahimkar
Senior Director Clinical Quality Improvement & Safety
Walgreens Health
Sejal Patel
Director of Operations
US Anesthesia Partners

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Conversation Leaders’ Bios:

Archana Mahimkar, Senior Director Clinical Quality Improvement & Safety, Walgreens Health
As the Senior Director for Quality, Patient Experience & Safety, Archana is responsible for the overall quality framework delivered under Walgreens Health. In her role, Archana works cross functionally across the organization to lead development of strategies, plans and operational processes to ensure compliance with value-based care arrangements. Archana brings over 15 years of leadership and operational experience across a portfolio of industry-leading businesses and services in healthcare quality, quality improvement, clinical quality outcomes and process improvement. She has a CPHQ as well as a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.

Throughout her career, Archana has worked collaboratively with healthcare providers and administrators to provide standardized, patient-centric care and improve health & quality outcomes. This has become her area of focus as she operationalizes a comprehensive quality approach for Walgreens Health to further the company’s purpose to create more joyful lives through better health. As a transformational leader, Archana is passionate in her belief that a comprehensive, holistic, patient-centric model for care gap closures is needed – one that leverages the physical, virtual & digital sites of care, allows real-time access & availability to clinicians, focuses on health equity & SDOH and partners with payors to offer customized solutions for their population quality needs.

Aditi Mulgaonkar is an Assistant Professor in the department of Radiology at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW), Dallas, TX since September 2022. She earned her doctorate (PhD) in August 2012 in the field of Pharmaceutical Sciences from Virginia Commonwealth University, School of Pharmacy, Richmond, VA. Her doctoral research was focused on drug metabolism/transporters mediated drug interactions and pharmacokinetics. After graduation she pursued a postdoctoral Oakridge Institute for Science and education (ORISE) fellowship from 2012-2013 with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in collaboration with the Drug Interaction database® (DIDB) at University of Washington, Seattle, WA. The year-long fellowship included an evaluation of the new drug applications approved by FDA in 2012 with respect to drug-transporter/enzyme-mediated drug interactions, and changes in drug pharmacokinetics with organ (kidney/liver) impairment. With her specific expertise in drug transporters and pharmacokinetics she continued to work through 2014 with the DIDB team for the curation and analysis of reported clinically relevant drug transporter based drug-drug interactions.
Her interest towards pursuing research in molecular imaging technologies led her to join Dr. Xiankai Sun’s team in the Department of Radiology at UTSW as a postdoctoral researcher in July 2014. Since then, she has progressed in her career at UTSW from a trainee to being a research faculty since 2019. Her research interests include design of efficient radiolabeled probes based on macro-molecules such as metal-based nanoparticles, and monoclonal antibodies for imaging with nuclear medicine modalities such as positron emission tomography (PET) and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Her research has supported development of efficient translational strategies for diagnosis and/or treatment of cancers and other disease conditions. With her previous experience in pharmacological science, she has advanced her expertise in the rapidly emerging fields of infection imaging, inflammation imaging, and immunological PET imaging. Her research experience spanning over a decade has resulted in over 20 publications in highly reputed scientific journals, > 17 scientific poster presentations at well-recognized international conferences, and > 930 citations. Through her tenure as an academician, Aditi has mentored > 9 student trainees, 4 research staff, and trained other junior peers for conducting research.
Aditi is also the Assistant Regulatory Affairs Officer in the Cyclotron and Radiochemistry Program (CRP) at UTSW since 2016. In this role she actively assists in managing the CRP’s quality assurance operations to facilitate production of radiotracers for clinical trials and applications, perform regulatory filings, and maintain facility compliance.
Through her career, Aditi has developed a combination of skills in diverse fields including pharmaceutical sciences, radiological sciences, and regulatory affairs, all converging towards achievement of improved patient outcomes. She further wishes to continue her contribution towards improvement in disease management by engaging in the cutting-edge field of imaging science.

Sejal Patel is an exceptionally skilled healthcare professional who brings a wealth of expertise in healthcare administration. With a master’s degree in health administration and certifications in Lean Six Sigma (LSSYB) and Medical Technology (MT-ASCP), she possesses a comprehensive understanding of process improvement methodologies and clinical laboratory operations. Throughout her career, she has held prominent positions in various healthcare organizations, including non-profit Level I trauma center, for-profit acute care hospital, cancer center, and physician-owned, physician-led, and physician co-managed healthcare organizations. In these roles, she has successfully streamlined operational processes, optimized resource utilization, and implemented robust quality management systems. Patel’s proficiency in healthcare administration, coupled with her analytical mindset and unwavering dedication to excellence, has made her an invaluable asset in driving operational efficiencies and achieving exceptional patient care outcomes.

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AHLC Pop-Up Lunch at Malai Kitchen
2023-08-18 12:00 - 13:00 | Malai Kitchen, 1161 E Southlake Blvd #220, Southlake, TX, 76092
You are invited to come share your lunch hour with Asian Healthcare Leaders to build community, swap stories and learn something new about diverse representation in healthcare leadership! We only have 10 spots at this location, so please be sure to reserve your seat at this community table!
Please note: Lunch will be user pay.
There are two AHLC lunches taking place in the Metroplex at this same time. By registering for this event, you will be signing up to go to Malai Kitchen in Southlake.

Malai Kitchen
1161 E Southlake Blvd #220
Southlake TX 76092

The conversation leaders at this location will be:
Neha Kunte
CEO
MNK Infotech, Inc.
Vanessa Lee
Clinical Program Consultant
UnitedHealthcare
Angela Vincent Michael, FACHE
Director, Performance Improvement
Methodist Health System
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Conversation Leaders’ Bios:

Neha Kunte is the owner of MNK Infotech, Inc. an award-winning IT company in the Dallas Ft-Worth region. She is an accomplished executive and international thought leader with a proven ability to create, develop and deploy new sales/ marketing strategies that can change a company’s overall business and financial objectives.
As a local community leader, she is an advocate for small business success and has demonstrated her passion by leading local area organizations on small business policy and economic development strategies. She has been appointed to numerous state/local civic boards and commissions to further the advancement of minority community representation on health care, land use and women’s issues. Neha has led numerous international trade delegations for local Asian American businesses to Asia and India where she applied her multilingual skills and diaspora commercial diplomacy expertise for U.S. based small businesses to be successful in emerging Asian countries.
For her efforts she has received local and regional awards on her community leadership and passion for diversity and inclusion. In 2020, Neha served as the Chairwoman for the Asian Chamber of Texas and has led the transformation for the state’s largest Asian American Chamber of Commerce to meet the demands of a 21st century global economy. She is a proud wife, mother of two and tries to keep a healthy work life balance by enjoying Indian Classical dance and being a Henna Artist.
She holds bachelor’s degree in financial accounting from Mumbai University and speaks 6 languages, English, Hindi, Japanese, Marathi, Gujrati and Sanskrit.

Vanessa Lee joined UnitedHealthcare in December 2022 as a Clinical Program Consultant working in prior authorization strategy across all lines of business.
She is a collaborative, proactive leader with experience in Strategy and Business Development in large and small health systems as well as large insurers. Her most recent role was as a Program Manager in Corporate Strategy with CHRISTUS Health. Before joining CHRISTUS, Vanessa served Genesis Health System in Business Development where she began her journey to process improvement and systems thinking with experience as a Baldrige Examiner in Iowa and Illinois. In addition to bringing emerging technologies and new business to the health system, Vanessa served as a representative of the health system on multiple community initiatives including affordable housing, child community resources, behavioral health resources, and lead-based paint remediation, where she worked with community leaders, local agencies, nonprofits, and competing health systems to create working solutions for the Quad Cities’ most vulnerable populations. Locally, she serves various roles in the North Texas Chapter of ACHE. Vanessa’s business expertise is complemented by her commitment to the “guest” experience as instilled in her from her time as a Disney Cast Member. She is a decorated graduate of Texas A&M University for both her Masters of Health Administration and BS in Biomedical Sciences and is a former member of the Corps of Cadets, Squadron 20.

Angela Vincent Michael is a healthcare leader, coach and collaborator who is passionate about improving patient experience and key outcomes by engaging clinical and operational leaders on innovative process and technology changes. Her passion for healthcare improvement is cemented firmly in her experience as the advocate and care navigator for her mom (oncology) and daughter (prematurity). As a young millennial female healthcare leader, whose ethnicity and origin have ties to India, Nigeria, Canada, and America, Angela also believes in gently and peacefully influencing an inclusive and equitable culture for all.
For over a decade, Angela has engaged healthcare cross-functional teams with a strong focus on clinical quality improvement, performance excellence, project management and clinical analytics. In her current role at a local healthcare system in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, she collaborates with leaders at all levels of the organization to advance patient care and employee engagement using the lens of improvement and analytics. Angela holds a Master’s degree in Health Finance and Management from Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. She thrives on connecting healthcare leaders via her engagement with the Asian Healthcare Leaders Community NTX, ACHENTX Education Committee, and the DFWHC Performance Improvement committee.
Angela’s world revolves around her family, her husband, their 11 year old daughter, 8 year old son and two dogs, Spot and Snow! Her all-time favorite quote is by Dr. Nelson Mandela, “I never fail. I am either winning or learning”.

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Third Quarter ACHENTX Education Event
2023-08-24 15:00 - 19:00 | Methodist Mansfield Medical Center, 2700 E Broad Street, Mansfield, TX, 76063
These panels have been approved for 1.50 ACHE Face-to-Face Credits Each (3.00 if you attend both).
Itinerary for the day:
3-3:30pm – Check-In & Networking
3:30-5pm – Panel 1: Women Leaders and Gender Parity in Healthcare Leadership
5-5:30pm – Networking Break
5:30-7pm – Panel 2: The Role of Data and Advanced Analytics in Transforming Healthcare
Thanks to Methodist Mansfield for hosting this event!

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Panel 1: Women Leaders and Gender Parity in Healthcare Leadership
Moderator:
Felixia Colón, FACHE
Senior Vice President
SCP Health
ACHENTX President

Panelists:
Crystal Brown
Vice President of Operations
Methodist Mansfield Medical Center
Lenetra King
Chief Executive Officer
Watch Me EXCEL®
Cassandra Self
Program Director, Clinical Supply Services
Texas Health Resources
Lorie Thibodeaux
President and Owner
Lorie Thibodeaux LLC

Panel 2: The Role of Data and Advanced Analytics in Transforming Healthcare
Moderator:
Nayan Patel
Manging Director, IT Strategy
Avis Advisors
Panelists:
Vikram Bollu
AVP Planning & Data Mgmt, Strategic Planning
Medical City Healthcare
Kelly Faulkner
System Dir, Health Outcomes & Analytics
Christus Health
John Vo
System Dir, Clinical Data Management
Methodist Health System
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Speakers Bios:

Vikram Bollu, FACHE has more than a decade of experience in the provider analytics space and is passionate about using (data & technology) in conjunction with (people & processes) to achieve clinical, financial, operational efficiencies and an elevated care experience. Vikram recently relocated to Dallas from Nashville, TN and is the AVP of Strategic Planning and Data Management at Medical City Healthcare’s division office.
Vikram began his career at the Corporate office of HCA Healthcare (Nashville, TN) starting in the Clinical Services Group where he administered the quality systems for the company’s ASCs & Physician practices along with supporting hospital Clinical quality and performance measures. In his next role with the Capital Deployment Group, he supported the Capital planning and strategy for projects >$5M across the 180+ hospital enterprise for an approximate $4B annual spend.
Vikram has a bachelor’s degree in Electronics Engineering, graduate degrees in Information systems management (MSBA) and Health administration (MHA) from the University of Memphis and is a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (LSSGB). He is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE) and most recently served as the President of the ACHE Middle Tennessee chapter. Other volunteer experience includes serving on the Board of Examiners for Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence (Baldrige Excellence framework) and Second Harvest food bank in middle TN. Vikram is married with two daughters and enjoys family activities and volunteering in the community.

Crystal Brown is a native of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. She serves as the Vice President & Chief Operating Officer at Methodist Mansfield Medical Center in Mansfield, TX. In this role she is focused on service line growth & development, operational efficiency, and patient experience.
Crystal has a strong passion for personal and professional development that has been sharpened with over 20 years of experience in Human Resources, Supply Chain, and Hospital Operations. She is a proud graduate of Texas Woman’s University where she received her Master’s in Business Administration. She is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and serves on the Women Healthcare Executives Network Committee, National Association of Health Services Executives, and the Girls Scouts of Northeast Texas serving on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council Committee.
Crystal has received numerous awards for her transformational leadership style and is passionate about teaching others what she has learned. She often volunteers at local events, conferences, and colleges to donate her time and expertise to the growth & development of girls and women.

Felixia Colón, FACHE, a native of Jacksonville, FL, brings over 25 years of healthcare experience to her role as a Senior Vice President with SCP Health. Ms. Colón leads SCP Health’s robust Telehealth Core Solutions for Emergency Medicine, Hospital Medicine, and Critical Care Medicine Practices. She maintains oversight and overall accountability for her clients’ clinical performance, quality care, operational excellence, and financial stability.

Ms. Colón has served in various roles in the healthcare field. Her background includes development of a physician outreach program with a major health insurance carrier, managing multi-specialty and multi-site physician practices in emergency medicine, academic hospital medicine programs, private hospital medicine programs, transitional care medicine, eHealth/TeleNocturnist programs, and post-acute practices (SNFs/LTACs).

Ms. Colón formerly served as Senior Vice President for one of the largest independent physician practices in Texas. While there, she was responsible for the oversight of the company’s operations, contracting, business development, marketing, recruiting, and healthcare payment reform programs, which included CMS’ Bundled Payment Care Initiative (BPCI) Program.

A graduate of Nova Southeastern University, Ms. Colón holds a Master of Business Administration, with a concentration in Management. She earned a Bachelor of Health Administration from the University of North Florida. She is also a Fellow and active member of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE). Currently, she serves as President of for the North Texas Chapter of ACHE. She has also served as an elected Board position with ACHENTX and as ACHENTX’s Vice-Chair for the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee.

Kelly Faulkner is a strategic healthcare outcomes and analytics leader with a passion for shaping
the future of healthcare. The convergence of technology, analytics, social connectivity, and consumer awareness is bringing about new possibilities for user experience with data-driven inferences at the forefront of both consumer and provider innovations! Kelly revels in thinking of ways to create value from opportunities such as wearables, precision medicine, and the Internet of Things (IOT) built on a solid foundation of data integrity, governance, and communication.

Kelly started as a math and science enthusiast first delving into engineering followed by experimental psychology, initially working with TAIEP rats – studying effects similar to Multiple Sclerosis. While it was fun feeding them Fruit Loops, subjecting them to compulsory brain surgery was not so much. She found she enjoyed experimenting with people and human systems much more – no brain surgery required. So, she turned to cognitive psychology, analyzing the data all the way, eventually co-authoring 3 peer-reviewed papers in this field alone and she hasn’t stopped since, serving in progressive leadership roles for over a decade.

For example, in an early consulting role she had the good fortune to support a national program for homeless mothers; working alongside these courageous women to determine which interventions yielded the best results for them. This work eventually led to a unique opportunity as a systems analyst and measurement coordinator for a 13-hospital health system in St. Louis (Yes, she’s a Cardinals fan!), implementing a Preventable Harm initiative, akin to the national CMS Hospital Engagement Network (HEN) initiative. Here she also worked with researchers to develop an algorithm successful in the alerting of patients with 9X higher risks of mortality.

Continuing her work on national initiatives, Kelly joined the American Hospital Association (AHA) where she was supporting the efforts of national clinical experts, building teams, and developing analytic programs that served hospitals in over 40 states, resulting in nation-wide reductions in Catheter Associated Urinary Tract Infections in both acute and long term care settings.

Kelly attributes much of her success to a conviction for developing strong teams and an adherence to academic research methodologies when building and designing systems that work! Therefore, when she was presented with an opportunity to build a new analytics team for the largest Catholic health system in Illinois – she couldn’t refuse. Here she successfully transformed the quality and analytics departments, including the launch of new system-wide application efforts all within her first 12 months. These efforts resulted in 20+ new system dashboards with a five-fold increase in stakeholder access to the system’s analytic SharePoint site.

Over the last several years Kelly has expanded her knowledge and expertise working on exciting new opportunities through her 5-year consulting business, including data governance, program implementation, national surveillance, and dynamic market-based telehealth ProForma calculators – supporting both government and independent clients. These experiences continue to drive her interest and passion for helping others use information through innovative systems designs that better serve providers, patients, and communities.

As an avid learner and adventurer, Kelly also enjoys reading new tech blogs, watching Sci-Fi (Star Wars), traveling pretty much anywhere (latest adventure – Iceland), wine tasting (all red), and beginning metalsmithing (favorite piece – a copper etched necklace).

Lenetra King, FACHE is principal at Watch Me EXCEL®, a pioneering leadership development firm that works with organizations to deeply engage, develop, and retain exceptional leaders, especially those from underrepresented populations.

She brings to client engagements more than 15 years’ experience as a C Suite executive where she led significant culture and operational turnarounds as well as multi-million dollar revenue and expense initiatives in hospitals around the country. With her deep and rich expertise, she created LeadAmplifyEXCEL®, a proprietary framework that helps leaders amplify their personal brand, maximize their leadership performance and drive results for their companies.

In 2022, Lenetra joined the Department of Health Services Administration at the University of Alabama at Birmingham as Executive in Residence. She is a sought-after speaker frequently called on to share her perspectives, especially related to the intersection of race and gender in leadership. She is the author of Unwritten Insights: A Career Playbook for Leaders of Color.

Her passion for entrepreneurship is matched by a deep community commitment where she is an advocate for healthcare equity and the elimination of racial disparities, mental health access, youth development and education. Lenetra is a graduate of Leadership Fort Worth, has served on the Board of Directors for the Greater Tarrant County Boys and Girls Clubs and was recently elected to a second term on the Florida A&M University Foundation Board of Directors. Additionally, she holds memberships with the American College of Healthcare Executives, the National Association of Health Services Executives, and the ICF North Texas Chapter.

Lenetra received a B.S. from Florida A&M University, MSHA from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and MBA from Rockhurst University.

She enjoys friend and family time and being dedicated to her son’s various activities including chess, taekwondo, and basketball.

Nayan Patel is a Managing Director at Avis Advisors with expertise in IT strategy, governance, M&A, and service management operations. He has held executive leadership roles at Neudesic (an IBM Company), Baptist Health, Valley Baptist Medical Center, The Heart Hospital Baylor Plano, and Baylor Scott & White Health supporting physician, nursing and community leaders.

As a senior tech executive, Nayan is passionate about leveraging a transparent leadership style that advocates the use of technology to improve the health of humans.

He has 25+ years of experience in the IT industry leading successful large-scale projects, change management and IT Operations through COVID. Nayan is a pragmatic thinker with an appetite for improving the end user experience while delivering high quality service to clinical, business, and technology operations. He has led multiple enterprise initiatives, modernized IT infrastructure, completed M&A of two hospitals, implemented EHRs (electronic health records), established ITIL processes for enhanced IT incident response, app availability, and customer service and developed a cloud migration strategy for a business continuity and disaster recovery process.

Nayan is a proud faculty member of CHIME University, and routinely mentors early careerists through ACHE, CHIME, HIMSS and other national Health IT associations. A firm believer in giving back to the community, he is a board member of the Southern Methodist University (SMU) IT Operations Management (ITOM) Advisory Board, Medtronic Hospital IT Advisory Board, the University of Texas-Dallas Healthcare Management Advisory Council, and Dallas Fort Worth HIMSS.

Cassandra Self, MSHA, FACHE currently serves as a Program Director of Clinical Supply Services at Texas Health Resources in north Texas. She joined ACHE in 2019 and earned her Fellow status in 2021. She has worked in the healthcare industry for over fifteen years in various administrative capacities throughout Texas. She received her Bachelor of Business Administration at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, her Master of Science in Healthcare Administration from Texas Tech University Health Science Center and is currently working on her Doctorate of Healthcare Administration through Oklahoma State University. Cassandra and her husband Zeb live in north Texas and have five children ranging in age from 2 to 18 years old.
Along with being a member of the ACHE North Texas Chapter, Cassandra currently serves as the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee chair. She volunteers with her eldest son’s band as the band historian, is a region lead for Soft Bones, Inc and is a proud citizen of the Muscogee Nation.

Lorie Thibodeaux, based in Dallas Fort Worth, is a systemwide Senior Manager for Dallas large County Hospital and Health System with experience in closing a Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA). She led enterprise-wide projects, executive project meetings with the board of managers, leadership, department heads, providers, and other clinicians to discuss strategic goals.

Building a safe culture and teamwork-centered community in a high-risk environment is no easy task. It requires buy-in from key stakeholders and mastering complex leadership challenges.

Lorie demonstrates strong motivation and leadership to help drive our organization into being a safer place. She is an established result-oriented leader with a passion for community development and advocacy. She has powerful relationship building, marketing, and program development. Lorie is dedicated problem-solver with strong speaking, teaching, and facilitation skills. She collaborates with all levels of stakeholders to achieve organizational strategic goals while meeting challenging deadlines.

In December 2018, Lorie wrote the proposal for the development of an Employee Resource Group for the Women’s Group at Parkland Health. This program addresses employee engagement, community development, advocacy and other systemwide strategic initiatives to improve the diversity and inclusion space. In 2022, Lorie Thibodeaux was recognized and awarded the Healthcare DEI Champion by Diversity FIRST™ for creating an impact, visionary leadership, and commitment to foster change in the field of diversity and inclusion. In 2023, Lorie Thibodeaux was recognized as the Women of the Year by the Texas Diversity Council.

Lorie holds an MHA from the University of Missouri-Columbia, a Bachelor of Science from Spring Hill College, and holds certifications: ITILv3, HACP, and CPHQ. Lorie is also certified in Certified Diversity Trainer from the Diversity Executive Leadership Academy. She also has certificates in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace, in Inclusive and Ethical Leadership from USF, and in Healthcare Leadership from Duke University.

Lorie enjoys making an impact in the Dallas-Fort Worth community and supports, diversity, health equity, and community building efforts. She is the founding and Immediate Past DFW Chapter President for the National Association of Latino Healthcare Executives (NALHE). Recognized as the Chapter Leader of the Year 2021, she continues to serve NALHE on the Executive Board. She also serves on the ACHE Diversity Committee and is the Founding Member of the Women Healthcare Executive Network (WHEN) for the American College of Healthcare Executives- North Texas. She also served on the Jewish Family Service Board.

John Vo is the Director of Clinical Data Management at Methodist Health System. He manages all the clinical data for Methodist Health System and regulatory submissions. His responsibilities include data management, measurement, reporting, analysis, and decision support for all areas of the hospitals. He has a MS in nursing administration and is a lean six sigma green belt. He has over 20 years of healthcare experience and is a critical care registered nurse by background. He enjoys vacationing with his family and camping with his son.

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After Hours Networking Event - Texas Rangers vs Minnesota Twins
2023-09-01 19:00 - 22:00 | Globe Life Field, Globe Life Field 734 Stadium Drive, Arlington, TX, 76011
Join us for a casual evening at the ballpark and enjoy a fantastic view of the game from the suite of our host, SBL Architecture, Inc., while the Rangers take on the Minnesota Twins.
Complimentary foods and beverages will be provided by SBL.
The suite will be open to guests at 6:30 PM, and first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM.
SPACE IS VERY LIMITED AND AVAILABLE ON A FIRST COME/FIRST SERVED BASIS, SO REGISTER TODAY!!!

A big thanks to SBL Architecture for their ongoing support of ACHENTX and for hosting this event for us!

SBL Architecture, Inc. is a healthcare architectural, interior design and planning/consulting firm located in Arlington, Texas. Since 1994, SBL has worked on thousands of projects — with extensive experience in new construction, expansion, master planning and rehabilitation of older healthcare facilities. Healthcare design is their focus and their passion.

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Certified Lean Six Sigma 2-Hour White Belt Certification Course
2023-09-11 18:00 - 20:00 | Virtual
Curious on what it takes to become a change maker? Want to learn about process improvement and how to eliminate wastes, errors, defects, and inefficiencies from day-to-day work?
ACHE of North Texas is proud to present a 2-Hour Online Lean Six Sigma White Belt Certification Course.
There are 5 Lean Six Sigma levels: White, Yellow, Green, Black and Master Black. The first level is the White Belt. It is the foundational course. You are not required to take the White Belt course before the Yellow, but if you have very little knowledge of Lean Six Sigma and want to learn more about the foundational aspects of Lean and Six Sigma, you may want to take the White Belt course first.
The 2-Hour Online Lean Six Sigma White Belt Certification Course will teach you all about Lean and Six Sigma. You will learn who the founders are of the two methods, as well as what a process is, and how the two methods were combined and work very well together.
Lean and Six Sigma have been proven to be very successful methods to eliminate wastes, errors, inefficiencies, and defects for many, many years. You can apply these methods, tools, and techniques in your home and work lives. This foundational course is 100% online, is coached/taught in a live Zoom meeting by Certified Master Black Belt, Tanya Stinson. Tanya will support you throughout the entire course. Once the course is completed, there will be an online, open book exam that will be required to be completed. You must pass the certification exam with at least a 70 to get your LSSWB certificate.
What’s included:
• Discuss foundational aspects of Lean and Six Sigma
• Learn how to complete a Waste Walk
• Lean Six Sigma White Belt Course e-book
• Lean Six Sigma White Belt Certification Exam
• Lean Six Sigma White Belt Certificate via Email
Course Coach/Instructor: Tanya Stinson, MHQS, CLSSMBB, MCBA, CRP
Founder/CEO/Master Consultant of Leaning Towards Change, LLC
Supervisor of Data Governance at Texas Health Resources
Virtual Platform: Zoom
Tanya Stinson is very passionate about Performance/Process Improvement and Change Management. Her Motto is “Changing the World, One Improvement at a Time.” Tanya is a Certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt has a Master’s degree in Healthcare Quality and Safety, a Master Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma, and 15+ years’ experience in leading, coaching, and mentoring professionals in completing Lean Six Sigma, Quality, Compliance, Risk and Safety initiatives. Tanya has well-rounded and knowledgeable skill sets, as she has worked in various industries, such as mining, utilities, manufacturing, technology, and healthcare. Tanya is passionate about helping others by sharing with them what she has learned and helping to create positive changes within any organization.
Tanya has been working for Texas Health Resources since June 2017. Currently, she is a Supervisor of Data Governance Support for Texas Health Resources. Tanya was a Performance Engineer/Coach for Texas Health Resources for 4 years. To help others to grow on their PI journeys, Tanya started a woman owned small business in 2000 called Leaning Towards Change, LLC. Since moving to the DFW area and starting her small business, Tanya has successfully coached and certified over 100 White Belts, over 500 Yellow Belts, and over 100 Green Belts. Below are just a few of her awards/accolades:
• Womelle Magazine: She’s Possible – Top 25 Female Influencers of 2023
• 2020 ACHE of North Texas Mentor of the Year
• Trailblazer Award – Texas Health Arlington Memorial, 2018 for Blood Culture Contamination Reduction Project
• Quality Award (2) – Texas Health Fort Worth, 2019 for Neonatal Extubation Process Improvement Project and “Let’s Get Moving” Patient Ambulation Improvement Project
• Discoverer Award – Texas Health Resources, 2019 for ED Discharge Scheduling Improvement Project
• Transformer Award – Texas Health Resources, 2020 for Interventional Radiology Throughput Improvement Project
Outside of work, Tanya is a wife and mother of 4 handsome young men. She loves to fish, go camping, and loves classic cars!
Tanya is thankful that you have chosen to read about her accomplishments, and she looks forward to helping you on your PI journey! She hopes you will love Process/Performance Improvement and Change Management as much as she does!

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Wellbeing in Healthcare at the Individual, Team and System Levels: What you can do to improve self-care and support those around you.
2023-09-12 17:30 - 19:30 | Methodist Dallas Medical Center Hitt Auditorium, 221 W Colorado Blvd, Dallas, TX, 75203
Come join us as our panelists discuss best practices for assessing and addressing wellbeing at every level in healthcare. As we manage the stigma against mental health, we will share experiences and resources available to you, your team, and the system as a whole.

Jessica George (Moderator)
Trauma Psychologist, Psychosocial Director for Trauma & Emergency Services
Parkland Health
Matthew Hoffman, DMin, BCC
Director, Faith in Action Initiatives
Baylor Scott and White
Stacey R. Merlin, MS, MA, CCTP, BCC
Program Manager for SPARKS (Supporting PARKland Staff)
Parkland Health
Katie Sardone, PhD, PMH-C
Licensed Psychologist
Owner, Behavioral Health Dallas, PLLC
Past President, Dallas Psychological Association

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Speakers Bios:

Jessica George is a trauma psychologist and the Psychosocial Director for Trauma and Emergency Services at Parkland Health. Dr. George’s first job as a licensed psychologist was as the first Parkland psychologist in the Dallas County Jail in 2009. She was promoted to Trauma Psychologist on the main campus in 2011, leading the trauma psychosocial team in providing services for trauma patients and their families. In 2020, she expanded her services to include the Emergency Department. As a founding steering committee member for Parkland’s peer support program, SPARKS, she is focused on developing staff support and wellness initiatives across the institution. Dr. George’s clinical expertise and interest lies in determining effective strategies for supporting patients, families, visitors, and staff through stress and trauma. Dr. George is passionate about making Parkland the most trauma-informed environment possible.

As a Board Certified Chaplain, Matthew Hoffman serves as the Director of Baylor Scott and White’s Faith in Action Initiatives. In this role, beyond giving oversight to the system’s humanitarian aid and medical missions arm, he oversees the staff spiritual care support program, “Sacred Vocation.” Through his oversight of the Sacred Vocation Program, he has taken thousands of staff members, over the last 10 years through its small group experience, aiding their exploration and understanding of compassion fatigue and vocational burnout while fostering increased meaning and purpose through a pursuit of self-care. He has recently completed his doctoral studies focusing on the spirituality of work and wellbeing of healthcare professionals through his dissertation entitled, “Pandemic Theology: Exploring the Spirituality that Emerged from Those Who Worked on COVID Units.” Dr. Hoffman is committed to a pursuit of helping make healthcare a healthy context for healing professionals to thrive within.

Stacey Merlin has been in healthcare for 30 years and has dedicated 14 years at Parkland Health in Dallas, Texas. She started as an inspirational spiritual leader (Chaplain) and transitioned to her role as program manager for SPARKS (Supporting PARKland Staff). She dedicated her time to supporting the workforce that cares for our patient population.

Her focus on the health and well-being of the workforce led to Stacey receiving the “Shero Award” in 2018 from the Dallas County Hospital Police Department and a Parkland nominee for Employee of the Year in 2020 by the Dallas-For Worth Hospital Council.

Stacey is a certified clinical trauma professional with the International Associate of Trauma Professionals and a member of Temple Emanuel in Dallas, where she serves on the Shine the Light on Mental Health Advisory Board and is also an active member in the Caring Line.

Stacey’s chaplaincy has created a passion for staff support and trauma-informed care. The amount of stress experienced by healthcare workers became overwhelming during the pandemic and has continued with a rise in workplace violence, which has engaged her dedication and commitment to supporting the Parkland workforce.

Stacey has been married 41 years to her husband Ricky, the biggest Atlanta Braves baseball team fan. She has a wonderful daughter, Stephanie, a feline behaviorist, in Orlando, Florida. Stacey loves to spend time with her husband and dog, Rockafella, but it is her little brother, JD, better known as “MoonBeam,” that gives her the greatest joy!

Dr. Katie Sardone is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist and the founder of Behavioral Health Dallas, PLLC. She specializes in providing psychotherapy to individuals and couples and consultation services to medical practices. Dr. Sardone supervises psychology students at UT Southwestern Medical Center in the Psychiatry Department and routinely teaches, trains, and coaches physicians at various medical centers. Dr. Sardone is the Past President of the Dallas Psychological Association.
Dr. Sardone received her doctorate in Clinical Psychology from UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, an APA-accredited program, where she received advanced training in health psychology intervention, psychological assessment, psychotherapy and medical resident education. Dr. Sardone completed her APA-accredited internship at Baylor University Medical Center’s Women’s Health Department where she specialized in providing individualized care for women in antepartum, postpartum, and outpatient clinics, as well as mothers of infants in the NICU. Following her formal training, Dr. Sardone completed an APA-accredited Postdoctoral fellowship at Children’s Medical Center Dallas where she specialized in providing intervention with infants, children, parents and families managing medical, developmental and emotional disorders. Following fellowship, Dr. Sardone held a faculty appointment at UT Southwestern in the Family Medicine and Psychiatry departments focused on medical resident education, program development and behavioral health consultation. She has also earned a certificate in the specialty of Perinatal Mental Health from Postpartum Support International.

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Connect, Learn & Serve: Fall Networking Blitz
2023-09-19 17:30 - 19:30 | Medical City Heart & Spine, 11970 N Central Expy, Dallas, TX, 75243
A tremendous networking opportunity for new and more seasoned members alike!
This event is for all ACHE of North Texas members who want to become more involved and/or become more connected/networked with their fellow ACHENTX members.
The ACHE North Texas Membership Committees cordially invites you to the ACHE of North Texas chapter’s next Networking Blitz. This fun event will allow members to get to know one another in meaningful ways. There will be special fun activities, where personal connections will be made. The intent of this program is to bring members together to get a real in depth view of ACHENTX, to enable you to meet some of the chapter’s leadership and other fellow ACHE members, and to help you map out how to best take advantage of the plethora of local and national benefits and opportunities available to you through ACHE. It’s a way to let us get to know you better as well and become a part of your professional network.
Our guest speaker for the evening will be Patrick Brown, FACHE – Senior Vice President, Surgery Partners.
We are looking forward to meeting each of you and/or getting to know you better!
A light dinner will be offered. A special thanks to Medical City Heart & Spine for hosting this event!

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Patrick Brown currently serves as a Senior Vice President at Surgery Partners, Inc. where he has operational, financial, and strategic oversight for physician-owned, specialty hospitals and ASC’s across 4 states. Prior to joining Surgery Partners, Patrick served as the Vice President, Chief Operating Officer for Methodist Charlton Medical Center and Methodist Mansfield Medical Center. While at Methodist, Patrick had oversight for over $90M worth of expansion projects and led the double-digit growth and development of several of the hospital’s key service lines. Prior to working at Methodist Health System, he held executive leadership roles at Texas Health Resources and Tenet Healthcare. While serving in those roles, his responsibilities included business strategy, service line development, physician recruitment, and ACO enhancement.

In 2020, Patrick was named the Young Healthcare Executive of the Year for the ACHENTX chapter and in 2022 he was named the Young Healthcare Executive of the Year by the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council. He is the chapter President of NAHSE-DFW and he also serves as the Secretary of the ACHENTX chapter. Additionally, Patrick serves as a mentor, advisor, and investor for healthcare start-ups across the country.

With over 17 years of progressive healthcare leadership experience in operations, human resources, supply chain, strategy and business development roles across multiple states, Patrick is committed to servant leadership, service excellence, and integrity.

Patrick earned his bachelor’s degree in business management from Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, FL and an MBA from Mercer University in Macon, GA. He is a Fellow and board certified in healthcare management by the American College of Healthcare Executives.

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Multi-Chapter Education Event
2023-09-22 08:00 - 16:00 | Methodist Dallas Medical Center Hitt Auditorium, 221 W Colorado Blvd, Dallas, TX, 75203
Approved for up to 6.0 ACHE Face-to-Face Credits

Once again ACHE of North Texas, the East Texas ACHE Forum and the Texas Midwest Healthcare Executives are joining forces to offer our members great educational content and a tremendous cross-chapter networking opportunity.
Each panel has been approved for 1.5 ACHE Face-to-Face Credits (6.0 credits if you attend all four).

Special thanks to Methodist Dallas Medical Center for hosting their venue and Aramark for hosting the food & beverages for this event!
8-8:30am: Registration & Networking
8:30-10am: Panel 1: The Promise and Perils of Precision Medicine
Panelists:
Mark Kruzel, MD, MBA, Associate Medical Director in Oncology, Quest Advanced Diagnostics
Susan McClure, Chief Executive Officer, Genome Creative
Dr. Mark Schnitzer (Moderator), Surgeon, Educator, Physician Advisor, Medical Director, Consultant, and Executive Coach
David Winter, President & Chairman of the Board, HealthTexas Provider Network
10-10:15am: Break
10:15am-11:45pm: Panel 2: Utilization of PA/NP Workforce in the Current Healthcare Environment
Panelists:
Steven Hunter, DMSc, MBA, PA-C, Director of Advanced Practice Professionals (APPs), Baylor Scott & White The Heart Hospitals
J. Clayton Lawrence, (Moderator), Regional President, Sound Physicians
Christopher McLarty, DNP, Associate Vice President & Chief Nursing Officer, Ambulatory Services
Amy Quinn DNP, APRN, FNP-C, Advanced Practice Clinician/CTC APC Leader, Beaumont Adult Medicine , Christus Trinity Clinic
11:45-12:45pm: Lunch
12:45-2:15pm: Panel 3: Legalized Possession and Use of Cannabis: A Legal and Ethical Dilemma for Healthcare Organizations
Panelists:
Richard Cheng, Healthcare & Cannabis Regulatory Transactional Attorney, Weaver Johnson & Nelson, PLLC
Dr. Darina A. Douchi, CEO & Founder, Curativo Enterprises, LLC
Eric S. Gaines (Moderator), North Texas Regional Director of Outpatient & Retail Pharmacy, Baylor Scott & White Health Enterprise, Inc.
Robert Head, Co-Founder, Hemp for Victory
W. Stephen Love, President & Chief Executive Officer, Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council
2:15-2:30pm: Break
2:30-4pm: Panel 4: Human Trafficking and the Impact on Healthcare
Panelists:
Kiara Rodriguez, Outreach Specialist, Unbound Now
Sheyla Camacho, Public Health Educator, Victim Intervention Program (VIP)/Rape Crisis Center, Parkland Health
Carrie Shiratom RN,MSN,FNP-C,ACNP-C, Co-Founder, Reclaim611
Andrew Smith, FACHE, (Moderator) Strategy Leader for the Scheduling Customer Journey, Baylor Scott & White Health

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Speakers Bios:

Sheyla Camacho has an extensive background working and volunteering within the domestic violence field since 2009. She is a Public Health Educator for the Victim Intervention Program/ Rape Crisis Center at Parkland Health since 2020. She is dedicated and passionate about bringing the hard conversation of domestic abuse and other topics to various groups and agencies throughout our community, in both English and Spanish. Her bright personality and extensive knowledge allow Sheyla to connect with students, partners, families, and survivors alike. Sheyla received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Sociology from the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio. She is also Mental Health First Aid USA and Youth Mental Health First Aid USA certified and recently received her CHW experience license. She is excited to continue raising awareness about trauma informed care, various traumas, its widespread impact, and accessibility to resources to all members of our community.

Richard Cheng focuses on corporate transactions and advises clients on regulatory matters in the healthcare and cannabis industries. Richard represents a variety of cannabis-related clients and was an equity partner and chair of the hemp/hemp cannabinoid products practice at a global AmLaw100 law firm. Richard has been named a Top 200 Cannabis Lawyer by Cannabis Law Journal and has been named a Top 250 Cannabis Legal Expert by Databird Research Journal. Lastly, Richard teaches cannabis law as an adjunct faculty at UNT Dallas College of Law.

Dr. Darina A. Douchi, is a retired Major from U.S. Army and a Nebraska licensed pharmacist with over 2 decades with wide varieties of expertise in the field of Pharmacy and Healthcare policies. She is a wealth of knowledge in the field of Clinical Pharmacy – Pain and Psychiatric medicine focusing on the Army Worrier Transition Unit (WTU) Soldiers and alternative medicine.
Since retiring from the US Army, Dr. Douchi has dedicated her focus on Federal Defense Contracting and Health IT; lobbying and working closely with industry disruptors to place the best and latest emerging Health Care Technologies in the hands of patients.

Eric S. Gaines, PharmD, MSc, FACHE is a proven pharmacy leader who specializes in operational efficiency and cost-effective health resources utilization. He currently serves as the North Texas Region Director of Outpatient and Retail Pharmacy for Baylor Scott & White Health Enterprise, Inc. He is responsible for multi-site operations, maintaining financial efficiency in drug delivery, and improving patient satisfaction through innovative medication delivery services.
Prior to his current role, Eric has served as Director of Pharmacy Services for Baylor Medical Medical Center at Garland and has worked in various roles throughout his career including, pharmacy manager, clinical pharmacist, and area supervisor for a national drug chain. He has also served as chairperson and adjunct faculty for the ASHP accredited Pharmacy Technology program at Richland College.
Dr. Gaines, a Tallahassee, Florida native, earned a masters in Pharmacoeconomics from The University of Florida as well as completed his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Florida A&M University. He is an active member of the Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research.
Outside of work, he enjoys traveling with his wife, Nakia, and two children Gavin, and Gabrielle.

Robert Head is a distinguished US Army veteran who served in Iraq from 2002 to 2007. A Texas A&M University graduate, he ventured into the cannabis industry in 2015, managing a successful farm in Maine before focusing on activism. Recognized as a top activist by Texas Norml, Robert co-founded “Hemp for Victory” during the pandemic—a 501C3 organization dedicated to raising awareness and engaging with VA, military, and healthcare leaders. Today, he spearheads discussions on cannabis and its impact on the veteran population, leaving an indelible mark on both industries.

Dr. Steven Hunter is the Director of Advanced Practice Professionals (APPs) for Baylor Scott & White The Heart Hospitals. In his role, he provides regional oversight of APPs in various cardiovascular surgical specialties and service lines inclusive of ambulatory, inpatient, and intraoperative functions. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated dedication to the field to develop and promote APPs with system-wide service line strategic planning, change management, budgeting, program accreditation, and operational achievements.
Steven has achieved multiple academic milestones. He earned his Bachelor of Health Science (BHS) in 2010, minoring in Biology, and fulfilled the requirements for Master of Physician Assistant Science (MPAS) in 2011, at Gannon University. Additionally, he holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA), Master of Business Administration (MBA), and Doctor of Medical Science (DMSc) degrees, with Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification in Healthcare.
Steven enjoys being active outside his role involving the profession, and volunteering within the community. Being an avid member for other PA organizations, he currently serves on the Program Advisory Committee for a local PA Program and assists on the House of Delegates B-05 taskforce for core PA leadership skills and competency development with the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA). Furthermore, he was recently elected Director-at-Large for the Texas Academy of Physician Assistants Board of Directors and serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Living for Zachary non-profit organization in north Texas.
Steven also continues to maintain numerous professional memberships and affiliations among many organizations, in addition to AAPA, including the Texas Academy of Physician Assistants (TAPA), Advanced Practice Provider Executives (APPex), American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), and the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA).

Mark Kruzel, MD, MBA; serves as Associate Medical Director in Oncology at Quest Advanced Diagnostics. Dr. Kruzel’s role bridges the gap from assay development, validation to clinical utility and he provides guidance on the appropriate utilization of testing. Recently, Dr. Kruzel has developed clinical care pathways for oncology focusing on providing access to testing in an efficacious and guideline driven manner.

Dr. Kruzel has extensive research and industry experience ranging from managing an FDA trial site to commercializing a pharmaceutical compound for a start-up company. He has published numerous peer reviewed journal articles as well as presented abstracts at both local and national conferences. Through his role at Quest, Dr. Kruzel has developed key opinion leader strategies which help Quest advance in the field of precision medicine.

Dr. Kruzel received his medical degree from The University of Texas at Houston – McGovern School of Medicine; he received his Master of Business Administration from Cox Business School at Southern Methodist University. He is an active member of American Society of Clinical Oncology, Association for Molecular Pathology and American College of Healthcare Executives

J. Clayton Lawrence currently serves as Sound Physicians’ Region President of Operations. In this role, Clayton is responsible for leading a team of clinical and business professionals serving a territory spanning 11 states and nearly 100 hospital partnerships. Clayton aligns with hospital stakeholders and other partners to drive critical strategic and operational effectiveness. Along with ensuring highly reliable hospital medicine and emergency medicine programs, under his leadership, Clayton’s teams produce unmatched performance and outcomes while providing a measurable ROI for hospital partners. Clayton has been a key operations executive with Sound Physicians for over 8 years.

Clayton brings over 22 years of both hospital management and physician practice leadership experience. Clayton has served various operational roles including hospital operations and physician practice operations. Prior to joining Sound Physicians in January 2015, Clayton served as Regional Vice President of Operations for Vein Clinics of America, where he was accountable for expanding the organization’s footprint in Atlanta, DFW and Houston. In addition, Clayton has served in various administrative roles for several hospitals including both CEO and COO roles. Clayton began his healthcare career as a paramedic, where he received valuable exposure to the care-delivery side of healthcare.

A graduate of Tulane University, Clayton earned his Masters of Healthcare Administration, and received his undergraduate degree from Arkansas State University. He is an active member of ACHE North Texas Chapter and has achieved FACHE designation.

Stephen Love is currently President and Chief Executive Officer of the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council which promotes collaboration, cooperation, and advocacy on behalf of its 90 member hospitals. The Hospital Council also has approximately 100 Associate Members (business and industry), including prominent accounting, legal and consulting firms. The primary mission is to drive evidence-based improvement in patient care and health equity in North Texas. He was the United Nations Association Award Winner in 2018 for Global Goals. He served as 2015 Chair for the Conference of Metropolitan and Regional Hospitals Association in the United States. He received the 2020 D CEO’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He also received the Dallas Medical Society’s Millard J. and Robert L. Health Award for a non-physician providing outstanding leadership to the community. He also previously served on the Children at Risk Board for North Texas and Mothers Against Drunk Driving Dallas. He serves on the Southwest Region Board for the American Heart Association; Southwest Transplant Alliance; Cure Glaucoma Foundation Advisory Board; North Texas Eye Research Institute; the Metropolitan YMCA Board of Directors; the Board of Directors of Prism Health North Texas and the Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. Mr. Love has worked in healthcare management for over 45 years. He has demonstrated leadership in tax exempt, investor-owned, specialty and private hospitals in operations, finance, and corporate governance. Prior to joining the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council, Mr. Love was Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of a Fortune 500 healthcare company that owned over 50 hospitals and managed approximately 200 facilities in the United States.

Susan McClure is on a mission to help people understand how their lives are changing thanks to our increased understanding of our own DNA. Her life’s work is centered around helping people make informed decisions about their health by improving their health literacy.
Susan is the founder and CEO of Genome Creative — a media consulting company committed to that mission. She was also the founder and publisher of Genome magazine (published from 2014-2018) — a first-in-class consumer magazine covering all aspects of the movement toward precision medicine and the genomic revolution making it possible.
Prior to its launch, she spent 10 years as the publisher of CURE — a magazine for cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers. During her tenure at CURE, she served as vice president of patient engagement for McKesson Specialty Health. Under Susan’s direction, she and her team were honored for outstanding journalism by many professional media organizations, including Folio, the American Society of Magazine Editors, the American Cancer Society, Magazine Publishers of America, and Media Industry News.
In 2016, Susan was honored by Folio as one of the “Top Women in Media” and was invited by the Personalized Medicine Coalition to its board of directors — the first journalist to receive such an honor. She also serves as a founding board member of FT3 (From Testing to Targeted Treatments) — a global, open, and collaborative multi-stakeholder program intended to build synergies and accelerate pragmatic efforts to make personalized medicine an accessible reality for all patients who could benefit from it. She co-leads the program’s education and awareness working group.
Dr. Christopher McLarty serves as Associate Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer for Ambulatory Services. He is also responsible for leading the Office of Advanced Practice Providers, representing nearly 900 Physician Assistants and Advanced Practice Registered Nurses across the Health System. Dr. McLarty completed undergraduate studies at the City Colleges of Chicago before completing a master’s degree in nursing with concentration as an Acute Care and Emergency Nurse Practitioner at Loyola University Chicago. He later earned the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from Arizona State University. During his career, Dr. McLarty has taken on roles in emergency services, multi-site clinical operations, and academic health system leadership. He is an active member of several professional organizations, and currently serves as a Board Member for Texas Nurse Practitioners (TNP).

Amy Quinn, DNP, APRN, FNP-C
With over 15 years in nursing, I began my journey as a critical care nurse with the pursuit to lead the way to improve patient outcomes, and healthcare delivery, and develop my skills in nursing leadership. My passion for primary and preventive healthcare led me to advance my education and become a family nurse practitioner. I have been practicing in internal medicine for the past 10 years and now serve as the advanced practice clinician leader for CHRISTUS Trinity Clinic (CTC) and chair of the CTC advanced practice clinician’s council. I am also a member of the CTC credentialing and quality committee. As the dynamics of healthcare continue to evolve, I am passionate about the advocacy and utilization of advanced practice providers to meet the demands of patient needs and access.

Kiara Rodriguez is a Fort Worth native with over 4 years of experience working with survivors with trauma. She has focused on the issue of human trafficking since graduating with her bachelor’s degree in 2015. Kiara is excited to be a part of Unbound Now’s team as their outreach specialist raising awareness for human trafficking in her own community.

Carrie Schirato lives in Plano, Texas. She is a wife, a mother of five, and a nurse practitioner. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Baylor University and her Masters and Post-masters certificate from the University of Texas at Arlington. She has worked in the Emergency Department since 2005 and has spent the last decade working in a level 1 trauma center in Dallas Texas.
In 2017, she co-founded an anti-human trafficking non-profit organization called Reclaim611, with two of her long-time friends and colleagues. As medical professionals they are passionate about helping their own profession learn how to recognize, respond, report and reclaim the lives of victims of human trafficking. They understand the utmost importance of a multidisciplinary community approach and are dedicated to providing streamline responses to these very complex and traumatized victims, as they deserve the best care possible! Reclaim611 unites and equips front-line providers to step into the fight to end human trafficking!

Dr. Mark Schnitzer is an experienced Surgeon, Educator, Physician Advisor, Medical Director,
Consultant, and Executive Coach. An interest in processes and mathematics led him to pursue an unlikely course of pre-medical study: electrical engineering. It was during his Ph.D. studies that he applied to medical school and completed his MSEE and MD concurrently. He completed his clinical training in neurological surgery and a fellowship in neurosciences critical care at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. His final year at Johns Hopkins was in the role of Assistant Chief of Service.
After fifteen years in solo, private neurosurgical practice and medical staff governance roles, he was recruited to Hawaii as the sole, full-time neurosurgeon for Kaiser Permanente with the mandate to set the groundwork for a completely internalized program. That experience led to his invitation to serve as the inaugural medical director of neurosciences and an ambitious project to unify the neurosciences programs across the government hospitals in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Once this unification was well underway, the program was handed off to the Cleveland Clinic. Subsequently, he served as the inaugural CMO for a start-up telemedicine company in Dubai and as an adjunct associate professor in a graduate program for healthcare administration.
He returned to the USA after four years in the Middle East and took on the role of physician advisor for SSM Health. Initially accountable for one hospital, he was elevated to a regional, multi-hospital role where he was accountable for insurance denial management including education of clinicians in evidence-based medicine and responsible stewardship as well as holding numerous roles in quality improvement projects. Subsequently, he took on the role of medical director for a large accountable care organization based in Dallas, TX for 3 years before embarking as an executive coach as a means to help other healthcare leaders as they pursue their journey.
Dr. Schnitzer is a Fellow of the American Board of Quality Assurance and Utilization Review Physicians and is board certified in healthcare quality and management with added qualification as a Physician Advisor. He is a certified professional in healthcare quality by the National Association for Healthcare Quality and is certified by the American Society for Quality as a Six Sigma Black Belt. Additionally, he is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Dr. Schnitzer has provided a number of invited publications and presentations in the areas of healthcare informatics, patient safety, and responsible stewardship and he serves as a senior examiner for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.
Dr. Schnitzer considers himself an interface professional, like most clinicians who have transitioned into healthcare leadership roles. He maintains a state of constant inquiry and curiosity with the ever-present thought, “There is something I do not know, the knowing of which could change everything.”

Andrew Smith, FACHE, currently serves as the strategy leader for the scheduling customer journey at Baylor Scott & White Health; however, he starts a new position with Sutter Health in California next week as system Vice President for Patient Access. Andrew has held various roles at Baylor Scott & White over the past 12 years, ranging from clinic operations to enterprise strategy development. Andrew is a Fellow of ACHE and attended Saint Louis University for both his undergraduate and graduate degrees.

David Winter serves HealthTexas Provider Network, a 1000 + physician organization in partnership with Baylor Scott & White Health, as President and Chairman of the Board. He also is in the private practice of internal medicine at the Tom Landry Center on the campus of Baylor University Medical Center.

He received his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, completed an internship and residency at Baylor University Medical Center, and has been awarded a Masters of Science in Medical Management from the University of Texas at Dallas. He has been honored with a Mastership in the American College of Physicians and has served that organization as Governor of the Northern District of Texas and Board member of the national PAC. He has been recognized with the Significant Sig Award of Sigma Chi fraternity and is listed in The Most Powerful Dallas 500 Business Leaders by D CEO Magazine in 2016-2019.

Dr. Winter enjoys teaching as an attending physician in the Internal Medicine Department at Baylor University Medical Center, is on the Clinical Faculty of Southwestern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center and is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Management at the University of Texas at Dallas.

He serves on the Board of the Baylor Scott & White Health Care System, the Board of the Heart Hospital at Baylor Plano, the Board of the Heart Hospital at Baylor Denton, the Board of Managers of BSWH Quality Alliance, a Member of the BSWH Clinical Leadership Council, a Member of the System Professional Oversight Committee of BSWH, Member of the BSWH System Corporate Compliance Committee, Co-Chair of the BSWH Clinical Strategic Advisory Council, and Past Co-Chair and Member of the Board of Governors of the Baylor Scott & White Medical Group.

He is the President of the Discovery Foundation, a health care philanthropy organization. Dr. Winter is also founder of Baylor Scott & White’s concierge medicine program. He is the founder and past President of MedProvider and a founding member of HealthTexas Provider Network, a division of BSWH. In addition, he was the originator of MedBuilding, a health care real estate investment trust.

As a medical writer he has published a book, numerous scientific articles and papers and serves on the Editorial Staff of the Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings.

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Paving the Way from Clinician to Healthcare Executive: The unique challenges our clinical providers face when moving into executive roles, and how do we effectively promote, develop and support
2023-10-03 18:00 - 20:00 | The PalmWood Events & Conference, 640 Taylor St #1300, Fort Worth, TX, 76102
Please join us for the next in our popular Cocktails with the Chiefs event series, this time we’re back in Fort Worth at The PalmWood.
A huge thanks to our hosts for this event, RCG Global Services!

Our panel for this discussion will include:

Daniel L. Beckles MD, PhD, FACS, FACC, FCCP
Cardiothoracic Surgeon, Baylor Scott & White Health
Adjunct Clinical Professor, Texas A&M University’s Department of Education/School of Medicine
Clinical Professor, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor’s Mayborn College of Health Sciences
Dr. Noreen Butte
Pediatrician
Trailblazer in the fields of Healthcare Informatics and Biopharmaceuticals
Stephanie Copeland, MD, MBA, CPHQ, FAAP, CPXP
Regional Medical Director for Quality and Risk Adjustment
OptumCare North/West Texas Region, WellMed/USMD
National Medical Director – Quality Performance Management/Optum Clinical performance
Dr. John Marcucci
SVP Chief Medical Officer – DFW East Region
Baylor Scott & White Health
Dr. Rob Nelson (Moderator)
VP & Head, Healthcare Transformation & Innovation
RCG Global Services
Mark S. Schnitzer, MD, FACHE
Surgeon, Educator, Physician Advisor, Medical Director,
Consultant, and Executive Coach
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Speaker’s Bios:

Dr. Daniel L. Beckles is a cardiothoracic surgeon at Baylor Scott & White Health, an adjunct clinical Professor at Texas A&M University, Department of Education/School of Medicine, and a Clinical Professor at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Mayborn College of Health Sciences. He specializes in the comprehensive care of advanced heart diseases, lung diseases, atrial fibrillation, heart transplantation, ventricular assist devices, and ECMO.
He is an academic surgeon with accolades in clinical excellence, teaching, innovation, and community involvement. He obtained his BSc and MSc in biochemistry and chemistry from Stony Brook University in New York. He received his MD from SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn, New York, and stayed there for his general surgery residency. He also completed a Ph.D. degree in Cardiovascular Molecular Biology. He was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) medical honor society, received the medical school Golden Apple Teaching Award and the Outstanding Performance award as a surgical resident in Graduate Medical Education for the Department of Surgery.
He completed his cardiothoracic surgery residency at the University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center/Parkland Medical Center in Dallas, and a Minimally Invasive Surgery fellowship at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital-Harvard Medical School, Boston.
He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Surgery (DABS) and a Diplomate of the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS), a fellow of the American College of Cardiology (FACC), and a fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians (FCCP).
In 2008, he was an Assistant Professor of cardiothoracic surgery and Surgical Director of Lung Transplantation at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. He moved to Texas after Hurricane IKE devastated Galveston. He was the Director of Minimally Invasive Cardiac and thoracic surgery and co-director of transplantation at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. In 2015, he was recruited as Chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery and inaugural Herman and Olive Pascarella Endowed Professorship in Cardiovascular Surgery Research at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences Center, Brooklyn, New York City.
He is a member of the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation, the International Society of Minimally Invasive Cardiothoracic Surgery, the American Society of Transplantation, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the American College of Surgeons, the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, the Heart Failure Society of America, the Association of Academic Surgeons, and the European Association of Cardiothoracic Surgeons. He has over 30 peer-reviewed publications, co-authored three textbook chapters, and is a co-inventor on 2 United States Patents.
He is an American College of Healthcare Executives member and a subject matter expert for Enhanced Recovery after Cardiac Surgery. He serves on the medical advisory board for Nuwellis Inc. and Noigel Inc. and is a consultant for Edwards Life Sciences, Inc. He is past President of the Board of Managers for SUNY Downstate Medical School Alumni Association and current Chief Medical Officer for the Trinbago Progressive Association and its international medical mission trips.
He was a Caribbean American Healthcare Awards Honoree in 2017 (Caribbean Life New York). He has been nominated over the last decade for New York Top Doctor and Texas Top Doctor awards. He continues mentoring the next generation of students and doctors nationally and internationally.

Dr. Noreen Butte, a distinguished pediatrician, has etched her name as a trailblazer in the fields of Healthcare Informatics and Biopharmaceuticals. With an unyielding commitment to innovation and excellence, she has adeptly navigated multifaceted roles, transforming mere insights into revolutionary strategies and propelling brand initiatives to unparalleled success. Recognized for her formidable prowess in Healthcare Informatics, she seamlessly bridges the worlds of medicine and technology, leading breakthrough product launches, and forging transformative alliances amongst consumers, providers, and payers. This expertise is further augmented by her profound grasp of Population Health and her avant-garde approach to integra􀆟ng Artificial Intelligence in healthcare.
Dr. Butte’s therapeutic expertise is vast and unparalleled, encompassing areas such as Vaccines, Chronic Care Diseases, and Oncology. Her leadership transcends conventional boundaries; she is both a catalyst for change and a beacon of mentorship and visionary direction. Under her guidance, teams have not only soared to unprecedented heights but have also redefined excellence in healthcare. Her exceptional communication skills amplify brand narratives, ensuring they resonate deeply and meaningfully within the healthcare community.
Treading uncharted territories in Digital Healthcare, Precision Medicine, and Pharma, Dr. Bu􀆩e’s collaborations are as expansive as they are impactful. From influential ties with IDNs and elite acute care institutions to strategic alliances with governmental healthcare entities, her network is both enviable and influential. With an unwavering passion and dedication to pioneering transformative advancements, Dr. Bu􀆩e remains a visionary leader, reshaping the contours of the dynamic landscape of global healthcare.

Dr. Stephanie Copeland serves concurrently as both a National Medical Director for the Optum Clinical Performance team (since May of 2023) and as the Regional Medical Director for Quality and Risk Adjustment for the OptumCare North Texas Region (including WellMed and USMD), a role she has held since March of 2022. She has been the medical director for the WellMed regional quality team since 2018 and has worked for the company for 20 years through an acquisition of the USMD Health System. She is also involved in various committees and projects throughout the organization.
Prior to that, she served as Chief Quality Officer at USMD Health System from 2013 to 2018 and served in various leadership roles at USMD/MCNT.
Dr. Copeland attended Abilene Christian University and graduated medical school at UT Southwestern in Dallas. She completed her residency at UT Southwestern in Dallas where she also served as chief resident. She completed a Master’s in Business Administration at the University of Texas at Dallas. She has also previously served as a volunteer private practice clinical assistant professor at UT Southwestern Medical School and previously served as the Chair of the AMGA Quality Improvement Council. She is also a member of the AMGA Board of Directors and the AMGA Foundation Board, where she serves as Chair. She is also the AMGA Quality Liaison for USMD/WellMed DFW. She also serves at her local church and coordinates volunteers from her church for Many Helping Hands, a non-profit that ministers to the homeless in Irving, Texas.
She enjoys spending time with her husband, Benjamin, and her daughter, Isabella and their dog, Luna. She also likes hiking, reading, writing, artistic endeavors, and traveling.

Dr. John Marcucci graduated from UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas and completed residency in Emergency Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center / Parkland Hospital. He has been with Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Plano since 2004. First, serving as the Emergency Department Medical Director, and then in 2010 became the hospital’s Chief Medical Officer.

Dr. Marcucci took on an expanded role with Baylor Scott & White in 2019 as the Regional Chief Medical Officer of the DFW – East Region overseeing four full-service community hospitals and two specialty heart hospitals.

Dr. Rob Nelson is a seasoned leader with over 20 years of global experience in roles ranging from marketing and business development to operations. With a background spanning Fortune 30 tech companies, startups, and nonprofits, Rob specializes in organizational transformation and strategy execution. He has led multiple consulting practices, including a consulting practice for General Electric focused on performance transformation.

His leadership experience includes roles at IBM, GE, Motorola, and Amazon.com (Pre-IPO), Quorum Health Resources/Community Health System among others. He also served in various capacities in the U.S. Navy for over a decade. Academically, Rob is an active Professor of Marketing, Strategy and Innovation at the Stuart School of Management at Illinois Tech and the Jack Welch Management Institute, focusing on strategic marketing and business innovation for more than a decade. He has was named Assoc. Professor of the Year 2022 and the Faculty Team Award in 2023. Dr. Rob’s research work has recently been published on the topic of market orientation and organizational transformation in healthcare in the Journal of Business Research in November 2023.

Rob holds a Doctorate in Business Administration from Grenoble Ecole de Management, an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, and multiple executive certificates in areas like AI, digital marketing, and negotiation. Outside of work, he is passionate about mixed martial arts and outdoor activities.

Dr. Mark Schnitzer is an experienced Surgeon, Educator, Physician Advisor, Medical Director, Consultant, and Executive Coach.

An interest in processes and mathematics led him to pursue an unlikely course of pre-medical study: electrical engineering. It was during his Ph.D. studies that he applied to medical school and completed his MSEE and MD concurrently. He completed his clinical training in neurological surgery and a fellowship in neurosciences critical care at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. His final year at Johns Hopkins was in the role of Assistant Chief of Service.

After fifteen years in solo, private neurosurgical practice and medical staff governance roles, he was recruited to Hawaii as the sole, full-time neurosurgeon for Kaiser Permanente with the mandate to set the groundwork for a completely internalized program. That experience led to his invitation to serve as the inaugural medical director of neurosciences and an ambitious project to unify the neurosciences programs across the government hospitals in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Once this unification was well underway, the program was handed off to the Cleveland Clinic. Subsequently, he served as the inaugural CMO for a start-up telemedicine company in Dubai and as an adjunct associate professor in a graduate program for healthcare administration.

He returned to the USA after four years in the Middle East and took on the role of physician advisor for SSM Health. Initially accountable for one hospital, he was elevated to a regional, multi-hospital role where he was accountable for insurance denial management including education of clinicians in evidence-based medicine and responsible stewardship as well as holding numerous roles in quality improvement projects. Subsequently, he took on the role of medical director for a large accountable care organization based in Dallas, TX for 3 years before embarking as an executive coach as a means to help other healthcare leaders as they pursue their journey.
Dr. Schnitzer is a Fellow of the American Board of Quality Assurance and Utilization Review Physicians and is board certified in healthcare quality and management with added qualification as a Physician Advisor. He is a certified professional in healthcare quality by the National Association for Healthcare Quality and is certified by the American Society for Quality as a Six Sigma Black Belt. Additionally, he is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Dr. Schnitzer has provided a number of invited publications and presentations in the areas of healthcare informatics, patient safety, and responsible stewardship and he serves as a senior examiner for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.
Dr. Schnitzer considers himself an interface professional, like most clinicians who have transitioned into healthcare leadership roles. He maintains a state of constant inquiry and curiosity with the ever-present thought, “There is something I do not know, the knowing of which could change everything.”

Thanks again to RCG Global Services for hosting this event!

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