Third Quarter ACHENTX Education Event
2023-08-24 15:00 - 19:00 (America/Denver) | 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!

Register Here

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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Women's Breakfast: Paving the Way to Personal Growth & Success
2023-10-13 07:30 - 09:30 | Sheraton Arlington Hotel, 1500 Convention Center Drive, Arlington, TX, 76011
Please join us for our 2023 ACHE of North Texas annual Women’s Breakfast, with this year’s theme: Paving the Way to Personal Growth & Success.
Panelists:
Karen “KJ” Johnson
Executive Director
Dress for Success Dallas
Winjie Tang Miao (Moderator)
Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Texas Health Resources
Traci Shortt
VP & Group Operations Officer
SCP Health
Becky Tucker
System Senior Vice President of Channel Integration
Texas Health Resources
Speakers Bios:
Karen “KJ” Johnson is a talented & influential Personal Brand Expert, an inspiring Women Empowerment Speaker, an impactful Sales Instructor, Founder & CEO of The Konfident Woman, teaching women to unlock the essence of their brilliance, develop executive presence, & build self-confidence.
A recognized thought leader with over 25 years of leadership, governance, & fundraising experience in both the corporate and nonprofit sectors, she currently serves as the Executive Director for one of the top nonprofit organizations in Dallas Fort-Worth metroplex, Dress for Success Dallas and recently was appointed as the Program Director for National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) DFW. KJ is a visionary with exemplary leadership and communication skills, promoting women’s self-worth, women’s advancement, and gender equity. As an inspirational speaker, she utilizes her story to encourage and empower women to believe in themselves, be brave & make bold moves to achieve their dreams.
As a sought-after thought leader, she has graced the stage, energizing and electrifying audiences for some of the most recognizable brands: DFW International Airport, Verizon, Women’s Council of Realtors Dallas, Heineken’s, Abilene Christian University, Burleson Chamber of Commerce, & Dell just to name a few. She has been featured on Good Morning Texas, Fox 4 News, Dallas Doing Good, Dallas Voyager, Today’s Purpose Woman and Behind Her Brand magazines.
She has received numerous awards, accolades & nominations for her work, including being named one of the Top 25 Global Influencer, Top 50 Powerful Women in Business to Know, Top 10 Kingdom Bosses, Influential African American Businesswomen to follow on LinkedIn, and named one of the Top 25 Purpose Driven Women to Watch just to name a few. She is currently featured as Ms. November in the 2023 Power & Purpose Calendar.
KJ currently resides in Dallas, TX, has a brilliant son, Chester, a beautiful glam-daughter, Legacee (pronounced Legacy) and yes, you guessed it…she’s an avid Dallas Cowboy’s fan!
Winjie Tang Miao serves as senior executive vice president and chief operating officer. In her role, Miao is charged with evolving Texas Health’s core services and developing an integrated, high-performance delivery network that is consumer-focused. She oversees Texas Health’s Hospital Channel, physicians group, ambulatory and virtual care services, along with clinical excellence and network navigation functions.
Prior to assuming the chief operating officer position, Miao served as Texas Health’s chief experience officer, leading the organization’s transformation to elevate the needs and preferences of consumers. With a focus on moving beyond episodic sick care to provide consumers a lifetime of health and well-being services, Miao expanded access to care by opening new channels to deliver care when, where and how patients prefer. She led the organization’s Connected Health strategy and implementation and was integral in developing capabilities around data and insights, virtual patient experiences and CRM competencies.
Miao joined Texas Health in 2000 as an administrative resident at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas and served in a progression of leadership roles, including opening Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Alliance as its inaugural president. She joined the system leadership team in 2015 as senior vice president of system integration and innovation and was instrumental in creating Reliable Care Blueprinting™, Texas Health’s approach to care design to deliver a safe, reliable and quality experience in every consumer encounter.
A biomedical engineering graduate of Johns Hopkins University, Miao also earned a master’s degree in healthcare administration, with a concentration in financial management and quality management, from the University of North Carolina.
Traci Shortt, a native of Fort Worth, TX, brings 21 years of experience in nursing, advanced practice nursing, project management, contract management, and change facilitation to her role with SCP Health. In her role as Client Services Vice President, Traci facilitates engagement with stakeholders to optimize contracts financially, operationally, and culturally. As a Clinical Operations Specialist and Nurse Practitioner she is responsible for special projects, evaluation of contracts, operational assessment and clinical practice. As part of this position, she ensures clients receive facility specific analysis of their processes, staffing models, and practice guidelines. Across all functions, she works to ensure efficiency, efficacy, and safety in the delivery of patient care.
Traci completed a doctoral project on Waveform Capnography Use in Moderate Sedation and IV Analgesia and has worked with ANCC in developing a national emergency nurse practitioner board certification and is active in nurse practitioner lobbying and legislation. An expert in the prehospital and transport environments, she has taught classes nationally and internationally and is working on an infrastructure project currently in Nigeria. Traci was recognized as one of Baylor Health Care Systems top directors for clinical and operational performance. She has also worked with the U.S. Army in developing and delivering a critical care field medicine course for their Special Forces medical personnel, which was utilized in Iraq, and Afghanistan resulting in decreased field mortality numbers.
Traci formerly served as a Director of Emergency and Critical Care Services at Baylor Health System. While there, she was able to develop Left Without Treatment plans, Door to Provider Time reduction plans, Ventilator Acquired Pneumonia Practice protocols and Central Line and Sepsis bundles in their clinical transformation.
Traci received her Doctorate of Nursing Practice Degree from Chatham University. She also holds a Masters of Business Administration from Brenau University in Gainesville, GA and an undergraduate degree from Texas Tech University. Traci is clinically certified as an Adult and Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner clinically and operationally certified as a Six Sigma Blackbelt. Traci is based out of the Houston, TX office.
Becky Tucker currently serves as the system senior vice president of Channel Integration for Texas Health Resources (THR). In her current role she oversees key strategic and operational initiatives for the health system including business growth, business continuity, patient family experience, transformational management, design and deployment, joint venture partnerships, the THR call center, patient navigation, the central staffing office, patient logistics center, and Security.
Becky Tucker most recently served as the president of Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest Fort Worth and Clearfork. As president, Becky led the overall management and strategic programming of Texas Health Southwest and Clearfork hospital operations which consists of 263 combined critical, medical, surgical, and emergency beds, 1,400 employees, 650 active medical professionals and almost 100 volunteers.
Becky Tucker served as vice president of Integrated Health Campuses (IHCs) at Texas Health Resources. As vice president of IHCs, Becky led the overall management of Texas Health Resources’ Integrated Health Campuses (IHC) operations and oversaw the alignment and evolution of all IHC care integration across the continuum. Centers included site-specific combinations of ambulatory surgical services, outpatient diagnostic imaging, emergency care and/or urgent care, rehabilitation/therapy services including cardiac rehabilitation, outpatient behavioral care services, chronic disease management, health behavior education and well-being services.
Becky served as administrator of Texas Health Neighborhood Care & Wellness Burleson, oversaw Texas Health Harris Methodist physician timeshares in Saginaw, Keller and Burleson and managed the development of Texas Health’s second IHC, Texas Health Neighborhood Care & Wellness Willow Park in Parker County, which opened in January of 2015.
Becky has been a part of the Texas Health family for 22 years. She first worked as an administrative assistant in the Medical Staff Affairs office of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano. While working at Texas Health Plano full-time, Becky completed graduate work in business and healthcare administration. She transitioned into a healthcare administrative residency position at Texas Health Fort Worth where she continued her fellowship.
In 2006, Becky transitioned to director of ambulatory clinics and physician services where she was responsible for the Assisted Reproductive Technology Service, Executive Health program and physician referral development.
In 2007, Becky began development of Texas Health Burleson. As administrator of Texas Health Burleson, she and her team signed more than 2,000 members to its fitness center, achieved patient satisfaction scores for Likelihood to Recommend in the top 5 percent of the nation, and secured Joint Commission accreditation for all new services, College of American Pathologists Commission on Laboratory accreditation, American College of Radiologists accreditation for MRI and CT, and chest pain accreditation from the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care.
Becky earned a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology with a minor in biological science from The University of Texas at Austin. She also holds master’s degrees in health care administration and business administration from Texas Woman’s University.
Becky is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, a board member for the Fort Worth Leukemia and Lymphoma Society where she also serves on the executive leadership committee for the Visonary of the Year campaign. Becky was the 2023 Tarrant County American Heart Association Go Red co-chair. She is a past board member of the United Way of Tarrant County, former chair of United Way of Tarrant County Young Leaders Society, past board member and vice chair for the Alzheimer’s Association of North Central Texas. Plus, Becky served as the president of her local early childhood PTA for three years.
In addition, Becky is a Fellow with the Texas Hospital Association (THA) and the past chair for THA’s Leadership Development Council. In 2012, Modern Healthcare named Becky as one of it’s Up and Comers in Healthcare. In 2014 she was selected as one of Fort Worth Business Press’ 40 Under 40 and was awarded the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council’s Young Healthcare Executive of the Year award. Lastly, in 2019 Tucker was awarded the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Fort Worth Woman of the Year and was recognized as a Fort Worth Business Press Healthcare Hero in 2020.
Becky is enjoying parenthood with her husband, Toby. Her son Tavin is 10 and daughter Landon is 5. Becky, Toby, Tavin, and Landon spend as much time as possible outside with their dog Whiskey.
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Certified Lean Six Sigma 8-Hour Yellow Belt Certification Course
2023-10-21 09:00 - 18:00 | Virtual
Curious about 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 an 8-Hour Online Lean Six Sigma Yellow 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. Yellow Belt is the second level. 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 Yellow Belt course is required to be completed before the Green Belt course, as it teaches you the basics of how to use the Lean Six Sigma tools, methods, and techniques, and will help you to be more successful as a Green Belt, so you won’t be overwhelmed with information when starting out as a new Green Belt.
The Yellow Belt builds upon the foundations of what is learned in the White Belt course. You will learn how to bring together a team of Subject Matter Experts and use the Lean Six Sigma DMAIC Methodology to identify where the problems are, determine the root causes, and implement long-term, sustainable improvements to eliminate wastes, errors, inefficiencies, and defects from day-to-day processes.
The 8-Hour Online Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt certification course was created with healthcare in mind. The scenarios and simulations that are discussed are from a healthcare perspective and were based on real-life process and quality improvement projects that had previously been successfully completed.
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 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 LSSYB certificate.
What’s included:
• Discuss Lean, Six Sigma, Change Management, as well as other tools, techniques, and methods
• Simulated Healthcare Environment and Healthcare Project Examples Based on Real-Life Projects That Were Completed
• Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt Course e-book
• Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt Certification Exam
• Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt Toolkit
• Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt Certificate via Email
• Live Coach Instruction and Support Throughout the Entire Course
• 100% Success Rate
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

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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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2023 ACHE of North Texas Summit/Convocation
2023-10-26 18:00 - 20:00 | Irving Convention Center, 500 West Las Colinas Boulevard, Irving, TX, 75039, United States
We are excited to announce the 2023 ACHE North Texas Annual Summit. In years past, this event has been called a Convocation. This year, we are enhancing the event with a new, more dynamic format, so we’ve adjusted the name to reflect that advancement. We are also encouraging attendees to bring their significant others as the format and program are designed for a wider audience.
When you arrive, you’ll be given your nametag and ushered into a spacious area where all attendees can gather, socialize, and network. We will have a cash bar and complimentary food stations located throughout the venue for you to get the beverages and food of your choice. We will have both high-top and sit-down tables for your use. We encourage everyone to socialize as broadly as possible to take advantage of this more relaxed and inviting venue. This format replaces the formal sit-down dinner to provide ample time and space for attendees to mix and mingle.
Instead of an extended educational program, we will have a series of three 10-minute TED-talk-style presentations that will be scattered throughout the night. Our featured speakers will be authors Lee Colan and Julie Davis-Colan and Lenetra King. Lee and Julie wrote a book called Healthy Leadership: How to Thrive in the New World of Work. Lenetra wrote a book entitled Unwritten Insights: A Career Playbook for People of Color. Lee and Julie will speak about principles of healthy leadership, and Lenetra will address how those principles apply to leaders of color. You will be invited to pause your conversations briefly during their discussions, then you can return to your mixing when they are finished. All attendees will receive free signed copies of Lee and Julie’s book. We appreciate their generous offer of support to ACHE.

We hope you are excited about our new, dynamic format. At ACHE of North Texas, we will continue innovating to ensure our events are of the highest quality and are the most engaging and educational for you. We believe this approach to the annual Summit helps us achieve our vision of “Making a lasting impact on the world of healthcare.”

Our Summit Speakers:

Lee Colan and Julie Davis-Colan have been encouraging and equipping leaders for healthy growth since 1999. They are both former corporate leaders and current CEO advisors. Lee is an organizational psychologist and Julie is a corporate health strategist. In addition to advising CEOs, they have authored 16 leadership books that have been translated into 10 languages. They will share practical insights and tools from their latest book, Healthy Leadership.

Lee is the Co-founder of The L Group, Inc. He is an organizational psychologist, CEO advisor, independent director, and leadership consultant. He received his Ph.D. in organizational psychology from George Washington University. He is a former corporate executive and consultant with two premier consulting firms. Lee is also the Independent Director for Pacific Seafood, the largest vertically integrated seafood company in North America. He is a Best-selling author of 16 leadership books and has been nominated for Top Management Thinker globally by Thinkers50.

Julie is also the Co-founder of The L Group, Inc. She is a corporate health strategist, CEO advisor, executive coach and leadership consultant. Julie received her M.S. degree in preventive medicine at the Ohio State University College of Medicine. She is a former leader at the National Center for the American Heart Association. She is a best-selling author of 8 leadership books. Julie is one of 1,200 people globally to be certified as a Positive Psychology Practitioner by the Flourishing Institute.

Lenetra King, FACHE, is the founder of Watch Me EXCEL®, a pioneering leadership development firm that works with organizations to help them engage, develop and retain talented leaders. With her deep and rich expertise as a senior hospital executive, she created LeadAmplifyEXCEL®, a proprietary framework for leaders to amplify their personal brand, maximize their leadership performance and drive results for their companies.
She is a sought-after speaker frequently called on to share her perspectives, especially related to the intersection of race and gender in leadership and is the author of Unwritten Insights: A Career Playbook for Leaders of Color.
Lenetra serves as Executive in Residence in the Department of Health Services Administration at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She is an honors graduate of Florida A&M University, received her MSHA degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and MBA degree from Rockhurst University.

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Note: Exhibitor Booths are available – please contact info@achentx.org for details.

A special thanks to our Platinum and 2023 Summit Presenting Sponsors, Access TeleCare and Children’s Health!

ACHENTX Fourth Quarter Education Event
2023-11-02 15:00 - 19:00 | Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children – Frisco, 5700 Dallas Parkway, Frisco, TX, 75034
These panels have been approved for 1.5 ACHE Face-to-Face credits each (3.0 if you attend both).
Agenda:
3-3:30pm – Check-In & Networking
3:30-5pm – Panel 1: The State of Healthcare: Industry Leader’s Perspectives
5-5:30pm – Break
5:30-7pm – Panel 2: Crisis Management: Strategies to Effectively Manage a Healthcare Organization
Panel 1 Speakers:
W. Stephen Love (Moderator), President & CEO, Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council
Aaron Bujnowski, FACHE, Director, IDN Lead, Chartis
Fraser Hay, FACHE, President, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano
Pamela Bryant, SVP/Chief Supply Chain Officer, Parkland Health
Panel 2 Speakers:
Christi Nguyen, FACHE (Moderator), Associate Chief Nursing Officer of Nursing Excellence, UT Southwestern Medical Center
Lance Lynch, Consultant, Adaptiv Consulting Solutions
Hollis Mignogno, Vice President of Global Security, Cardinal Health
Rob Monaghan, System Director, Business Continuity and Emergency Management, Baylor Scott & White Health

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Speakers’ Bios:
Pamela Bryant is the Senior Vice President & Chief Supply Chain Officer for Parkland Health. Parkland is one of the largest public hospitals in the country with more than 1 million patient visits annually. Pamela has over 20 years of supply chain experience and leads a team of over 200 personnel and is responsible for all aspects of the supply chain, including procurement, strategic sourcing, informatics, logistics, distribution, vendor management and equipment/asset management. She has a proven track record in driving cost reductions, supporting dynamic growth, implementing new initiatives, improving operational efficiencies, and driving supplier diversity.
Pamela earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, and Master of Business Administration degree from Averett University in Danville, Virginia. She is an advisory board member of The Association for Health Care Resource & Materials Management (AHRMM) and previously served as president of the local chapter North Texas chapter. She also serves as the Board Chair for the Southwestern Medical TIF District Board, is a board member of the Dallas Fort Worth Minority Supplier Development Council (DFW MSDC) and is the immediate Past President and board member of the Women’s Business Council Southwest (WBCS).
Aaron Bujnowski is a Director and IDN Lead with Chartis. Mr. Bujnowski’s healthcare career spans over 17 years. He focuses on developing innovative enterprise strategies that enable integrated delivery networks and their leaders to create lasting competitive advantage. He also helps PE firms to effectively make buy- or sell-side decisions and deliver increased value through their portfolio companies.
Prior to joining The Chartis Group, Mr. Bujnowski was the system Chief Strategy Officer at Texas Health Resources, a ~$5B integrated health system where he spent nearly nine years. He was responsible for developing and implementing strategies across the entire enterprise, including acute, post-acute, ambulatory, physician, consumer, and value-based approaches His experience includes more than four years with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where he served as a core member of BCG’s strategy and health care practices. He was also a founding member of BCG’s PE practice, spending time on Wallstreet working on deals with many of the country’s largest PE firms.
While at Chartis, Mr. Bujnowski has worked with large IDNs on major strategic efforts, including enterprise strategy development and implementation, service line strategy and structure, consumer strategy, and strategic and community partnership development. He has also helped accelerate the growth of the PE practice, working on buy-side due diligence efforts and sell-side efforts in the health provider space. Leveraging his previous in-house strategy experience, he has also worked on value-enabling efforts for PE portfolio companies, which have resulted in identifying significant sources of organic and inorganic growth and operational efficiencies for his clients.
Mr. Bujnowski holds a master’s degree in business administration from The University of Texas at Austin, where he graduated with the highest honors. He also holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in chemical engineering with a biomedical emphasis from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where he graduated with honors. He is currently a candidate to receive a Doctor of Science in Healthcare Leadership from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. In 2015, Mr. Bujnowski became a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE) and is president-elect of its North Texas Chapter.
Fraser Hay is the President of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano where he oversees the daily operations, strategic planning, business development, and hospital culture for the more than 1,800 employees, 150 volunteers, and 1,000 active medical staff professionals.
Fraser received his BBA in Finance from the University of Oklahoma and then his Masters’ in Health Administration from Trinity University. He completed his residency with INTEGRIS Health in Oklahoma City before eventually joining Texas Health Resources where he has served as an executive in progressive leadership roles since 2010.
He is a Fellow with the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and was honored as the 2015 Young Healthcare Executive of the Year by the North Texas Chapter of ACHE, and the 2017 Young Healthcare Executive of the Year by the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council.
Fraser is actively involved in his profession, community, and church serving on several boards. He is blessed to have the love and support of his wife, Lindsay, and their three children.
Mr. Stephen W. 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.
Lance Lynch began his career in Emergency Medical Services in 2003 and served as a 911 paramedic, field training officer, and certified flight & critical care paramedic. During this time, he participated in and chaired several patient safety, performance improvement, and educational committees while providing clinical education for various public safety programs in the community college setting and serving as Regional Faculty for the American Heart Association. While finishing his undergraduate degree in Emergency Medical Care Administration at Western Carolina University, Lance turned his attention to hospital-based emergency preparedness, response, and resilience. Lance holds an MBA in organizational consulting from Michigan’s Spring Arbor University, a Certified Business Continuity Professional certification through Disaster Recovery International, Inc., and is a Certified Healthcare Emergency Professional through the International Board for Certification Services and Management. Since serving as Chair of the North Central Texas Trauma Regional Advisory Council, JPS, and Parkland, Lance began serving as a consultant for various healthcare organizations Emergency Management programs throughout the country.
Lance currently resides in the Fort Worth area with Julia, his wife & biggest cheerleader of 17 years and Natalie, his 7 year old daughter.
As a Vice President of Global Security for Cardinal Health, Hollis Mignogno is responsible for security operations and programs at Cardinal Health worldwide. She also has accountability for Travel, Meetings & Events, Trade Shows, Business Resiliency and the Security Operations and Intelligence Center (SOIC). Hollis’ key responsibilities include crisis management and pandemic planning, supply chain integrity, international travel and security, and training for the organization. Hollis has been with Cardinal Health since October 2001, working in the Corporate Aviation Department for two years, and in the Global Security Department for the past 20 years. She is a member of OSAC (Overseas Security Advisory Council) and ASIS (American Society for Industrial Security), and participated on the Pharmaceutical Council, serving as Vice-Chair in 2012 and Chair in 2013. She has been a Board Member for the Dublin Chamber of Commerce since 2022. She holds a BS in Criminal Justice from Ohio Dominican University. She gives back to the community by supporting time and resources to the American Heart Association and is on their Central Ohio Executive Leadership Team, she is the Executive Sponsor for Cardinal Health, and has been a Team Coach since 2008.
Rob Monaghan is a distinguished Homeland Security, Emergency Management, and Business Continuity professional with a wealth of experience in program management and interagency coordination. Currently, he holds the position of System Director of Business Continuity and Emergency Management at Baylor Scott & White Health. In this capacity, Rob offers strategic guidance, sets the program’s direction, and provides leadership to ensure optimal emergency management practices. His proficiency in developing comprehensive plans and conducting training exercises has been exemplified through successful responses to critical incidents, such as a flooded hospital evacuation and a NICU fire. Furthermore, Rob is an active participant in public education and community outreach, contributing his expertise to speaking events and organizing regionwide training events. Complementing his practical expertise, Rob holds a Bachelor’s degree in Emergency Administration & Planning from the University of North Texas. He is engaged in various professional organizations, including the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) and Disaster Recovery Institute (DRI), Rob is dedicated to advancing emergency management practices and ensuring communities remain resilient in the face of adversity.
Dr. Christi Nguyen is the Associate Chief Nursing Officer of Nurse Excellence. She is an experienced nurse leader in the inpatient and ambulatory settings holding prior leadership positions at community and academic medical centers. Dr. Nguyen is also a Clinical Assistant Professor with the University of Texas at Arlington’s MSN Nursing Administration program and a faculty advisor in the DNP program.
Dr. Nguyen has worked in multiple areas of nursing, including oncology, home health, hospice, case management and as a wound and ostomy nurse.
She earned both her Bachelor and Master of Science in Nursing and Healthcare Administration from the University of Texas at Arlington and her Doctorate in Nursing Practice from Texas Christian University. Dr. Nguyen is certified as a Nurse Executive Advanced and a Fellow in the American College of Health Care Executives.
Dr. Nguyen is a member of the American College of Health Care Executives, American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL), Texas Organization for Nursing Leaders (TONL), and North Central Organization for Nursing Leadership (NCONL). She serves as the AONL Region 7 Board Director and is President-Elect on the DFW Great 100 Nurses Board.

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Breakfast with the Vice President and Administrator - Kevin Greene
2023-11-14 07:30 - 09:00 | Cook Children’s Medical Center Prosper, 4100 West University Drive, Prosper, TX, 75078
Be sure to join us for our next quarterly Breakfast event!
Kevin Greene is the Vice President and Administrator for Cook Children’s Medical Center – Prosper, Cook Children’s Health Care System’s newest medical campus located in Prosper, Texas. Kevin is responsible for the executive operational oversight and strategic vision for the medical center.
Kevin also has a passion for volunteering in the community where he currently serves as the president-elect for the Town of Prosper’s Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and on Prosper ISD’s Education Foundation Board. Outside of his engagements in the community, Kevin participates on the Texas Hospital Association’s Emerging Leadership Forum and the Dallas Regional Chamber’s Policy Advisory Council, Health Care Task Force and Innovation Task Force.

Immediately following the breakfast, for those able to stick around, there will be a 15-20 minute tour as well of their ICU suite, surgical area, in patient unit and infusion center.
A big thanks to Kevin and Cook Children’s Medical Center Prosper for hosting us for this event!

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Ensuring Your Community’s Emergency Preparedness
2023-11-16 10:30 - 12:00 | Virtual
Another joint great event offered by the East, North and Midwest Texas ACHE chapters. . . .the first of four panels offered this November.
This panel has been approved for 1.5 ACHE Virtual Face-to-Face credits.

In the best of circumstances, healthcare organizations operate in a complex environment. This can be exacerbated when a community faces a local or national emergency, either natural, human-caused, or technological, that thrusts the healthcare system to the forefront of response and makes it the focus of recovery efforts. It is critical that the local healthcare community be actively engaged in the development of comprehensive emergency preparedness plans, training, and exercises to ensure that local organizations communicate and coordinate their mutual support in service to the community.

Moderator: Matt Richardson, FACHE, DrPH, MPH
Director of Public Health
Denton County
Panelists:
David Abernathy
Mayor
City of Pittsburg, Texas
Walter Cassity
Senior Vice President of Real Estate, Public Safety, Environment of Care & Emergency Management
Baylor Scott & White Health
Dr. Rohith Saravanan
CEO
Curbside Consult, LLC

Speakers’ Bios:

Mr. David Abernathy is a fifth-generation resident of Pittsburg, is the son of the late D. H. Abernathy, who was mayor of Pittsburg for 52 years. He has a son, David H. E Abernathy.
He has served the citizens of Pittsburg and Camp County for most of his life. David has been a volunteer firefighter for over 47 years and was co-founder and 13-year president of Camp County Emergency Medical Service (EMS). He developed the first city/county emergency management plan and served as emergency management coordinator and as county fire marshal for over 30 years, without pay, and is a reserve deputy sheriff. David initiated our citizen emergency alerting system. He and his father built eight fire trucks for the city and county, donating their labor, and he has helped design four others.
David is a trustee for the First United Methodist Church and for the Northeast Texas Rural Heritage Museum. He retired as an Assistant Chief with the Texas Forest Service, where he helped manage major disasters and events throughout the nation, including two Super Bowls, and provided training and assistance to a multitude of agencies including the Secret Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Texas Department of Public Safety. He was appointed by two Texas governors to the Texas Commission on Fire Protection. David is the owner of Abernathy Training and Consulting and sits on state and national public safety committees.

Walter Cassity is senior vice president of real estate, public safety, environment of care and emergency management at Baylor Scott & White Health, the largest not-for-profit 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 his role, Cassity implements the System’s real estate strategy and oversees programs that mitigate, prepare and respond to workplace hazards and emergencies in accordance with federal, state and local standards. He previously served as vice president of environment of care & emergency management, police, public safety and security. Earlier in his career, he was corporate director of environmental safety & emergency management at Baylor Health Care System and safety manager and safety technician at Baylor University Medical Center. Cassity holds a master’s degree in public administration— executive health care administration and a bachelor’s degree in industrial safety from the University of Texas at Tyler. He previously earned an associate degree in environmental health & safety from Texas State Technical College.

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 24 years and their two daughters.

Dr. Rohith Saravanan is a physician executive with over 15 years of broad experience across the healthcare industry, including clinical care, quality, regulatory compliance, business development, operations, community partnerships, and strategic growth. He started his career in clinical medicine as a family physician providing care for the underserved population, and quickly grew into leadership roles in operations and strategy, in progressively larger settings. He has led physician groups, urgent care & occupational medicine networks, ACOs, and acute care hospitals.

Dr. Saravanan is a dynamic physician executive adept at assessing needs, developing solutions, and implementing positive changes to achieve sustainability and growth in challenging market conditions. He is exceptional at building teams and strengthening strategic business relationships. He has a history of streamlining clinical operations, increasing revenue, and reducing costs to maximize value. People describe him as an inspirational leader with a humanitarian spirit. With his proven track record of success, his broad educational background and his diverse management and clinical experience, he is the type of a well-rounded healthcare leader that boards, investors, and other executives can depend on.

As a business leader he has the knowledge, creativity and imagination that allows him to be innovative, and his endurance and hard work help him see projects through. He is confident and enthusiastic, yet self-aware; fair and patient, yet decisive; and he operates with the utmost integrity and possesses steadfast virtue. His unique style combines inspirational leadership with humility, a commanding presence, and a calming demeanor. He cares deeply about people, develops leaders in all those he touches and has a strong heart for community service.

Dr. Saravanan’s passion in life is to a make positive impact in the communities he serves on a progressively larger scale. Having previously held multiple executive positions within the healthcare corporate setting, he has deep industry experience in direct care delivery, outpatient/inpatient operations, strategic planning & business development in the for-profit and non-profit sectors. He has recently embarked on an entrepreneurial journey to acquire and operate his own medical practice group.

He is also the Co-Owner and Executive Chairman of ameriCARE Texas, a non-medical personal care franchise currently based in the DFW area. Additionally, he has invested in and serves as a medical advisor to mobriseHealth, an AI powered digital health startup in the remote patient monitoring and chronic care management space.

Fun fact: Dr. Saravanan grew up in 5 different countries throughout his life and can speak 5 languages. He loves to travel, cook, and spend time with his wife (also a physician) and 2 kids.

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Crisis Management: Strategies to Effectively Manage a Healthcare Organization
2023-11-16 12:30 - 14:00 | Virtual
Another joint great event offered by the East, North and Midwest Texas ACHE chapters. . . .the second of four panels offered this November.

This panel has been approved for 1.5 ACHE Virtual Face-to-Face credits.

Preparing for an unplanned or unexpected event, such as a natural disaster, pandemic, civil disturbances, medical error or labor disputes (e.g., union labor) causes physical, psychological and emotional stresses that can overwhelm employees, medical staff, patients and communities. In the event of a crisis, the quality and efficiency of care delivery may be challenged and typically takes a toll on every part of the organization. Lack of the unknown or uncertainty is also a challenge that healthcare leaders face in the time of crisis. Healthcare leaders need to understand ways to prepare their organization for unforeseen circumstances, which includes developing a communication plan, managing organizational resources, such as medical supplies, levels of patient care and leveraging local and state resources and funding.

Moderator: Jonathan Sell
Founder and CEO
Innovative Solutions Management
Panelists:
Serena Bumpus DNP, RN, NEA-BC
Chief Executive Officer
Texas Nurses Association
Dr. William Hooks, MD, MBA
Chief of Anesthesiology/Medical Director, Perioperative & Procedural Services
Titus Regional Medical Center
Kenneth Hutchenrider, Jr., FACHE
President
Methodist Richardson Medical Center

Speakers’ Bios:

Dr. Serena Bumpus currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Texas Nurses Association where she is responsible for providing oversight of related entities and programs including the Texas Nurses Foundation and the Texas Peer Assistance Program for Nurses and other programs as identified. She is responsible for executing the ongoing vision for the association as it relates to the changing healthcare landscape and the nursing profession. As the CEO of the largest professional nursing organization in Texas, Serena has the unique opportunity to build strategic relationships with constituent and partner organizations to elevate and advocate for nursing governance and practice based on evolving issues affecting nursing practice and policy in Texas and nationally. She is well positioned to influence and lead meaningful change for the profession of nursing and healthcare.
Dr. Bumpus’s nursing career spans over 21 years where she has held various positions from staff nurse to Nurse Executive. She has demonstrated a strong career trajectory with involvement in leadership, governance, and advancing the nursing profession. She has made significant strides in improving outcomes and advancing nursing practice throughout her career.
Serena received her Doctor of Nursing Practice in 2019 from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock. She is also an active and engaged member of numerous professional nursing organizations. It was her involvement in these professional organizations early on in her career that triggered a passion for health policy impacting both patients and nurses. She firmly believes empowered nurses can drive meaningful change at the local, state, and national level when they use their collective voices together.

A native of Mt. Pleasant, Dr. William Hooks is the Chief of Anesthesiology and the Medical Director for Perioperative & Procedural Services at Titus Regional Medical Center. Additionally, he performs minor pain management procedures such as epidural steroid injections, trigger point injections and joint injections. Dr. Hooks joined the medical staff of TRMC in 2016 after serving for 13 years in the United States Navy where he completed residency and served as an Anesthesiologist and Flight Surgeon.

Ken Hutchenrider joined Methodist Richardson Medical Center as President in July, 2010.
He has more than 30 years of executive experience with a result oriented record of substantially increasing financial stability and strengthening team management to build a tradition of providing the best care possible to the communities served.

During his tenure, Ken administered the assimilation of the hospital into the Methodist Health System, as well as the development of a $120M replacement hospital and its subsequent and ongoing expansions. Under his direction, Methodist Richardson has received accreditations as a Chest Pain Center, a Comprehensive Stroke Center, and Level 3 Trauma Certification and Nursing Magnet Certification.

Prior to July 2010, Ken served as the Chief Executive Officer of Galesburg Cottage Hospital, in Galesburg, Illinois. Previously in his career, Ken served in executive roles including Chief Executive Officer of the Terre Haute Regional Hospital in Terre Haute, Indiana and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, Kansas. Ken started his career in a clinical position as a Paramedic and Supervisor in Pasadena, Texas.

He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Texas A&M University and a Masters of Healthcare Administration from the University of Houston, Clear Lake.

Ken has received many accolades, including the American Heart Association SOAR Award, the Community Health System Outstanding Achievement Award, and Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. He is actively involved in the community and is past Chairman of the Richardson Chamber of Commerce. Ken is past Regent, Texas Northern for the American College of Healthcare Executives. Finally, Ken is the current Richardson City Councilperson for Place 5.

On a personal note, Ken and his wife Melinda have two teenage daughters. When he’s not spending time with his family, you are most likely to find Ken on the golf course. He is also a private pilot.

Jonathan Sell is the Founder and CEO of Innovative Solutions Management, a staffing and consulting firm, and the Executive Director of Booker EMS. He is a recent graduate of Yale University School of Medicine’s Online Physician Assistant Program (MMSc) and has agreed to begin working with a focus on rural Emergency Medicine at Ochiltree General Hospital in Perryton Texas once he obtains his Texas License.
Additionally, Jonathan also holds his Master’s degree in Healthcare Administration from TTUHSC and multiple undergraduate degrees. Sell has two decades of experience in Emergency and Disaster Medicine and has been deployed as a Task Force Leader by the Texas Emergency Medical Task Force (EMTF) to disasters including hurricanes, wildfires, tornados, mass casualty events, and more. Sell has a passion for both direct patient care, as well as for creating sustainable healthcare systems to serve as the framework for individual patient care. His focus continually is on compassionate individual care, clinical excellence, and system efficiency. This has carried over to his various deployments where the normal “systems” are overwhelmed or out of service.
Outside of work, Jonathan is married to his wife Caitlin and the father of two boys. Together they raise a variety of animals on their family farm, and enjoy sports, games, and time with extended family. In the rare moments that Jonathan finds silence, you would likely find him reading a good book, likely about history.

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AHLC End of Year Event: Cultural Immersion – Healthcare and Beyond
2023-11-16 18:00 - 20:00 | SpinSci Technologies LLC, 14850 Quorum Drive #150, Dallas, TX, 75254
Immerse in a cultural experience and join us in festivities as we celebrate another year of creating safe and brave spaces. Spaces where we can embrace our full selves and find strength in our diversity. Wear something unique to your culture, bring a cultural delicacy if you like, and come join us in an evening of exploration, celebration, and mingling! We look forward to seeing you all.

o Keynote – Kim Cummings
o Closing Comments – Felixia Colon
o AHLC Year in Review – Angela Michael

Speakers’ Bios:

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). For over a decade, Angela has engaged healthcare cross-functional teams with a strong focus on quality improvement, performance excellence, project management and clinical analytics. In her current role, she collaborates with leaders at all levels of the organization to advance patient care and employee engagement.

Kim Cummings, SCP, SPHR is senior vice president, Human Resources, Talent and Workforce Planning at Children’s Health based in Dallas, Texas. In this role, Kim leads HR and Talent strategy including workforce/people transformation initiatives, succession, and supports cross-market enterprise-wide talent development initiatives for the Dallas market.
Kim has over 25 years of HR experience in a variety of leadership roles encouraging and promoting employee engagement in companies that include BNSF Railway, BELO Broadcasting, Burger King Corporation, Dell and Target Corporation. Kim is a thought leader in the space of Diversity & Inclusion receiving numerous community service and business awards that include “HR Professional of the Year” designation by Ogletree Deakins Law Firm and the Dallas Chamber of Commerce, DiversityFIRST™ Award, Top women in Healthcare recognition from the National Diversity Council, Texas Most Powerful Business Women by Texas Diversity Magazine and the SWJC Audrey Kaplan Inspiring Women Southwest award.
Kim received her Bachelor degree in Social Work from Texas State University graduating from the University’s Emerging Leader program and was inducted into Who’s Who in College & Universities students. Kim received her Master’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin in Human Resource Development & Leadership. She holds a Senior Professional designation in Human Resources and certified employee relations credentials. Kim is a professional member of the Fort Worth Human Resources Group and National Society of Human Resource Management.

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.
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Reinventing Customer Service in Healthcare: Lessons Learned from the Best
2023-11-30 10:30 - 12:00 | Virtual
Another joint great event offered by the East, North and Midwest Texas ACHE chapters. . . .the third of four panels offered this November.

This panel has been approved for 1.5 ACHE Virtual Face-to-Face credits.

Consumer-driven services in business and the need for efficiency are accelerating changes in the way organizations operate and compete. Many consumers today are taking greater control of their purchasing power and healthcare decisions and are demanding excellence in service. The challenge is how to give them the best service in a meaningful and economic way.
Organizational survival relies on healthcare leaders with the vision, determination and courage to test various methods of enhancing the patient experience. Patient expectations are being set by other industries; for example, the airline industry, in which Southwest Airlines is the only airline that has turned in profitable years for 33 consecutive years, consistently achieved the best on-time performance, received the fewest customer complaints and fewest mishandled bags, is consistently cited for the best customer service, the smartest management and as the most fun place to work. Can the principles from a culture like Southwest Airlines help healthcare win the hearts and minds of their employees?

Moderator: Paula Turicchi, FACHE
Chief Strategy Officer
Parkland Community Health Plan
Panelists:
Monica Anderson, MS, CPXP
Valued Base Consultant, Customer Experience Leader
Baylor Scott and White Health Texas -East Region
Aaron Davis, MSHA, FACHE, CPXP
Vice President & Chief Experience Officer
UMC Health System
Brandi Jaco
Director of Patient Experience
CHRISTUS Trinity Clinic

Speakers’ Bios:

Monica Anderson, MS, CPXP is currently a Valued Base Consultant, Customer Experience Leader for Baylor Scott and White Health Texas -East Region. She is an experienced, passionate and outcome -oriented healthcare leader that leverages foundation is Psychology, Valued Based Consulting, and Executive Transformational Healthcare Leadership.
Monica Anderson has been a champion for cultivating and maintaining high performing teams by developing relationships of trust and respect, as well as building unity amongst peers, team members and organization leaders to effectively align with and support key hospital initiatives. She is qualified in both outpatient and inpatient customer experience operations, with a proven track record of HCAHPS performance improvement. She focuses on transforming teams through awareness and engagement in action plans using Relationship Center Communication and celebrating success.
Her clinical psychology background and experiences have assisted in her ability to lead and build effective teams, create framework for growth, engage team members to achieve results and adapt to the ever-changing healthcare environment to meet patient and business needs. Monica has been instrumental in forming and coaching staff on vision, strategy, and tactical plans for successful execution of system-wide result improvements.

Aaron Davis, MSHA, FACHE, CPXP has been with UMC Health System for 16 years.
Beginning as a Patient Service Assistant, Aaron progressed throughout the Health System, first as a Health Unit Coordinator, second a Staff Supervisor, third a Department Director, and now currently serves as the systems first Vice President & Chief Experience Officer.
Aaron currently oversees Patient Experience, Corporate Marketing, Sponsorships, Regional Outreach, Employee Wellness & Resilience, Pastoral Care, and Volunteers & Guest Services.
Aaron holds a bachelor’s in business administration from Texas Tech University, a Master of Science in Healthcare Administration from Texas Tech Health Science Center and received his Green Belt in Lean/Six Sigma from Villanova University. Aaron is also a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Over the past six years, Aaron has organized efforts to maintain high patient experience results – achieving national rankings/awards, from four separate comparison database organizations. Furthermore, he has led efforts to strengthen partnerships with UMC’s surrounding regional hospitals, visiting all 50 referring facilities annually, ultimately leading to increased referrals and market share.
Aaron is actively involved in the community; he serves as a Board Member for Community Health Center of Lubbock and The Salvation Army. He is an active member of the Lubbock ISD Partners in Education Committee and has served for several years on the Program Review Board for the Lubbock United Way. Lastly, but most importantly, Aaron is passionate about his faith, family, and serving others.
Brandi Jaco is a Director of Patient Experience with almost 20 years of working to help and heal the vulnerable while listening to their voices to improve processes. Brandi currently specializes in Patient Experience and leads a successful team with CHRISTUS Trinity Clinic, that has seen marked improvement in patient loyalty, and has led the industry by implementing a strong large-scaled service recovery program. Developing authentic relationships is the foundation of what she does both professionally and personally. Brandi spends all of her free time attending practices, games and school events with her 3 sons and husband and serving how she can in the Children’s ministry of her church.

Paula Turicchi, FACHE, is Chief Strategy Officer, at Parkland Community Health Plan in Dallas, Texas. The health plan serves more than 185,000 members in Medicaid’s STAR, CHIP, and CHIP Perinatal programs through a network of more than 6,000 providers and 40 facilities located in 7 counties in the Dallas service delivery area.

Previously, Paula served as the Vice President of Hospital Operations and Administrator of Women and Infant’s Specialty Health (WISH) at Parkland Health & Hospital System. She was instrumental in the design and construction of the New Parkland Hospital facility and the Moody Center for Breast Health. Paula played a key role in completing the System Improvement Agreement (SIA) and Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA) from 2013 to 2018. In addition, she chaired the Women’s Health Advisory Committee of Texas which was created by Texas’ 84th Legislature to advise the Health & Human Services Commission on consolidation of women’s health programs.

Paula was a 2018 Texas Hospital Association Leadership Fellow. She is board certified in Healthcare Administration and holds a Master’s degree in Healthcare Administration from Trinity University and Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.

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Disruptive Innovation in Healthcare Delivery
2023-11-30 12:30 - 14:00 | Virtual
Another joint great event offered by the East, North and Midwest Texas ACHE chapters. . . .the last of four panels offered this November.
This panel has been approved for 1.5 ACHE Virtual Face-to-Face credits.

Disruptive innovation, a term coined by Harvard professor Clayton M. Christensen, is a transformative business model that leverages technology to help focus on making products and services more accessible and affordable. In healthcare delivery, disruptive innovations have the potential to decrease costs while improving both the quality and accessibility of care. Disruptive innovations enable new applications and changes in behaviors. The current thinking with many innovators is a belief that a host of disruptive innovations would have wide implications for payers by shifting payment models to reward precision diagnostic tests and abilities of providers. Several current disruptive innovations like retail clinics, telemedicine, medical tourism, and point-of-care medical payments are making a major difference in how health care is delivered. This panel will focus on the role of innovation in the medical marketplace and examples of disruptive innovations that will change lives in healthcare.

Moderator: Aaron Bujnowski, FACHE
Director and Integrated Delivery Network Segment Lead
Alvarez & Marsal
Panelists:
Brad Prugh
Chief Executive Officer
Care Continuity
Dr. Leslie Wainwright
Chief Funding and Innovation Officer
Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation
Dr. Stormee Williams
Vice President & Chief Health Equity Officer
Children’s Health System

Speakers’ Bios:

Aaron Bujnowski just recently joined Alvarez & Marsal to be their Director and Integrated Delivery Network Segment Lead. Prior to that, he was a Director with The Chartis Group and leader of the Integrated Delivery Network (IDN) practice area. Mr. Bujnowski’s healthcare career spans over 14 years. He focuses on developing innovative enterprise strategies that enable integrated delivery networks and their leaders to create lasting competitive advantage.

Prior to joining The Chartis Group, Mr. Bujnowski was the system Chief Strategy Officer at Texas Health Resources, where he spent nearly nine years. He was responsible for developing and implementing strategies across the entire enterprise, including acute, post-acute, ambulatory, physician, consumer, and value-based approaches. His experience also includes more than four years with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where he served as a core member of BCG’s strategy and health care practices. Mr. Bujnowski previously held various leadership positions in new venture development and innovation at The Dow Chemical Company for more than nine years.
Fluent in Spanish, Mr. Bujnowski is co-inventor of six U.S. patents, certified as a Six Sigma Black Belt and has volunteered his services through many national organizations. To name a few, he was a Red Cross volunteer for Katrina Relief in New Orleans, a full-time missionary and humanitarian volunteer in Chile, South America, and served as an executive board member for the Boy Scouts of America. He was featured in the award-winning book, Intangibles: The Unexpected Traits of High-Performing Healthcare Leaders by Amer Kaissi, PhD.
Mr. Bujnowski holds a master’s degree in business administration from The University of Texas at Austin, where he graduated with the highest honors. He also holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in chemical engineering with a biomedical emphasis from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where he graduated with honors. In 2015, Mr. Bujnowski became a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE).

Brad Prugh joined Care Continuity in 2020 with over two decades of experience in healthcare technology, operations, and business development. Prior to assuming the CEO role, Brad served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of the company. Before joining Care Continuity, Brad held senior leadership positions at Conifer Health Solutions, MedeAnalytics Inc, and Perot Systems.

Brad is an accomplished leader who is passionate about using technology to help healthcare organizations improve the lives of patients. He is a strong advocate for innovation and collaboration, and he is committed to building a culture of excellence at Care Continuity. He has a proven track record of driving revenue growth, optimizing operations, and delivering results for healthcare clients.

Prior to his career in healthcare technology, Brad served as an officer in the United States Army for 5+ years, where he honed his leadership and teamwork skills. Brad is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and holds a Master of Health Administration from Ohio University.

Dr. Leslie Wainwright joined the Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation [PCCI], as their Chief Funding and Innovation Officer in March 2019. Prior to this role, she oversaw RTI International’s Innovation Advisors health practice where she worked with health systems and technology developers to guide the development and adoption of impactful healthcare innovations. She has also served in executive roles at Sg2, AVIA and Business Models Inc., a Dutch-based innovation consultancy.
She is passionate about entrepreneurship and innovation, and has experience that spans academic research, pharma/biotechnology and healthcare delivery. Leslie has worked with executive teams from multi-national organizations and startups alike to design growth strategies, create alternative business models and evaluate emerging clinical and care delivery technologies. Additionally, she has spent several years addressing innovation and how healthcare organizations build their own sustainable innovation competencies. Leslie is a frequent speaker and facilitator on the future of healthcare, enabling technologies, disruptive innovation and emerging business models, both domestically and abroad.
Leslie received her PhD in microbiology at Northwestern University, completed postdoctoral research training at the University of Maryland’s Center for Vaccine Development and received a B.A. in Biology from DePauw University. She serves as a clinical advisor on the Board of Start-up tech companies and has served as faculty teaching strategy and innovation at Lake Forest Graduate School of Management. Additionally, Leslie is passionate about STEM education and is in the Women’s Board of the Field Museum in Chicago, working with the museum to expand opportunities for girls in science.

Dr. Stormee Williams is the Vice President and Chief Health Equity Officer at Children’s Health System in Dallas, Texas. She is a board-certified pediatrician who began her career in federally qualified health centers and community health clinics having a strong desire to work with underserved populations. Over the last decade, she worked to transform the way children receive medical care through innovation and telemedicine. She helped develop the fastest-growing school-based telemedicine program and continues to work with national organizations to improve telemedicine access and quality. Dr. Williams’ work promotes health equity and strives to diminish the many disparities evident within health care. She is responsible for providing the organizational strategy around health equity, including identifying social determinants of health and creating pathways to improve health outcomes for marginalized groups. Dr. Williams enjoys serving the community and hopes to continue her work to expand quality healthcare access to those who need it most.

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After Hours 2023 Holiday Networking Event
2023-12-07 17:30 - 20:30 | BowlGames, 139 Turtle Creek Boulevard #Suite 120, Dallas, TX, 75207
Please join us for our end of year ACHE of North Texas holiday networking event. In addition to this special time of networking, attendees will also have the opportunity to play the games offered at BowlGames in the Dallas Design District.
Please Note: this event will also include a tacky holiday sweater contest as well – so be sure to wear your “finest.”
Event includes:

Crudité and Taco bar
Cash bar
Tacky Sweater contest

Darts – no charge
Shuffleboard – no charge
Foosball – no charge
Dominoes – no charge
Pool Tables – $1/game
PIN TOSS (a cross between football, bowling and cornhole): located in the cages and is an additional cost. Attendees may purchase “Open Play” wristbands for $14.50.
Ample parking available

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Community Event: Volunteering at CitySquare Food Pantry
2023-12-08 12:30 - 16:30 | CitySquare, 1610 South Malcolm X Boulevard, Dallas, TX, 75226
Join your ACHENTX collegues in doing a good deed. We are going to be volunteering at the CitySquare food pantry – helping them organize, restock, and take inventory.
Please note, immediately after registering, your confirmation messages from Eventbrite will include a link to an additional registration step we’re being asked to take with CitySquare directly. This will trigger them to send us additional information that will be helpful leading up to this event.

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Breakfast with the President - Amanda Thrash, FACHE
2024-01-30 07:30 - 09:00 | Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Allen, 1105 Central Expressway North, Allen, TX, 75013, United States
Amanda Thrash, FACHE, has served as president of Texas Health Allen since July 3, 2022.
Amanda has primary oversight of daily operations and responsibility for the 88-bed hospital’s annual operating plan.
Amanda previously served as vice president, professional and support services, at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano. Her tenure with Texas Health extends much further, though. She started at Texas Health Dallas as an administrative resident in 2009, moving to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano in 2010. She became administrator of Texas Health Neighborhood Care & Wellness Prosper in 2016, serving in that role for two years.
Over the span of Amanda’s career, she has focused heavily on market strategy, physician relationships and streamlining hospital operations. Most recently, Amanda has been successful in growing EMS traffic, improving perioperative efficiencies and growing the cardiovascular and robotic service lines.

In her spare time, Amanda enjoys spending time with her husband of eight years, Bucky, and their 5-year-old son, Beau. They recently added a new addition to their family – daughter Shelby who was born in August 2023. They love cheering on the TCU Horned Frogs during football season and entertaining friends in their home.

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A special thanks to Amanda and Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Allen for hosting us for this event!

2024 DFW Healthcare Student Summit
2024-02-17 08:30 - 14:30 | UTA Fort Worth, Gallery 76102, 1401 Jones Street, Fort Worth, TX, 76102
We are excited to host our 4th Annual DFW Student Summit organized by our ACHE of North Texas Student Council!
This event is geared toward current healthcare administration students preparing to move into a healthcare career, already in a healthcare occupation and nearing graduation, or recently graduated and employed in their first healthcare position. We welcome all those who are interested in learning more about the industry.
The agenda will consist of two panel discussions and conclude with a Keynote after lunch.
Please join us on Saturday, February 17 from 8:30am – 2:30pm at the UTA Fort Worth Center, 1401 Jones St, Fort Worth, 76102.
A special thanks to the University of Texas at Arlington for hosting this event at their Fort Worth Campus!
Event Itinerary
8:30am-8:50am: Coffee, Check-in, and Registration
8:50am-9:00am: Welcome and Introductions
9:00am-10:30am: Healthcare Operations Panel

Crystal Brown, MBA; Vice President & Chief Operating Officer; Methodist Mansfield Medical Center
Justin Pond; Chief Operating Officer; Baylor Scott & White Health Waxahachie
Loren Fouch, LCSW; Chief Executive Officer; Millwood Hospital
Gregory Chelsey, MHA; Chief Operations Officer; Medical Specialists Associated

10:30am-10:50 am– Break
10:50am-12:20pm– AI Healthcare

Harvey Castro, M.D., MBA, FACEP; CEO of Convo with GPT, CCOO at Vitel Health

Nick Kagal, FACHE; Vice President of Business Development, Customer Success; SpinSci Technologies
Pamela Salyer, PhD, RN, NI-BC; BS, MS and Ph.D. in Nursing; Houston Methodist
Ogan Gurel, MD; BioHealth Innovation Specialist at the University of Texas – Arlington; Multi-Interprofessional Center for Health Informatics (MICHI)

12:20pm-1:05pm – Lunch and Networking
1:05pm-1:50pm – Keynote
Speaker: Alexis Burnett; Division Vice President of Surgical & Procedural Services; Medical City Healthcare
2:00pm-2:30pm – Optional Networking

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Speakers Bios:
Crystal Brown, MBA, 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. At Methodist Health System, she serves on the W.O.M.E.N Women of Methodist Enrichment Network to foster the growth and development of women within the organization. She is also active in the Mansfield community and serves on the Mansfield ISD Education Foundation Board.
Crystal has a strong passion for personal and professional development that has been sharpened with over 24 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 serving on the Women Healthcare Executives Network Committee and the Board of Directors, National Association of Health Services Executives, and the Girls Scouts of Northeast Texas serving on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Corporate Council Committee.
Crystal has received numerous awards for her transformational leadership style. In June of 2023, she was awarded the Dr. Marion J. Brooks “Legend in the Making” award for her contributions in healthcare. In October of 2023, she was honored with the ACHENTX Executive Servant Leader Regent’s Award. She is passionate about the growth & development of girls, women, and healthcare leaders and often volunteers at local events, conferences, and colleges to donate her time and expertise.

Alexis Burnett is currently the division vice president of surgical and procedural services for Medical City Healthcare, a division of HCA healthcare. Additionally, she leads the abdominal transplant and robotics service lines across the 16-hospital system. A proud graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington, she was inspired to pursue a career in nursing and subsequently decided to advance her knowledge by obtaining a master’s in business administration and a doctorate in business administration. She is also certified in patient safety.
With almost 13 years in the healthcare industry, her passion is helping others. Initially rooted in helping patients, she found her calling in leadership. She finds joy in mentoring and helping other healthcare professionals advance their own careers.
When Alexis isn’t at work, she is chauffeuring her children to sports or trying to find time for a run.

Dr. Harvey Castro is a Physician, Author, CEO, and AI Healthcare Advisor. With over two decades of experience as a physician, entrepreneur, and former CEO of a healthcare system, Dr. Castro expanded his influence into healthcare management, working with physicians, and integrating healthcare management into modern practices.
His commitment to revolutionizing healthcare through AI has led him to serve as a Strategic Advisor for ChatGPT & Healthcare. Dr. Castro aims to create a seamless symbiosis between healthcare professionals, AI developers, and innovative AI solutions. Healing with Data, One Byte at a Time.

Gregory D. Chesley, MHA, is the Chief Operations Officer for Medical Specialists Associated in Dallas, Texas. He holds a master’s degree in Health Administration (MHA) from the University of Southern California. His undergraduate degree is from Mercyhurst University in Erie, PA with a double major in Finance and Marketing and a minor in Business Administration.
In 1996, he relocated to Dallas and began his career in the healthcare field as a staff accountant with HCA covering 23 ambulatory surgery centers. His career progressed to an ophthalmology physician practice management company (Physicians Resource Group) as a senior accountant. In 1999, he took a financial analyst position with another specialty physician practice management company (CareSelect). He ended his time at CareSelect as the Director of Purchasing, Planning, and Development.
Greg assumed the helm of Texas Cardiac Associates as the Chief Executive Officer in 2001 until their acquisition in 2015. During the acquisition he became the Practice Administrator – Dallas Market, covering over 8 locations and 14 specialty providers, for Tenet Healthcare. In 2016, the organization transitioned ownership to the Baylor Scott & White Health System. Upon that transition he became the Practice Administrator III for the East Dallas Region over Cardiology and Pulmonology. In this role he managed 14 locations, 20 specialty providers, 120+ employees for Baylor Scott & White.
In 2019 Greg became the Regional Market Director – Dallas / Ft. Worth for DispatchHealth. Dispatch Health is a mobile urgent / acute care option focused on decreasing the cost of healthcare through the reduction of emergency department utilization. In this role he managed the relationships with strategic partners, payors, providers, and consumers. In 2021 Greg took over as the Vice President of Operations for Premier Management Company (ACO). He was responsible for three Accountable Care Organizations spanning four states managing multiple provider offices, ventures, and Medicare Advantage contracts.
Currently, Greg is the Chief Operations Officer for Medical Specialists Associated. He is responsible for the operational, financial, and clinical oversight of an independent provider group of 15 internal medicine specialists. We also offer external consulting and RCM services to external private practice groups in the local North Texas area.
In addition, Greg is an Adjunct instructor for the Executive Master of Health Administration program at the University of Southern California. He teaches Strategic Management, Operations Management, and Leading People in Healthcare Organizations.
On a personal note, Greg is the husband of a fellow USC Alumni and father to a 5 year old boy. In his free time, Greg is an avid martial artist and holds the ranks of Godan (5th Degree) in two styles of martial arts and a Sandan in Jujutsu. He enjoys traveling, running, and biking.

Loren Fouch, LCSW is the CEO of Millwood Hospital, a 134 bed inpatient behavioral health facility in Arlington Tx with and 4 outpatient clinics across the DFW Metroplex. Loren is a licensed clinical social worker and has worked in a wide variety of behavioral health settings throughout her career to include inpatient and outpatient settings, crisis intervention teams with local law enforcement, schools, emergency departments, and medical social work. She began her career working in West Africa as an intern and developed a passion for social work and advocating for underrepresented communities. After receiving her Master of Science in Social Work from The University of Texas at Austin she has spent her career in the great state of Texas. Her clinical specialties have been around child and adolescent mental health to include play therapy and family interventions. AS she transitioned into administrative roles, she found that her clinical experiences assisted in bringing a human-centered approach to both leadership and providing care to those in need. Her passion is helping individuals and families find a place of peace and understanding along their recovery.

Dr. Ogan Gurel has had a wide-ranging career spanning clinical medicine, scientific research, industry and academia. He currently serves as a BioHealth Innovation Specialist at the University of Texas – Arlington and the Multi-Interprofessional Center for Health Informatics (MICHI). Dr. Gurel has had an extensive career in healthcare innovation with familiar names such as IBM, Samsung, Booz Allen as well as dozens of startups worldwide. Bridging the worlds of industry and academia, he has also held previous academic appointments as a Visiting Professor at the Solbridge International School of Business, Vice-Chair & Distinguished Invited Professor in the Management of Innovation program at DGIST (Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology) as well as Honorary Fellow at the University of Melbourne, Adjunct Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Illinois – Chicago and Roosevelt University. Dr. Gurel’s over 35 years of experience spans multiple sectors: biomedical science, clinical medicine, strategy consulting, marketing, business development, executive management, marketing, and R&D management, with domain expertise in medical devices, digital healthcare, healthcare IT, molecular biophysics, and medical imaging. Prior to surgical training at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Gurel obtained an MD degree Alpha Omega Alpha from the Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, also doing graduate work in structural biology (M.Phil degree) and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemical Sciences cum laude from Harvard College working with Prof. Martin Karplus (Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2013). Authoring 14 peer-reviewed scholarly papers (as well as a novel, Waves), presenting nearly 200 conference proceedings, and co-inventor on ten patent applications (four granted), Dr. Gurel has also given keynote addresses and other speeches at scientific and business conferences and seminars worldwide. He has taught the mini-MD, a comprehensive overview of medicine for healthcare professionals for the past decade in locations worldwide, including South Korea, the United States, Italy, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand.

Nick Kagal is the Vice President of Business Development and leads Customer 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, Medical Center of Plano, and HealthSouth.
Nick received his BA in Biology and psychology from Austin College and holds an MBA from Texas A&M University. He is a Fellow of both the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and the Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), a board member of DFW HIMSS, and a Commissioner on the City of Plano Cultural Arts Commission. Nick serves on various ACHE committees including Advancement (a former chair), Education, and is a co-chair of the Asian Healthcare Leaders Community (AHLC). 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.

Justin Pond serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Waxahachie. He first joined the Baylor Scott & White family in 2011 as a registered nurse in the emergency department and moved to the administrative team in 2015.
A native of North Carolina, Justin received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He completed his Master of Business Administration from Baylor University. Prior to joining the healthcare industry, he served in the United States Marine Corps.
He is a board member of the United Way of West Ellis County and former Chair of the Texas Hospital Association Leadership Development Council. His experiences in the military and healthcare helped him to uncover a passion to serve others.
Justin and his wife, Kristen, enjoy spending time with their two children, James and Ellie. They love to travel and can frequently be found anywhere there are mountains to hike.

Pamela Salyer, PhD, RN, NI-BC is a Texas Woman’s University (TWU) Alumni, with a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Nursing. She has worked at Houston Methodist for 42 years, with 34 of those years in Information Technology, doing every aspect of IT from product selection and procurement to post-implementation review of and strategic planning for clinical and corporate systems. She served as Corporate Compliance Officer for the IT Division for five years before leaving Houston Methodist in 2008 to assist in setting up
the Gulf Coast Regional Extension Center at the University of Texas (UT) School of Biomedical Informatics. She returned to Houston Methodist in 2012, becoming the Project Manager for the Chief Information Officer and a Consultant for the Houston Methodist Center for Innovation. In addition to her work at Houston Methodist, Dr. Salyer taught the Information Management class in the MHA Program at TWU for 24 years, and graduate-level Project Management and Systems Analysis at the UT School of Biomedical Informatics for 11 years. She is ANCC-certified in Nursing Informatics, with expertise in IT regulatory and legal compliance, electronic medical records, analytics, and healthcare technology innovation.

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Digital Health in the Healthcare Delivery System
2024-02-22 15:30 - 17:00 | Virtual
This panel has been approved for 1.5 ACHE Virtual Interactive Education credits.
The pandemic has only accelerated what was already a fastmoving train toward more of healthcare becoming digital. Whether it is the increasing need for telehealth services, the rapidly growing field of artificial intelligence, or advances toward more personalized medicine, the intersection of healthcare and digital technology is here to stay. In addition, digital health has become a healthcare access imperative. Its innovative benefits are of vital interest amid the implementation of most healthcare regulations.
This program surveys some of the current uses and organizational deployment of digital health strategies. The discussion includes adoption and innovation across the clinical and patient perspectives. The technical, operational, regulatory, and financial/reimbursement aspects of the development of these programs will also be investigated. The expanding role that digital health holds in daily life and its direction into the future of the healthcare delivery system will be explored.

Moderator:
Nick Kagal, FACHE
Vice President of Business Development-Customer Success
SpinSci Technologies
Panelists:
Dr. Chris Gallagher
Chief Executive Officer
Access TeleCare
Urooj Mansoor, MD
Physician
Legacy Internal Medicine
Seth Mollitt
Senior Vice President, Product Development & Innovation
SCP Health

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Speakers Bios:
Chris Gallagher, M.D., FACC is the CEO of Access TeleCare and a practicing cardiologist.
Access TeleCare is the country’s largest high-acuity telemedicine provider, operating programs in almost every state in the country. Its core service lines include neurology and behavioral health, cardiology, cardiac arrest management, hospitalist, pulmonary and critical care, infectious disease, and maternal-fetal medicine. Most recently, the company has added nephrology and endocrinology to its service lines.
Dr. Gallagher is board-certified in internal medicine and cardiovascular disease. He has dedicated his career to physician leadership and the development of efficient, cost-effective, and high-quality physician networks.
Prior to leading Access TeleCare, Dr. Gallagher co-founded Access Physicians in 2013. In this role, Dr. Gallagher pioneered the use of telemedicine to manage cardiac arrest more effectively.
Access Physicians merged with SCO Telemed in 2021, and Dr. Gallagher became CEO of the merged company. In 2022, the company acquired Forefront Telecare to expand its behavioral health footprint and rebranded as Access TeleCare.
Dr. Gallagher served as the Chief Medical Officer of CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital – Sulphur Springs from 2012 to 2017. He trained at UT Southwestern for both his Internal Medicine residency and Cardiology Fellowship and earned his Doctor of Medicine from Texas Tech University School of Medicine. He is a fellow in the American College of Cardiology, member of the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, American Medical Association, and Texas Medical Association.
In 2023, Dr. Gallagher was awarded the Presidential Distinguished Alumni Award from Texas Tech University for his contributions to the field of medicine and the positive impact his work with Access TeleCare has on the larger society.

Nick Kagal is the Vice President of Business Development and leads Customer 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, Medical Center of Plano, and HealthSouth.
Nick received his BA in Biology and psychology from Austin College and holds an MBA from Texas A&M University. He is a Fellow of both the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and the Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), a board member of DFW HIMSS, and a Commissioner on the City of Plano Cultural Arts Commission. Nick serves on various ACHE committees including Advancement (a former chair), Education, and is a co-chair of the Asian Healthcare Leaders Community (AHLC). 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.
Dr. Urooj Mansoor is primary care physician and practices at Legacy Internal Medicine in Frisco, TX. She graduated from a Prestigious Medical school, Sindh Medical College, Pakistan in 2000 and completed her residency in internal medicine from Chicago in 2006. She is Board certified in Internal Medicine and has experience of more than 20 years. She has an extensive clinical experience in taking care of patients in the inpatient hospital setting, clinic, rehab and skilled nursing facilities. Dr. Mansoor is fluent in English, Urdu and Hindi. Dr. Mansoor has always been highly respected by her patients, peers and colleagues, because of her compassionate care and excellent communication skills.

Seth Mollitt leads Product Development and Innovation for SCP Health. In his role Seth is responsible for identifying and launching new service offerings and for driving innovation within SCP Health’s Emergency Medicine and Hospital Medicine services. Prior to joining SCP Health Seth led health system partnerships for a digital health startup, and before that he spent 13 years at GE Healthcare where he held a variety of roles focused on creating innovative partnerships which leveraged GEHC technologies and capabilities to drive outcomes for health systems. Seth holds a undergraduate degree from the University of Florida and an MBA from the University of California, Berkely and currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

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Strategically Mapping Your Early Career Development
2024-02-22 17:30 - 19:00 | Virtual
This panel has been approved for 1.5 ACHE Virtual Interactive Education credits.
In today’s changing healthcare environment, early careerists need skills and strategies to position themselves for the future. You have the freedom to create the career paths that link your talents and interests with the right job. No job comes with a lifetime guarantee, and flexibility is important. To achieve upward mobility in your career, you must constantly reinvent your brand. Learn from your peers the necessary steps to take your career path to the next level. This panel will focus on nuts-and-bolts career planning for early careerists in the healthcare sector.
Moderator:
Sunil Sinha, MD, MBA, FACHE, FACP
Vice President of Population Health and Quality
Sentara Health Plans
Panelists:
Melissa Arana
System Director, Clinical Services Department
Baylor Scott and White Quality Alliance
Matthew Lin
Undergraduate Research Fellow
University of Texas at Dallas
Marion Spears Karr, MA, FACHE
Managing Partner and Founder
In-FLOW Executives

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Speakers Bios:
Melissa Arana DNP, MSN, RN, CMSRN, NEA-BC is a System Director of the Clinical Services Department for Baylor Scott and White Quality Alliance. With more than 16 years of experience as a Trauma/ General Surgery/Orthopedic/Quality Improvement/ Nurse at Baylor Scott & White Health, Melissa holds national credentials as a Certified Medical Surgical Nurse (CMSRN) and NEA-BC (Nurse Executive Advanced Board Certification) and in 2021 finished up her Doctorate Nursing Program (DNP) at UTA. Melissa also worked at Dallas Regional Medical Center in the Emergency Room as a staff nurse for 15 years.
Melissa served as a staff nurse, charge nurse, unit-based educator and clinical supervisor on a 82 bed Trauma/general surgery/orthopedic unit at Baylor Medical Center in 2007 until 2014. In 2014 until 2017 Melissa served as the Programs Outcomes Manager for the Orthopedic Population where she managed total joint patients and published an article in the Journal of Orthopedic Nursing titled “Reducing length of stay, direct cost, and readmissions in total joint arthroplasty patients with an Outcomes manager led interdisciplinary team.” Melissa has also presented multiple poster and podium presentations in her career and has been involved in multiple research studies.
From 2017 to present Melissa has spent the last 6 years as the System Director of the Clinical Services Department at BSWQA. Melissa has designed multiple clinical programs with our direct to employer, commercial and Medicare contracts (Sleep Apnea, Low back pain, Sepsis, Cardiovascular Surgery, MA care model, Medicare Care model, ESRD). She also leads the ambulatory pharmacy department and the gaps in care department. Melissa has designed and implemented a complex clinical performance compensation program for providers and hospitals related to provider quality and utilization performance. She has designed and implemented provider success/performance programs related to payer contract performance. She has assisted her organization in obtaining $83.6M in total savings in 2022 for MSSP, which is the highest earned savings nationally for an ACO.

Matthew Lin is an undergraduate sophomore majoring in Public Health at the University of Texas at Dallas. He graduated in the top 5% of his Californian high school class, and received a full-ride scholarship to enroll in the Honors program at UTD. He is currently on a pre-medical track whilst self-studying subjects in Healthcare Management, Economics, and Health Policy. He recently completed an MIT certification in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, and hopes to contribute to the integration of AI in healthcare delivery as a future practicing physician and health policy contributor.
He has varied previous experiences from community-level breast and cervical cancer public health interventions at UTHealth Houston to molecular analysis on the Sars-CoV-2 spike protein under former Bristol Myers Squibb drug researchers.

Dr. Sunil Sinha has served in a variety of clinical and administrative leadership roles and is the Vice President for Quality and Population Health at Sentara Health Plans (SHP) in Virginia. Previously he was the Chief Medical Officer of the BJC medical group in St Louis, Missouri, the Chief Medical Officer of ChenMed and JenCare Neighborhood Medical Centers in Virginia, and the Chief Medical Officer at Bon Secours Memorial Regional Medical Center in Richmond, VA. Prior to joining Bon Secours, Dr. Sinha served as Director for Medical and Public Health Policy for Pfizer Inc. in New York and Washington, D.C., and as a senior medical officer at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). He also worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs, where he served as the Director of the Managed Care Clinical Center of the VA Maryland Health Care System and the Director of Primary Care at the Marion VA Medical Center.
He has served as a senior examiner for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award program and was appointed by the U.S. Commerce Secretary to serve a three-year term as a national judge. He is past chairperson of the Maryland Performance Excellence Award program, board member of the Virginia state Baldrige Award program, and board member and judge of the Illinois ILPeX (Baldrige) award program. He served as a juror for the National Quality Forum’s National Health Care Quality Award and the Joint Commission’s John M. Eisenberg Award. He has been adjunct faculty at The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Virginia Commonwealth University and is the Editor in Chief of the Core Body of Knowledge for the American Board of Quality Assurance and Utilization Reviews Healthcare Quality and Physician Advisor certification. He is a certified executive coach from the Center for Executive Coaching.
He has served on the American College of Physicians (ACP) Maryland and Illinois Governor’s Councils and with the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) has served on the national Board of Governors, as the President for the Maryland Association of Healthcare Executives, Regent for Maryland, and on the Board for the Central Virginia Healthcare Executive Group.
Dr. Sinha is a board-certified internist, completing his medical education in India and an internal medicine residency at the Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago, where he served as Associate Chief Resident. He received his MBA from Southern Illinois University, holds a graduate certificate in information systems from The Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School and is currently pursuing an MPH from the George Washington University Milken School of Public Health.

Marion Spears Karr is the Managing Partner and Founder of in-FLOW Executives, a healthcare-centric executive search and leadership solutions company focused on building highly engaged and focused leadership teams, support them with proprietary coaching and learning platforms, and create a “culture of accomplishment”.

With over 33 years of experience in healthcare executive recruiting and talent acquisition, Marion’s spent a great deal of time in the industry focused on understanding it on a macro and micro level and enjoys collaborating with mission-focused leaders from all levels of experience.

He is the developer of the Accomplishment Culture© Coaching Model for team and individual leadership growth which is founded on positive psychology thought such as Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi “Flow Theory,” Elias Porter’s “Relationship Awareness Theory,” the work of Michael Maccoby on “Strategic Intelligence” along with other influences and his own work over the last 30 years.

Marion most recent training model development, The Authentic Gratitude Communication Framework, equips leaders to harness the power of gratitude to build engagement, trust, and promote positive behaviors within team members. Multiple hospitals across the U.S. have been the pilot for this training and a future research project is in the works.

Having suffered a traumatic brain injury years ago, Marion volunteers in organizations that support brain injury research and recovery programs.

Marion is a board-certified Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE), holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Campbell University and a Master of Arts in Executive Leadership from Liberty University.

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ACHENTX AHLC Pop-Up Lunch at Tokyo Café in Fort Worth
2024-02-23 12:00 - 14:00 | Tokyo Café, 5121 Pershing Avenue, Fort Worth, TX, 76107
Join us for some fun food and lovely conversations at Tokyo Café in Fort Worth (or the other simultaneous Pop-Up location in Dallas – see other event listing for the Dallas location details). We may have some special guests join in and chat with us!

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AHLC Pop-Up Lunch - Thai Orchid
2024-02-23 12:00 - 14:00 | Thai Orchid, 4930 Belt Line Rd., Suite 190, Dallas, TX, 75254
Join us for some fun food and lovely conversations at Thai Orchid in Dallas (or the other simultaneous Pop-Up location in Fort Worth – see other event posting for the Fort Worth location details). We may have some special guests join in and chat with us!

ACHENTX's WHEN Annual Women's Conference: Beyond All Limits
2024-03-01 08:30 - 13:30 | Texas Woman’s University – Dallas, 5500 Southwestern Medical Avenue, Dallas, TX, 75235
Join us for our 2024 ACHENTX’s WHEN (Women’s Healthcare Executive Network) Women’s Conference: Beyond All Limits!

Network with fellow women healthcare leaders and participate in break-out sessions on topical issues. Networking Breakfast and lunch will be served.
Schedule:
8:30-9:00 am – Registration & Breakfast
9:00-9:15 am – Kickoff
9:30- 10:15 am – Breakout Session 1 Topics/Speakers:

Sky’s the Limit: Unleashing Confidence to Surpass Boundaries presented by Ebony Travis Tichenor, MBA, PHR, Director, Global Wellbeing & HR Employee Policies, Boston Scientific
The Importance of Mental Wellness for High Impact Women: Women Going Beyond All Limits presented by Dr. Veronica Tetterton, Co-founder and Chief of Operations, Anticipate Joy; and Dr. Karla Evans, Co-Founder and Chief of Clinical Operations, Anticipate Joy
How to Go Beyond All Limits on LinkedIn presented by Jennifer “J” Alexander, DHA, FACHE, Operations Manager for Imaging Services, UT Southwestern Medical Center
Leading with Trust presented by Laura Evans, LMHC, Strategic Portfolio Director, Health Sciences Consulting -North America

10:15 – 10:30 am– Break
10:30 – 11:15 am – Breakout Session 2 Topics/Speakers:

Sky’s the Limit: Unleashing Confidence to Surpass Boundaries presented by Ebony Travis Tichenor, MBA, PHR
The Importance of Mental Wellness for High Impact Women: Women Going Beyond All Limits presented by Dr. Veronica Tetterton, Co-founder and Chief of Operations, Anticipate Joy; and Dr. Karla Evans, Co-Founder and Chief of Clinical Operations, Anticipate Joy
How to Go Beyond All Limits on LinkedIn presented by Jennifer “J” Alexander, DHA, FACHE, Operations Manager for Imaging Services, UT Southwestern Medical Center
Leading with Trust presented by Laura Evans, LMHC, Strategic Portfolio Director, Health Sciences Consulting -North America

11:15 am -12:15 pm – Network Break & Lunch
12:15-1:15 pm – Keynote Address: Krista A. Medlock, Owner, Thriving Brands
Topic: Success Against All Odds
1:15-1:30 pm – Closing Comments
1:30-2:00 pm – Networking

Special thanks to NTAHQ (the North Texas Association for Healthcare Quality), Texas Woman’s University and Corgan for hosting this event!

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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.

Laura Evans is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor with over 12 years of Clinical, Healthcare, and Leadership experience. She obtained her Masters degree in Mental Health Counseling at St. John Fisher University, and graduated as the recipient of the Bufano Counselor Excellence Award.
Her first experience as a clinical provider was within an urban Chemical Dependency clinic, working with an underserved population. She began rebuilding the adolescent program to reflect some of the unique challenges facing this challenging population. Later, she transitioned into leading the Adult Co-Occurring disorders track, supporting individuals with both Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders.
Laura followed a trusted mentor to a new opportunity within a New York State Blues Plan, developing the SafetyNet Behavioral Health Case Management programming for the recent carve-in.
She spent over 7 years as the Clinical Operations leader, creating and refining processes, enabling Population Health engagement, aligning and enhancing Crisis Call procedures, and being the go-to for Behavioral Health subject matter expertise within the organization.
Prior to transitioning to her current role as a Healthcare Consultant at Cognizant, Laura received her certification for Human-Centered Design from LUMA Institute.
Now in her newest endeavor, Laura supports her client as a Strategic Portfolio Director for the Medical Management, Pharmacy, and Customer Service portfolios. She provides support her plan’s strategic development and design, enhances collaborative relationships, manages oversight for end-to-end delivery of products, and continues to develop and lead mental health awareness and management for her plan and the populations it serves.
Personally and professionally, Laura’s primary passion will always be Mental Health in Leadership. Supporting others, especially women, and help them gain the skills and confidence critical not only for their own success, but to the success, engagement, and retention of their teams as well.

Krista A Medlock is a respected brand and marketing strategist with over 23 years of experience in brand development, activation, and growth. She has worked with small start-ups to global corporate entities, both B2C and B2B, and has anchored organizations in sound tactical planning and multi-channel execution. Krista has had success in market planning, campaign development, customer experience, corporate and brand strategy, email marketing, digital strategy, and channel partner cultivation.
She is the owner of Thriving Brands, a consultancy that has built a reputation for translating market opportunity into profitable growth plans for its brand partners. Krista is also an industry speaker at some of the largest industry forums and conferences. Having created and managed over 70 notable brands. She is a “go-to” for large-scale retail brands, global manufacturers, boutique brands, and start-ups.
Krista is a former titleholder in the USA and America pageant systems, including Miss Lake Highlands USA, Miss Highland Park USA, and Miss Richardson. She is a former model and pageant coach and was the Founder and Director of National Distinguished Women Beauty Pageants. Krista has appeared on Good Morning Texas, local television commercials, talk shows, training videos, and TV pilots.
Krista is the brainchild behind the most coveted luxury experience, The Weekender Dallas.
Leveraging her experiences as a successful business owner and beauty industry leader, she is a speaker for women around the country. Krista is a best-selling author and servant-led community advocate.
Krista Medlock’s personal mantra, “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible”, is the daily “grit” check that she uses in her personal and professional pursuits. Krista is a visionary who believes she can change the world. She uses her life experiences to inspire and activate purpose and potential. When she is not facing life head-on, she is watching a good Lifetime Movie, traveling, or enjoying a meal with her friends.

Dr. Karla Evans & Dr. Veronica Tetterton
Dr. Karla Evans is the co-founder of Anticipate Joy and Chief of Clinical Operations of Anticipate Joy, an innovative telehealth company offering mental health services. She is a licensed clinical psychologist and has served in various mental health settings including the federal prison system, psychiatric inpatient facilities, community clinics, and as an adjunct instructor. She has provided mental health treatment and services for the severely mentally ill and was the Director of Clinical Training for APA accredited doctoral interns. She has also conducted home studies, facilitating the placement of children through child protective services and provided training on caring for abused/neglected children. She has been a public speaker at conferences, leadership groups, and weekend retreats for adolescent and teen girls & marriage enrichment workshops. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Counseling in 2004 and her Master of Science degree in Counseling Psychology in 2005, both at Southwestern Assemblies of God University. In 2010, she received her doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology from Argosy University.
Dr. Evans always anticipates joy. Her friends would describe her as an eternal optimist who often has a word of wisdom sprinkled with humor. She energizes by connecting people to their purpose and guiding them on a journey toward hope, healing, and wholeness. She adores her husband and four joyful young boys.
Dr. Veronica Tetterton is the Co-founder and Chief of Operations of Anticipate Joy, an innovative telehealth company offering mental health services. She is a licensed clinical psychologist with over 15 years of experience in the mental health field. She worked for the federal government for eight years, in various roles overseeing the operations of a residential drug treatment program and a trauma treatment program. She left the government sector to establish a private practice specializing in psychological evaluations. She established the company as a high-quality provider of disability assessments and risk management evaluations. She later went on to co-found Anticipate Joy, a company that has been awarded the Community Impact Award by the Otis and Rosie Brown Foundation for their extraordinary efforts to provide mental health services to their community.
Dr. Tetterton obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in 2000. In 2002, she obtained a Master of Science degree in Research Psychology, graduating with honors from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. In 2006, she received a Doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology at the University of Alabama, where she was recognized with the Joffre and Zadie B. Whisenton Award for achieving the highest academic standing.
Dr. Tetterton is also a published author and public speaker who is sought out for her passion for sharing strategies that empower people to live their best life. She is an eternal champion of hope. She is happily married to her best friend of 20 years and she is the mother of three.
Ebony Travis Tichenor, MBA, PHR:
Background: Embark on an enriching narrative journey with Ebony Travis Tichenor, a seasoned professional whose life echoes a tale of resilience, authenticity, and holistic inclusivity. Born in Joliet, Illinois, and raised into a blend of Black and Mexican heritage in the quaint realm of Mathis, Southern Texas, Ebony’s story is a testament to the transformative power of embracing one’s identity amidst diversity and challenges.
Her academic and professional journey, marked by a spirited venture into online education while navigating the demanding environs of Corporate America, showcases her relentless drive. With 26 enriching years in the corporate sector in the healthcare industry, she climbed from an administrative role to pivotal managerial and directorial positions, with her heart and focus always steering towards fostering Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and promoting holistic health and wellbeing.
Experience: Ebony’s voice has resonated beyond the corporate halls, finding its echo in prestigious platforms where her insights on leadership, DEI, and authentic living have garnered widespread recognition and appreciation. Her feature in collaboration with other leaders in Forbes on “6 Leadership Resolutions to Kick-Start 2023” underscores her forward-thinking approach to leadership strategy, while her spotlight in CIO VIEWS Magazine (2022) titled “Promoting Accountability and Awareness around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is Personal for Ebony” offers a deep dive into her personal and professional commitment to DEI.
Her narrative continued to inspire in the Voyage Minnesota Magazine feature “Meet Ebony Travis Tichenor” (2021), and her engaging discourse on “Exploring Black History Month with Ebony Travis Tichenor of Boston Scientific” on a podcast with the Medical Alley Association shed light on her thoughtful reflections on heritage and inclusivity.
Expert Voice: Her narrative is not just a tale of personal and professional growth, but a resonant message on the power of authentic living, inclusivity, and visionary leadership. With a rich tapestry of experiences and a heart-driven towards fostering a culture of equity, living authentically, and holistic well-being, Ebony Travis Tichenor is more than a speaker. She is a thought leader, an inspiring narrative, and an authentic voice ready to bring a blend of insight, engagement, and transformation to your next event.

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Certified Lean Six Sigma 2-Hour White Belt Certification Course
2024-03-05 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

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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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Community Event: Ft Worth Botanic Garden
2024-03-22 09:00 - 12:00 | Fort Worth Botanic Garden, 3220 Botanic Garden Blvd., Fort Worth, TX, 76107
Join your fellow ACHENTX members to volunteer some time and give back to the community!
Our group of ACHENTX volunteers will be helping the Fort Worth Botanic Garden and Botanical Research Institute of Texas’ horticulturalist in the Tinsley Rock Springs Garden. Volunteer tasks will likely be clearing plant beds, watering, and planting Spring flowers.
All volunteers are encouraged to bring water, gloves, a hat, sun protection and if you want, some snacks as well. All attendees will be asked to sign a liability waiver.
What do we wear: Please wear closed toe shoes and weather appropriate clothing.
All registrants must be 18 years of age or older.
Please note: If you register for this event, please make every effort to attend. If you find you are no longer able to attend, please notify us right away so we can try to fill your slot. We have only a limited number of volunteer spaces available for this program and we have committed to supporting the Botanic Garden with this level of support.

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After Hours Networking Event: Maple Branch Brewery
2024-04-02 18:00 - 19:30 | Maple Branch Craft Brewery, 2628 Whitmore Street, Fort Worth, TX, 76107
Come out and join members of ACHE of North Texas and North Texas Association for Healthcare Quality (NTAHQ) for this after hours networking event at the Maple Branch Brewery in Fort Worth.
Your event tickets include two drink tickets and food.
Space is limited, so be sure to register early!

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ACHENTX Virtual New Member Orientation
2024-04-04 15:00 - 15:30 | Virtual
Join us for a brief online orientation to ACHENTX!
All new (and new-ish) members of ACHE of North Texas are encouraged to attend this session to hear about how the chapter works, how we’re organized, opportunities for you to be invovled and ways you can maximize your ACHE membership.
All are welcome!

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