Multi-Chapter Education Event

For the second year in a row, the below four ACHE chapters are joining forces to offer an incredible education event. Offering up to 6.0 approved Face-to-Face credits, it’s a great opportunity to learn, meet new colleagues and network — all close to home and at an extremely reasonable rate!

Hosted by the following ACHE Chapters:

ACHE of East Texas
ACHE of North Texas
Sooner Healthcare Executives
Texas Midwest Healthcare Executives

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Agenda

7:30-8:30am – Registration

8:30-9am – Networking

9-10:30am – Panel #1: Financial Management: Walking the Public Reporting Systems Minefield (USNWR, CMS Star Ratings)

Moderator: Nick Kagal, FACHE
Senior Director
Premier Inc.

Panelists:
David Nilasena, MD
Chief Medical Officer, Region VI
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Marisa Valdes
Director, STEEP Analytics, Strategy, Operations
Baylor Scott & White Health

Kellie Webb
Director of Federal Affairs
Premier Inc.

Sheri Winsper
Chief Quality Officer
Texas Health Resources

10:30am-10:45am – Break

10:45am-12:15pm – Panel #2: Law/Regulatory: Stark Implications and Other Concerns in the Changing Sphere of Physician-Owned Medical Office Buildings

Moderator: Chris Whybrew, FACHE
Principal
Whybrew Medical Management, LLC

Panelists:
Darrell Armer
Partner, Healthcare Attorney
Gray Reed Attorneys & Counselors

Elise Brennan
Partner & Healthcare Operations Attorney
Conner & Winters

Heidi Matancsi
Director of Business Development
Boldt Company

Darin Miller
Chief Executive Officer
Miller Architects Inc.

12:15-1:15pm – Lunch

1:15-2:45pm – Panel #3: Quality/Patient Safety: Leading a Culture of Safety: A Blueprint for Success Lead and Reward a Just Culture and Establish Organizational Behavior Expectations

Moderator: Brian Bessent, FACHE
Vice President
Henrick Health System

Panelists:
Ben Ikard
Director of strategy & Innovation
Stephenson Cancer Center

Ajith Pai, FACHE
President
Texas Health Cleburne

Lorie Thibodeaux
Quality Improvement Manager
Parkland Health & Hospital System

Laura Weber
Vice President Clinical Effectiveness & Patient Safety
Methodist Health

2:45-3pm – Break

3-4:30pm – Panel #4: Leadership: Strategies to Create Meaningful Executive Alignment with Physicians and Organizational Financial Goals

Moderator: Ken Hutchenrider, FACHE
President
Methodist Richardson Medical Center

Panelists:
Sam Bagchi
Chief Clinical Officer
CHRISTUS Health

Fraser Hay, FACHE
President
Texas Health Hurst-Euless-Bedford

Neil Pithadia
Senior Director
Baylor Scott & White Health

A special thanks to our venue host, Baylor Scott & White The Heart Hospital-Plano, and to Aramark for providing us our lunch!

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Speakers Bios:

Darrell Armer is a Partner at Gray Reed Attorneys & Counselors. An experienced dealmaker and strategic advisor for a diverse group of healthcare clients, Darrell Armer focuses his practice on structuring complex commercial transactions that not only achieve his clients’ business goals, but also minimize risk within strict regulatory frameworks. Leader of the Healthcare Transactions Practice Group, he has over 20 years of experience managing all aspects of the organization, reorganization, funding, operation and merger/acquisition of a variety of providers, including hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, physical therapy companies, diagnostic imaging centers, medical and dental practices, and home health agencies, as well as various provider networks. He is Board Certified in Health Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Darrell has negotiated and structured numerous mergers and acquisitions of healthcare providers on behalf of both sellers and buyers. This unique experience working on both sides of the deal helps Darrell anticipate many issues that typically arise and resolve them proactively before they can impede negotiations or break the deal altogether. Darrell also serves as outside general counsel for many of his clients, guiding them through a variety of operational and administrative matters, including Medicare/Medicaid and other third-party reimbursement and appeals, licensure issues with state boards, cyber security and related breaches, vendor contracts plus much more.

Keeping clients out of trouble is also a substantial part of Darrell’s practice. He helps clients maintain compliance with all federal and state regulations that impact entity structuring, commercial transactions and day-to-day operations, particularly the Stark Law and the Anti-Kickback Statute, HIPAA and other privacy laws, and antitrust considerations. Darrell also plays a significant role in protecting clients when they’re facing potential civil or criminal liability in government investigations or litigation involving alleged fraud or other regulatory violations. He works hand-in-hand with the firm’s white-collar lawyers, providing valuable insight on the substantive regulatory issues involved to ensure that clients achieve the best outcome possible.

Brian Bessent, FACHE, is the Vice President, Coordinated and Quality Care at Hendrick Health System. Brian received his Bachelor of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from Hardin Simmons University in 1996 and Master of Science in 1998 from the University of North Texas. He began working at Hendrick in 1999 and served as Director of Rehabilitation and Director of Transitional Services until he was promoted to Vice President in 2013. Brian is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. He oversees Quality, Performance Improvement and Accreditation, Rehabilitation Services, Pharmacy, Pulmonary Services, Long-Term Acute Care, Hendrick Medical Supply (DME), Hendrick Hospice Care, Hendrick Housecalls Home Health, Pathways Palliative Care program, and Patient Engagement.

Brian is on the Board of Directors of the Abilene Industrial Foundation, Hardin-Simmons University Board of Development, Dyess Air Force Base Military Affairs Committee, the Institute of Healthcare Executives and Suppliers and the Texas Hospital Association, Education Committee. He serves as an Honorary Commander for Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene and a Board Member for Junior Achievement of Abilene.

Sam Bagchi, M.D. is an industry innovator and problem solver, building a solid reputation for successful high-level informatics and quality initiatives in leading U.S. health systems. For more than a decade, his quest to bring together clinical and quality strategies with the promise of health IT has consistently uncovered new best-practices—many now serving as a guide for other healthcare organizations navigating the industry’s shift to value-based care.

Dr. Bagchi currently serves as the Senior Vice President, CMO and Chief Medical Information Officer of Christus Health (Irving, Texas). In his dual role, Dr. Bagchi oversees clinical operations, quality control and informatics while also establishing strong working relationships with Christus’ 14,000 physician leaders. He previously served as the senior vice president and CMO of Dallas-based Methodist Health System and chief medical and quality officer of Presence Health in Chicago. As the Chief Medical Officer and Chief Medical Informatics Officer at CHRISTUS Health, Dr. Bagchi drove clinical and quality strategy by leading initiatives that advanced performance and practice standards across one of the largest and most progressive health networks in the US and Latin America.

He provided the vision and direction for a diverse list of system functions including system quality/risk, care management, clinical informatics, telehealth, hospitalists, emergency medicine and clinical analytics. This broad area of focus equipped Dr. Bagchi with uncommon insights into the challenges and opportunities facing today’s health systems as they move towards highly reliable care delivery.

A board certified internal medicine physician, Dr. Bagchi previously served as Senior Vice President, Chief Medical Officer for Methodist Health System, a seven-hospital health system in Texas. He was recruited to Methodist to build a clinical informatics platform and department around the organization’s quality and patient safety initiatives. Dr. Bagchi earned his medical degree from Indiana University and completed the Internal Medicine residency program at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where he served as a Harvard teaching fellow. His insights have appeared in numerous trade publications, and he is sought after regularly to speak on informatics, quality and performance excellence. In 2018, Dr. Bagchi was named to the prestigious Becker’s Top 100 Health System Chief Medical Officers to know in the US.

Elise Dunitz Brennan has practiced healthcare law for over 30 years. Her practice concentrates on the general representation of healthcare systems, including hospitals, pharmaceutical and device companies, and long-term care facilities. She specializes in operational and regulatory support, compliance planning, mergers and acquisitions, HIPAA, billing issues, Medicare, Antikickback and Stark, EMTALA, managed care, physician recruitment, physician medical staff issues, licensure, Certificate of Need and Change of Ownership, peer review hearings, fraud and abuse, risk management and new service development. Recently, her practice has included healthcare provider integration initiatives such as ACOs, service line collaborations and non-clinical joint ventures, and healthcare provider and payor contracting issues. She also serves as an Arbitrator on the Commercial and Healthcare Panel of the American Arbitration Association and as an Arbitrator, Mediator and Trainer for the American Health Lawyers Association. Chambers USA, the leading evaluator of attorneys, referred to Ms. Brennan as “an outstanding healthcare lawyer with a strong suit in the representation of institutions and transactions.” Ms. Brennan is the only Oklahoma attorney elected as a Fellow of the American Health Lawyers Association.

Fraser Hay, FACHE, is the President of Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford (THHEB), where he has served since the beginning of 2018. He has worked as an executive in progressive leadership roles within Texas Health Resources since 2010, first at Texas Health Southwest Fort Worth and then Texas Health Plano, before moving to THHEB.

In his current role, Fraser oversees the daily operations, strategic planning, business development, continuous improvement, and hospital culture for the more than 1,400 employees, 200 volunteers, and 800 active staff physicians and allied health professionals.

Throughout his career, Fraser has overseen more than $95 million in construction projects and has been known for his collaborative leadership style that focuses on building partnerships with physicians and hospital staff to collectively enhance the care provided.

Fraser received his BBA in Finance from the University of Oklahoma and then his Masters’ in Health Administration from Trinity University in San Antonio. He completed his residency with INTEGRIS Health in Oklahoma City.

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 and community by serving on the Boards of the North Texas Chapter of ACHE, HEB ISD Education Foundation, and Good Shepherd Catholic Community’s Pastoral Advisory Committee.

Ken Hutchenrider, Jr., FACHE, joined Methodist Richardson Medical Center as President in July, 2010.

He has more than 25 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. Pam Stoyanoff, Chief Operations Officer of Methodist Health System has said “Ken is an outstanding leader with a proven track record in operational excellence.”

Additional accomplishments include the establishment of a new wound care center, recruitment and stabilization of the NICU physician group, development of the Da Vinci surgical program, and the successful recruitment/employment of new medical staff members. Under his direction, Methodist Richardson has received accreditations as a Chest Pain Center, a Stroke Center, and achieved nursing Pathway to Excellence. Ken has recently accepted responsibility for Construction and Engineering for the Methodist Health System.

Prior to July 2010, Ken served as the Chief Executive Officer of Galesburg Cottage Hospital, in Galesburg, Illinois. There, he successfully and effectively managed all facets of the 173 bed acute care facility, including a skilled nursing unit, inpatient psychiatric unit, a joint venture outpatient therapy unit, and a joint venture dialysis unit.

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 Shift 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 has served as the Chairman of the Richardson Chamber of Commerce and President of the Plano Independent School District Foundation. Ken is an enthusiastic supporter of the PISD Health Sciences Academy. Currently, Ken serves as the Regent for Northern Texas for the American College of Healthcare Executives. Finally, Ken has recently been elected to Richardson City Council as the Councilman 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.

Ben Ikard serves as the Director of Strategy and Innovation at Oklahoma’s only NCI Designated Cancer Center. In his various previous roles at the Stephenson Cancer Center, he has been instrumental in the expansion of services and implementation of protocols and technology, allowing for safer administration and mixing of chemotherapy. He has served as the Director of Patient Financial Services, managing the design, implementation and governance of financial clearance and revenue cycle activities at Stephenson Cancer Center. Ben is an active member in his community and graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a Masters in Business Administration and BBA in Entrepreneurship, Venture Management, and Finance and Accounting.

Nick Kagal, FACHE, is the Senior Director for Customer Success for the Western US with Premier Inc. He has over 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry, and has held leadership roles with several major DFW provider organizations. In his role at Premier, Nick has oversight for supporting Premier member hospitals achieve breakthroughs in operational & clinical process improvement and engagement in healthcare quality & safety collaborative efforts, including QUEST and the Partnership for Patients initiative.

Nick has extensive experience working with multiple healthcare providers supporting their technology and informatics strategies. He has served as Vice President of Business Development for an EMR vendor and for a healthcare focused ERP organization. Nick received his BA in Biology & Psychology from Austin College and an MBA from the Texas A&M University. He is a Fellow in both ACHE & HIMSS. Nick is also a national reviewer, presenter and moderator for the Annual HIMSS Global Conference & Exhibition education sessions.

Heidi Matancsi serves as the Director of Business Development for the Boldt Company’s healthcare real estate development and investment arm.  She assists health systems and hospitals nationwide to implement their real estate strategy through innovative financial offerings and unique lease structures.  Heidi has also served as a physician advocate and leasing manager for projects ranging from ambulatory care facilities to health and wellness campuses.  Boldt owns and develops outpatient facilities nationwide and has developed over $2.5 billion in healthcare real estate since 2000.

Darin Miller is the founder and current CEO of Miller Architects Inc. and the co-founder of Miller Neff Development.  He holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Oklahoma and attended Harvard University for graduate studies in future healthcare planning and design. Darin has over 30 years of experience in healthcare design, development and construction, having completed hundreds of healthcare projects across the United States. He is a licensed architect in 30 states and is a registered Interior Designer.  Mr. Miller continues to fund and develop healthcare facilities with a current ownership position in over a half million square feet of healthcare facilities.

Dr. David Nilasena is the Chief Medical Officer of the CMS Dallas Regional Office. He also serves as the regional lead for the agency’s Value-Based Purchasing initiatives and a lead contact for the HITECH Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program. Dr. Nilasena has been the CMS lead for national quality improvement efforts in Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI), Heart Failure, and Stroke. Dr. Nilasena is board certified in General Preventive Medicine/ Public Health and has Masters of Science degrees in both Public Health and Medical Informatics from the University of Utah.

Ajith Pai, Pharm.D., FACHE, became president of Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Cleburne in September 2018. Before joining Texas Health Cleburne, he was the professional and support services officer at Texas Health Kaufman.

Pai was born at Texas Health HEB and later began his career there in 1999 as a certified pharmacy technician. In 2011, he became the director of pharmacy at Texas Health Kaufman, where he oversaw the day-to-day operations and championed safe, quality-driven patient care through the implementation of best practices and improved clinical monitoring.

He received his Doctorate of Pharmacy from Texas Tech School of Pharmacy and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Texas at Dallas. He is also a graduate of Texas Health’s Talent Acceleration Program.

Pai is involved in his community through memberships on various committees including the Chamber of Commerce, Leadership North Texas, ACHE North Texas, and the ACHE Asian Healthcare Leaders Forum.

In his free time, Pai enjoys spending time and traveling with his wife Myriam, and their daughter, Elyse. He’s also an avid runner and has participated in more than 15 marathons across the country.

Neil Pithadia is a healthcare executive with 12 years of experience in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. As a Director of Baylor Scott & White (BS&W) Physician Services, Neil has oversight of the physician medical group for hospital-based services across Northern Texas. Neil is currently working on a physician growth strategy including compensation changes towards value-based payments for intensivists and critical care-based services. BS&W is the largest non-profit healthcare system in Texas, including 48 hospitals, 662 primary care and specialty clinics and a health plan with more than 245,000 members.

Prior to this, Neil was the Chief Strategy Officer at Tenet Healthcare Northern California. There he was responsible for driving top line growth to an inpatient care network of three hospitals including oversight of physician services.

Neil started his healthcare career in Academic Medicine working at notable institutions like the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center where he ran outpatient and ambulatory surgical services.

Prior to his healthcare career, Neil worked as a research scientist for Pfizer, Inc and also spent a year at the National Institute working as an associate in Bethesda, MD. A trained Cellular, Molecular Biologist and Medical Informaticist, Neil has a unique perspective into the industry.

Neil spends his free time in the start-up world. He launched a transportation business as an Undergrad at the University of Michigan and remains close to his start-up roots. Neil is educated at notable institutions such as Harvard Business School, University of Michigan and Texas

Tech University. Neil holds an MBA, an MS in Medical Informatics and BS in Cell, Molecular Biology. He also holds certifications such as the FACHE, FACMPE.

Lorie Thibodeaux, MHA, ITILv3, HACP, CPHQ is a Quality Improvement Leader who has demonstrated extensive experience in healthcare quality, research, process improvement, and program development. She has shown exceptional leadership in various healthcare settings and management of high complex projects. She joined Parkland during the Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA) and led enterprise-wide projects, executive project meetings with board of managers, leadership, department heads, physicians, providers, and other clinicians to discuss strategic goals, and work on process improvements and successfully closed the CIA. Building a safety culture and teamwork in high-risk environments is no easy task. During this time, Lorie was instrumental on critical projects to the success and sustainability required through the journey towards building trust, eliminating fear, and examining close calls, unsafe conditions, and examining errors. An example of projects that received high recognition includes the enterprise-wide mislabeled specimen project: She worked to construct an outstanding turnaround plan to decrease labeling errors by more than 50%. As a Performance Improvement Manager, Lorie shows strong motivation and leadership to help drive our organization into being a safer place.

In the fall of 2018, Parkland received the Triennial Hospital Accreditation from the Joint Commission.

Lorie holds an MHA from University of Missouri-Columbia and hold certifications in Information Technology Infrastructure Library, Health Accreditation Certification Program and Certified in Professional Health Quality.

In Lorie’s free time she enjoys making an impact to the Dallas community. She works actively with several charity organizations including the Young Texans against Cancer (YTAC) and serves as the Sponsorship Committee for the Junior Conservancy, Vice President of the Junior Chamber of Commerce, volunteer, and mentors others in her free time. She is also an active member of ACHE (on Diversity and WHEN committee), NAHSE, and founding the local chapter of NALHE. In addition to the committee and active roles that she plays in developing the Dallas and Parkland Community, she has developed an Employee Resource Group for Women at Parkland Health & Hospital System.

Marisa Valdes, RN, MSN, CPHQ, serves as Director of the Value-Based Quality & Regulatory Operations department.

In this role, she is responsible for keeping the quality teams abreast of regulatory matters that affect the measurement and reporting of BSWH performance metrics; collaborating with BSWH service lines, leaders and clinicians to develop reporting initiatives; overseeing specified facility and system surveys; establishing measure documentation protocols; and monitoring the BSWH data reported by external entities.

Marisa also has an extensive background in the science of health care improvement and served as associate director at Parkland Health Care Systems in Dallas, overseeing the performance improvement team and the public quality reporting programs.

Kellie Webb is the Director of Federal Affairs at Premier Inc. She has more than 10 years of progressive experience in managing top-tier policy and healthcare improvement projects with solutions focused on quality, safety & data analytics. Kellie has expertise in driving both cost reduction and increases in positive patient outcomes. In her various roles at Premier she has led policy analysis, research and development and has established herself as a national expert on healthcare quality, payment and compliance policies that impact hospitals, outpatient facilities and physicians.

Kellie has an MBA in Health Policy & Leadership from Baylor University and a BS in Biology from Stephen F. Austin University.

Laura Weber serves as the system VP for quality & safety at Methodist Health System in Dallas, Texas. Working in collaboration with hospital and corporate leadership and staff to advance patient safety culture and practice in an effort to “always be ready for our next patient, rather than being ready for our next survey”. Laura has more than 25 years of experience in healthcare and began her career as a bed-side RN in critical care. Prior to joining MHS, Laura served in several leadership roles focusing on performance improvement, patient safety and quality improvement in both entity and system level positions. During her career, Laura has led initiatives to reduce hospital-acquired conditions, implementation of strategic quality improvement practices and transforming organizational culture to one of high reliability.

Laura has spent several years on the board of examiners for the National Baldrige Program, last serving as an alumni examiner in 2015. Laura also served on the Panel of Judges for the state-based Baldrige award program—Texas Award for Performance Excellence [TAPE] from 2013-2015.

In these roles, Laura has functioned as an examiner team lead and worked with senior leaders in several organizations to implement the Baldrige Framework into their operating systems and organizational culture.

Laura received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from the University of Texas at Arlington and holds a Master of Business Administration/Health Care Management degree from the University of Phoenix. Laura is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality [CPHQ].

When she isn’t working, Laura enjoys spending time with her family in both the beautiful mountains of New Mexico and on the beaches of the Caribbean.

Chris Whybrew, FACHE, is a seasoned healthcare executive with over 20 years of experience serving for-profit health systems such as HCA, Community Health Systems, Vanguard Health System, and Capella. Mr. Whybrew has also served independent not-for-profit hospitals. During his career, Mr. Whybrew has served in executive roles ranging from Chief Development Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Whybrew has lead hospitals ranging from 60 bed community hospitals to 336 bed suburban regional referral centers.

While serving as a senior executive, Mr. Whybrew has led operational turn arounds, improved customer service performance, developed and implemented new clinical service lines, developed, integrated hospital employed physician practices, and developed regional referral networks. Mr. Whybrew has also lead design and construction of clinical units and facilities. Most recently, Mr. Whybrew lead the design team for an Emergency Center replacement at McAlester Regional Health Center, which incorporated significant Lean/Six Sigma process improvement and Lean construction design concepts.

Presently, Mr. Whybrew owns a healthcare consulting firm, Whybrew Medical Management, LLC, that serves physician groups, small to medium size hospitals, surgical hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers. Mr. Whybrew’s primary services focus on strategic planning, growth and development, operations improvement, as well as interim management services.

Mr. Whybrew is a native of Memphis and Nashville, TN, and currently lives in Tulsa, OK. He is a Board certified healthcare executive with the American College of Healthcare Executives and is President of ACHE’s Oklahoma Chapter, Sooner Healthcare Executives. He earned his Masters of Business Administration at The Jack Massey School of Business at Belmont University, in Nashville, TN. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Management at Austin Peay State University. He is also an active member at Evergreen Baptist Church, in Tulsa.

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