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Palliative Care: Advancing Quality and Improving Costs
This panel has been approved for 1.50 ACHE In-Person Education Credits.
As part of the continuum of care, the palliative care model incorporates a multidisciplinary team approach that includes health professionals and family members to focus on the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of patients. Palliative care encourages a radical shift from traditional delivery of prolonged, unnecessary medical treatment to providing patients with care centered on quality of life. This program will address palliative care and its impact on the quality and cost issues central to healthcare reform.
Moderator: George Roberts Jr, FACHE
Chief Executive Officer
Northeast Texas Public Health District
Panelists:
Tiffany Evans
Clinical Social Worker
CHRISTUS Good Shepherd Medical Center
Laura Ferguson, MD
Medical Director
Hospice of East Texas
Andy Navarro
Vice President, Mission Integration
CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances
Tickets include: Heavy Appetizers & Refreshments; parking free.
Register Here
Speakers’ Bios:
Tiffany Evans is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Advanced Certified Hospice and Palliative Social Worker with a BSW and MSW from Stephen F. Austin State University. After many years of building a career in hospice and palliative care, Tiffany has recently stepped into a new role as the first LCSW at the new CHRISTUS Health Cancer Center in Longview, TX. Outside of work, Tiffany can usually be found with her family or on a pickleball court and is an active member of the Gladewater Parks and Recreation board, the UT Tyler School of Social Work Advisory Committee, the Secretary/Treasurer for the Gladewater Pickleball Association, and a loyal attendee at a monthly book club.
Dr. Laura Ferguson has been practicing in East Texas since 2008. She attended medical school at UT-Houston and trained in Internal Medicine and Hospice and Palliative Medicine at The University of Alabama in Birmingham. She serves as the medical director for The Hospice of East Texas and Texas Palliative Care, and partners with The University of Texas – Tyler as the Program Director of the Hospice and Palliative Medicine fellowship. Dr. Ferguson is happily married and the mother of two boys. Her passion is advancing care for those with incurable conditions and her heart is most fulfilled when caring for her patients.
Andy Navarro and his wife, Linda, have lived in Tyler since 1987. He and his wife are blessed with three extraordinary adult children, one wonderful son-in-law and three precious grandchildren. Andy earned his Associate of Arts degree from Tyler Junior College in 1982; Bachelor’s in Business degree from Centenary College in 1984; and Doctor of Jurisprudence from SMU School of Law in Dallas in 1987. Andy also earned his Master’s in Health Care Mission from the Aquinas Institute of Theology in 2018. From 1997 to 2013, Andy served as Legal Counsel for Trinity Mother Frances Hospitals and Clinics. From 2013 to 2016, Andy served as Regional General Counsel for CHRISTUS Health. Andy played an important role in bringing Trinity Mother Frances and CHRISTUS Health together in May of 2016. Currently, Andy serves as the Vice President of Mission Integration for CHRISTUS Northeast Texas and CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances. During the course of his professional career, Andy has been actively involved in numerous community and professional organizations and has served as an Adjunct Professor of Health Law at the University of Texas at Tyler.
In recognition of his service, Andy received, among others, the Smith County Outstanding Young Lawyer Award; the Tyler Junior College Valuable Young Alumni Award; and the Tyler Chamber of Commerce’s prestigious W.C. Windsor Award. Andy also received the Vatican’s Benemerenti Medal from then Pope John Paul II for his generous life-long service to the Catholic community. Andy is passionate about loving and serving God by loving and serving others, especially the poor and vulnerable.
George T. Roberts, Jr., has served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Northeast Texas Public Health District (NET Health) since November 2006. Services provided by NET Health include Community Outreach, Disease Surveillance, Environmental Health, Immunization, Tuberculosis Control, Public Health Emergency Preparedness, Regional Laboratory, Vital Statistics, and WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) Program. The Health District primarily serves Tyler and Smith County but also provides some services in 21 counties in East Texas. The WIC Program serves a 20 county area and Public Health Preparedness serves a 7 county region.
Mr. Roberts has over 40 years of health care experience, the majority of which was spent in hospital administration, having previously served at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler, and Henderson Memorial Hospital in Henderson, Texas. He received his Bachelor of Business Administration from SMU in Dallas and a Master’s Degree in Health Administration from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. He is a Fellow in the American College of Health Care Executives (ACHE), and he currently serves on the Board of the East Texas ACHE Chapter. He is a member of the Board of the American Board of Preventive Medicine, the Texas Health Institute, Carter BloodCare, Mosaic Counseling, the Piney Woods Regional Advisory Council, and the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce. He is Past President of the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) and the Texas Association of City and County Health Officials (TACCHO), and the Past Chairman of the Texas Health Institute. Mr. Roberts is active in a number of church, community, and statewide efforts. Mr. Roberts has been married to his wife Leslie for 37 years, and they have 2 children – Claire (32) and Travis (27).
