Past IDN Summit Faculty
Jean Marie Abraham is currently the Wegmiller Professor of Healthcare Administration in the Division of Health Policy and Management located within the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota. Prior to joining the University of Minnesota faculty, Dr. Abraham completed her Ph.D. in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University in 2001. Dr. Abraham’s area of expertise is health economics and policy. She has published more than 60 peer-reviewed articles investigating issues including access to and cost of employer-based health insurance, the effectiveness of employer wellness programs, competition in insurance and hospital markets, and the impact of federal health reform on individuals, insurers, employers, and providers. During academic year 2008-2009, Jean served as the senior economist on health issues for the President’s Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) in Washington, D.C. In this non-partisan role, Jean provided technical expertise to White House senior leadership and participated on the Obama Administration’s inter-agency work group to develop policy positions later adopted in the Affordable Care Act. Beginning February 2016, Dr. Abraham assumed the role of Director of the Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA) Program, which is currently ranked third nationally by U.S. News and World Report. The Minnesota MHA program has graduated more than 2,500 individuals, many of whom have pursued leadership roles in healthcare delivery and financing organizations. In her position, Jean has responsibility for all aspects of the full-time and executive cohorts (approximately 130 students total), including curriculum, instructional quality, and student performance.
Tim Alba is a Partner with Caldwell Butler and Associates (CBA), a leading resource in the strategic application of advance quality methods in healthcare that bolster leadership development and drive margin improvement. Prior to CBA Tim served as Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Business Analytics with Aramark Healthcare where he developed and managed relationships with group purchasing organizations, consulting firms, shared services organizations and leading industry professional associations. His healthcare experience includes management consulting – operational and clinical performance improvement – cost accounting, patient throughput improvement and purchased services contracting. He previously worked at Premier, Inc, and TrecaHealth. He began his career at SunHealth Alliance providing operational management consulting services in hospitals. Throughout his career, Tim has created partnerships, bringing organizations together with common objectives and aligned incentives. The results are new solutions and services that address unmet needs; identifying and solving for opportunity gaps that others don’t see. He led the development of new solutions that address operational and clinical quality including an approach named as Honorable Mention for AHA Nova Award. His publications include insights into benchmarking (operational and clinical) and frameworks for managing patient populations across a continuum, such as: Journal for Clinical Engineering, Managed Care Quarterly, Topics in Health Care Financing, Journal of Cardiovascular Management, and Quality Management in Healthcare. His background provides the expertise to rapidly analyze clients’ needs and match them to applicable methods to optimize performance. He holds degrees in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from Virginia. Tech, has completed the Aramark Strategic Leadership Program (provide by Smeal College of Business at Penn State) and is a certified facilitator for Juran Business Process Quality Management. Tim is a Fellow in the ACHE and a member of HFMA. Tim lives in Charlotte NC, enjoys outdoor sports with his family and regularly volunteers with community service organizations supporting high school youth.
Debora Alessi, MBA, C.P.M.
Debora Alessi is the director of contracting for the surgical and nursing service lines for CCG, a Premier member. She is responsible for the negotiation, planning and consensus building for about half of the current CCG contracts. Throughout her 30-year career in health care supply chain management, she has been called on to led projects involving process improvement, change management and leadership development. During her tenure with CCG, she has driven the process to develop several supply formularies. In addition to CCG, her collaborative experience includes serving on the board of a regional collaborative of 14 competing health care systems.
She is a lifetime Certified Professional Purchasing Manager and an adjunct professor and lecturer for the College of Business Administration at Niagara University. She is a past president of ISM-Buffalo and has won numerous awards from that organizationJeff Ashkenase oversees the Value Analysis, Sterile Processing, and Workforce Solutions services at Nexera. He has worked in the healthcare industry for more than 20 years in the nonprofit, managed care, group purchasing, and government settings. Throughout his career, he has been responsible for managing costs, implementing systems, optimizing the supply chain, and improving decision support and the budgeting process through the use of technology. Jeff has a track record of managing change effectively and improving the financial performance of both his clients and his company. Jeff also serves as Executive Vice President of Acurity, Nexera’s sister group purchasing organization, where he oversees the Business Solutions, Strategic Contracting Services, Project Management, Technology, and Analytics divisions. Jeff is a seasoned speaker and educator. He has given presentations at national healthcare conferences, such as the Becker’s Hospital Review Annual Meeting, the Premier Annual Breakthroughs Conference and Exhibition, AHRMM Conference and Exhibition, IDN Summit and Reverse Exposition, PeopleSoft’s HEUG Conference, and the Puerto Rico Hospital Association Annual Meeting. He has served on Premier’s Strategic Advisory Committee, the Global Healthcare Exchange Product Council, the Coalition of Healthcare eStandards, the Federation of American Hospitals Exposition Advisory Committee, and the Healthcare Supply Chain Association Exposition Steering Committee in addition to various Premier technology committees. He has also served as an adjunct professor for Long Island University’s Master of Public Administration program. Before joining the Greater New York Hospital Association family of businesses, he was Associate Vice President of Finance at Maimonides Medical Center, where his responsibilities included overseeing the budget, decision support department and materials management, and business information systems. Jeff earned his Bachelor of Arts from SUNY Albany and his Master of Public Administration from NYU Wagner.
Vice President of Talent and Organizational Development
Biltmore Center for Professional Development
As part of Navigant’s Healthcare performance excellence practice, Rob Austin works with health systems on rapid improvement of the supply chain, focusing on reducing cost and improving quality. Prior to Navigant, Rob worked at Allegheny Health Network, a seven-hospital system based in Pittsburgh. At Allegheny Health Network, he held various leadership roles including director of supply chain and director of business development. Rob also helped grow Provider Supply Chain Partners, a regionally- focused group purchasing organization, from 12 hospital members to 74 members during a three year period. This regional GPO managed over $1.3 billion in clinical and nonclinical spend. Previously, Rob worked for the supply chain consulting firm, The Denali Group. Rob also served in various supply chain delivery, sales, and leadership roles at SAP Ariba. Rob received his BA from Stanford University and his MBA from Case Western Reserve University.
John Bass is the Founder and CEO of Hashed Health, a healthcare blockchain innovation firm focused on building new digital infrastructure for healthcare. John has over 23 years of experience in healthcare technology with expertise in shared operating systems that build trust, transparency, and incentives across health value chains. Since 2015 John has been a leading voice in the development of the global healthcare blockchain market. At Hashed Health, John’s team focuses on community development, enterprise services, and blockchain solutions development. John is an internationally recognized speaker on value-based care, blockchain and decentralized healthcare technology. Prior to Hashed Health, John was CEO at InVivoLink, a care management start-up which sold to HCA in 2015. John’s experience also includes healthcare B2B startup empactHealth.com which was acquired by Medibuy/Global Healthcare Exchange. John is a native of Nashville and has a Chemistry degree from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Derrick Billups, MSM, FACHE, Director of Value Analysis for UC Health including the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, West Chester Hospital and the Daniel Drake Center. As system Director for Value Analysis, he has accountability for working collectively with the medical staff investigating products and processes that will improve operational or clinical efficiency, increase the quality of patient care and reduce supply expense. Duties include the management of the Value Analysis committee structure and process within UC Health supporting financial savings and efficiency targets. Process efforts include the evaluation of products / technologies to support opportunities related to utilization, standardization and cost reductions. Value Analysis structure committees include but are not limited to the service lines of Surgery, Nursing, Cardiovascular, Anesthesia, Wound Care, Critical Care, Orthopedic, Respiratory and Spine. Derrick has been at UC Health for 2 years. He previous work experience in the same field include Coastal Carolinas Health Alliance, Illucient Purchasing Alliance and Charleston Area Medical Center. He is board certified in healthcare management by the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Ali Birjandi has over 25 years of experience in healthcare performance optimization, and implementation of turn-around plans. Ali is nationally recognized as an expert in the design and deployment of system-wide Performance Improvement (PI) functions in major healthcare systems. He is an expert at developing corporate PI strategies, Six Sigma training programs, PMO development, and CQI expense reduction programs. Prior to joining CHRISTUS Health, Ali worked for Tenet Health System and ProMedica Health System as the VP of operational efficiency. Ali earned his BS degree in Operations Management along with MBA and MHA degrees from the University of Florida. Ali is certified as a Six Sigma Master Black Belt through ASQ and is a Certified Professional in Health Information Management Systems through HIMSS. Ali has been published numerous articles in national journals. Ali also co-authored the Discharge Planning Handbook for Healthcare, Productivity Press, New York 2008.
Jesse graduated summa cum laude with a B.B.A. in Finance from the University of Georgia and a J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School. He resides in Nashville with his wife and daughter.
Gen. Vincent Boles is a career Army officer with over 35 years of experience. Highlights include managing the nation’s $27 billion ammunition account, assuming command of the Army’s War Reserve equipment six weeks before the attacks of 9-11, and flexing into operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and other locations, as well as deployment to Kuwait in preparation for the invasion of Iraq with 142 personnel, growing to a force of 8,000 soldiers, civilians and contractors in 90 days. From Kuwait, the General was forward deployed into Iraq where he assumed command of the 16,000 personnel responsible for providing all logistical support and services to the 150,000 members of the coalition. Following redeployment from combat operations, Gen. Boles led the training of 120,000 soldiers before his final Army assignment, serving as the Army’s Chief Operating Officer for Logistics Operations, overseeing the logistics strategy for the 1.1 million soldier Army. Today, Gen. Boles is president of Vincent E. Boles Inc., a leadership and logistics consulting service.
System Director, Perioperative Services, and Transformation Team Officer
Trinity Health
• SC cost is less than 1% of all corporate overhead
• SC quality is ranked #5 among US Hospital Systems by Gartner
• SC outcomes of $50M+ each year in savings to the bottom line with an 8.1 Return on Investment (ROI)
Doug has successfully transitioned the delivery and management of the supply chain from a multi-individual hospital perspective to a centralized, high-performance corporate supply chain service center for 29 hospitals. Doug holds his BS, MBA, and Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (LSSGB) and is a member of AHRMM. He has published articles in Modern Healthcare, Journal of Healthcare Contracting, COO Magazine, HFMA, Healthcare Finance News, Supply Chain World, and was recognized in The Journal of Healthcare Contracting’s Top People to Watch.
Laura Bozell
Senior Vice President, Cornerstone Government Affairs;
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, University of Miami-UHealth System and Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine
John has recently retired as President of the Seton Family of Hospitals in Austin, Tx. He has over 36 years of executive leadership experience in operations and complex systems management. He has been a consistent contributor to quality, physician alignment, strategy, employee engagement, efficiency, productivity, and market growth. He has delivered results in progressively challenging roles and rapidly changing environments by effectively teaming with governing boards, management, and clinical staff to identify and implement solutions to diverse business challenges. John received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University and his Masters in Healthcare Administration from The George Washington University.
Deborah Brown is an Associate Director in the Healthcare practice of Navigant Consulting. She is an experienced strategic healthcare executive in hospital operations, clinical practice and supply chain. Most recently, she supported a large supply network with their activities towards Clinical to Supply Integration and their efforts to transform to value-based healthcare. Prior to her supply chain leadership experience, she was a Chief Nursing Officer for a top 100 hospital, where she was able to lead with “Quality as a Business Strategy.” She has been noted for innovation, adaptability and resilience. Deborah’s successful healthcare career has delivered large multimillion dollar savings and strong operational efficiencies. Deborah has a unique skill that allows for cross functional integration that is essential in reducing the cost of healthcare.
Director, Specialty Pharmacy Services
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Michelle Bush
Health Care Resource, Supply Chain, Materials Management, and Interim Staffing
R B Carlson and Associates, LLC
Bruce provides interim staffing to health care providers in the area of supply chain and materials management. Interim staffing assignments include seeking opportunities to identify substantial, long term savings and efficiencies for the health care provider. Bruce has over 30 years of progressively complex healthcare supply chain management experience in materials management, purchasing, logistics, supply chain, self-warehousing, performance improvement and performance measurement areas. These experiences have been earned by serving health care systems including: Tenant Healthcare Corporation, University of Indiana Medical Center, Ascension Health, and Valley Health System. Bruce earned his Master’s degree in management from Indiana Wesleyan University and his Bachelor’s degree in business administration from Central Methodist University.
Frank Cirillo is vice president, business strategy, Acurity, Inc. His main duties at Acurity are to bring value to health systems’ supply chain operations through group purchasing program participation and process improvement. Additionally, Frank provides consulting services to health systems with Acurity’s consulting arm Nexera. For the previous 25 years, Mr. Cirillo held several senior management positions at HHC. During the latter two years of his tenure, Mr. Cirillo, HHC’s first chief restructuring officer, led HHC’s priority project—the restructuring of HHC’s clinical and operational programs—yielding HHC an implementation change roadmap resulting in savings and additional revenues of over $300 million annually. For the prior 13 years, Frank was HHC’s chief operating officer responsible for a far-reaching span of control, including, but not limited to, supply chain operations and all contracting. Frank received his undergraduate degree from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, graduate training from St. John’s University, and holds certification from the “Top 40” executive management program administered by Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. He is also president/CEO of the Cirillo Consulting Group.
Armin Cline has 35 years of experience working for companies that supply healthcare providers with products and services. He joined Medtronic in early 2002 where he is currently President of Health Systems, responsible for Medtronic, Covidien Group commercial contracting activity with aggregate healthcare provider organizations including Group Purchasing Organizations (GPO’s), Purchasing Coalitions, the Federal Government and select integrated delivery networks. Prior to joining Medtronic, Armin spent 18 years with the American Hospital Supply and Baxter in sales, sales and marketing management and corporate sales positions. He has been responsible for contracting activity with aggregated provider purchasing organizations, including national GPOs and regional coalitions, since 1985. Armin was also with Bergen Brunswig for three years where he was Executive Vice President of Corporate Sales, and worked for Neoforma in 2000 as Vice President Supplier Relations. Armin graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Whitman College. He and his family live in the Boston area.
Alexandria Combs is a healthcare catalyst passionate about defining strategies that create new value by working at the intersection of tough healthcare business challenges with operational limitations in dynamic environments. Leveraging her experience in leadership of academic medical centers, healthcare consulting, and large-scale program growth and development, Alexandria consults on strategy and clinical transformation as well as with start-ups and companies focused on new market segments; Oregon Health & Science University, Stanford Health Care, and Kaiser Permanente are all recent/current clients. She is adept at establishing rapport and credibility with diverse groups ranging from clinical to technical teams. Alexandria has a history of consistently surpassing organizational performance goals by growing clinical business, maintaining strong financial performance, and enhancing the patient experience and employee engagement. Alexandria also has a strong commitment to improving health and health care systems globally, particularly focusing on countries with lean economies. She actively volunteers in medical missions in Africa and Asia, assisting with strategic planning, fundraising, and operational execution of the missions. Alexandria earned both her Masters of Science degree in Health Systems/Industrial Engineering and bachelor’s degree with honors in Industrial Engineering from Georgia Tech with a certificate in Organizational Psychology. Alexandria was selected as a fellow in the California Health Leadership College, participating in a year-long program dedicated to the development of “Next Generation CEOs”. She also holds a certificate in LEAN performance improvement training from BMGI and Joan Wellman Associates.
Sara E. Cosgrove, MD, MS, is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Disease at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and has a joint appointment in the Department of Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She serves as the Director of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program and the Associate Hospital Epidemiologist at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Cosgrove currently serves as President-Elect on the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America’s Board of Directors and was the previous Chair of its Antimicrobial Stewardship Committee. She is Assistant Deputy Editor of Clinical Infectious Diseases. She was a member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology Working Group on Antimicrobial Resistance and was recently appointed as a voting member to the Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria.
Senior Project Manager - Supply Chain
The University of Vermont Health Network
Deborah Dahl is the Vice President, Patient Care Innovation, at Banner Health. Debora’s significant introductions to Banner include iCare, an extensive acute care Telemedicine program including Tele-ICU, MED/Surg, eConsult and Primary Care for patients with chronic diseases. The eICU provides physicians and nurses to Banner ICUs and the iCare Med Surg monitors Med Surg patients 24/7 and is the beta for the eHospital concept. Prior to this, she was an Administrator for Banner Desert Medical Center, one of the largest and most comprehensive hospitals in Arizona. Deborah has also served as the Vice President of Technology and Materials, where she led the Technology Management and materials and Purchasing Services. She began her career with Samaritan Health System (prior to its merger, becoming Banner Health) in bioengineering and has held various engineering and management positions since. Deborah holds a BSE and an MBA from Arizona State University.
With nearly 30 years of experience in healthcare sales, marketing, and management, Dave Edwards is an enthusiastic champion of creating win/win scenarios through collaboration, particularly between healthcare providers and suppliers. He is an energetic leader with a proven record of sales success with a Fortune 50 company, a start-up-device company and as a partner in a small medical manufacturer.
Now an executive with the Premier healthcare alliance, his talents for motivating people, synthesizing complex ideas and building strong relationships across the healthcare supply chain, along with his engaging personality, make Dave one of the industry’s authorities on driving strategy, collaboration and organizational improvements. During his 16-year tenure with Premier, he has been the principal architect of Premier’s field force strategy and has been instrumental in propelling the alliance’s purchasing volume from $12 to $44 billion.Director of Innovation and Integration for Shared Clinical Services
Fairview Health Services
clients engage their employees to execute on strategy, vision, and values. In his provocative, inspiring and always entertaining talks, #1 bestselling leadership author Chester Elton provides real solutions to leaders looking to manage change, drive innovation, and lead a multi-generational workforce. Elton’s work is supported by research with more than 850,000 working adults, revealing the proven secrets behind high-performance cultures and teams.
Jim Eppel is President and Chief Executive Officer of UCare. Before joining UCare in June 2015, he was Senior Vice President of OptumInsight, a division of UnitedHealth Group. As such, Eppel provided internal and external consulting services in a variety of areas, including health insurance exchanges, patient engagement, and the assumption and management of health care services rick by provider entities. Prior to his work at Optum, Eppel was Chief Operating Officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota after serving five years in executive leadership roles for the health plan’s commercial markets, health management, revenue management for Allina Health, UnitedHealth Group, Medica, and MedCenters Healthcare. He began his career with KPMG Peat Marwick.
Clinical Pharmacist/Associate Professor
Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences & The Center for Rheumatology
Dr. Farrell is currently employed as an Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Her practice site is The Center for Rheumatology in Albany, NY where she provides a variety of clinical pharmacy services including pharmacotherapy consult services, self-injection counseling visits, off-label insurance approval service, and adverse event monitoring and reporting. She also serves as an associate medical officer for the Steffens Scleroderma Center. Dr. Farrell presents nationally and internationally on numerous rheumatic conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, scleroderma, pregnancy and lactation in rheumatic disease. She is affiliated with several professional organizations, including the American College of Rheumatology/Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals (ACR/ARHP), American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), and previously held officer positions for the New York State Council of Health-System Pharmacists (NYSCHP)-Northeastern Chapter. Dr. Farrell received her Doctor of Pharmacy Degree at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Albany, NY.
Jeffrey Feit, MD
Scott Gasiorek is the director of supply chain informatics at Trinity Health. His current role includes reference data management, supply chain systems administration and business intelligence. He has over 15 years of experience in healthcare systems management with large IDN's and as a consultant. Scott graduated with a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Miami and a Master's of Accountancy from Arizona State University.
Nila has worked at Kettering Health Network for over 30 years and has held her current role as the Strategic Sourcing Manager for the past 15 years. She has responsibility for value analysis and contracting for multiple clinical areas and facilitates several VA teams. Nila began her career at KHN as a staff nurse, moving into the role of Clinical Nurse Manger with a background in ICU and ED nursing. Nila is very active in the Association of Healthcare Value Analysis Professionals (AHVAP) and is a past president of the organization. She participated on the committee that coordinated the implementation of the AVAHP certification exam. She has spoken on both clinical and value analysis topics at state and national meetings, including the Ohio Hospital Association, the IDN Summit, The Association of Healthcare Value Analysis annual conference and Premier Breakthroughs. Nila earned her BSN from Miami University of Ohio and her Master’s degree from Andrews University in Michigan. She is one of first 35 people nationally to hold a certification in value analysis, the CVAHP.
As a Director with the Advisory Board’s Spend Performance Solutions division, Elizabeth Goodman-Bacon focuses primarily on clinical supply sourcing. Most recently, Elizabeth has led sourcing projects at major health systems across the country including MetroHealth, Intermountain Healthcare, Legacy Health, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Hurley Medical Center. In addition to her project-based work, Elizabeth currently serves as the lead strategic partner for all supply chain related work with the Advisory Board’s largest portfolio client. Previously, Elizabeth worked in Legislative Affairs & Strategic Management developing and executing strategic project related to state and federal reform implementation. Prior to her work within healthcare systems, Elizabeth had worked in the Research & Insight division of the Advisory Board Company, specifically focusing on service line strategy and new clinical technologies.
Vice President Emergency Preparedness
Hospital and Healthsystem Association of PA
Executive Director and Associate Dean of Innovation & Entrepreneurship for Bouve' Health Science College
Northeastern University
As senior vice president of supply chain, David A. Hargraves leads Premier’s core supply chain business, including sourcing, contract management, operations and business analytics. Hargraves joined Premier in 2015 to lead the negotiation teams responsible for developing contracts within Premier’s $50 billion portfolio. He was promoted to group vice president of strategic sourcing in 2016 assuming responsibility for all of Premier’s strategic sourcing initiatives. Hargraves has over 25 years of leadership experience, including more than 15 years in supply chain. Before joining Premier, Hargraves worked at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) for nine years as vice president of clinical supply chain. Hargraves served as adjunct professor of sustainable supply chain management at Chatham University and held supply chain leadership roles with Alcoa and Ariba. He was also a hospital corpsman and biomedical equipment technician for the U.S. Navy. Hargraves received his MBA with a concentration in healthcare finance from Waynesburg University and his BS from Duquesne University. He also has an AS in biomedical engineering technology from Penn State University.
AVP, Professional Services, Clinical Pharmacy, Clinical Laboratory and Disease Management
Martin Health System
Professionally, Dr Harlow is the Assistant Vice President for Professional Services at Cleveland Clinic – Martin Health System in Stuart Florida with responsibility for Pharmacy, Laboratory and Chronic Care Management. Dr. Harlow joined the Martin Health System as the Chief Pharmacy Officer coming from Carilion Clinic’s ACO as the Regional Director of Pharmacy Operations for Southwestern Virginia. Additionally, Dr. Harlow was previously the executive officer of PharmaDym PA, a clinical pharmacy consulting firm. His experience has also included Retail Pharmacy ownership, Home Infusion as well as Pharmacy Benefit Management.
Currently, Dr. Harlow serves as the Chair of the Florida Society of Health System Pharmacists Legislative and Regulatory Committee and has been a legislative resource for ASHP and has either been quoted or contributed to a variety of publications.
Recent accomplishments include:
Guest Speaker for Pfizer Pharmaceuticals National Sales Meeting 2019 on Drug Shortages
Featured in Forbes Magazine May 2018 – commentary on Drug Shortages
Janssen Pharmaceuticals - Health Systems Advisory Board - 2016
Project Designer of Martin Health Systems Comprehensive Health Management Program – ChaMPs 2014 – Research Publication Pending
CoAuthor of (IHARP) Improving Health of At Risk Rural Patient – A CMS Innovations center granted project ($4.6 million).- 2012
Contributor to: Supporting Health Care Reform through Advanced Pharmacy Practice – A Report the Surgeon General 2012
Currently, Dr. Harlow serves as the Chair of the Florida Society of Health System Pharmacists and has been a legislative resource for ASHP and has either been quoted or contributed to a variety of publications
Malcolm Henoch, M.D. is senior vice president and associate chief medical officer, acute care at Beaumont Health. In this role, Dr. Henoch is responsible for promoting excellence in clinical care at all Beaumont Health acute care hospitals. He comes to Beaumont Health from Oakwood, where he served as senior vice president and chief medical officer. He has provided executive leadership in clinical and medical staff affairs, graduate medical education, clinical strategic direction, and physician leadership development. He has also been chairman of Oakwood Physicians, providing leadership in the governance of that physician group practice. He is a member of the Beaumont Health board and is chairman of Oakwood Assurance Corporation. Prior to his position with Oakwood, Dr. Henoch served as president and CEO of University Mednet, a large multi-specialty physician group operating as a unit of University Hospitals Health System in Cleveland, OH. Board certified in gastroenterology and internal medicine, Dr. Henoch holds a Master of Business Administration from Case Western Reserve University and a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Maryland.
Kevin Hines
Michael joined CHRISTUS Health in August 1994, after serving in the United States Marine Corps. His supply chain journey began at CHRISTUS Spohn region (Corpus Christi, TX) for 8 years. He then transferred to the CHRISTUS Gulf Coast region (Houston, TX) for 10 years, and has been with Corporate Supply Chain for the past 4 years. During his career his experiences include procurement, contracting, inventory management and MM operations and logistics. In his current role he managers over $364 Million in annual spend related to purchased services. The Contracting Purchased Service Lines are all purchased services related but not limited to Facilities Management, Clinical Engineering, Housekeeping, and Food Service. Other top services include Managed Print Services, Integrated Waste Management, Dialysis Service, Linen and Laundry, Blood Management, and Elevator Services.
David Hunter
Mr. Jackson has spent 16 years in various healthcare leadership roles including operations, supply chain, and finance. He has worked with hospitals in New York, Illinois, Ohio, Oklahoma, New Mexico, New Jersey, Georgia, North Carolina, and Alabama on projects such as, Physician Preferred Item utilization and cost analysis, Strategic Supply Chain planning, supply expense reduction, financial system implementation, payroll and labor productivity analysis, and inventory and distribution management. Mr. Jackson began his healthcare career with Ernst & Young implementing large ERP supply chain and financial software systems for hospitals. He then moved to First Consulting Group advising hospitals on issues such as strategic supply chain management, supply expense cost reduction, and labor productivity analysis. Joe has spent the last eleven years focusing on reducing hospital costs for total joint, spine, trauma, and cardiac implantable devices. He has worked with numerous surgeons and manufacturers to achieve and sustain implant cost reductions.
Brent Johnson has been one of the most successful and recognized supply chain leaders in healthcare in the last 13 years. He has over 30 years of experience developing supply chain strategies for major companies in three industries. Brent has a passion for supply chain best practices and wants to help the healthcare industry recognize the value of managing supply chain more strategically. He has spoken over 100 times at major conferences, written many articles, received key industry awards and served on the board of directors of some of the leading industry organizations. From 2005 to 2015 Brent was Vice-President of Supply Chain at Intermountain Healthcare, creating an industry “Top 25 Gartner” Supply Chain Organization (#1 in 2016 & 2015) that achieved over $500 million in savings over ten years. In 2012, Intermountain Healthcare opened a new $40M, 325,000 sq. ft. Supply Chain Center considered one of the best in the industry. In 2014 Brent was inducted into the Bellweather League, which is a Hall of Fame for Healthcare Supply Chain Leadership. In August, 2015 AHRMM named Brent the recipient of the 2015 George R. Gossett Leadership Award. He has served on the boards of the Association for Healthcare Resource & Materials Management (AHRMM) 2012-2015 and Strategic Marketplace Initiative (SMI) 2011-2015). Before retiring Brent served one year as the President and CEO of Intalere when Intermountain Healthcare completed the purchase of Amerinet. Upon retiring in July, 2016, Brent and his wife spent 18 months in Oaxaca, Mexico as service missionaries for the Mormon (LDS) church. He has an MBA from the University of Utah. He resides in Centerville, UT and has four children and eighteen grandchildren.
Lori is responsible for the implementation of all supply chain savings opportunities for Shared Services partners. This includes working with partners to analyze, identify and track supply chain savings. Lori is also instrumental in managing and leveraging vendor relationships for the benefit of our partners. Since joining Novant in 1997, Lori has held several positions within corporate finance, most recently as the director of finance within supply chain. She led the supply chain integration for all mergers of new facilities. She was also responsible for strategic sourcing implementation, supply chain information services and purchasing functions. Lori is currently a member of the NCACPA and AICPA, having served in the past as a board member of the local NCACPA chapter. She has served as treasurer for several community associations. She is a member of the United Way Women’s Leadership Council and volunteers within Forsyth County Public Schools.
Christopher Jones
Director, Division of Science Policy, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluations, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Annette Karageanes, MS, RPh, is currently the assistant Director of Pharmacy Supply Chain for Beaumont Health System in Royal Oak, MI. She has held both hospital – and corporate – level leadership positions in pharmacy at multiple institutions. She has significant experience in pharmacy operations and supply chain management and was instrumental in developing the specialty pharmacy program at Beaumont. Karageanes received her bachelors of Science in Pharmacy from the University of Michigan and her Masters of Science in Health-System Pharmacy Management from Wayne State University.
Considered one of the elite quarterbacks in the history of the National Football League, Jim Kelly led the Buffalo Bills to the playoffs eight times and to four consecutive Super Bowls from 1991-1994. Jim shared his story of perseverance and overcoming obstacles including his insights on teamwork, leadership, having a special needs child, and fighting cancer.
Kelley Kieffer, RN, BSN, MSN-L, CNML
Kirchenbauer is passionate about bringing innovative new approaches to the health care industry, and using new technology-based approaches to increase efficiency and reduce cost at hospitals nationwide. Over the past two decades, he has led the development of key strategies that have resulted in advances in e-commerce, GPO contract management and analytics.
Over his 20 plus years with Vizient he served in numerous roles focused on leveraging data and technology to assist hospitals in maximizing the value of supply chain contracts. Prior to his current role, Kirchenbauer served as the founding general manager of aptitude, the first direct contracting marketplace in healthcare, focused on advancing committed supply relationships between providers and suppliers. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Vizient, aptitude met a strategic need within the industry that is unmet by the traditional contracting model. In prior roles within Vizient, provided leadership and direction for Vizient’s master data management area, led product development efforts for various analytics and contract management solutions including the development of Vizient’s contract management and e-commerce platform.
Since 2011, Kirchenbauer has been an active fundraiser, volunteer and member of the advisory board for Integrity Mentors, a non-profit, 501(c)3 charity dedicated to improving the lives of young men and women who live in challenging socioeconomic conditions.
Kirchenbauer received a Masters of Business Administration with a focus on business strategy and leadership from the University of Dallas, and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Human Resource Management from Texas A&M University at Commerce.
Jennifer Kleabir
Senior Vice President of Supply Chain and Sustaining Care Services, Memorial Sloan Kettering
Ken has been in the Healthcare Industry, including medical imaging distribution and capital equipment, physician distribution and imaging startup, for over 33 years. Ken has held VP level positions in sales, national accounts and marketing for major companies like Picker International and PSS/World Medical Diagnostic Imaging Division as well as Riverain Medical. He has been successful in developing and implementing strategic plans for distribution channel strategy as well as national and federal accounts. Ken has a Business Administration Degree from Jacksonville University.
Rob Kurtz is a Sourcing Manager at Intermountain Healthcare. He has 15 years of supply chain experience, including 10 years in the health care field that includes hospital and supply chain operations. In his current role, Rob provides his stakeholders with supply chain analytical support specific to the perioperative service lines. Rob earned his undergraduate degree in Business Management from Utah Valley University and an MBA with emphasis in hospital administration from Western Governors University. Rob holds a CPSM (Certified Professional in Supply Management) certification from the Institute for Supply Management. Rob makes his home in Lehi, Utah with his wife Dani and their two children Bronson and Alaina. In addition to spending time with family, he enjoys spending time in the many beautiful landscapes that Utah provides.
Roger Larkin is the Director Supply Chain for Maury Regional Medical Center (MRMC) in Columbia, TN. Roger joined MRMC in July 2011 and has over 25 years’ experience in Healthcare Supply Chain. Roger has responsibility for Contracting, Purchasing, Operations, Logistics, MMIS, and Value Analysis for MRMC's three hospitals, three ASC’s, five clinics and twenty-two physician’s offices. During his career, Roger has planned, procured, implemented and relocated two acute care hospitals and has installed two multi-hospital ERP systems. He graduated in 1988 from the University of Tennessee with a degree in Economics and Business Administration. He is a Certified Materials & Resource Professional (CMRP) and is a member of the Association of Healthcare Resource and Materials Management (AHRMM) and the Tennessee Association of Healthcare Resource and Materials Management (TAHRMM). Roger is Lean Certified from the Lean Healthcare Certificate Program Series at the Jack C. Massey Graduate School of Business at Belmont University, in conjunction with Healthcare Performance Partners. He also teaches Basic and Advanced Lean Classes at MRMC. Roger excels in pursuing, negotiating, implementing, driving compliance and standardization to produce cost savings throughout the system.
Todd Larkin provides leadership to the Intalere contracting division in the development and enhancement of the Intalere portfolio of contracts and total cost reduction solutions. With more than 20 years’ experience in contracting, procurement and supply chain management, Larkin brings his expertise to Intalere to ensure members are receiving the best portfolio offerings to enhance operations and reduce costs. Prior to joining Intalere, Larkin was the senior director for Corporate Procurement at Express Scripts and was responsible for leading a 50+ person organization managing $2B in annual indirect spend. Prior to Express Scripts, Larkin spent five years at MasterCard Worldwide, leading a global team focused on improving systems, processes and governance of the procurement function. Prior to MasterCard, Larkin held a number of progressively challenging positions with global responsibilities over 10 years in IBM’s Integrated Supply Chain organization. Larkin received his MBA from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and also holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies, both from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Larkin is also a Certified Professional in Supply Management (CPSM).
JoAnne Levy is Vice President of Supply Chain Operations for ROi. JoAnne is responsible for all hospital-to-patient supply chain operations in Mercy’s many acute and non-acute healthcare facilities across a four-state region, helping drive ROi’s accountable supply chain organizational model. She also leads ROi’s transportation function for its customers, including a wide variety of over-the-road, courier and backhaul services, as well as its Integrated Services team, which provides customer service, purchasing and item master management for multiple customers. JoAnne also serves as ROi’s legal and regulatory liaison. Prior to serving in current role, Joanne led ROi’s Integrated Sourcing Solutions (ISS) team and was responsible for ROi’s distribution and warehousing operations. Before joining ROi about five years ago, JoAnne was Vice President of Global Logistics with Covidien/Mallinckrodt in St. Louis. She managed the customer service, distribution, transportation, compliance and planning functions for the $2 billion global pharmaceuticals/imaging business. Before moving into Covidien/Mallinckrodt management, JoAnne served in various legal roles focused on controlled substance, environmental, and safety and health law. JoAnne received her undergraduate, law and masters of business administration degrees, all with honors, from Washington University in St. Louis.
Michael Maguire is a vice president of strategic sourcing at Premier, with over 20 years of experience in healthcare supply chain and consulting. He leads the clinical sourcing teams' contract strategy execution. Possessing an uncanny ability to flex and pivot with changing marketplace dynamics, he has guided the expansion of our national purchased services program and works closely with Premier members to meet their special contracting needs. Prior to his current role, he led the sourcing operations of CCG and grew the contract portfolio by 300 percent over a four-year period. Before joining Premier, he served on the Corporate Operations team at MedStar Health, where he developed the Supply Chain Global Measures Program while also providing operation assessment of clinical services to ensure financial viability. He worked collaboratively with leading pharmaceutical companies to provide needed medicines for 1.5 million Central American children during his tenure with the Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB).
New York Times best-selling author and gastrointestinal surgeon, researcher and associate professor of health policy & management at Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Marty Makary is leading healthcare expert. Join him as he discusses common-sense reforms for healthcare and transparency of medical information, as well as his book Unaccountable.
Dan Maloy is the Founder of The Maloy Group, an independent Marketing and Sales firm with clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies, to start-up ventures. He has held leadership positions with public and private organizations ranging from large companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Owens & Minor and McKesson, to development stage enterprises. Dan has provided expert opinion, industry guidance and service to companies, governments, and investment management firms. He has addressed domestic and international audiences, and served as an Adjunct Faculty member at the University of Alabama Birmingham. Dan received his MBA from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, and his BA from Allegheny College.
Santalynda Marreo
Currently serves as Procurement Manager and Supplier Diversity Coordinator for the CHRISTUS Health System. In this role, his responsibilities include management of centralized procurement operations for the western regions of CHRISTUS Health as well as lead the supplier diversity efforts system-wide. Having spent over 20 years serving healthcare provider organizations focused in Supply Chain, he is well diversified in all aspects of Supply Chain Management. He has a proven track record of being a strong leader, accountable, dependable and results driven. He is a certified Materials & Resource Professional, an active member of the North Texas chapter of AHRMM and is currently pursuing the Bachelor of Science in Business Management and Masters of Business Administration from Western Governors University.
Vice President Sourcing, Purchasing and Value Analysis
Beaumont Health
Senior Director, Talent & Organizational Development
Biltmore Center for Professional Development
John Mateka
John Mateka currently serves as the System Executive Director of Supply Chain Services and Chief Procurement Official for Greenville Health System in Greenville, South Carolina, with system-wide supply chain responsibilities, including recent deployment of the Recent Distribution Center. Previously, Mateka served as the Regional Vice President of Supply Chain for Catholic Health East-Southeast Division. Throughout his career, he has held senior leadership positions for Materials Management and Purchasing for multi-state healthcare systems in the North and Southeast. He earned an MBA degree from Baldwin Wallace College in Berea, Ohio; a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Northeast Illinois University, Chicago; and completed the Executive Program in Healthcare Administration at Ohio State. He is a former member of the board of Directors for the Association for Healthcare Materials/Resource Management (AHRMM); chaired numerous committees there; and served as the organization’s president in 2004. Mateka was awarded AHRMM’s 2007 George R. Gossett Leadership Award. His supply chain operation at GHS has won several awards and recognitions, including most recently in 2013, the prestigious ‘Healthcare Development of the Year’ award by Healthcare Purchasing News.
Vice President Managed Care & Payer Relations
Stanford Health Care/Stanford Children's Health
David McCombs
Vice President, Enterprise Resource Planning/Supply Chain Operations, Bon Secours Health System, Inc.
Greg is responsible for ROi’s financial operations, corporate development, strategic planning and strategic relationships. Greg joined ROi as a proven senior financial and operations executive with 25 years of experience in health care and finance at companies such as Express Scripts, Inc., Valitas Health Service, Inc., and Ernst & Young. His background includes extensive experience in supply chain, pharmacy, primary care behavioral services, network development and underwriting. Greg is a member of HFMA, the American Institute of CPAs, the Missouri Society of CPAs, Financial Executives International and the Association for Corporate Growth. He is a Certified Public Accountant, Chartered Global Management Accountant and hold bachelor’s degrees in accounting and finance from Truman State University.
Angela Miller is Executive Director of Medical Contracting for ROi. Angela oversees ROi’s entire portfolio of medical products and devices, along with ROi’s Lab contracting team. She works closely with industry suppliers to develop contracting opportunities which focus on improving the clinical, operational and financial outcomes for ROi Members. Angela has more than 25 years of experience in the health care supply chain industry. She spent 9 years in the U.S. Air Force as a medical logistics manager for several Air Force medical centers before moving into management positions with several industry Group Purchasing Organizations dedicated to providing cost savings opportunities to both acute and non-acute facility types. Angela is a member of the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses and the Association of Healthcare Resource and Material Management.
Susan Miller is the Senior Director, Enterprise Value Analysis for Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health in Philadelphia. In this role, she facilitates and leads clinicians and multi‐disciplinary teams to ensure optimal patient outcomes through clinical efficacy of healthcare products and services for the greatest financial value and serves as the lead facilitator of the enterprise value analysis process, committees, policy and procedure. She is the liaison between Supply Chain Management, Administration and the clinical and physician communities, to ensure cost effective utilization of supplies, medical devices, services and processes. She assists the organization in making objective decisions about products based on evidence of improved outcomes, identifies opportunities for supply cost reduction related to improved standardization/utilization and assists clinical departments in optimizing value through implementation of best practices with a focus on cost effective utilization and quality outcomes.
Ms. Miller joined Jefferson in 2010 as the organizations first Director, Value Analysis. Prior to this, she worked for VHA (now Vizient) for 11 years, first as a Supply Chain Utilization Manager in VHA’s Performance Consulting Division, then as an Account Executive in the Supply Chain Services division. In these roles she managed the supply chain relationship with multiple member organizations including academic medical centers, integrated delivery networks and community hospitals. Ms. Miller provided individualized support to assist members in achieving their supply chain goals by implementing member specific strategies including managing cost reduction efforts, analyzing and synthesizing data, developing and implementing savings tracking mechanisms and developing, implementing and supporting Value Analysis efforts.
A seasoned healthcare professional, Ms. Miller has been a Registered Nurse for more than 40 years. She started her career in tertiary pediatrics where she held a variety of staff and management positions at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Penn State Medical Center and St Christopher’s Hospital for Children. Her current position serves as a return to Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals where she worked for 10 years, first as Manager, Nursing Staff Development and Continuing Education and then as Director of the Executive Redesign Implementation Team. She holds both BSN and Master of Nursing degrees from the University of Pittsburgh, and is both Certified Materials Resource Professional (CMRP) and a Certified Value Analysis Healthcare professional (CVAHP).
Ms. Miller has been an active member of the Association of Healthcare Value Analysis Professionals (AHVAP) since 2010, chairing the organization’s Membership Committee for the past several years. She has served on the AHVAP Board of Directors as President Elect and, is its 2019 President.
Greg Milton is Director of Project Management for Supply Chain at Piedmont Healthcare. Greg leads the project management team dedicated to value analysis (STARS) process at Piedmont Healthcare. As part supply chain he has directly managed a number of strategic initiatives for Piedmont including, Alternate Site Distribution and Standardization, Outsourced Hemodialysis agreement, IV Pump Standardization, and new facility integration. Greg Currently is leading the initiatives to reduce clinical lab test utilization and blood utilization.
System Chief Nursing Officer & Vice President of Quality
Ochsner Health System
• Physician engagement to implement PPI (physician preference item) supply standardization
• Supplier PPI negotiations
• Implementing and maintaining a value analysis process as well as new technology analysis.
• Understanding of system-based thinking as well as the Virginia Mason Production System (VMPS); the Toyota Production System based process improvement program.
Dave Morgan has serviced the healthcare industry over the past 15 years in multiple capacities, including the last 10 years at HealthTrust and today as an AVP for Strategic Sourcing. During his tenure at HealthTrust, Davie has negotiated a multitude of agreements ranging from clinical supplies and equipment to software licenses to non-clinical commercial products and services including oversight of the Food, Facility Infrastructure and Information Technology portfolios. Prior to joining HealthTrust, Dave worked at Ernst & Young in their Technology Security and Risk Services group assisting both healthcare and non-healthcare companies. He began his career at Medifax EDI (now Emdeon) as a project manager handling healthcare eligibility transactions for 20+ state programs. He earned a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in Accounting and a Masters in Accountancy and Information Systems information from Arizona State University.
Ken founded HealthCare Links in June of 1993 with a simple mission: to become a sales/marketing resource focused on Corporate Accounts – matching companies with quality and cost effective products and services to major Healthcare Systems, Alliances, Integrated Delivery Networks and Group Purchasing Organizations. An industry veteran since 1975, Ken was with Kendall Healthcare for 16 years handling a variety of products throughout the acute and alternate care markets including OR, Critical Care, Anesthesia, Urological, and Wound Care. As Director of National Accounts for the last three yeast at Kendall, Ken had Profit and Sales responsibility for over 25 national and regional buying groups and $300 million in group sales. Since then, he has helped clients grow their sales through relationships and strategic approach. With expertise in sales, sales management, sales training, executive sales training/coaching, marketing promotion and contract implementation, Ken is seen as a strategic partner of the clients he serves.
Michelle O’Connor is President and CEO of CMR Institute. For the last 24 years she has increased the Institute’s ability to provide education needed in a rapidly evolving healthcare market. From new hire, leadership, sales, market access, to managed markets, Michelle ensures that CMR Institute creates resources that improve the performance and effectiveness of commercial sales teams. Michelle has a strong interest in and passion for working with organizations to develop and implement innovative learning and development initiatives that increase ROI. CMR Institute is sought after by life sciences companies to increase sales and market share through our applicable blended learning resources. Over the past 50+ years, the company has provided expert training for more than 150,000 biopharmaceutical, medical device, and other life science professionals worldwide. These training resources are created in partnership with industry experts, assuring the content is relevant and actionable.
Jim Oliver has been with Yankee Alliance since 1989, joining the organization as its 5th employee serving as the Director of Materiel and Distribution Services. Jim served in a number of positions becoming the President and CEO in 2008. He has overseen the organization as it has grown to 14,500 members located in all 50 states. Yankee Alliance members buy $3.5 billion in products and services through the Yankee contract portfolio. Jim began his healthcare career as a Management Engineer with the Massachusetts Hospital Association. Prior to joining Yankee he was the Director of Materiel Management at University Hospital in Boston and Miriam hospital in Providence, RI. Jim has an MBA from Suffolk University in Boston. He received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Management Engineering from the Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston. Jim has served on numerous committees assisting in developing strategies and services for Premier, Inc. During his time with Premier, he has served as Chairman of the Laboratory Committee and the Strategic Advisory Committee. He currently serves on the Member Value Improvement Committee for Premier.
Dennis is Senior Director for SMI, a non-profit industry organization dedicated to advancing the future of healthcare supply chain. Dennis has over 30 years of healthcare supply chain management experience, having worked in purchasing, central sterile processing, distribution, OR supply, value analysis, and logistics at integrated provider organizations including Boston City Hospital, Partners Healthcare in Boston, and Caritas Christi Health System in Boston. As a consultant, he has successfully worked for BD Healthcare Consulting and VHA Improvement Services. Dennis is active in AHRMM and Supporter of the data standards movement, serving as a member of the GS1 Healthcare US Leadership Team for the last seven years.
Ali Pabrai, MSEE, CISSP (ISSAP, ISSMP), Security+, a cyber security & compliance expert, is the chief executive of ecfirst. A highly sought after professional, he has successfully delivered solutions to U.S. government agencies, IT firms, healthcare systems, legal and other organizations worldwide. Mr. Pabrai served as an Interim CISO for a health system with 40+ locations in USA. Mr. Pabrai has led numerous engagements worldwide for ISO 27001, PCI DSS, NIST & HIPAA/HITECH security assessments. ecfirst is an approved HITRUST CSF assessor, a PCI Qualified Security Assessor, and a Konica Minolta Partner in the areas of cyber security & compliance.
Mr. Pabrai has presented passionate briefs to tens of thousands globally, including the USA, United Kingdom, France, Taiwan, Singapore, Canada, India, UAE, Bahrain, Africa, Saudi Arabia, Philippines, Japan & others. Mr. Pabrai is the author of several published works and is a proud member of the InfraGard (FBI).
Manager, Consolidated Pharmacy Services
Greenville Health System
Ryan P. Parker is the Chief Diversity Officer for Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJ). Ryan is responsible for building a strategy that enhances RWJ’s vision to be a nationally distinguished academic medical center and benchmark hospital for diversity and inclusion – while aligning this critical business component with RWJ’s strategic business objectives. In this position, he reports directly to the President and Chief Executive Officer of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and Robert Wood Johnson Health System. Ryan is a member of the RWJ Community Relations Board Committee. Ryan joined RWJ in 2013 as Director of Diversity and Inclusion and was appointed to Chief Diversity Officer in 2014. In 2014, Ryan was acknowledged by The Network Journal and Becker’s Hospital Review as one of the nation’s leading healthcare leaders under age of forty. Ryan received a BS degree in Psychology from Jacksonville State University and is currently pursuing graduate studies in hospital administration.
System Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer
CHRISTUS Health
Steve Patton, MA, CMRP
Richard Philbrick was named CEO of HealthTrust’s Southwest Region in 2011. He is responsible for business development and HealthTrust member accounts for clients in Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, and New Mexico. In addition, Richard has oversight of HealthTrust’s outsourced supply chain operations in those states with manages over 750 employees and almost $2 billion in annualized supply expense. Previously, Richard served as supply chain CEO for HCA’s Gulf Coast Division where he led all aspects of supply chain services for 13 hospitals, including self-distribution, contracting, purchasing, accounts payable, facility supply management and centralized pharmacy order entry. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the University of Richmond, Robins School of Business.
Martha Pickens is an independent Healthcare Supply Cost Management Consultant. During her progressive career path spanning 30 years in healthcare, Martha has worked closely with many healthcare organizations to meet or exceed their Medical/Surgical, Pharmacy, and Physician Preference Item cost management goals, leveraging her solid clinical background, supply cost leadership, and results-oriented facilitation and negotiation skills. In her recent role as Senior Director for Supply Cost Management at VHA Southeast in Tampa, FL, Martha led a regional committed supply strategy for more than eight years that delivered in excess of $159M in savings and 17:1 ROI, and provided clinical leadership and operations support for a committed supply network for over six years that delivered in excess of $44M in bottom-line value and 9:1 ROI.
Joseph has over eighteen years of successful experience in initiating and administering business developments and is a proven healthcare executive with strong ties to the community that consistently produces results and maintains corporate focus. As Vice President of Network Operations at St. Luke’s Hospital and health Network, he is responsible for Network operations (6 hospital systems) including the following services; Oncology Service line, Materials Management, Wound Care, Urgent Care, Occupational Management, Pathology, Laboratory Outreach, Accreditations and Standards, Patient Experience, Sterile Processing & Grounds.
Medical Director of Surgical Services and Orthopedic Service Lines
Trinity Health
Laura Polson, RN, BSN, CVAHP - AHVAP
Laura Polson, RN, BSN, CVAHP - AHVAP Northeast Region Director & Co-Chairperson for the Marketing Committee has held local, regional, and national leadership roles in nursing, supply chain, value analysis, and process improvement for 35 years. Past management roles in multi-hospital groups include education, critical care, recovery, cardiac catheterization, electrophysiology and surgical services. Her nursing expertise spans multiple specialties (CVAHP, ACLS, BCLS INS, CCRN, CVN, RCIS, & RCVT). Pioneered early value analysis roles as one of the first HCA Product Utilization Directors in the early '90s and continues today in her role as Clinical Quality Value Analysis Facilitator at Baptist Health Floyd in New Albany, IN.
Kerry Price is the Senior Vice President, Marketing and Management, Federation of American Hospitals (FAH). She is responsible for managing the FAH’s annual Public Policy Conference and Business Exposition. Her responsibilities also include membership and supplier relations, marketing and brand awareness fro the FAH and leading the FAH’s Exposition Advisory Committee. Prior to joining FAH, Ms. Price served as Vice President of Strategic Customer Engagement at Amerinet. In this role, she led Amerinet’s strategic engagements and corporate events as they relate to enhancing the image and brand of the company. She also developed strategic initiatives to support the broader short-and long-term marketing strategies that enhanced the overall perception of Amerinet within the industry. She is a past Co-Chair of the Healthcare Supply Association and Steering Committee member for the Health Industry Group Purchasing Association. Ms. Price received a BS in Marketing from Robert Morris University and an AS in Marketing from Allegheny Community College.
Mark Richardson is Director of Medical Products and Devices for ROi. As a member of ROi Integrated Sourcing Solutions Team, Mark serves as a liaison for contract opportunities to ROi customers through specialty Service Line programs for Surgery, Orthopedics, Neurosurgery/Spine, and Cardiology/Interventional Radiology. In addition to obtaining clinical feedback, Mark is also responsible for reporting utilization and contract compliance to the ROi Contract portfolio. In his role, Mark supports the voice of the customer in ROi contracting strategies as well as high compliance commitment to high cost/high preference initiatives. Mark previously served as the Perioperative Business Director at Mercy Hospital St. Louis for 14 years. Additionally, he served at SSM Healthcare in St. Louis for 10 years in a similar role. Mark earned his Bachelor’s degree in Biology from St. Louis University.
Frank Ripullo runs the most respected medical consulting firm in the healthcare sector representing both suppliers and providers. As the Founder and President of Essential Healthcare Management, Inc., Ripullo has managed to turn small to medium suppliers into manufacturing powerhouses. Known for keenly negotiating GPO and IDN agreements that have increased clients’ market share 300% in short time frames, supplier contracting is just the beginning of EHM’s offerings. Mr. Ripullo’s distinctive strength has been the ability to create value for both suppliers and provider in a marketplace dominated by sky rocketing costs. Ripullo’s focus and strategic direction of EHM has been to bring clarity and transparency to the convoluted healthcare market resulting in the creation of strong channels for suppliers to succeed while enabling providers to lower their overall operating costs.
Associate Director; Clinical Assistant Professor
Center for Quality Medication Management at the University of Florida
Kris Russell is president of KSR Publishing, Inc. and Publisher of Healthcare Purchasing News. In publishing for over 25 years, Ms. Russell was formerly VP of operations and executive publisher of the healthcare division at Nelson Publishing, Inc., overseeing 12 publications in various business-to-business technologies, including: healthcare informatics, clinical lab, corporate IT, product/equipment design, OEM electronic engineering, metalworking and fabrication as well as other manufacturing areas. Kris formed KSR Publishing, Inc. in January 2003 and purchased Healthcare Purchasing News from Nelson Publishing in February 2003. Ms. Russell graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science Degree in merchandising and minors in textiles, business and art from Northern Illinois University. Ms. Russell is also on the advisory board for the International Association of Healthcare Central Service Materiel Management, and a member of the Associate for Healthcare Resource & Materials Management.
Director of Nursing, Surgical and Emergency Services, Cleveland Clinic – Avon Hospital
Director - Industry Advisory Group
CAPS Research & Arizona State University
Senior Medical Officer, Supply Chain Management
Adventist Health System
Dr. Scott received his Doctorate in Pharmacy from the University of California, San Francisco. He completed a Residency in Clinical Pharmacy at the Buffalo General Hospital and a Fellowship in Clinical Pharmacokinetics at the State University of New York at Buffalo. He was awarded the American College of Clinical Pharmacy Fellowship in Cardiovascular Therapeutics. During his more than 35 years in healthcare, he has practiced in both acute care and ambulatory care settings in both academic and community organizations. In his current role with St. Joseph Health System, a 14 hospital IDN, he is provides clinical and contracting oversight for each of the hospital’s pharmacy departments, is responsible for all contracting and clinical research for SJHS.
Pinak Shah
Pinak Shah is responsible for the operation of the 18-hospital North Shore LIJ Health System innovative supply chain model, which includes their Integrated Distribution Center (IDC). As Assistant Vice President of health system purchasing, contracting and materials management, Pinak is engaged in contract negotiations and the development of strategic relationships with manufacturers and distributors. He also leads supply chain expense reduction, inventory improvement, and product standardization initiatives. Prior to his experience at NSLIJHS, Pinak was with the healthcare consulting practices of Deloitte and PeopleSoft. Pinak is a graduate in Engineering and earned an M.B.A. from India. He has joined the faculty at Hofstra University, Frank G. Zarb School of Business and is currently teaching operations and supply chain management.
Perry Sham is responsible for practice leadership for Nexera’s financial improvement, performance improvement, technology optimization, strategic advisory services, and project management services in facilities throughout the U.S. and internationally. With over a decade of healthcare experience, Mr. Sham has served as an advisor to numerous provider organizations. Among them are leading academic health centers, accountable care organizations, integrated health systems, community hospitals, and non-acute care facilities. His work has encompassed financial improvement in large-scale cost-reduction and comprehensive revenue cycle management, data management, analytics, and process redesign. At Nexera, Mr. Sham has helped healthcare facilities reduce costs by over $65 million. Mr. Sham received his Bachelor of Science in Biology from Baruch College. He has been published by the Association of Healthcare Internal Auditors and the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA). He is also a member of the HFMA.
Tali Sharot
Neuroscientist, Author and Human Behavior Expert;
Lindsey Sheeran is a Sr. Category Manager on the Medical/Surgical, Laboratory Team at Mayo Clinic. This team negotiates Commodity, Clinical Preference & Laboratory contracts for Mayo Clinic and the Upper Midwest Consolidated Services Center (UMCSC). As a Sr. Category Manager, Lindsey has an integral role in driving the Category Management strategy at Mayo Clinic while working with internal and external stakeholders, identifying business requirements and negotiating the best value for the clinically chosen products. Lindsey has been at Mayo Clinic for 12 years in multiple roles, primarily in Supply Chain. These roles have given her experience in Purchasing, Accounts Payable, Project Management, Supervision and Contracting. Lindsey has a Master of Business Administration degree from Cardinal Stritch University and a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications from Winona State University.
Margaret brings a rich background as the former Chief Operating Officer for Beckett Media, a leading publisher of sports and specialty market collectibles. Margaret has leveraged her business operations and management experience to continually create value for Vizient’s members. Margaret received her Bachelor of Science from University of Texas at Dallas with a Major in Business Administration and a Minor in Marketing. Margaret has served over 10 years on the Community Storehouse Board, a non-profit agency for children.
Chris Stewart is the Assistant Vice President, SourceTrust Solutions Advisory Group, HealthTrust. In his role as leader of the Solutions Advisory Group within SourceTrust, Chris leads his team in their focus on the development and delivery of customized CSI (Clinically Sensitive Implants) cost saving programs through strategic physician/hospital leadership engagement and the functional redesign of the implant delivery model. Chris originates from Johannesburg, South Africa and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Tennessee. He also participates in international masters swimming events.
Chief, Supply Chain Management
University of Mississippi Medical Center
Morgan Swink is the Eunice and James L. West Chaired Professor of Supply Chain Management in the Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University. He also serves as the Executive Director of the Center for Supply Chain Innovation at the Neeley School. He teaches in areas of supply chain management, project management, innovation management, and operations strategy. Dr. Swink’s current research projects address digital transformation and cutting-edge competencies in supply chain management, financial impacts of supply chain management, collaborative integration, supply chain organizational structures, innovation initiatives and project success factors. He was recently ranked among the top ten innovation management scholars in the world, and among the top 75 most productive operations management scholars. Dr. Swink is the former Co-Editor in Chief for the Journal of Operations Management, a top academic supply chain management journal. He serves as associate editor for several other journals. He has served as president of the Decision Sciences Institute, as well as chair of the Research Strategies Committee and a member of the board of directors for CSCMP. He has co-authored two supply chain operations text-books, one managerial book on supply chain excellence, and more than 75 articles in a variety of academic and managerial journals. He has won several research and teaching awards, including the 2016 Research and Creativity Award at TCU. Dr. Swink consults and leads executive workshops and seminars in supply chain management best practices, cross-organizational integration, project management, operational flexibility, and breakthrough thinking for innovation and productivity.
Kristin Tapley Bailey leads the Purchased Services Supply Chain Sourcing team at Trinity Health Corporation. Kristin led a national strategic sales team for account-based benefit and insurance (e.g. HRA, HSA, FSA) consulting with national insurance companies and Fortune 500 employers. Kristin has a proven ability to initiate, manage, expand and successfully deliver complex health care projects by approaching problem solving with use of 6-Sigma methodology. While widely known as a natural thought leader and motivator, Kristin is a recognized professional with a proven track record of consistently exceeding company objectives related to: 1) strategically procuring and sourcing clinical and non-clinical purchased services in excess of $1.4B 2) managing and delivering large cross-functional projects 3) developing and monitoring measurable performance criteria for vendor, employee and employer oversight 4) developing and structuring contracts to support long term partnerships 5) educating, communicating, and marketing product solutions.
Jack Temple
Senior Corporate Vice President, Ancillary Operations
Scripps Health
System Vice President, Supply Chain Management and Biomedical Engineering
Main Line Health System
Marianne Udow-Phillips is Director of the Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation (CHRT) at the University of Michigan. CHRT is a non-profit partnership of the University of Michigan and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan to promote evidence-based care delivery, improve population health, and expand access to care. From 2004 through 2007, Marianne was director of the Michigan Department of Human Services, Appointed by Governor Jennifer M. Granholm. Marinna came to state service from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, where she served in leadership role for over 20 years, most recently as senior vice president of Health Care Products and Provider Services. She holds a Master’s degree in Health Services Administration from the U-M School of Public Health; she is a lecturer at the U-M school of Public Health. She serves on numerous boards and commissions.
• Board Chair, Crown Healthcare Laundry, a Quilvest Private Equity portfolio company
• Strategic Advisor, Terso Solutions, Inc., a provider of RFID based field inventory solutions for Life Sciences and Medical Devices companies
• Retained Advisor, SVP of Supply Chain, Beaumont Health System
• Board Chair, Health Sector Research Consortium at Arizona State University’s W. P Carey School of Business
• Board Member, Bellwether League Inc., an industry consortium that honors individuals who have demonstrated significant leadership in the healthcare supply chain
• Advisory Board Member, Medical Device Supply Chain Council, a network of supply chain and operational executives from leading medical devices manufacturers
Previously, Mark served as chief strategy officer of Owens & Minor, Inc., and as Partner in the Healthcare practice of Ernst & Young LLC.
Meg Voorhis
Cheryl Watkins-Knowles
Director of Purchasing, Supplier Diversity and Integration, Supply Chain, Palmetto Health
Cheryl Watkins-Knowles has over 15 years as a leader in the field of supply chain, consulting and business development. Her expertise is in procurement, distribution, transportation, inventory management and supplier diversity allows her to identify opportunities that bring financial value to organizations, with increased earnings and identification of savings potential. Her project management skills have allowed her to successfully implement ERP systems like SAP and Lawson Supply Chain Management. She is recognized for solidifying partner relationships through vertical and horizontal communications within large organizations such as Ernst and Young, Johnson & Johnson, Cardinal Health and several large healthcare systems to include Palmetto Health. Experienced in planning, developing, and implementing analysis of activities relating to Supply Chain policies. Utilizes ERP Financial systems (Lawson Supply Chain Management) to manage procurement, purchased services, contracting, budget plans, and contract negotiations. Knowledgeable with the architecture and specifications of ERP's to include source documentation, system flows, system interfaces, and related internal controls. Cheryl is also responsible for the development and implementation of the Corporate Supplier Diversity strategy, infrastructure, initiatives, procedures, policy and processes within Palmetto Health. She is a key member of the leadership team and is accountable for all supply chain activities. Additionally, she directs and develops sourcing strategy consistent with the culture and strategic business plan while leveraging continuous improvement activities to maximize cost reduction efforts. Cheryl has a BS in Business with a concentration in psychology and Women’s studies. She is Co-Author of Bruised not Broken that was released in 2012. She was the South Carolina Chapter President of the National Association of Professional Women and the National President of the American Association of Business and Professional Women.
Michael Williams is a Director in the Healthcare practice of Navigant Consulting. Michael is a Strategic Executive with a successful record for the implementation of solutions to transform organizations faced with complex supply and logistics concerns. Michael has over twenty years of experience in hospital supply chain. He is a resourceful leader with a history of successfully leading operational functions for complex Integrated Delivery Networks (IDNs). Adept at delivering the successful implementation of sophisticated consulting engagements, he has developed, directed, and delivered supply standardization and consolidation programs. In addition, Michael has experience in leading large multi-disciplinary work groups to define and achieve targeted savings opportunities. He has worked closely with hospital Administrators, as well as their medical staff, to identify projects and programs and coordinate their completion. He is skilled in project planning, management, team leading and facilitation.
Retired SR VP Supply Chain Manangement
Senior VP Supply Chain Management
University Health System
Jeff Woodyard is senior vice president of strategic sourcing at MedAssets. In this role, he is responsible for the strategic development and leadership of the GPO portfolio (excluding pharmacy) totaling almost $18 billion in annual spend. Prior to his current role, Jeff held positions as vice president of MedAssets’ National Collaborative Program, as well as the medical service line. Before his career with MedAssets, Jeff practiced corporate and transactional law at Thompson & Knight, LLP. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin and a J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center. In his spare time, Jeff enjoys playing golf and spending time with his two children, Avery Grace and Walker Levi.
Dale Wright brings more than 40 years of healthcare experience to his role as chief contracting officer for Amerinet Inc., and as president of Amerinet Choice. Recognized industry-wide as a healthcare innovator, Wright has executive experience working for provider’s manufacturers, distributors and group purchasing organizations across the U.S. At Amerinet, Wright serves as chief purchasing officer, responsible for ensuring that the company’s portfolio of agreements is cutting-edge and competitive. He develops and implements the strategy for contracting in all disciplines, including Amerinet’s exclusive Custom Contracting division. In addition, and he is responsible for executive leadership of Amerinet Choice, the private label and sourcing company of Amerinet. Prior to joining Amerinet, Wright was owner and president of Ni-Med Inc., a market leading medical device manufacturer; now a division of Cardinal Healthcare. Wright also served as vice president of sales at the Health Services Corporation of America.
CEO for Banner Baywood, Banner Gateway, Banner Heart, Banner MD Anderson
Banner Health