Speaker Bios

Kevin Adely, RN CBSPD

Kevin Adely is the Clinical Director of a busy 3 room Ophthalmic Ambulatory Surgery Center. Kevin's background includes training as a Surgical Scrub Technician, Circulating Nurse and Staff Educator for facility staff. Kevin also developed an efficient inventory system for his center.

Kevin has been involved in facility development, Physician recruitment and is Certified in Sterile Processing. Kevin has been employed by American Surgisite for 25 years and has been involved in CMS DOH surveys as well as the AAAHC process.

More recently Kevin has worked closely with Ophthalmic ASCs that have experienced issues with TASS. Kevin has created protocols and worked closely with the Physicians in working to prevent re-occurrences of TASS. Kevin is also active in the Infection Control process and has written policies and protocols on the topic along with staff education.

Kevin presently oversees an ASC with 25 physicians on staff. The center focuses on Ophthalmic surgery including anterior and posterior segment surgery, laser, oculoplastic and glaucoma surgery.

Jan Allison, RN CHSP

Jan currently serves as the Sr. Director of Regulatory for AMSURG supporting over 260 ASCs with regulatory compliance. Jan has been an expert speaker on numerous nationwide audio and live conferences over quality, regulatory and accreditation issues. Jan has served on advisory panels for AORN, Joint Commission and the ASC Quality Collaboration. Jan is a certified healthcare professional and has been in the Ambulatory Surgery Industry since 1985.

Cristina Bentin, CPPM COC CCS-P CMA

Cristina Bentin, CMA, CCS-P, COC, CPPM, AAPC Fellow is the founder and president of Coding Compliance Management, LLC, a company specializing in the markets of ambulatory surgery centers with emphasis on business office and clinical operations assessments, HIPAA reviews,coding audits, and training. Cristina is recognized as a freestanding ASC revenue cycle educator, speaker, writer with over 25+ years experience in ASC multi-specialty facility and physician office operations. Ms. Bentin is certified by and a member and Fellow of AAPC, certified by and a member of AHIMA, as well as an AHIMA-approved ICD-10-CM Trainer, certified by and a member of the National Association of Health Professionals. Cristina currently serves on the education and programs committee for the ASC Association (ASCA).

Prior to establishing Coding Compliance Management, Cristina was CFO of a surgical hospital and participated in its start-up and development. She was also formerly the Director of Education for a medical consulting firm in which she was responsible for ASC coding conferences and audit processes. In addition, Cristina has had extensive experience as the education and training manager for a national healthcare corporation, and was directly involved in the continued education of its 200 + ASC facilities nationwide. Cristina’s expertise extends to her involvement in fraud investigations where she has served as expert witness. Cristina’s coding lectures include the FASA, ASCA, ASF, The Coding Institute, AHIMA, AAPC, OR Excellence, and a multitude of state associations. She frequently contributes trade articles to Outpatient Surgery Magazine and The ASC Focus.

Jennifer Bitterman, COC

Jennifer Bitterman is a "mompreneur" at Surgical Notes who provides exceptional medical coding experiences to ASCs throughout the country. As a coding department manager and work-from-home mom, Jennifer knows that positive attitudes and communication, team work and a commitment to serving others is all it takes to be the ideal working mom. It's how well Jennifer connects with the people she works with (her family included) that ensures the trust and confidence they have in the products she provides.

Jennifer has been a part of every aspect of the medical business industry; from front-desk operations to stock-holder meetings. Her medical coding career began as she was searching for a way to continue her medical business work from home. Jennifer's expertise in orthopedic coding comes from extensive training and real-time sce narios with Surgical Notes' operations.

Jennifer holds a COC certification from AAPC and plans to expound with further.

Ed Boniske, JD

Edwin Boniske's practice focuses on providing employment advice and defending businesses in employment litigation matters. Mr. Boniske is known for his strategic approach, and his commitment to a successful outcome. As a trusted adviser, Mr. Boniske consults clients in employment matters and represents employers in lawsuits and administrative proceedings involving wage and hour disputes, and claims for wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. Named a “Rising Star” for 2015, 2016 and 2017, Mr. Boniske is a leader in his field. Mr. Boniske graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Political Science. He received his J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law, where he was a member of the San Diego Law Review. In his spare time, Mr. Boniske enjoys playing basketball, hiking, cooking, and spending time with his family and friends.

Paul Cadorette, CPC COC CPC-P CASCC COSC

Paul Cadorette is the Director of Educational Services for mdStrategies a Healthcare Consulting Company based in Houston, Texas, that specializes in coding support, auditing and educational training. He is responsible for developing coding training seminars and educational webinars, which have been featured by the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association with a primary focus on ASC coding and has written newsletter articles which have been published in the AAPC’s Coding Edge magazine and Becker’s ASC Review in addition to mdStrategies own monthly coding newsletter. As a member of the American Academy of Professional Coders, Paul has lectured at numerous AAPC state and chapter conferences, multiple state ASC educational conferences, and provided training for many of the industry’s largest Healthcare Corporations.

Kelly David, BA APR

Kelly is the Director of Marketing and Public Relations at Spectrum Healthcare Partners, a growing multi-specialty health system in northern New England. She has 15 years experience as a health care marketing and public relations strategist. I have such a passion for PR and using the right communications strategy for the right audience that I worked toward and earned my Accreditation in Public Relations (APR).

Susan Garrison, CHCA CHCAS CHC CCS-P CPC COC CPAR

Prior to establishing Coding Compliance Management, Cristina was CFO of a surgical hospital and participated in its start-up and development. She was also formerly the Director of Education for a medical consulting firm in which she was responsible for ASC coding conferences and audit processes. In addition, Cristina has had extensive experience as the education and training manager for a national healthcare corporation, and was directly involved in the continued education of its 200 + ASC facilities nationwide. Cristina’s expertise extends to her involvement in fraud investigations where she has served as expert witness. Cristina’s coding lectures include the FASA, ASCA, ASF, The Coding Institute, AHIMA, AAPC, OR Excellence, and a multitude of state associations. She frequently contributes trade articles to Outpatient Surgery Magazine and The ASC Focus.

Ann Geier, MS RN CNOR CASC

Ann Geier is Chief Nursing Officer for Surgical Information Systems SIS), a leader in perioperative information systems. In this role, she consults with clients on best practices and strategies to enhance efficiency, improve compliance and deliver high quality patient care. Ann Geier has worked in the ASC industry for over 30 years, and is a recognized expert. She has been responsible for every aspect of ASC financial & clinical operations, and has been a surveyor for Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) since 2006. Ann’s extensive clinical background is in the operating room, where she served in every capacity. She is an active member of AORN and ASCA, and she represents ASCA on the Board of Directors of AAAHC. She was selected by the Board of Ambulatory Surgery Certification (BASC) Nominating Committee to fill the BASC-appointed Board position through 2019. Ann has an MS in Health Services Administration from the University of St. Francis. She is CASC & CNOR certified. She regularly speaks at national meetings and contributes articles to Outpatient Surgery Magazine, ASC Focus, Becker’s ASC Review. She has written an e-book, Admin 101: What Every New ASC Administrator Needs to Know available at www.sourcemed.net. She is a world traveler; enjoys teaching and mentoring up-and-coming ASC leaders, and public speaking.

John Goehle, MBA CPA CASC

John Goehle the Chief Operating Officer for Ambulatory Healthcare Strategies, LLC - a Rochester, New York-based ASC regulatory and financial oversight company. AHS provides a tiered management and services model that recognizes not all ASC’s need a management company – but every center can benefit from ongoing oversight and guidance services to assure regulatory compliance and fiscal security.

Prior to forming AHS, Mr. Goehle developed and managed two Rochester New York-based ambulatory surgery centers, and provided consulting services for a wide range of health care organizations, primarily in the Northeast.

Mr. Goehle has a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh Scotland, and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from Ithaca College in Upstate New York. He holds the prestigious Certified Administrator Surgery Center (CASC) credential. He is also a Certified Public Accountant in the State of New York. Mr. Goehle is also an accreditation surveyor with the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Healthcare (AAAHC).

Mr. Goehle is a frequent speaker on health care finance, technology and administration and has authored or co-authored eight books related to the ASC Industry including Ambulatory Surgery Center Governance - A Guide for Ambulatory Surgery Center Owners & Governing Body Members and The Survey Guide for ASCs – A Guide to the CMS Conditions of Coverage & Interpretive Guidelines for Ambulatory Surgery Centers. He is a former board member with the Federated Ambulatory Surgery Association and one of the founders of the New York State Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers.

Kylie Kaczor MSN-RN CASC CMPE CPHRM ACHE

Kylie has been a registered nurse for over 11 years with experience in intensive care nursing and outpatient surgery. She holds a Master of Science in Nursing: Leadership and Health Systems Management degree from Drexel University.

Over the past several years, Kylie has served as Executive Director of multiple ambulatory surgery centers using her unique clinical background and understanding of operations to drive quality in patient care and organizational development and growth. She is passionate about the cultivation of high-performing teams and invests extensive time in coaching and mentoring both healthcare and business professionals.

Kylie has specialized in several areas during her career resulting in certifications in ambulatory surgery center administration, medical practice operations, and healthcare risk management. Her distinctive experience in healthcare services and business operations allows Kylie to provide National Medical’s clients with supportive collaboration as they effectively operate their facilities through an ever-changing healthcare climate.

Allison Kuley, CPC

As a Certified Professional Coder for over a decade, Alison Kuley is one of the nation’s preeminent experts in the field of spine coding. Clients around the country seek out Alison for guidance on complex coding cases. She expanded her expertise when she completed the AAPC requirement for ICD-10 certification and was instrumental in guiding her clients through the daunting transition.

Prior to National Medical, Alison worked at Litchfield Hills Orthopedics where she was a rising star and ran the entire revenue cycle staff. With her extensive experience of orthopedics and spine, Alison is an expert in process, procedures and reimbursement methodologies in these complex and ever-changing specialties. She works closely with her clients to make sure they are compliant and understands what is needed to code these cases accurately. Alison has shared her knowledge as a speaker on complex spine and pain coding at a number of industry conferences.

Bill Lindeman

Mr. Lindeman is the President of WEL Designs PLC, a consulting firm for health care facility development and regulatory compliance. As a licensed architect working with ambulatory and acute care providers since early 1983, he has been instrumental in the planning and design of millions of square feet of Ambulatory Surgery Centers, medical practice suites, and other health care facilities. Bill has been an active contributor to development of national guidelines for healthcare facility design, and remains instrumental in the development of independent accreditation standards. He is an active Medicare Life Safety Code surveyor.

Leana McGuire, BS RN

Leana McGuire is an RN with 25 years of experience in adult critical care and heart transplantation. After obtaining her degree in Management and Organizational Development in 2007, Leana transitioned away from the bedside to focus on her passion for leadership and staff development.

Juanita Mendoza, CPC

Juanita Mendoza is the Coding Services Manager for Sovereign Healthcare, an ASC Management Company based in Mission Viejo, CA, with projects in Arizona and California. She is responsible for physician and staff coding education, documentation improvement, compliance audits, and oversight of all revenue cycle operations related to coding. Ms. Mendoza began her career in healthcare 28 years ago at Phoenix Surgicenter, the nation’s first Ambulatory Surgery Center. While there, Ms. Mendoza had the privilege of working with Wallace A. Reed, MD, co-founder of Phoenix Surgicenter and pioneer of the ASC concept. At Surgicenter, she became proficient in ASC multi-specialty coding. Ms. Mendoza has also worked as an independent contractor specializing in ASC coding and auditing and currently performs contract audits for Coding Compliance Management, LLC. Ms. Mendoza earned her AAPC CPC credential in 2003, lectured at an AAPC conference and worked with AAPC’s Project Xtern, mentoring several CPC-A’s.

William Miller, Esq

Will graduated from the University of California, San Diego, in 1986, and graduated from the University of San Diego School of Law in 1989. Will is an Equity Partner with the San Diego, California, law firm of Higgs, Fletcher & Mack, LLP, and is Chairperson of the Firm’s Health Care Group. For the past 27 years, Will’s practice has included civil trial litigation, as well as representation of clients in administrative proceedings, with an emphasis in the representation of health care clientele in both State and Federal courts.

Will represents health care clientele in their business litigation, administrative law, and medical malpractice matters; to date, he has represented both national, and state-wide, clientele in over 500 matters. His clients include Ambulatory Surgery Centers, Hospitals, Physicians, and other Allied Health Professionals.

Will has received the highest rating (A-V) available from Martindale-Hubbell for legal ability and ethics, has been distinguished as a designated “Super Lawyer for Southern California” by Thomson Reuters, the “Best of the Bar” by the San Diego Business Journal, and a “Top Lawyer” by San Diego Magazine.

Gerard Nussbaum, BS MS JD

Gerard has over thirty years of experience in assisting a wide variety of healthcare entities--from large health systems and academic medical centers through community hospitals, and ambulatory surgery center and clinicians in private practice--address their most pressing challenges. He is an accomplished healthcare executive with mastery of information technology, healthcare operations, legal and regulatory issues; deep experience in information technology strategic planning, regulatory compliance programs, merger and acquisition planning and execution; and interim management. Gerard has focused his career on helping healthcare organizations achieve real world solutions to help drive the industry forward. Gerard is a frequent public speaker and author on a wide variety of healthcare topics. The diversity and scope of his experience and expertise has enabled Gerard to assist clients in Bridging Health Technology and Law.

Laura Schneider, RN CGRN CEFR CASC

Laura Schneider has 34 years of GI nursing experience with 28 of years in GI Management. In 2003 Laura was invited to China to speak on Endoscope Reprocessing Standards in the US, and this sparked her interest in scope reprocessing. She became certified in Gastroenterology Nursing in 1990 (ABCGN), CASC in 2011, and Endoscopy Reprocessing in 2015 (CBSPD). She is a Trainer for the SGNA’s Endoscope Reprocessing ‘Train the Trainer’ Courses and she has given several presentations on scope reprocessing at SGNA, APIC, and ASCA regional and national Conferences. Laura is currently a Senior Clinical Director for the AmSurg Corporate Office in Dallas where she assists Center Leaders on Quality issues at 16 outpatient endoscopy centers.

Phenelle Segal, RN CIC FAPIC

Phenelle Segal, President of Infection Control Consulting Services is a registered nurse, certified in infection prevention since 1985 and recently received the designation of Fellow from the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology or APIC. Phenelle has been practicing infection prevention for 35 years and is well known as a nationwide consultant with most of her business focused on Ambulatory Surgery Centers. She provides onsite visits for ASCs to assess best practices and conducts comprehensive observations and review as per accreditation agency and CMS requirements. Phenelle develops written infection control plans, risk assessments, goals and objectives and various other programs for facilities. She also assists ASC staff who have been designated as the infection preventionist and onboards them either onsite or remotely. Phenelle presents nationwide for various associations include national ASCA and regional ASC meetings.

Gina Throneberry, RN MBA CNOR CASC

Gina Throneberry is the Director of Education and Clinical Affairs for the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA). In this role she educates members and non-members to the Medicare Quality Measure Reporting Program for Ambulatory Surgery Centers. She also works with federal agencies (Medicare, CDC, and FDA) in regards to clinical, regulatory, and quality issues/concerns among the ambulatory surgery center industry. Ms. Throneberry is a board member of the Tennessee Ambulatory Surgery Center Association. She is also a surveyor with the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Healthcare (AAAHC).

Tammeria Tyler, RN CIC

I am not a surveyor. What I am is someone who took on the role of infection preventionist in 2009 when CMS mandated that someone had to be in charge of infection prevention and control. This was not my first round with infection prevention. I became a nurse in the early 90's and quickly inherited the charge position of a chronic illness floor in a poor rural county in South Carolina. Most of the patients on this 45 bed unit had some type of infection due to their compromised health so I learned all that I could about infections, how they spread and why some methods worked while others do not. I have continued to learn throughout the years and will use all tools at my disposal including the CMS worksheet. It can be a foe but can also be a friend to your program if you let it.

Arnaldo Valedon, MD

Arnaldo Valedon, MD is an anesthesiologist practicing day surgery for twenty two years. He received his undergraduate education at Cornell University in 1987 followed by a doctorate degree in medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in 1991. He continued his training in anesthesiology at the University of Pennsylvania, with sub-specialty training in pediatric anesthesia at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. After finishing his training, Dr. Valedon has provided outpatient anesthesia services almost exclusively and has served as medical director of two outpatient surgery centers. Currently, he is a Managing Partner and Executive Director of Ambulatory Surgery Division of First Colonies Anesthesia Associates in Maryland. He recently served as a board member of the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA), and is the Chair-Elect for the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Healthcare (AAAHC). He is a member of the General Assembly and Executive Committee for the International Association for Ambulatory Surgery (IAAS). Dr. Valedon is the current President of the Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia (SAMBA) and is part of ambulatory surgery committee for the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA).

Craig Wallace

Craig Wallace is a Senior Technical Specialist in the 3M Infection Prevention Division laboratory. Craig has held a number of positions in 3M Healthcare over the last 35 years, including management and technical roles in medical device and pharmaceutical R&D organizations. He has specialized in the area of sterilization and disinfection for the last 20 years. Craig is active on several AAMI and ISO standards committees focused on biological indicators, chemical indicators, steam sterilization, process challenge devices, and ethylene oxide sterilization. Craig leads the 3M Sterilization Technical Service and Education Team, and has given lectures on a wide range of sterilization-related topics in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia.

Jaime Wicklund, CPC

Jaime Warren, CPC, is the senior coding manager at Surgical Notes. She has an extensive surgical coding background with over a decade of experience. Jaime's focused surgical experience and knowledge include plastic surgery, reconstructions, integumentary, and general surgery. Jaime is very involved with the ASPS, following industry trends and staying current with cutting edge surgical techniques. She provides education to surgeons, coders, and administrative support teams across the nation. Jaime started her coding career in the pacific northwest mastering the professional side of surgical coding, and has spent the last 7 years mastering the facility side. Jaime has presented webinars on a national scale, and as presented for the ASCA.

Cindy Young, BSN RN CASC

Mrs. Young has served as the Administrator of Surgery Center of Farmington for the past 15 years. The Surgery Center of Farmington has two operating room and two procedure room and provides multi-specialty outpatient surgical services. This facility has 21 physicians and allied health professionals on staff and performs over 4000 procedures per year.

Mrs. Young’s accomplishments have included successful three year Accreditations with AAAHC, Administrator of the year with ASD management in 2001, C.A.S.C. certification 2007, serves on MASCA board and currently serves on ASCA/ASF board. She has been recognized in Becker’s ASC review as one of the ASC Administrators to know. Mrs. Young has spoken at several ASCA annual conferences, FSASC annual meeting and ASCA webinars