Marilyn K. Christian, RN, BSN, CNOR, CASC. Marilyn Christian is president/COO of Advantage Surgical Partners. Ms. Christian previously served six years as vice president of clinical operations and regulatory compliance for a leading ASC company. This followed four years as administrator and director of nursing for a multi-specialty ASC. Ms. Christian’s responsibilities in these positions, as well as others she has held in diagnostic imaging centers and surgical hospitals, have included all phases of startup, development, perioperative services, business office procedures, budgeting, contracting, quality assurance, benchmarking, plant operations, regulatory compliance, national accreditation, personnel management and vendor relationships. She is known across the country for the value she has contributed to the ASC industry for 20-plus years.
Stephanie Ellis, RN, CPC. Stephanie Ellis is the president of Ellis Medical Consulting, Inc. (EMC), which was founded in 1992. EMC is a healthcare consulting firm providing chart audits for coding and documentation issues, business office operational assessments, research of coverage issues, litigation support, reimbursement research, ASC and physician coding/billing training and the development and implementation of billing compliance programs for healthcare providers. Ms. Ellis has worked with most specialties, assisting ASCs, physician practices, acute care hospitals, surgical hospitals, IDTFs and outpatient clinics around the country in her consulting work. In one of her previous positions, she was a fraud investigator for the Medicaid program in Tennessee, which is helpful in compliance her work.
Ann Geier, RN, MS, CNOR, CASC. Ann Geier is the vice president of operations for Ambulatory Surgical Centers of America (ASCOA). She has worked in ASCs since the mid-80’s. In her various roles, she has worked with controlling costs while maintaining the quality of care provided to patients. Ms. Geier is currently involved on a national level with the Ambulatory Surgery Foundation (ASF), AORN and the ASC Quality Collaboration Expert Group in setting standards for quality of care strategies. She teaches in the AORN Ambulatory Surgery Manager’s Certificate Program twice a year and teaches the annual financial management for Ambulatory Surgery Managers course. Ms. Geier is also on the AORN PNDS Data User Base task force, is a surveyor for AAAHC and speaks at national and regional meetings several times a year.
Donna Jarmusz. Donna Jarmusz serves as senior vice president for business development and strategic initiatives of Alter+Care, the healthcare development arm of The Alter Group. Her responsibilities include delivering comprehensive outpatient facilities to fulfill the strategic goals of healthcare providers and physicians. As a senior healthcare administrator, Ms. Jarmusz developed numerous healthcare projects such as ASCs; hospital‐physician organizations; centers of excellence in cardiology, oncology and orthopedics; and more than a dozen wellness centers. She was previously the founder and president of The IBIS Group, Inc., a national facility development company specializing in turnkey medically based health and fitness centers and served as vice president of business development for Edward Health Services.
Sandra J. Jones, CASC, LHRM, CHCQM, FHFMA. Sandra Jones is principal and director of management services for Woodrum/Ambulatory Systems Development and owner and president of Ambulatory Strategies. Ms. Jones has 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry and has overseen or contributed to the successful establishment and development of over 75 ASC nationwide. Ms. Jones has also served as president and COO of ASC consulting firms, administrator of freestanding ASCs, regional risk manager and managed care director for a surgery center corporation and president and vice president of acute care hospitals. She serves on the board of the ASC Association, is an accreditation surveyor with the AAAHC and legislative liaison and past president of the surgery center group of the Medical Group Management Association.
Joan Lapham. Joan Lapham is the CEO of Sierra Surgery Hospital, a joint venture between a physician investor group and a not-for-profit community hospital that was built and opened in 2005. Responsible for comprehensive oversight of the hospital construction from functional design through completion of construction; transition of the organization and staff from a surgery center to a fully operational hospital; licensure, certification, and accreditation; negotiation of the joint venture operating agreement and other required legal documents; arranging financing for the project; and, hiring and development of a competent senior management team. This $21.5 million project was delivered on-time and on-budget.
Melody Mena. Melody Mena is director of surgical services for Southern Regional
Health System and Surgery Center at Mt. Zion, both located in south metro Atlanta. Ms. Mena began her career as an x-ray technician, graduated in 1995 as a nurse and went straight to the OR. She then ran medical consulting firms for several years. In 2006, Ms. Mena became director of surgical services for the Surgery Center at Mt. Zion, a joint physician/Southern Regional Health System venture. She turned around the struggling ASC and transformed it into a successful profit center, relying heavily on making the center technologically advanced. Her success there (15 percent growth in one year, 98 percent patient satisfaction and a 0 percent infection rate) led to additional responsibilities as she became director of surgical services for the entire Southern Regional Health System in 2008.
Evelyn S. Miller, CPA. Evie Miller serves as the vice president of development at United Surgical Partners International. She is responsible for the company’s strategic direction of USPI’s mergers and acquisitions efforts. She is also responsible for the financial analysis section of the development department, thus overseeing financial projections on all de novo projects. A certified public accountant, Ms. Miller began her career in healthcare as the System Controller at All Saints Health System in Fort Worth, Texas (now a part of the Baylor Healthcare System). Prior to joining USPI, she was executive vice president of Medway Health Systems, overseeing the financial operations of its medical clinics. Ms. Miller received her BA in accounting and management at York College of Pennsylvania.
Marcy T. Rogers. Mary Rogers is president and CEO of SpineMark, Management Technology Resources and American Pain Management. For more than 30 years she has worked with leading healthcare professionals, facilities and medical device manufacturers to advance her goals of improving patient outcomes and satisfaction, as well as developing premier Centers of Excellence in multiple specialties. Ms. Rogers began building Centers of Excellence 19 years ago in the field of craniofacial surgery. Her focus on awareness and patient advocacy lead her to spearhead legislation to create a National Craniofacial Awareness Week. Thanks to her efforts, U.S. Congress passed her bill in 1990.
Stephanie S. Tarry. Stephanie Tarry is senior vice president, physician partnerships, for Nueterra Healthcare. Ms. Tarry lead’s the Nueterra’s physician business development team. Since joining Nueterra in 2000, she has successfully recruited physician partners and syndicated 22 ASCs and real estate private placement offerings, of which six have been joint ventures with hospitals. Ms. Tarry is a licensed securities representative knowledgeable in Reg “D” offerings. Her extensive background in finance and accounting allows her to thoroughly understand and explain the financial structure of the partnerships. She began her career with 12 years of banking experience. Prior to joining Nueterra, she served as the director of treasury for a major Midwestern integrated health system and, before that, as the treasurer for the largest school district in Missouri.
