Becker's ASC Review

64 13th Annual Spine, Orthopedic and Pain Management-Driven ASC Conference + The Future of Spine – Call (800) 417-2035 Melissa Szabad, JD, is a partner with Chicago law firm McGuireWoods. Ms. Szabad's practice focuses on healthcare corporate and regulatory matters. She advises various healthcare providers including ASCs, ASC chains and hos- pitals. She earned her law degree from DePaul University College of Law in Chicago. Benita Tapia is the administrator of 90210 Surgery Medical Center and Pre- cision Ambulatory Surgery Center located in Beverly Hills, Calif. Ms. Tapia leads a team of surgeons and staff with state-of-the-art facilities which pro- vide the highest level of patient care for ophthalmology, orthopedics, pain management and spine procedures. Stephanie Tarry joined Nueterra in 2000 as the company's senior vice presi- dent of business development. Ms. Tarry is a licensed securities representative and has an extensive background in finance. In her role with Nueterra, she has successfully recruited many physician partners and syndicated numerous ASCs and real estate private placement offerings. Previously, Ms. Tarry was the director of treasury for a large Midwestern health system. Joyce (Deno) Thomas, RN, serves as corporate clinical director at Regent Surgical Health. She oversees quality improvement for the organization and works with Regent centers to resolve daily issues. She has more than 35 years of experience in the healthcare industry and has previously served as the executive director of Loveland (Colo.) Surgery Center. She has also worked for Joliet, Ill.-based HealthSouth as a regional director of quality improvement and as an administrator. Jill Thrasher, CASC, is the administrator of Precision Surgery Center of Dal- las, an ASCOA facility. Ms. Thrasher has held various leadership positions in- cluding business office manager with HCA and office manager of Orthopedic Associates of Dallas. She earned her BS in healthcare administration at Texas State University-San Marcos. Kay Tucker is the director communications for the Ambulatory Surgery Cen- ter Association, a position she has held for nearly eight years. ASCA's mission is to represent ambulatory surgery centers and provide resources that assist ASCs in delivering high quality, cost effective care. Kerri Ubaldi, RN, MBA, CPHRM, is the vice president of operations with Merritt Healthcare. Ms. Ubaldi has more than 22 years of experience as a reg- istered nurse, as well as experience in risk management and regulatory affairs. She earned her BSN from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh and her MBA from Fairfield (Conn.) University. LoAnn Vande Leest, RN, MBA-H, CNOR, CASC, CHSP, is the adminis- trator and CEO of Northwest Michigan Surgery Center in Traverse City. Ms. Vande Leest held leadership roles in Wisconsin surgery centers for 13 years prior to joining Northwest Michigan Surgery Center. In 2014, she led the surgery center's $1.6 million expansion. She also serves as an AAAHC surveyor and is a second vice president of Michigan Ambulatory Surgery Association. Kara Vittetoe, CASC, is the COO of Parkway Neuroscience and Spine In- stitute in Hagerstown, Md. Previously, she served as the administrator of Thomas Johnson Surgery Center in Fredrick, Md. Ms. Vittetoe also has expe- rience in the private sector of healthcare management. Leslie Wachsman serves as the vice president of finance for Surgical Care Affiliates. Prior to SCA, Ms. Wachsman served as vice president of finance at CVS Caremark. Ms. Wachsman earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Kansas and a Master of Business Ad- ministration from Lake Forest College. Tamara Wagner is vice president of performance review at National Medical Billing Services. She joined National Medical Billing Services in 2004. In this

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