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Aubrey is the Director of Revenue at Pillow Clinic PLLC, an Independent Rural Health Clinic in Helena, Arkansas. She has over seven years of experience in healthcare finance, Chronic Care Management Services, and Value Based Care. Aubrey is an alum of Louisiana Tech University where she graduated with a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Human Resources. While the bulk of her experience comes from working in a Rural Health Clinic, she got her start in healthcare finance by working at Pafford Emergency Medical Services while attending college in Ruston, LA. Directly after graduation, she started at Pillow Clinic as a billing clerk where she quickly worked her way into the Billing Manager Position. Within her first year working in a Rural Health Clinic, she became a Certified Rural Health Clinic Professional who dedicates her time to leading and implementing change at Pillow Clinic. In June of 2019, Aubrey implemented a Chronic Care Management Program and her team serviced 37 patients. Since implementation, her team has grown the program to consistently serve at least 1,000 patients per month. Chronic Care Management is one of Aubrey's passions and she loves to answer questions or consultations! Aubrey and her husband, Dylan, live in Avilla, Arkansas with their three Labradors. Together they enjoy waterfowl hunting and watching their Labradors compete in Hunting Retriever Champion Hunt Tests but when the weather sends the duo indoors, they enjoy entertaining and cooking for their friends.
Don Harkey is the CEO and Founder of People Centric Consulting Group in Springfield Missouri. People Centric helps organizations and their leaders to become the best versions of themselves through systems that support the creation of a strong culture. Don holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and spent 10 years working for Fortune 500 companies (Archer Daniels Midland and 3M) before taking a leap into the world of management consulting.
Elliot has been the clinic administrator for two independent NARHC member rural health clinics in Louisiana at St. Landry Family Healthcare in Washington, Louisiana, and Harmon Medical Clinic in Opelousas, Louisiana. Elliot has opened and successfully operated three rural health clinics since starting in family practice in 2014. He is also the clinic administrator and operator for a third non rural health clinic. His service area includes rural areas in south central Louisiana. In addition, he has opened a behavioral health clinic in those rural health clinics. Elliot has operated and practiced as a family nurse practitioner in rural health since 2014 and as a psychiatric nurse practitioner since 2022. He has worked in rural health since he has graduated as a nurse practitioner in 2013 and has over 10 years of experience in rural health. He is board certified as a family nurse practitioner and psychiatric nurse practitioner and has also obtained his doctorate in nursing practice in 2020. He also published his dissertation titled “The Development and Evaluation of an Informational Repository to Assist Family Nurse Practitioners with the Establishment of Primary Care Clinics in Rural Areas.” In addition, he received the 2023 Nurse Practitioner Excellence Award from the Louisiana Board of Nurse Practitioners and the Louisiana District IV 2024 Nursing Excellence Award. He also received in June from the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners the Louisiana Nurse Practitioner State Award for Excellence. Elliot has spent his career working in rural health operating clinics while also practicing as a clinician that has provided a unique administrative and clinician skill set that can assist in giving a unique perspective in rural health. He also serving on the National Association of Rural Health Board (NARHC) for 2024 and on the Policy Committee.
Jill Oesterle is the Director of Provider Solutions at the Michigan Center for Rural Health (MCRH). Her current work focuses on programs that facilitate operational, financial, and clinical quality improvement in Michigan’s Rural Health Clinics, including managing the Michigan Rural Health Clinic Network. She leads many of the grant-funded projects that align with primary care, including the Rural Health Clinic Quality Innovation Lab, Health Hearts for Michigan, and the Enhancement of Team-Based Cardiovascular Care Program. She is a Certified Rural Health Clinic Professional, a trained Practice Facilitator, and has hands-on experience as a former Rural Health Clinic Practice Manager.
Julie Quinn is a CPA with over 25 years experience in governmental compliance and cost reporting, 15 of which she spent in the Medicare Contractor arena. She holds an MBA with a concentration in Healthcare Administration. During her years with Medicare, she managed an audit staff responsible for independent RHC cost reports in 15 states and served as Compliance Officer for a Medicare Contractor. Currently, she assists RHCs with cost reporting, audit resolution, rate setting and various cost issues. Ms. Quinn also works with new and existing RHCs providing mock surveys and plans of correction when needed. The assists RHCs with emergency preparedness compliance, policy and procedure manuals, as well as program evaluations and other compliance solutions.
Karen Brown has worked in healthcare for over 20 years. She started her career as an intern at Bloomington Hospital in Bloomington, IN, where she worked her way up to account rep for 10 years. Karen relocated to Minot, ND in the spring of 2014 where she worked at Trinity Hospital holding the position as contract management, commercial billing, specialty billing and RAC audit supervisor. She began her rural health adventure in the winter of 2019 where she currently holds the position as Revenue Cycle Director of Mountrail County Medical Center in Stanley, ND.
Lisa Thorp holds a BA in Business Administration. After working in the business field for a few years, went back to school and earned a BS in Nursing. She has been an RN for 29 years. Lisa has spent her nursing career working in rural settings, first in a Critical Access Hospital, in various hospital inpatient settings of med-surg, ICU and ED. Additional experience was gained in a Rural Health Clinic as staff nurse and later Nursing Supervisor. She is a Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist and managed an accredited Diabetes Self-Management Education Services program. She joined Quality Health Associates of ND as a Quality Improvement Specialist in April 2017 and is part of the QHA team that subcontracts with Great Plains QIN, the quality improvement network-quality improvement organization for ND and SD, and leads the Partnerships for Community Health work and providing quality improvement assistance to clinics and hospitals in support of a variety of CMS QI initiatives. Lisa is married and lives on a ranch in north central ND. They have 3 grown children and 5 grandchildren. She likes flowers and is a wanna-be gardener and furniture painter.
Malissa Becksvoort serves in the dual role of Director of Operations, Primary Health, and Ambulatory Operations Performance at Corewell Health, a not-for-profit integrated health system based in Michigan. She is a seasoned healthcare leader with significant experience in leadership, operations, and process improvement. In a dyad partnership, Malissa is responsible for eight primary care practices inclusive of Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, value-based care, and the underserved. In her Ambulatory Operations Performance role, she serves all the 200+ Ambulatory practices with standard work and other process improvement efforts that support the leaders, providers, and team members.
Michael Tackitt began his career in 2004 when he enlisted in the United States Army as a combat medic. After three years of active duty he began working as a paramedic in Texas while serving another six years in the Army Reserve. In 2019 Michael was asked to lead the Rural Health Clinic at Brownfield Regional Medical Center in Brownfield, TX and is currently the Director of Operations for the hospital system. Michael has an Associate's Degree of Applied Sciences in E.M.S. from South Plains College, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts, and a Master's in Business Administration from Louisiana State University.
Michelle Boehne is driven and dedicated with over 20 years of experience coordinating, streamlining, and supporting operations in healthcare settings. She is currently the administrative director of clinics at Citizens Memorial Hospital (CMH) in Bolivar, MO. She has administrative oversight of CMH rural health clinics and specialty clinics, ensuring regulatory compliance and providing administrative support to clinic-based physicians. Prior to CMH, she worked as a Rural Health Clinic and Patient Centered Medical Home accreditation adviser for a nationally recognized health care accreditation organization.
She has a bachelor’s degree of business administration and a master’s degree in health care administration. Michelle is a member of Missouri Association of Rural Health Clinics, currently serving as Treasurer. She is passionate about the details and healthcare in rural settings. Michelle enjoys her grandkids, farm life, and anything outdoors.
Director of Business Development at QUAD A in Highland Park, IL. I have been with QUAD A for almost 5 years. It has been my honor to be involved in ambulatory healthcare accreditation for almost 27 years. I believe in accreditation and its value to me as a patient and patient advocate for my family members. I love being a part of the accreditation industry as it has grown to cover various healthcare settings. I actively promote the value of accreditation to assure patient safety, aid in quality improvement objectives, and ensure all staff know how their roles are integral to both. My favorite saying is “Accreditation is a team sport!”
Nathan Baugh is the Executive Director of the National Association of Rural Health Clinics (NARHC). Prior to becoming the Executive Director in July of 2022, Nathan was the Director of Government Affairs for NARHC and in this role he was instrumental in the passage of the Rural Health Clinic Medicare payment reforms signed into law as a part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. This legislation was the most significant overhaul to the rural health clinic program in the last twenty-five years. As Executive Director, Nathan provides strategic direction for NARHC and is still involved in RHC advocacy priorities from telehealth to Medicare Advantage.
Patty Harper is a principal of InQuiseek Consulting. She has over 26 years of healthcare experience in the areas of healthcare finance & reimbursement, health information management, compliance, and practice management. Patty holds a B.S. in Health Information Administration from Louisiana Tech University. She is credentialed through AHIMA as a RHIA, CHTS-IM, and CHTS-PW. She is also Certified in Healthcare Compliance (CHC®) thorough the Compliance Certification Board. Patty is a frequent speaker and content contributor for national, state and regional organizations on these and other rural health topics. Patty served on the NARHC Board from 2018 through 2023.
Sarah is the Director of Government Affairs for the National Association of Rural Health Clinics (NARHC). She leads both regulatory and legislative federal policy efforts for the organization and provides direct technical assistance and education to RHCs across the country. Sarah advocates for reimbursement policies that incentivize and support rural primary care and other health services. Prior to joining NARHC, Sarah worked for the Pennsylvania State Office of Rural Health. She earned her BS in Health Policy and Administration from Penn State University and her Master of Public Health from the Penn State College of Medicine. Sarah resides in Alexandria, Virginia.