Consultants | The Center for Case Management

Bonnie Geld, MSW

President and CEO of The Center for Case Management

Bonnie Geld, MSW is President and CEO of The Center for Case Management and, brings over 20 years’ experience in the area of Case Management with a focus on design of longitudinal case management programs, strategic design and development of transition programs, process improvement, team building, and successful integration of social work and RN roles. She has been the System Director for Case Management Services for a five hospital system in Western Massachusetts, Director of Care Management in Minneapolis and Houston, and has developed and implemented successful Care Management programs in other states, both in Large Adult Systems in Oklahoma and Children’s Health Systems in Texas. She has launched a variety of educational programs and workshops on promoting lean actions, team interventions, rapid cycle assessments, and integrated care planning.

Thomas Higgins, MD, MBA, FACP, MCCM

Chief Medical Officer of The Center for Case Management

Thomas Higgins, MD, MBA, FACP, MCCM, Chief Medical Officer of The Center for Case Management, graduated from Boston University School of Medicine, trained at the Cleveland Clinic and Massachusetts General Hospital, and is Professor of Medicine and Anesthesiology at UMass-Baystate. His career includes primary care in rural North Carolina, urban emergency medicine, directing intensive care at Cleveland Clinic and Baystate Medical Center (BMC), medical informatics, interim chair and Vice-Chairman of Medicine at BMC, and interim president/CEO at Baystate Franklin Medical Center (BFMC). From 2015 to 2017, he was Chief Medical Officer at BFMC in Greenfield, MA and Baystate Noble Hospital (BNH) in Westfield, MA. He is now Chief Medical Officer with the Center for Case Management in Natick, MA. His interests include severity-of-illness scoring, electronic medical records, population health management and process improvement. Dr. Higgins has co-authored two textbooks, two history books and over 180 peer-reviewed publications, including the widely cited Mortality Probability Model (MPM₀-III).

Kathleen A. Bower, DNSc, RN, FAAN, CMAC

Principal Emeritus of The Center for Case Management

Kathleen A. Bower, DNSc, RN, FAAN, CMAC, is Principal Emeritus of The Center for Case Management She was a member of the team that invented Clinical Paths and provider based Case Management at New England Medical Center in 1985. She has provided education and consultation regarding patient care management strategies, including Clinical Paths, Case Management, Disease Management, patient outcomes and critical indicators, patient education and compliance, management skills and documentation redesign, nationally and internationally. Dr. Bower has authored many articles and books on these subjects as well as providing workshops and presentations. She holds a BSN from Georgetown University, a MSN from Boston College and a doctoral degree in nursing (DNSc) from Boston University. She is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, which presented Kathy with their Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015.

Sue Wilson Hall

Director of Operations and Communications

Director of Operations and Communications, has 30 years’ experience in the healthcare field. She started her career as an Admitting Coordinator for a Massachusetts hospital and continues to consult on admitting processes. She joined the team at The Center for Case Management 18 years ago and works direclty with the President. As the Director of Operations and Communications she oversees the daily operations of the business, assists both consultants and clients, manages the marketing, and is involved with proposal and contract writing. Ms. Hall is the former Executive Director for the Credentialing Advisory Board for Case Management Administrator Certification (CMAC). Sue is a strong advocate for women with addictions.

Kimberly Barry, BSN, MS, RN, CMAC

Consulting Associate

Matt Boettcher, LMSW-AP, LCSW, MSW, CMAC

Senior Consulting Associate

Matt Boettcher, LMSW-AP, LCSW, MSW, CMAC is a Senior Consulting Associate. Mr. Boettcher is the Vice President of Comprehensive Care Management for the Central Texas Division of Baylor Scott & White Health, the largest non-profit health care system in Texas with 48 hospitals, 1006 patient access points, and 48,000 employees. Mr. Boettcher is responsible for the oversight of all Central Texas system hospitals, clinics, and post-acute settings for Case Management, Social Work, and Utilization Review. Mr. Boettcher has been in leadership and direct care roles in Case Management and Social Work for more than 30 years including as an Interim Director through CCM, VP, Director, and Manager of Case Management in large urban institutions and multi-hospital systems. Mr. Boettcher is a frequent national speaker, lecturer, and quoted content expert on topics including development of RN/MSW case management teams, health care for the uninsured/undocumented, and reducing length of stay in high acuity patients. Mr. Boettcher earned his bachelor’s degree from Bethany College and a MSW from Columbia University.

Tina Davis, RN, MS, CMAC

Senior Consulting Associate

Tina Davis, RN, MS, CMAC is an associate consultant. Miss Davis has extensive progressive healthcare experience, with specialization in nursing and case management. Extensive knowledge in the case management process, which includes utilization review, case management discharge planning and outcomes measurement and quality. Miss Davis is proficient in quality improvement, team development/training and coordination. She has outstanding ability to develop and interact successfully in a multidisciplinary team environment. Miss Davis has expertise in the core measures and JACHO standards.

Jeffrey Echternach, BBA, AS, NRP

Consulting Associate

Jeffrey Echternach, BBA, AS, NRP Jeff’s career in healthcare began as a paramedic and business development coordinator for the hospital ambulance and critical care transport division. Interest in Data and Process improvement lead Jeff to pursue his Bachelors in Business from Averett University, Six Sigma, LEAN, & Agile Training, and develop a core competency around Healthcare and Business analytics. Supporting Carilion Clinic as a Senior Project Analyst, Jeff has several primary departments that he and his team are responsible for supporting including a busy 78 bed Emergency Room, an Emergency Medicine Program, a Large and Nationally known Transfer and Communications center, The Care Management Division, and Nursing Services.

Jeff is passionate about gaining insight from data, providing analysis that informs, and translating data in to meaningful, actionable information.

Jeff has had primary or supportive responsibility over several large and complex projects including the maturity of the Pay for Performance and Value based purchasing initiatives, Transfer Center Process Design and Data mining, optimization of the Care Management Division and the implementation of several EPIC Modules. Jeff maintains experience in EPIC and TeleTracking Technologies and has worked with several EMRs and Data systems.

Sheila Goldlust, RN, BSN, BSW, M.Ed, ACM-RN

Consulting Associate

Sheila Goldlust, is a consulting associate. Ms. Goldlust has over 23 years as a Nurse in a large teaching hospital in western Massachusetts. Prior to her nursing career, she was a social worker providing counseling to at-risk youth in California. She began her nursing career as a Pediatric and Young Adult RN and transitioned to Case Manager in pediatrics and adult cardiac surgery. Sheila advanced to Manager of the Case Management Department, overseeing a nurse case management staff of 35. Within several years, she was promoted to Senior Director, Care Management for Baystate Health, a multi-hospital system in western Massachusetts. She oversaw the advancement of case management, social work, and patient flow for the health system. Sheila brings extensive experience in rapid improvement projects, re-organization of Denials and Appeals, managing patient flow, decreasing emergency department boarding hours and walk-outs, and developing improved case management and social work documentation. She is the co-author of “Decreasing Emergency Department Walkout Rate and Boarding Hours by Improving Inpatient Length of Stay” Western Journal of Emergency Medicine: Integrating Emergency Care with Population Health.

Cheryl Kanallakan, RN, BSN, MSN, CCM, ACM

Consulting Associate

Cheryl Kanallakan, RN, BSN, MSN, CCM, ACM, is a consulting associate whose professional and leadership experience spans over 30 years, with 20 years Case Management leadership. Her vast experience in Care Coordination includes ED & Acute Care Case Management, Utilization Review/Management, Discharge Planning, Transitions of Care and Revenue Cycle. Ms. Kanallakan has developed and implemented Case Management programs and provided exceptional directorship in staff and department development. She has recently retired from the University of Colorado Health System where she held varies Case Management leadership roles including Sr. Director of Care Coordination for a multi-hospital system. Currently, Ms. Kanallakan provides in department and organizational assessments and onsite assistance with development and implementation of new programs and processes for clients.

Shawna G. Kates, MSW, MBA, CMAC

Consulting Associate

Shawna G. Kates, MSW, MBA, CMAC is a Consulting Associate. Ms. Kates brings her deep knowledge of case management processes and social work from her former positions including Corporate Director of Case Management, Social Work and Discharge Planning for several multi-hospital systems in New Jersey and Philadelphia. As an Interim Director of Case Management, Ms. Kates’ skills in Rapid Re-design has been successfully employed by health systems in Michigan, Tennessee and Maine. Ms. Kates’ expertise lies in the development of patient care delivery models, financial recovery, and case management programs, with a focus on enhancing and distinguishing the role of Social Work.

Kathryn Kay

Consulting Associate

Kathryn Kay is a licensed clinical social worker with over 25 years of experience in mental health and health care settings. She attended Boston University, where she received her Masters in Social Work in 1989. While she has had many years of direct-practice and management experience, including oversight of an adolescent psychiatric unit; she has most recently worked as the Manager of Social Work and Transitional Care in the hospital setting. There she worked with the Director of Case Management to develop an effective model for transitional care in the hospital and community setting, highlighting the role of MSW’s. She was responsible for the supervision and oversight of employees and students who were working in the Emergency Department, on the medical floors and in the psychiatric unit. Kathryn is also an adjunct instructor for the University of Southern California’s Master of Social Work Program Virtual Academic Center.

Kathryn thoroughly enjoys training, teaching and promoting the discipline of Social Work, and is a supportive leader. She is a strong listener and relationship builder. With a critical eye to systems improvement, she works to create consensus and strong connections among key stakeholders.

Arinda F. Kennedy, RN, CCDS

Consulting Associate

Arinda F. Kennedy, RN, CCDS is a consulting associate for The Center for Case Management, Inc., since 2003. She has over 20 years experience in ED and ICU nursing, 10 years experience in Performance Improvement based in a HIM department where she was cross trained to inpatient coding. In 2002 she researched, designed and established a Clinical Documentation Improvement program for a large health system in Alabama. She has extensive experience in coding and documentation audits, providing education and training in both Clinical Documentation Improvement and Case Management redesign on a national level.

Jean Lefebvre, RN, CCM

Consulting Associate

Jean Lefebvre, RN, CCM has over 34 years of combined nursing and case management experience. Throughout her career she has led teams and projects in Acute Care Case Management, Utilization Review/Management, Discharge Planning, Managed Care, Clinical Documentation Improvement, Transitions of Care and Population Health Coordination. She is process-oriented and strives to improve efficiencies and develop appropriate solutions for health systems. She has led many process improvement projects, including Emergency Room Utilization and Multidisciplinary Rounds, and has developed and implemented new programs, such as Care Management infrastructure and Outpatient Care Management staffing models.

Jean’s coaching approach is central to her leadership style, while she collaborates with health systems to advance visionary change and meet their challenging and exciting goals.

Anne Mosomillo, RN, BSN, MBA, CMAC, CPHQ

Consulting Associate

Anne Mosomillo, RN, BSN, MBA, CMAC, CPHQ is a Consulting Associate whose professional and leadership experience span over 30 years. Her progressive growth, knowledge and dynamic experience are in Care Management (Utilization Management, Discharge Planning, Transitions of Care) and related Revenue Cycle functions, Clinical Documentation Improvement, Quality and Performance Improvement (PI), and Accreditation compliance. Ms. Mosomillo’s expertise is in program/department assessment, model design, development and implementation; strategic program and operational functions; CM IT system selection, project management and implementation; training and education of staff as well as leadership at all levels. Ms. Mosomillo spent 26 years of her career working in New York City and New Jersey at tertiary academic teaching hospitals and healthcare systems. Most recently she functioned as Interim Director CM at a regional medical center in Georgia where she now resides. Prior roles in Care Management were as Director, Senior Director and Vice President, with other roles as System Director Quality/Performance Improvement, and AVP Care Management, PI and Accreditation.

Ms. Mosomillo earned her BSN from Pace University and an MBA Healthcare Administration from Baruch College both in New York City.

Chris Nesheim, RN, MS, CMAC

Senior Consulting Associate

Lee Memorial Health System is a not for profit Public Hospital system with 10 member elected Board of Directors; 6 hospitals which include Rehab, Skilled Nursing Facility, Home Health Agency, Physician groups, and Outpatient Centers.

Chris has over 35 years in Health Care experience, 20 years in Leadership positions of Case Management, is a Registered Nurse, has a Master of Science in Human Resource Development/Management, and a Bachelor of in Health Care Administration from Barry University of Miami, Florida.

As Vice President of Care Management, Chris was responsible for Case Management, Medical Social Work, Palliative Care, Transfer Center, and the Disease Management Program. The Care Management Department is the 2005 recipient of the Franklin Award of Distinction that was bestowed by ACMA/JCAHO for exceptional hospital and health system case management and 2011 Platinum Award for the Emergency Department Case Management program.

Ms. Nesheim has spoken at several national and state case management conferences.

Mindy Owen RN, CRRN, CCM

Consulting Associate

Her case management career began as the Midwest Regional Director of C.M. for Intracorp- a leader in disability, UR and CM services nationwide. She was asked to be one of the Founding Board members of CMSA, helping to establish the organization and becoming its 2^nd President. Mrs. Owen has served on the CMSA Task Force (Outcomes and Accountability), the Commission for Case Manager Certification (CCM Chair-1996 and 2005), ACCM Leadership Council, the Editorial Board of The Case Manger magazine, Lippincott’s Professional Case Management Journal as a columnist, and the Case Management Standards of Practice Task Force sponsored by URAC. In her role as VP for Athena Forums, she has provided oversight &guidance for CM curriculum development.

Her many consulting assignments have included developing & implementing CM/DM models of care within managed care programs, government agencies and acute care facilities. She was the lead Consultant to the State of Florida Medicaid Agency and Pfizer Health Solutions- in a DSM initiative to implement a new DSM program for Medicaid recipients. She was also elected to serve on the Board of Directors as the first Public Member for the Academy of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP). ACRP is the international certifying body for clinical research professionals.

Margaret Reid, RN, BA, BSN, MSN

Senior Consulting Associate

Margaret Reid, RN, BA, BSN, MSN, is a Consulting Associate. Ms. Reid specializes in departmental and organizational assessments, and often provides Interim Director of Case Management services for many client hospitals. As an Interim Director she performs all duties and responsibilities thereof, including development of policies & procedures; case manager training and support; data management and communication with administration and physicians. She has been a psychiatric nurse as well as a case manager for a managed care population. Her extensive experience in case management consultation includes establishing systems in acute inpatient, home care, and rehabilitation settings.

Heidi Rohloff, RN, BSN, MSN, ACNP

Consulting Associate

Heidi Rohloff, RN, BSN, MSN, ACNP is a consulting associate. Ms. Rohloff’s expansive clinical experience spans across the continuum of care in various clinical roles such as nurse manager for home care, Director of Care Management and Quality, clinical process engineer and Nurse Practitioner. Ms. Rohloff is certified as a six sigma lean green belt and has led many clinical teams with process improvement projects both at hospital and health system level. Ms. Rohloff’s works clinically as a Nurse Practitioner in Emergency Medicine with experience with ED Observation unit. She has develop and implement numerous ED clinical protocols. Her expertise led her to do site assessments of client emergency departments with gap analysis, and action plans to monitor improvements.

Ms. Rohloff holds a BSN from Madonna University, MSN from Wayne State University, and post graduate certificate as Acute Care Nurse Practitioner from Madonna University. Her graduate dissertation was on “Effects of Continuing Education on Nursing Case Management” where her work supported education for nurses to support them and give them the skills to case manage their patients effectively and efficiently

Corin Schneider, MHA, MN, BSN, ACM

Consulting Associate

Corin Schneider, MHA, MN, BSN, ACM has worked in a variety of hospital settings over the last 25 years. In her leadership roles, she had direct accountability for multiple areas that included Case management, Bundled Payment, Patient Access, Palliative Care, Clinical Documentation Integrity, Patient Flow Management, Inpatient Mental Health Interpreter and Chaplain Services.

Corin has a strong background, and proven success, in program development, as well as, a firm understanding of the revenue cycle and its ability to impact quality, compliance and revenue enhancement. She has a strong background in Utilization review, Revenue Cycle, LEAN methodologies, ethics, compliance and regulatory requirements contributing to overall organizational strategic goals. Corin’s ability to connect all areas of patient throughput has allowed her to effectively oversee a wide variety of acute care and community transitional programs.

Corin describes her leadership style as inclusive and innovative, designed to achieve the highest quality of patient care delivery.

Laurie Signorelli, DBH, MSW, LMSW, AC

Consulting Associate

Laurie Signorelli, DBH, MAQ, LMSW, AC is a seasoned doctoral level professional with over 20 years in healthcare leadership and consulting. She specializes in care management and medical/behavioral clinical and organizational pathways for optimal patient health outcomes and financial sustainability and improvement for healthcare organizations. She has considerable experience in cross continuum work that integrates medical, psychological, and social aspects of care into the medical mainstream in her leadership and consulting roles. In addition, she teaches healthcare policy, evaluation and quality improvement in healthcare, cost offset and return on investment, healthcare economics, and behavioral health subject matter for Nursing, Healthcare Administration, and Behavioral Health programs at the doctoral level, focusing on all aspects of care from the clinical to the fiscal.

Ricki Stajer, RN, MA, CPHQ

Consulting Associate

Ricki Stajer RN, MA, CPHQ has held leadership positions in community based non-profit integrated delivery systems over quality management, performance improvement, and care management programs as well as Transitional Care and Inpatient Rehabilitation units. She is a past member of the California Hospital Association’s Advisory Board for Post-Acute Care Services and she recently retired as the Vice President of Care Coordination from PHI Health System in Whittier, California. The PHI Health Hospital in Whittier, CA. is the 2012 recipient of the Franklin Award of Distinction awarded by ACMA/TJC for exceptional case management.

As part of her leadership responsibilities Ricki led several case management initiatives, including the health system’s participation in a CMMI project designed to embed chronic disease case management teams within the continuum of care and reduce hospital readmissions and ED visits for the most vulnerable and high-risk chronically ill patients. She also was the project leader for the CMS Bundled Payment Services program for lower extremity joint replacement when it was first introduced.

Ricki has presented at both state and national conferences and published articles on quality and process improvement, case management systems and patient safety topics.

Ricki has over 40 years of Health Care experience. She is a registered nurse and holds a bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences, a master’s degree in Organizational Leadership and a certificate in Gerontology from Chapman University in Orange, California.

Cheryl Warren, MS, RN

Consulting Associate

Cheryl Warren, MS, RN has more than 14 years experience in Nursing Administration, specializing in Case Management. She is currently the Chief Clinical Integration Officer at Hallmark Health System, comprised of Lawrence Memorial Hospital of Medford; Melrose-Wakefield Hospital; Hallmark Health VNA and Hospice; Lawrence Memorial/Regis College Nursing. In this role she has responsibility for Ambulatory, Case Management, Utilization Management and Social Work as well as strategic planning for transitions of care in the post-acute community.

Additionally, she holds the position of Senior Consulting Associate at the Center for Case Management, Wellesley, MA. She has a broad foundation of knowledge in Case Management and specializes in Utilization Management, Observation level of Care. In her role, she performs assessments and assists with implementation plans throughout the country as well as teaches courses on managing care transitions through the continuum.

Ms. Warren has served as a clinical instructor for Quincy College and adjunct faculty at Northeastern University. She holds a BS in nursing from Curry College and an MS from Regis College. She has spoken about Case Management at Massachusetts Hospital Association, Masspro and other acute care hospitals across the U.S.

Vicki Weiner MSW, CCM

Consulting Associate

Vicki Weiner MSW, CCM is a consulting associate at The Center for Case Management. She holds Masters Degrees in both Social Work and Counseling and Guidance. She brings over 30 years’ experience as a medical social worker in both the outpatient and the inpatient settings. She has 15 years’ experience as a hospital Maternal Child social worker covering L&D, OB/GYN, newborn nursery, NICU and pediatrics. In that role, she established a strong relationship with outpatient pediatric and prenatal clinics. She created a pediatric clinic that scheduled at risk families on a regular basis to receive medical care, parenting skills and social work services. She also created a prenatal screening tool to identify socially high risk pregnancies. Fourteen years ago she moved back to her home state of California. Since then, Vicki has worked at a level 2 trauma center. Initially, she worked on a medical-telemetry floor and then transitioned to the ED. In 2003, a new position was created in the ED and Vicki has been in the ED ever since. Her role in the ED has changed from Patient Flow Coordinator to Access Case Manager to Social Worker. Vicki helped to create the job description with each new role.

Deborah Zeveney RN, MS, CCM, ACM

Consulting Associate

Deborah Zeveney is a Consulting Associate with The Center for Case Management. With over 40 years in healthcare, and 30 years in Case Management, she has developed significant knowledge in this industry. Before joining The Center for Case Management, Ms Zeveney served as a Director of Case Management and Clinical Documentation Improvement for HCA West Florida Division. Earlier, she has served in a variety of roles in Case Management, Nursing and Education in acute care and insurance settings. Ms Zeveney graduated from the Geisinger Medical Center School of Nursing with a Diploma in Registered Nursing and from St. Joseph’s College, Maine with a BSPA in Health Administration. She earned a Master of Science in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of Scranton.