Distinguished Faculty
 |
|
Jason B. Caron is an attorney who provides strategic advice to healthcare and life sciences organizations, primarily focusing on regulatory, reimbursement and policy matters. He has extensive experience navigating coding, coverage, payment, medical necessity, clinical documentation, comparative research, certification, enrollment, and other payer participation and reimbursement issues, particularly in light of ongoing health reforms. Furthermore, Jason is the partner-in-charge of McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s healthcare practice in Washington, DC.
|
| Previously, Jason worked for the US Department of Health and Human Services and the International Association of Fire Chiefs. He has also worked as a critical care paramedic for a regional health system. While in law school, Jason was a researcher for the Center for Health and Homeland Security and editor for the Journal of Health Care Law & Policy. |
| |
|
|
 |
|
John Clark, JD, MBA, ACP, is the Chief Operating Officer of the International Board of Specialty Certification (IBSC). He is a past-president of the International Association of Flight and Critical Care Paramedics
Association (IAFCCP) and a former member of the Board of Directors of the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT). He is a section editor for the Air Medical Journal (AMJ) and writes a monthly feature for
the AMJ on legal issues in critical care transport. His paramedic education and Baccalaureate degree are from The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences with an Executive MBA from Madison University.
|
|
|
|
| John also holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of New Hampshire School of Law as well as a Graduate Certificate in Health Law and Policy. Additionally, he is credentialed as a Certified Flight Paramedic (FP-C), Certified
Critical Care Paramedic (CCP-C), and is a Certified Medical Transport Executive (CMTE). |
| |
|
|
 | | Doug Clarke, MD, MBA is a practicing Internal Medicine physician and is President of TetherMed, Medically Home’s Mobile Integrated Health solution. Doug earned both his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Virginia, and he completed his residency at George Washington University. Doug spent 5 years as a hospitalist with time at a small hospital in rural Virginia and on faculty at the Medical University of South Carolina, and he continues to see patients weekly at a free clinic in Baltimore. | | | | | | After earning an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, he joined the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation as a Medical officer, where he wrote and enacted CMS’ Hospital at Home waiver, which he led through July 2021. He lives with his wife and three children in Maryland. |
| | | | 
| | Jeff Doucette, DNP, RN, FACHE, NEA-BC, FAAN is Press Ganey’s Chief Nursing Officer, responsible for providing clinical guidance to help clients transform the patient and caregiver experience. In this role, he works to develop nursing leadership at client organizations, improve quality and efficiency, and improve employee and caregiver engagement by playing an integral role in the company’s workforce initiatives. | | | | | Most recently, Jeff served as senior vice president and chief nursing officer at Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals in Philadelphia. In this role, he led the strategic direction and leadership of the Division of Nursing and Patient Care Services and played a critical role in cultivating and sustaining nursing excellence. Prior to joining Jefferson Health, Jeff served as vice president of the Magnet Recognition Program® and the Pathway to Excellence® Program at the American Nurses Credentialing Center.
Known as an engaging thought leader and dynamic presenter, Jeff speaks extensively around the world on topics of interest to nursing and health care leaders. He is a Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellow, a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives, and a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing. He also serves on the editorial advisory board for Nursing Management and The Journal of Nursing Administration.
Jeff earned a master of science degree in health care administration and a bachelor of science degree in nursing from Marymount University, and a doctor of nursing practice degree from Old Dominion University. | | | | |  | | Christopher Eastlee is the Vice President for Public Affairs for the Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS). Chris’s role is to help formulate policy on behalf of the air ambulance community and represent that policy and AAMS members to various government agencies and the United States Congress, as well as other trade associations and policy groups. | | | | | Most recently Chris has worked on issues of healthcare policy, including Medicare reform, data collection on cost and quality, support for the emergency medical community during the COVID Pandemic, and the formulation and implementation of the No Surprises Act. Chris was formally the President and CEO of the Air Medical Operators Association (AMOA) where he focused on issues of aviation regulation and safety, implementing the largest aviation safety regulation for a specific aviation segment in the FAA’s history.
Chris began his Government Relations work at the Gencarelli Group, a government relations firm representing a variety of clients, from defense contractors to health insurers. Chris was involved with numerous subject areas with a focus on homeland security and national defense. During this time, Chris also gained extensive experience working with both chambers of Congress and numerous federal agencies.
A graduate of the International Studies School at DePaul University in Chicago, Chris was educated in analyzing and evaluating social and political issues both domestically and internationally. An avid sailor, Chris currently resides in Annapolis, MD with his wife and their two children. | | | | |  | | Christopher Hall serves as the Program Director of Government Affairs & Industry Relations at PHI Air Medical, LLC. As a member of the leadership of PHI Health, Chris directs the actions of PHI in its interactions with legislative and regulatory policymaker on medical transport issues. Chris also serves as the primary contact for PHI Air Medical’s interactions with the various associations that have an interest in medical transportation.
| PHI Health is a leading provider of medical transportation, with air medical bases in Arizona, California, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New Mexico, Texas, and Virginia. PHI Health also partners with health systems and medical transport services in, Florida, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin. PHI Health also supports medical transportation services on an international scale. PHI Health is a wholly-owned subsidiary of PHI, Group, a rotary wing aviation provider based out of Lafayette, LA. PHI Group has over 70 years of aviation history and is the world leaders in rotary wing aviation, logging over ten million flight hours. Chris received his B.S. in Health Promotion & Fitness Management from Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon in 1997. His paramedic career started in 1995, and he has worked in medical transportation for over twenty-five years. During this time, Chris has worked in a variety of medical transport models, including private not-for-profit air & ground ambulance, volunteer and professional fire service, hospital-based air medical services, commercial ground ambulance, and commercial air medical transport. His background includes clinical practice, clinical education and training, policy formulation, and medical transportation advocacy. Chris also serves in several medical transport-related associations, and currently serves as an At-Large Director on the Board of Directors for the Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS); Past President of the International Association of Flight & Critical Care Paramedics (IAFCCP), and; founding (past) Board member for the Tim Hynes Foundation. Chris has presented at the Air Medical Transport Conference several times on the importance of advocacy, and he was a presenter at the first International Trauma Conference for Vladivostok State Medical University in Vladivostok, Russia in 2011.
Chris enjoys travel, golf, running, outdoor activities, Chicago Bears football, and time with his family. Chris has finished the Chicago Marathon and the Marine Corps Marathon, and is in training for the 2022 Pittsburgh Marathon. Chris and his wife, Amy, are raising their family just outside of Phoenix, Arizona.
|
| |
|
|
 |
|
Paul LeSage, Assistant Chief (Ret.), Firefighter-Flight Paramedic, BA, AS, MIS worked for 29 years as a Firefighter/Paramedic in Portland, Oregon, serving several years on the Technical Rescue and Dive Team and as a Helicopter Flight Paramedic for the largest Fire District in Oregon. He retired from the fire department as the Assistant Chief of Operations in January 2010, and has over 36 years of experience in emergency services as a front-line provider and executive. Paul spent two years as the Interim Director at Oregon’s second-largest 911 Center, implementing a unique Quality, Reliability and Performance Program. |
He currently works as a Partner and Senior Analyst with SG-Collaborative Solutions, where his work centers on creating reliable and resilient systems within high consequence industries, primarily Commercial Aviation, EMS, Air Medical and Healthcare. He also leads teams that are responsible for deconstructing and analyzing aviation and healthcare incidents, and conducts Probabilistic and Predictive Risk Analyses (PRAs) that are designed to improve performance, sustain quality, and better manage risk.
Paul and his teams at SG currently conduct this work across the United States, Canada, Central America, and Australia. He holds degrees in Organizational Communications, Multi-Disciplinary Human Factors Analysis, EMS, and Fire Science. Paul has authored a popular book on Crew Resource Management in Emergency Services, and was also the founder of Informed Publishing, which created Nursing, Medic, and Emergency Service pocket guides and mobile apps for front-line care providers. | | | | |
 |
|
Edward R. Marasco, MPM, CMTE, EMT-P (Ret.) is currently the Vice President of Business Development for Quick Med Claims (QMC). Quick Med Claims provides revenue cycle management and consulting services for
medical transportation organizations nationwide.
Previously, Mr. Marasco was a Regional Vice President of Hospital Based Services for Air Methods Corporation (AMC). Prior to the acquisition of CJ Systems, Mr.
Marasco served as the Senior Vice President for Air Medical Services at CJ Systems Aviation Group (CJ).
|
| | | |
Mr. Marasco spent thirteen years at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) in various administrative positions. He also served as the Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Emergency Resource Management,
Inc., a subsidiary of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). In addition, he served as a member of the Board of Directors for the STAT MedEvac Program.
Mr. Marasco received a BS degree in
Secondary Education from the University of Pittsburgh and an MPM degree from the H.J. Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University. In addition, he was certified as an Emergency Medical
Technician-Paramedic in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Mr. Marasco has more than fifteen (15) years of prehospital clinical experience and more than thirty (30) years of healthcare management experience.
Mr.
Marasco has been actively involved with various industry professional organizations for more than thirty-five (35) years. He served as a member of the Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS) Fixed Wing Committee and
the Finance & Reimbursement Committee. Mr. Marasco served on the Board of AAMS as the Chairman of the Finance & Reimbursement Committee for more than four (4) years. Mr. Marasco represented the Association
of Air Medical Services in the Negotiated Rulemaking Process to establish a new Ambulance Reimbursement Fee Schedule for the Medicare Program.
Mr. Marasco also serves on the Boards of several health care organizations,
including his present role as Chairman of the Board at Jefferson Hospital, a subsidiary of the Allegheny Health Network (AHN), the West Penn Allegheny Health System, the MedEvac Foundation International and the Jefferson Regional
Foundation. He is one of the founding members of the Cures for KIDS Foundation. He is also Adjunct Instructor of Rehabilitation Science and Technology in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of
Pittsburgh. |
| |
|
|
 |
|
Victoria Reinhartz, PharmD, CPh is an industry leader in the profession of pharmacy and within Emergency Medical Services, where she established the first ever paramedic-pharmacist partnership to address chronic disease and medication challenges for underserved populations. Over the 3 year project, this venture reduced healthcare costs in her community by over $5 million, spotlighting mobile integrated health and the value of partnering with EMS to improve health outcomes. Dr. Reinhartz is the Chief Executive Officer of Mobile Health Consultants, a business founded to solve the access to care issue by empowering Mobile Integrated Health and Community Paramedicine teams.
|
For her leadership and exceptional care provision within Emergency Medical Services and Mobile Integrated Health, Dr. Reinhartz has been recognized with a Chief’s Commendation Award, a Congressional EMS Unit Citation Award, and national attention from the United States Public Health Service.
Dr. Reinhartz currently serves on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Mobile Integrated Health Providers, an organization advocating for mobile interprofessional teams as the nation’s care solution. She is also an active Board Member for the Gulfcoast South Area Health Education Center, supporting their mission of providing health education which improves access to care and the wellbeing of our community.
Dr. Reinhartz has been named a Top 50 Most Influential Leader in Pharmacy, and was also selected as the 2020 Next Generation Pharmacist Civic Leader, an honor awarded to one pharmacist nationwide whose vision for interprofessional care best spotlights the needs of underserved communities. |
| |
 |
|
Dudley Smith, MSHPA, CMTE, MEP is the Associate Executive Director of the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS) and a part-time EMT/communication specialist for the program he started in 1984. He is the former Director for Air Care & Mobile Care and Disaster Management for the University of Cincinnati Medical Center Hospital and the UC Health system. Mr. Smith has over 50 years of experience in emergency medical services, serving as an EMT and Paramedic as well as a manager and administrator. |
He received his Master of Science degree in Health Planning and Administration from the University of Cincinnati following completion of his master’s degree project: “A Feasibility Study for Beginning a Hospital Based Helicopter Service at University Hospital”. He then became Program Director in 1984 with responsibility of implementing the program. Mr. Smith was in the very first Medical Transport Leadership Institute (MTLI) class as a student and was both a student and instructor for the second year. He was a member of the MTLI Board of Regents for over 20 years before retiring from that position, but still retains his Certified Medical Transport Executive certification.
In his medical transport leadership he serviced on the Boards of the Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS), CAMTS and two air medical foundations. Over the years he has been honored with the Marriott-Carlson Lifetime Achievement Award, the Golden Hour Lifetime Achievement Award and several AAMS Presidential Awards.
In addition to his expertise in air and ground medical transport, Mr. Smith is noted for his expertise in hospital and community disaster preparedness, response, and planning. His list of involvements includes serving on the Board of Directors of the Cincinnati Area Chapter of the American Red Cross, chairing the Red Cross Government Liaison Committee, chairing the 27 hospital Greater Cincinnati Health Council Disaster Management Committee, and teaching Hospital Incident Command and Continuity of Operation classes for hospitals across the eastern United States. He is also certified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as a Master Exercise Practitioner (MEP) and teaches Just Culture and Quality & Utilization Management classes for CAMTS.
| | | | |
 |
|
Jonah Thompson, BA, NRP, CP-C is the Mobile Integrated Health Operations Manager at Allegheny Health Network in Pittsburgh, PA. After nearly 20 years of combined military, traditional public safety, and PMSC endeavors he had the opportunity to help establish one of the premier MIH/Community Paramedic programs in the US. Three years later he was asked to create and lead the current program at AHN and shortly after take on a national role serving on the IAFCCP Board of Directors as the Community Paramedic representative. |
| |
|
|
He has a BA in Emergency and Disaster Management, was a Clay Hunt Fellow in Disaster Leadership, and is completing graduate studies in Medical Intelligence at the American Military University.
| | | | |
 |
|
Jeanne Yeatman, BSN, MBA, RN, MOM, CMTE, EMT is the Chief Nursing Officer at the Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital, serving as a member of Leadership Team while bringing VUMC culture and principles into this regional facility. In her role, she is responsible for developing nursing leadership model and improving nursing practice. While at Vanderbilt, she established and promoted community support through vaccination dissemination as well as established policy integration along with standardization. She works closely with recruitment team to increase retention while simultaneously dedicating resources to the current staff. |
| |
|
|
Prior to her current position, she was with Vanderbilt LifeFlight until October 2021. In this capacity, she was responsible for the communications center, air and ground transport programs and event medicine. She has also authored numerous articles on various topiocs including developing educational outreach programs and safety, presented nationally on critical air medical data and received many nationally recognized awards.
| | | | |
 |
|
Matt Zavadsky, MHA is the Chief Transformation Officer for MedStar Mobile Healthcare in Fort Worth, Texas. In this this role, he helps guide the development and implementation of innovative programs with healthcare and community partners to transform the role of MedStar in the healthcare system and community. Most recently, he has led the negotiations with multiple third-party payers to change the basic economic model for EMS to better align patient, provider and payer focus on patient centered care as opposed to simply payment for ambulance transport. |
| | | | He has recently worked with CMS/CMMI to help facilitate recent new payment models such as Emergency Triage, Treat and Transport (ET3) model and Medicare waivers for Treatment in Place during the pandemic. Matt also serves as MedStar’s public information officer, working extensively with media and other partners to provide crucial information regarding MedStar and their roles and activities in the community. Matt has a master’s degree in Healthcare Administration, with a Graduate Certificate in Healthcare Data Management, and also serves as the Immediate Past President for the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) and chairs their EMS Economics Committee. He also chairs the Education Committee for the Academy of International Mobile Healthcare Integration (AIMHI).
Matt has a master’s degree in Healthcare Administration, with a Graduate Certificate in Healthcare Data Management, and also serves as the Immediate Past President for the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) and chairs their EMS Economics Committee. He also chairs the Education Committee for the Academy of International Mobile Healthcare Integration (AIMHI). |
|
