2020 Speakers

Anne Tumlinson

CEO, ATI Advisory

Anne Tumlinson leads the nation in setting the direction of aging and disability policy. She founded ATI Advisory, a DC-based research and advisory services firm that works to reform health and long-term care delivery and financing for older adults. Anne also founded and runs Daughterhood, an online and in-person community that connects family caregivers with each other. Anne writes regularly about innovation in healthcare and aging, having contributed to Health Affairs, Huffington Post, McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, and Aging Media Network. Anne serves on the Aetna Medicaid Advisory Panel and the Caregiver Action Network Board of Directors and is a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance. In 2018, Anne was named an Influencer in Aging by Next Avenue. She spent her early career working as a healthcare advisor to Congressman John Lewis (D-GA) and then as the lead for Medicaid program oversight at the Office of Management and Budget. She joined Avalere Health in 2000, leading the firm’s provider practice and developing business intelligence products for 14 years.

Barry Port

CEO and Director, Ensign Services

Barry Port was appointed Chief Executive Officer and was elected as a Director in May of 2019. Prior to that, he served as the Chief Operating Officer of our wholly-owned subsidiary, Ensign Services, Inc., which oversees our skilled nursing and assisted living services. Barry previously served as the President of our subsidiary, Keystone Care, Inc., growing their footprint from four to 23 facilities in Texas. Prior to 2006, he served as the CEO among other capacities at Bella Vita Health and Rehabilitation Center (formerly Desert Sky Health and Rehabilitation Center) in Glendale, Arizona. Before joining Ensign in 2004, Barry served in a senior supply chain management role for Sprint Corporation. Barry holds an MBA and a Master of Health Services Administration from the W.P. Carey School of Business (Arizona State University), and a bachelor of science degree from Brigham Young University.

Bobby Guy

Partner, Polsinelli

Bobby Guy is a healthcare lawyer who specializes in growing, buying, and selling healthcare companies. In 2016 and 2017, he led the two largest skilled nursing spinoffs in the country each year, involving more than 30 buyers in 25 states. In the post-acute and behavioral space, his team has bought and sold more than 500 healthcare facilities in the last three years. In 2014, Bobby co-developed a financial research index comparing distress in the healthcare services sector to distress in the overall U.S. economy. Bobby chairs the National Healthcare Dealmakers Conference in Dallas each May, and is a frequent speaker and author on healthcare investing and healthcare-related topics. He has appeared on Fox News, and has been published or quoted in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN Money, The Deal, McKnight’s Senior Living, Healthcare Mergers & Acquisitions, Senior Housing News, HealthLeaders, The Journal of Corporate Renewal, and HFM among others.

Brian Fuller

Brian Fuller is a nationally-recognized expert in bundled payments and post-acute care. He is one of a select few to have successfully led provider and convener organizations participating with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and served as an expert panel member to CMS. He is also an expert on the impact and importance of post-acute care in new healthcare reform environments, as well as care integration and partnership development. In 2017, Brian was named one of healthcare’s rising stars by Becker’s Hospital Review, and has been a featured expert, speaker, or author for the American Hospital Association, NPR, U.S. News & World Report, Hospital & Health Networks, Skilled Nursing News and Home Health Care News, AHCA, and LeadingAge. Prior to becoming the CEO of Integrated Care Solutions, Brian served in a variety of senior executive positions across post-acute and value-based care including at Great Lakes Caring, naviHealth, Avalere and Brooks Health.

Cory Christensen

Cory Christensen has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Plum Healthcare Group since September of 2017.  Prior to joining Plum, Cory served in operations management at Ensign Group, where he managed several facilities and became licensed as a nursing home administrator. His experience in the industry began in 1994 when he was a member of the founding executive team at Covenant Care. He was responsible initially for launching their German operation, Casa Reha, which has since grown to 70 facilities throughout Germany. He later transitioned to become Covenant Care’s President and Chief Operating Officer as it grew to more than 70 facilities in the U.S. Cory began his business career as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company where he worked out of the Los Angeles and Tokyo offices.  He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BS in accounting from Brigham Young University.

Cory Rutledge

Principal, CliftonLarsonAllen

Cory Rutledge is a Principal with the health care group of CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA), specializing in a variety of strategic, financial, and operational services for health care clients across the care continuum. His interest in serving organizations delivering solutions to older adults has provided him the opportunity to serve as CLA’s national senior living leader where he is responsible for overseeing and guiding the strategic direction of CLA’s senior living practice. He has 17 years of experience in providing professional services to health care clients. In addition to utilizing his expertise to serve healthcare clients throughout the country, he is also a frequent speaker at state and national health care conferences. Cory holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Finance from Bethel University.

Dave Wessinger

President, PointClickCare

Dave Wessinger is the Co-Founder and President at PointClickCare where he is responsible for the company’s business strategy formulation and execution through leading the entire business team: product and engineering, SaaS operations, go-to-market, emerging markets, and home health and acute care. For more than 20 years Dave has worked in the senior care information technology industry and is passionate about solving problems and having meaningful impact on the quality of life for thousands of providers, and millions of patients, residents, and their families through effective use of technology solutions. Today, more than 16,000 facilities confidently rely on PointClickCare’s platform each day.

David Friend, M.D.

Managing Director and Chief Transformation Officer, BDO Center for Health Care Excellence & Innovation

David Friend, M.D., is Co-Founder, Managing Director and Chief Transformation Officer of the BDO Center for Healthcare Excellence & Innovation which combines interdisciplinary expertise in finance, clinical, digital analytics, and regulatory knowledge. On behalf of BDO, David served as the Chief Executive Officer of Senior Care Centers, a $1B post-acute care company. With more than 35 years of global healthcare experience serving as a C-suite executive and board director, he is a respected advisor on mergers and acquisitions, strategy, clinical integration, physician engagement, and enhancing shareholder value. He is a frequent speaker / lecturer, and contributor to media outlets including CNBC, The New York Times, CNN, The Financial Times, Becker’s Hospital Review, Senior Care Investor, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post and Modern Healthcare. He serves as a Member of the Board at Fallon Health and is a member of the audit and governance committees. He is also on the Executive Advisory Board of the University of Pennsylvania, LDI Health Policy Institute. David was previously appointed by the governor of Connecticut to be a Founding Board Member of the University of Connecticut Health Center. He holds a BA in economics from Brandeis University, an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and an MD from the University of Connecticut.

Donald S. David, M.D., D.H.A.

Donald S. David, M.D. is the Chief Medical Officer for the Western Region of Universal Health Services, Inc. He is responsible for medical staff engagement in quality and value initiatives, oversight of physician performance, credentialing, privileging, and regulatory compliance for the medical staff. He also serves as the academic advisor for the region. Donald is a fellowship-trained, board-certified gastroenterologist.  Prior to joining UHS, he was affiliated with the City of Hope, with progressive capacities from attending gastroenterologist to Chief, Division of Gastroenterology, to Chief Patient Safety Officer. Donald received his medical degree from University of California-San Francisco School of Medicine where he was class valedictorian; and his residency was in Internal Medicine with a fellowship in gastroenterology from UCLA. He also earned a Doctor of Health Administration degree from the University of Mississippi.

Erik Johnson

Vice President, Optum

Erik Johnson is an executive and national practice lead for value-based care and has broad experience designing population health strategies for a broad array of providers. A Vice President at Optum, he leads clients through the process of developing new value-based care strategies and operating models that rely on risk-sharing between payers and health systems; the development of Medicare ACO and Medicare Advantage strategies; and the design and development of post-acute care networks. In addition, Erik has extensive experience working with the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom as the NHS transitions its operating model toward one that is based on integrated care models and Triple Aim objectives.  He previously served as the Senior Vice President at Avalere Health, where he ran its Healthcare Networks consulting practice and supervised new product development. Erik assisted healthcare systems in determining how to adopt and assess accountable care and bundled payment models, and guiding overall strategy. He also worked with health IT companies in responding to emergent issues around EHRs and data exchange.

Gary Klein

Gary is the Chief Operating Officer with Caring Healthcare. He has over 14 years of experience in long-term care, serving in executive positions with multiple organizations including Centers Health Care and Northern Services Group. Gary has an extensive background in and experience with reimbursements. He is a licensed nursing home administrator (LNHA) and holds a certificate in gerontology from St. Joseph’s College.

George Hager

George Hager serves as Chief Executive Officer of Genesis HealthCare. Prior to becoming CEO, he served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and was responsible for corporate finance, information services, reimbursement and risk management. George has over 30 years’ experience in the healthcare industry. From 1989 to 1992, he was the partner at KPMG, LLP in charge of the health care practice group for the Philadelphia Region. George is a certified public accountant, Board Member of Genesis HealthCare LLC, Board Member of the Delaware Valley Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, Board Member of the Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare, and on the Board of Trustees at Dickinson College. He previously served as a Board and Executive Committee Member of the National Investment Center for The Seniors Housing and Care Industry and Audit Committee of Adolor Corporation; the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, and REACH Medical Holdings, Inc.

James Michel

Public Policy Lead, Uber Health

James Michael is currently the Manager of Public Policy at Uber Health where he leads global policy development and strategy on Uber’s approach to non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT), with a focus on ridesharing and ride hailing. James works with business, product, operations, and legal teams to provide strategic advice and guidance to support the Uber Health team as it grows its mission to remove transportation barriers to health care delivery. Before becoming a policy manager, James served as the Director of Policy and Research for Better Medicare Alliance and developed comprehensive policy and research strategy on Medicare Advantage Policy. For five years, he participated as a member of the Board of Directors for Community Education Group to advocate for stronger health policy for HIV/AIDS individuals. James has a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience from the University of Michigan.

Keith B. Churchwell, M.D., FACC, FAHA, FACP

COO, Yale New Haven Hospital

Keith B. Churchwell, M.D. is the Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer for Yale New Haven Hospital. He previously served as the Senior Vice-President and Executive Director for Heart & Vascular Services, Transplantation, Clinical Service Coordinator for the Department of Medicine at Yale New Haven Hospital, and Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at the Yale School of Medicine. Keith spent his formative training years at Emory University Medical School and Affiliated Hospitals, followed by 12 years in private cardiology practice before joining Vanderbilt Medical School as full-time academic faculty in 2006. At Vanderbilt, he was an Associate Professor of Medicine and Radiology and the Executive Director/Chief Medical officer the Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute from 2009-2014. Keith is also on the National Board of the American Heart Association and is the Chair of the National Advocacy Committee for AHA through 2021. He sits on a number of local boards in the New Haven area including as President of the New Haven Symphony Board, Columbus House, and New England Donor Services.

Russel J. Kuzel, M.D.

CMO, Select Health, Intermountain Healthcare

Russel Kuzel, M.D., has served as the Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of SelectHealth since 2016. He has more than 30 years of healthcare and medical management experience. Most recently, Russel served as the Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President at UCare, a nonprofit health plan in Minnesota. Previously, he was Chief Medical Officer for Security Health Plan in Marshfield, Wisconsin and Regional Director of Medical Operations for Aurora Medical Group in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Russel also served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Dakota Clinic/Innovis Health, and as a member and leader of various local and regional healthcare advisory and governing boards. He holds a Master of Medical Management degree from the University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business, and earned his medical degree from the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks. In addition, he received a Bush Medical Fellowship to complete Physician Leadership College at the University of St. Thomas.

Scott Taylor

CEO, SRX

Scott Taylor is a Founding Principal and Chief Executive Officer at SRX, a technology company that interacts with and integrates all aspects of LTC pharmacy spend through a single online portal in order to reduce net costs for LTC operators. Scott is an investor and entrepreneur and has also worked to build and grow a number of other healthcare-related businesses, including co-founding a portable diagnostic company serving the post-acute market, and operating and investing in a pharmacy benefit management business. Prior to his involvement in the healthcare industry, Scott was an accomplished executive in the financial services industry. He holds an AB degree in economics from Harvard University.

Skelly Wingard

Skelly Wingard is the Regional Director of Care Coordination and Placement for Kaiser Permanente in Northern California. She oversees KP NCAL Readmissions, Transitions, SNF Quality/Clinical Operations, Extended Length of Stay Model and Clinical Consultant Team, Continuum Data and Analytics Strategy and Infrastructure, and Thrive Local. As a nurse leader and health care professional, her career has spanned the continuum of care   including strategic clinical and operational roles within managed care, accountable care, for profit, not for profit, bundled payment, hospital, continuum, and integrated delivery organizations. Skelly’s experience within these organizations includes strategic work in multi-organizational integrated clinical systems, local/regional/national operational and financial strategy, developing health plan data strategy and infrastructure to include Health Information Exchange, financial modeling and accountability process, government contracting and relations, and organization cultural advancements. 

Vincent Fedele

Vincent Fedele is the Chief Operating Officer at CORE Analytics, an innovative data intelligence software company focused on utilizing current claims data for revenue integrity, comparative market insights, and expense modeling. He is also a Partner and Director of Analytics at Zimmet Healthcare Services Group, LLC where he leads the consulting firm’s Strategy and Analytics Department and specializes in SNF transaction advisory. Vincent’s expertise is merging publicly available data with facility-specific, accretive outcomes to develop (and manage) a provider’s “risk profile.” His “fee-for-service” roots enable him to reconcile conflicting incentives in a world where volume and value run parallel, to find the resonant balance best suited to the culture and vision clients. Vincent lectures extensively on diverse topics associated with SNF reimbursement and data analytics. He is a graduate of Boston University and earned his MBA from Rutgers University.