Summit 2018

Andrew Sommers, PhD, MSPH, MPA

Senior Social Science Analyst

US Department Health and Human Services

Dr. Sommers is a medical sociologist and infectious disease epidemiologist committed to using health services research to create sound and sustainable policy decisions. He has spearheaded a number of transformational government initiatives that focus on innovations in care delivery, particularly the use of telehealth to deliver services to remote areas. Before joining the Department of Health and Human Services in 2009, Dr. Sommers worked as an analyst at the Congressional Research Service, where he provided expert counsel to policymakers designing and drafting the Affordable Care Act; as a researcher at RTI International; and as the Director of Government Affairs for the Epilepsy Foundation of America. Dr. Sommers is an active member of the American Telemedicine Association, the Health Information Management Systems Society and AcademyHealth.

Presenters:
Geoff Honaker

Director, Enterprise Media Tech

New Hanover Regional Medical Center

Geoffrey Honaker is the Director of Enterprise Media Technology in the Information Services department at New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington North Carolina. Over the past 35 years he has held positions in media production, videoconferencing, unified communications and telemedicine development. His involvement in telehealth development began with a distance learning trial in 1992 and continued with various telemedicine applications, including the following selected applications.
• 1995 – Tele- Echocardiology and Dermatology with Bladen County Hospital, Tertiary hospital to rural hospital dedicated telehealth network
• 1996 – 2004 – Family Medicine Residency, Rural Linkages project a 5-site dedicated medical education network
• 2002 – 2008 – Improving Cancer Outcomes for African-Americans – National Cancer Institute Telesynergy program telemed system between NHRMC and UNC-CH for Radiation Oncology partnership
• 2005 -2010 – Pediatric Telemedicine Clinic – UNC-CH physicians providing pediatric tele – Cardiology, Endocrinology and Dermatology consults to patients at NHRMC Pediatric Specialty Clinic
• 2014 – current – Tele Psych and Behavioral Health consults from main NHRMC ED to free standing Orthopedic Hospital ED
• 2015 – current – Telesitter program, 30 wireless camera units with remote sitter support at NHRMC
• 2015 – current – Teleneurology support from outside practice – multiple cart base systems at 4 locations for Code Stroke and Stat Neuro consults
• 2017 – current – Epic E-Visit and Video Visit development and trial projects

Geoff also chairs a multidisciplinary workgroup developing Virtual Health applications and strategies for New Hanover Regional Medical Center. He is a long-time member of the American Telemedicine Association and has held various committee and board appointments on North Carolina organizations in the health information services sector. For his work on advancing the use of video communications for education and health care, he was awarded one of the most prestigious awards presented by the Governor of North Carolina, “The Order of the Long Leaf Pine. This award is given to individuals who have a proven record of extraordinary service to the state.

Lidia Niecko-Najjum, BSN, JD

Associate

Polsinelli PC

Lidia Niecko-Najjum helps clients solve problems through pragmatic and business-focused client counseling and advising. With 10 years of cumulative experience in nursing, policy, and law, her practice focuses on health care regulatory, coverage and payment, compliance, transaction, and policy matters. Lidia’s experience also includes working as a senior research and policy analyst at the Association of American Medical Colleges, as well as practicing as a nurse at Georgetown University Hospital’s general medicine with telemetry unit and the GI suite.

Lara Oktay

Operations Manager

UVA Karen S Rheuban Center for Telehealth

Lara has been with UVA for 10 years and is the Operations Manager and Clinical Supervisor for the Office of Telemedicine at UVA. She supports new program development and manages the clinical and business operation for the office.c

Moderator:

Bonnie Britton

Executive Director

Reconnect4Health

Bonnie is the Executive Director of Reconnect4Health and is recognized as a Telehealth pioneer/expert. She has dedicated the past 20 years of her career as a nurse, advancing the adoption and implementation of Telehealth both nationally and internationally. Bonnie was the 13th inductee into the ATA’s College of Fellows. Bonnie is a previous ATA Board Member, has chaired multiple ATA SIGs, and has participated in multiple ATA Committees. She has presented at numerous conferences, and has published a variety of articles. She currently serves as a Board Advisor and Consultant for the MATRC and is the co-chair of NICHA’s Telehealth Task Force. Bonnie has also successfully implemented CMS’s Chronic Care Management programs.

Panelists:

Tonya Delph

Clinical Director

Regional Healthcare

Tonya Delph is the Clinical Director of Ambulatory Services for Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH). Appalachian Regional healthcare is a not-for-profit health system located in Eastern Kentucky and Southern West Virginia currently operating 11 hospitals and 70+ clinics. Tonya received a degree in Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Morehead State University. She has worked as a registered nurse for almost 20 years. ARH’s Chronic Care Management program started in 2016 under Tonya’s direction with only 16 patients and now has over 1000 patients enrolled. Tonya has also helps with the coordination of Remote Monitoring in the service area for ARH. ARH was the recipient of the 2017 MATRC Telehealth Excellence in Service for Rural and/or Medically Underserved Populations award from the Mid-Atlantic Telehealth Resource Center.

Melissa Pierce

Director, Post-Acute Services

WellSpan Health

Melissa is a healthcare professional with 20 years of clinical operations experience and over 15 years of corporate level strategic leadership. She currently serves as the Director of Post-Acute Services for WellSpan Health, which is a $2B Integrated Care Delivery Network headquartered in York, PA. WellSpan has four acute care hospitals, one of the nation’s largest behavioral health hospitals, and an inpatient rehab facility, in addition to1200 primary care and specialty physicians, 130 outpatient care locations and a regional home health organization.

Melissa is an innovator focused on care re-design aimed at delivering seamless care transitions, along with the right care in the right amounts to the right patients in the right settings. Her experience as VP of Clinical Solutions, VP of Business Intelligence, and VP of Clinical Initiatives, combined with her technology experience, has deepened her belief that Remote Patient Monitoring continues to be a viable way to deliver care and meet the needs of patients across the care acuity spectrum.

Libby Ruhlman

Clinical Manager Outpatient Care Coordination

Western Maryland Health System

Libby is the Outpatient Care Coordination Manager of Western Maryland Health System overseeing the Telemonitoring program, Community Care Coordination, Community Health Workers and the Center for Clinical Resources, a nurse led chronic disease management clinic. In her over 25 years as a registered nurse, Libby has worked in acute care, outpatient clinic, community outreach, patient education, and cardiac rehabilitation. Prior to joining Western Maryland Health System, Libby successfully led a team in becoming the first HFAP certified comprehensive stroke center in the nation and the top stroke program in Ohio. She received her ASN at Indiana State University, BSN at Capital University and MSN at Ball State University.

Lorraine Valeriano

Director, AICU & RPM

Lehigh Valley Health Network

Lorraine is the Director of the Advanced Intensive Care Unit (AICU) and the Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) departments, at Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN), Allentown, PA. She supports the nursing teams that remotely monitor patients. The AICU remotely monitors acutely ill ICU patients while the RPM team monitors patients who are at home with chronic health conditions. Lorraine has been with the network since June 1985. She worked 26 years as an ICU nurse before leaving the bedside and assuming her current role.

Agi Erickson, MS

Director, Project ECHO

Community Health Center, Inc / Weitzman Institute

Ági Erickson is the Director of Project ECHO at the Community Health Center Inc.’s Weitzman Institute. She has overseen the replication and rapid national growth of the Weitzman Institute’s unique Project ECHO since 2012 to over 250 health center practice sites supporting over 950 medical and behavioral health providers, and 265 care team members in 28 states. Her efforts are focused on addressing and tackling the public health “hot spots” of both rural and urban communities as well as national public health emergencies and epidemics, including the national epidemic on opioid addiction. Ági provided leadership and direction for the development and implementation of the following National Project ECHO Learning Communities: Chronic Pain, Opioid Dependency, HCV, HIV, Pediatric and Adolescent Behavioral Health, Complex Integrated Pediatrics, Complex Care Management, Domestic Violence/Intimate Partner Violence, Quality Improvement, and LGBT Health.

Ági completed Clinical Microsystems training at the Dartmouth Institute and is a certified systems change coach. She received training in advanced facilitation by Ingrid Bens, an internationally recognized expert in facilitation skills, and completed lean training at Denver Health Lean Academy. She earned her Master’s Degree from Quinnipiac University in Organizational Leadership concentrating in Health Care Management.

Mandy Lamb, MA

Program Manager, Education Technology Platforms

Weitzman Institute

Mandy Lamb is Program Manager for the Weitzman Institutes expanded Project ECHO® Program. Along with supporting the implementation of each Project ECHO clinic, Mandy supports recruitment and expansion for Project ECHO. The Weitzman Institute has expanded their Project ECHO® Program to offer complimentary tools, such as eConsults to expert specialists, 24/7 access to a virtual learning community and educational resources. Mandy manages the integration of eConsults as a part of Project ECHO.

Prior to joining the Weitzman Institute, Mandy was a Research Associate for the Harvard Opinion Research Program at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where she developed and reported on public opinion polls on various domestic and international health topics, including attitudes on immunizations, infectious disease prevention, and health policy. Mandy obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Saint Michael’s College, and her Masters of Arts Degree in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. While completing her studies at UMass Amherst, Mandy taught courses and conducted research on health policy and public opinion.

Erika Harding, MA

Chief Replication Officer

ECHO Institute

Erika Harding serves as the Chief Replication Officer at the ECHO Institute, at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center in Albuquerque. She has been with ECHO for nearly ten years, and served the majority of that time as the first ECHO Director of Replication Initiatives. In this capacity she has managed over $37 million in replication-related grant funding and overseen the growth of the replication process and team, from fewer than 10 launched ECHO partners to the current 178 (across 26 countries).

Kimberly Albero, MSN, RN, FNP-BC

Program Manager, Project ECHO

University of Virginia Health System

Kimberly Albero is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and Doctor of Nursing Practice student at the University of Virginia. She is a Jonas Veterans Healthcare Scholar, Telemedicine Student Fellow, and an officer in the Navy Nurse Corps reserve. She is the program manager for APN Place Project ECHO. Her DNP Scholarly Project examines the impact of participation in telementoring on primary care provider’s ability to manage vascular patients in rural and underserved areas of Virginia.

Rosalyn Stewart, MD, MS, MBA

Associate Professor

Johns Hopkins University

Dr. Rosalyn W. Stewart has a Master’s degree in Biomedical Sciences and Preventive Medicine as well as a MBA. She is board certified in both internal medicine and pediatrics. She associate professor at Johns Hopkins University with appointments in the Departments of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, School of Nursing and Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is a true leader in the development, improvement and delivery of care for individuals with health disparities. She coordinates quality improvement efforts geared toward refining health care services and improving the health status of targeted populations. Her educational background in preventive medicine and the business aspects of health care and health policy coupled with her expertise in urban health, health disparities, cultural competency united with clinical experience make her uniquely qualified to lead clinical innovations directed to obviate social determinants of health. She has led programs that target the offender population as well as the substance use population. Her safety net innovations have improved the health of specific populations by coupling excellent medical care with programs that target root causes leading differences in incidence, prevalence, mortality, and burden of diseases as well as other adverse health conditions. Dr. Stewart is a pioneer at developing innovative systems of care devoted to special high-risk populations that have high utilization with the goal of promoting health equity. Ultimately, her programs are successful in improving care delivery, population health, and lowering heath care related costs for vulnerable, high-risk patients.

Joyce Harrison

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry

Kennedy Krieger Institute

After a few years at Children’s National Medical Center in D.C. where I worked as part of a multidisciplinary team treating very young children with feeding problems, I returned to Baltimore where I have had the opportunity to build community and statewide programs, to ensure that the youngest and neediest patients receive excellent clinical care. I developed a multidisciplinary preschool intensive outpatient treatment program at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, which serves caregivers and their children aged 0-5 with severe disruptive behavior problems. I moved to the main campus of Hopkins where I served as Medical Director of Community Programs, which included a community-based clinic and school-based mental health programs in 14 schools. For 5 years I traveled across the state of Maryland as the Medical Director of a state-funded program Maryland BHIPP (Behavioral Health Integration in Pediatric Primary Care). BHIPP provides child psychiatric telephone consultation, training and resource connections to primary care providers. Through additional support from Maryland State Department of Education’s federally funded Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge, I provided consultation and training in early childhood mental health.

Clinically, I am faculty at Kennedy Krieger Institute, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and Johns Hopkins School of Nursing where I provide direct care at the KKI Preschool Interdisciplinary Clinic, and train child psychiatry residents and nurse practitioner students through both clinical work and didactics. I am the Project Director of KKI-NECT, a HRSA-funded tele-education program at Kennedy to address behavioral, emotional and development problems in children aged 0 to 6.
Locally, I have been a member of the Maryland State Early Childhood Mental Health Steering Committee for 10 years, and am currently co-chairing the Maryland chapter of the American Academy of Pediatric’s Task Force on Poverty. Nationally, I am an appointed member of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent’s Committee on Infant and Preschool Psychiatry. I have chaired a workshop on preschool assessment at the national meeting for the past 5 years.

Dr. Mary L. O’Connor Leppert, M.B., B.Ch.

Director, Center for Development and Learning

Kennedy Krieger Institute

Dr. Mary L. O’Connor Leppert, M.B., B.Ch., is a member of the medical staff in the department of Neurodevelopmental Medicine. Dr. Leppert is the director of the Center for Development and Learning and is the co-director of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Follow-Up Clinic. She is a consultant physician at St. Agnes Hospital, and an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Dr. Leppert received her undergraduate degree in biology from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. She received her medical training at the national Universities of Ireland, University College Cork, where she earned her M.B., B.Ch., B.A.O. degrees. She completed a residency in pediatrics at St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore MD, and joined Kennedy Krieger in 1992 with a fellowship in developmental pediatrics through the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She has been an active medical staff member at the Kennedy Krieger Institute since 1995 in the division of Neurology and Developmental Medicine. Dr. Leppert is also currently a pediatrician at the Johns Hopkins Hospital as well as an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Leppert has an active role in the education of the residents and fellows of the Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Residency Program.

Jay Mason

Collaborative Innovations Manager and WV Project ECHO Manager

WV Clinical and Translational Science Institute

Jay Mason currently serves as the Collaborative Innovations Manager for the Community Engagement and Outreach Core (CEO) in the West Virginia Clinical and Translational Science Institute (WVCTSI). His primary responsibility is managing Project ECHO in West Virginia. WV Project ECHO has grown its knowledge-sharing network to five specific areas including hepatitis C, chronic pain, medication-assisted treatment, psychiatry, and chronic lung disease. When Jay is not working on ECHO, he is working to help develop and expand the WV Practice-Based Research Network as part of their steering committee. He also goes out into the communities across West Virginia to promote practice-based research. Jay graduated from West Virginia University in 2007 with a degree in communication studies, and is currently working on a Master’s in Public Administration from Kent State University.

Amanda Bennett, MD, MPH

Director, Autism Treatment Network Philadelphia

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Amanda E. Bennett, MD, MPH, is a Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrician within the Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics (DBP) at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the Director of the Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network Philadelphia. Dr. Bennett serves as a consultant to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Expert Panel on Fragile X Syndrome and is an active member of research teams at CHOP’s Center for Autism Research. She recently completed a study of ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) Autism through the ECHO Autism Collaborative and continues to serve as site lead for CHOP’s ongoing ECHO Autism clinics. Dr. Bennett’s other research interests include improving access to services for children with autism spectrum disorder, identification and treatment of coexisting conditions in ASD, and investigation of novel treatments for ASD through medication trials.

Kristen Heinan, MD

Pediatric Neurology

University of Virginia

I am a pediatric neurologist, practicing at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville VA. I have particular interest in pediatric brain injuries, from neonatal hypoxic injuries, pediatric stroke, severe TBI from accidents, to concussions. UVA neurology has had an outreach program (first established by Drs. Dreifuss and Miller) to Southwest Virginia for just over 50 years and I am happy to now be a part of that, working to expand access via telemedicine. In my infinite spare time, I like to go for a good run, drink coffee with friends, pretend to be artistic, and hang out with my dog.

Alfred Atanda Jr., MD

Director, Center for Sports Medicine

Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children

Alfred Atanda Jr. is a pediatric orthopedic surgeon who specializes in sports medicine at the Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Del., where he is the director of the Center for Sports Medicine. He performs arthroscopic surgery of the knee, elbow, ankle, and shoulder as well as general orthopedic and trauma surgical procedures. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, he completed an internship and an orthopedic surgery residency at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Dr. Atanda also completed fellowships in pediatric orthopedics, at AI DuPont Hospital for Children, and in sports medicine, at the Rothman Institute at Thomas Jefferson University. His research interests are in upper extremity overuse injury prevention and general orthopedic trauma. Recently, he has developed an interest technology and innovation by routinely using telemedicine in his sports medicine practice. His future aspiration is to create an app-based platform to utilize telemedicine to triage, navigate, evaluate, and treat injured youth athletes.

Angela H . Ciccia, PhD, CCC-SLP

Associate Professor

Case Western Reserve University

Dr. Ciccia is an Association Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences, Communication Sciences Program at Case Western Reserve University. Her research focuses on exploring the barriers to pediatric rehabilitation for children with acquired neurogenic conditions, including brain injury, especially for high-risk, low-income groups. Additionally, she investigates how novel service delivery models could address these barriers. Dr. Ciccia has been an invited speaker in the area of pediatric traumatic brain injury at the local and national levels

Dr. Ciccia is the founding Chair, and the current Co-Chair, for the Pediatric Rehabilitation Networking Group and a member of the Pediatric/Adolescent TBI Task Force of ACRM. She is the host of the Pediatric Rehabilitation Networking group podcast and is an author on the first publication by the Pediatric/Adolescent TBI Task Force. Dr. Ciccia has also served on the Program Committee of ACRM as a representative for pediatric rehabilitation. Additionally, she is actively involved with the American Speech-Language Hearing Association, Special Interest Group (SIG) 2 (Neurogenic Communication Disorders), as a member of the Coordinating Committee and the Editor for the SIG 2 component of the publication of Perspectives.

Andrew Stuart, PhD, CCC-A, Aud(C)

Professor

East Carolina University

Andrew Stuart is a professor at the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at East Carolina University (Greenville, North Carolina). Dr. Stuart joined ECU after completing his Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada. Prior to beginning his doctoral studies he was employed as a clinical audiologist at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, Canada and then as a Research Audiologist at Dalhousie University. His research interests include electrophysiology, pediatric audiology, psychoacoustics, and fluency enhancement in those who stutter via altered auditory feedback. Dr. Stuart has over 150 peer-reviewed articles and 240 national and international presentations in these areas.

Lauren Little, PhD, OTR/L

Assistant Professor

Rush University

Lauren Little has a clinical background in occupational therapy and a PhD in Occupational Science. Dr. Little’s expertise is in early screening and intervention for families of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). She has practiced occupational therapy in early intervention settings, and has been involved in a number of research projects for young children with ASD. Dr. Little has conducted research on the efficacy of telehealth for families of young children with ASD and is active in state and national organizations to promote access to intervention services for underserved families of children with developmental conditions.

David C. Cattell-Gordon, M.Div. MSW, LCSW

Director

Mid-Atlantic Telehealth Resource Center

Kathy is Director of the Mid-Atlantic Telehealth Resource Center (MATRC), one of twelve regional TRCs serving the country. TRC’s are federally funded to assist with telehealth program development and sustainability in order to increase access to quality care for rural and other underserved populations. Kathy is also Director of Research for the Karen S. Rheuban Center for Telehealth, Assistant Professor of Public Health Sciences at the University of Virginia (UVA) School of Medicine, faculty member at the Healthy Appalachia Institute and adjunct faculty member in the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). Prior to her position with the MATRC, Kathy was Director of the State Office of Rural Health and Primary Care Office within the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) Office of Health Equity (OHE). Kathy’s public service career reflects over twenty-five years of experience in public health, public policy, program development, program evaluation and strategic planning. Kathy is an Appointed Member and Chair of the Rural Health Committee for the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) Board and is Vice President of the Virginia Telehealth Network Board. Kathy received her B.A in Psychology with minors in pre-medicine and youth services from Gordon College in Wenham, MA. She went on to receive her M.S. and Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. Kathy also has a Certificate from the Management Academy for Public Health at UNC Chapel Hill.

Lakshmi Vaidyanathan, MD, MBA

Physician

University of Maryland Shore Regional Health

Lakshmi Vaidyanathan, MD is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Hospice and Palliative Medicine. A member of the UM Shore Regional Health medical staff since 2001, Dr. Vaidyanathan’s clinical experience includes hospital medicine, perioperative medicine and hospice and palliative care. Her present work focuses on developing the regional palliative care program to align medical care with the goals and values of patients and their families, and improving quality of life while providing comprehensive support for patients with serious illnesses.

Dana Morrissey, MSW, MPH

Clinic Coordinator, Huntington’s Disease Clinic

UVA Neurology

Dana spent ten years working for public health-oriented nonprofit organizations (The Clinton Foundation, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America) before getting her Masters in Social Work and Masters in Public Health at Columbia University. After practicum work at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in social work and patient communication, she now coordinates research and program activity in the Huntington’s Disease Clinic at the University of Virginia. Dana views telemedicine as a powerful tool to improve patient-provider communication throughout the serious illness experience, to provide psychosocial support services to patients and families at scalable costs, and to provide specialty care to affected patients living in remote areas.

Judge

Rebecca Gwilt

Partner

Nixon Law Group PLLC

Rebecca Gwilt is a Partner at Nixon Law Group, advising innovative healthcare providers, institutions, and entrepreneurs. In particular, she provides business and regulatory services to healthcare technology companies, among them startups and early stage companies, that provide data analytics, telemedicine, mobile health, remote monitoring, EMR, and other Health IT services to consumers and clinicians.

Plaintiff’s Counsel

Ty Kayam

Legal Counsel

Surescripts LLP

Ty Kayam is Associate Counsel at Surescripts, a health information network providing electronic network connectivity for the delivery of prescriptions and other health care information between and among pharmacies, PBMs, EHRs, and health care providers. In this role, Ty is involved in technology transactions and advises on related issues of data rights, privacy and security, and compliance with health information regulatory standards.

Prior to joining Surescripts, Ty was a health care associate at the law firm Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP in Washington D.C., where she focused her practice on health care IT issues, including privacy and security, EHR/IT contracting, and telehealth/telemedicine. Ty received a Master’s in Public Health from Tufts University School of Medicine and a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law.

Plaintiff’s expert

Rob Darling, M.D.

Chief Medical Officer

Patronus

Dr. Robert Darling is founding principal & Chief Medical Officer for Patronus Medical Corporation, a company delivering healthcare & personalized wellness solutions to patients in virtually any location in the world through the use of advanced telemedicine & other cutting-edge technologies.

In 1996, Dr. Darling became the 1st board-certified emergency medicine physician to serve the President of the United States as White House Physician. Dr. Darling served President Clinton, Vice President Gore, their families, & other presidential support units at the White House, Camp David, various classified emergency relocation facilities, & aboard executive aircraft including Air Force One and Marine One. He also provided primary care, emergency care & protective medical support services in more than 40 countries with no advanced medical care. Dr. Darling played a key role in developing Top Secret emergency contingency plans bearing constitutional impact, countering the greatest threats to the continuity of the presidency.

After completing his tour as White House Physician, Dr. Darling served as emergency physician, flight surgeon, and Director of the Aeromedical Isolation Team (AIT) for the Operational Medicine Division of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) in Fort Detrick, MD. In the latter role, he specialized in mitigating he medical consequences of biological weapons and bioterrorism.

Dr. Darling has also served as Director of the Navy Medicine Office of Homeland Security, in the office of the Navy Surgeon General where he guided Navy Medicine in preparing for the medical and public health consequences of natural and man-made disasters in hospitals and clinics throughout the world.

Captain Darling retired from the Navy in 2006, after 25 years of service to the nation. He was then named Director of the Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine (CDHAM) where he led healthcare reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan, prepared for pandemic influenza outbreaks, conducted HIV/AIDS educational programs in the Caribbean and South America, and prepared for and responded to humanitarian disasters worldwide.

In addition to Dr. Darling’s current work with Patronus, he serves as a consultant to numerous private entities and Medical Director for Lead Health. He is Adjunct Assistant Professor of Military and Emergency Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) in Bethesda, MD and Instructor in Executive & Protective Medicine at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Fellowship in Disaster Medicine at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Darling holds a BS in Biology with honors from Adelphi University and an MD from the USUHS. He completed his transitional internship at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD and his residency in emergency medicine at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego. He served as Carrier Air Wing Eight (CVW-8) Flight Surgeon aboard the aircraft carrier USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN-71) and was back seat qualified in both the F14 & A6 tactical jets. He has numerous publications and has lectured around the world. He is Associate Editor of Ciottone’s Disaster Medicine, Elsevier- Mosby, 2nd Edition. He is a member of the Institute for Functional Medicine and enrolled in their certification program. He is also a member of the American Telemedicine Association and American College of Lifestyle Medicine.

Defense counsel

Joe McMenamin

Principal

McMenamin Law Offices

Joe has been involved in telemedicine since the mid-1990s. With respect to the legal issues pertinent to this form of care, he has advised health care providers, hospital associations, consultancies, private equity firms, telecoms and several organizations facilitating telemedical services. Before being admitted to the Bar, Joe practiced emergency medicine at hospitals in Pennsylvania and Georgia on a part-time and full-time basis over a seven-year period overlapping his specialty training and legal education. He presently serves as general counsel to the Virginia Telemedicine Network and on the Board of Advisors of the Telemental Health Institute. Joe is also a member of the Board of Advisors of the Medical Information Technology Law Report and of the Legal Resource Team of CTeL, the Center for Telemedicine and eHealth Law. An associate professor of Legal Medicine at VCU, he is board-certified in Legal Medicine and a Fellow of the College of Legal Medicine.

Defense expert

Jonathan Baugh, M.D.

Chief Medical Officer

Remote Health Solutions

As a Board Certified Emergency Physician people often think that we are in it for the adrenaline and the excitement. But instead I think that I mostly just want to care for those that need help. When I was a child we had only one general practice physician in our small town. The simple and remote nature is what drew people to the beautiful community, but the remote nature of the area also created an obstacle to bringing in more physicians. One aspect of what drove me to a career and life in medicine was this aspect of my childhood. During medical school in Virginia, we volunteered in rural communities that had no medical provider in the entire county. These experiences have stayed close to my heart. So when my brother-in-law Adam Hardage (our CEO) approached me with an opportunity to help deliver provider access to rural communities and austere conditions I wanted to be involved. When I saw the VER device for the very first time, I knew that we could truly change the way healthcare is delivered. When traveling as an ambassador for the nation’s largest Emergency Department management company, I again was made aware of the lack of healthcare coverage in rural communities, and knew that with the VER technology we could deliver that that medical coverage as well as provide a physician anywhere, anytime. We can place a doctor in a rural community, on an airplane, on an oil rig, on a cargo ship, or provide life-saving and life changing direct healthcare to pre-hospital, hospital, post hospital, and follow up care. In my nearly two decades of healthcare I believe that this is the most revolutionary device I have ever seen.

On a personal note, I have been married to my lovely wife Holly, for over 16 years and have 3 daughters Ella (12), Hannah (11), Olivia (6) and one son Preston (2). We live in the desert southwest in St. George, UT and love being outside and spending time together hiking, camping, skiing, and other sports.

Neal Reynolds

Associate Professor of Medicine

R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma, University of Maryland Medical Center

Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine. Associate Director: Multi-Trauma Intensive Care Unit, RAC Shock Trauma Center. Trained as an Electrical Engineer, University of Maryland, College Park, 1970. Doctor of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, 1976. Completed Internal Medicine Residency/chief Residency, University of Hawaii, 1980. Critical Care Fellowship, Wayne State, Detroit, Michigan, 1987. Involved in Telemedicine for over a decade and a half. Tele-ICU director, utilizing Robotic Technology, Bon Secours Hospital, Baltimore: 2002-2011. Team that operationalized the first commercial Tele-ICU in the United states in 2002. Co-Author of 5 Chapters dedicated to Telemedicine, Tele-ICU & Telemedicine Billing. Co-author, national Tele-ICU position paper sponsored by the Soc. of Critical Care Medicine. 5 Peer reviewed articles on the topic of telemedicine and Tele-ICU. 12 Telemedicine abstracts. 25 regional and national talks. 7 Years working with the Maryland General Assembly on Telemedicine Legislation. Member, MedChi Legislative Committee for the oversite of all medical related legislation in MD. Chairman, Clinical Advisory Group for the Maryland Telemedicine Task Force, 2013. Co-Founder and Vice President of the Maryland TeleHealth Alliance: 2017. TeleHealth Grant Reviewer for the Maryland HealthCare Commission.

John Kornak

Technical Solutions Strategist

Ellumen, Inc.

John Kornak is a Client Solutions Technical Strategist for Ellumen, Inc. which is a Healthcare-Information Technology small-business based in Arlington, VA. Mr. Kornak offers Ellumen’s clients and partners the benefits of his 20+ years guiding clinicians and administrators on innovative approaches for improving healthcare and information technology delivery. His sage advice and expertise for telehealth and telemedicine is informed by his prior experience as Director of Telehealth at University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) where he implemented, managed, and supported over 20+ Telemedicine programs across the Medical System and throughout the State of Maryland. Mr. Kornak is also a co-founder of the Maryland Telehealth Alliance, Inc. (MTel) which is a 501c6 grassroots startup organization whose vision and mission is to be “The Unified Voice of Telehealth in Maryland”.

Emily Wein

Shareholder

Baker Donelson

Emily H. Wein, a shareholder in the Baker Ober Health Law Group of Baker Donelson, advises health care clients on a wide spectrum of regulatory considerations affecting providers with a particular focus on the telehealth market. Such issues include the federal fraud and abuse requirements (both anti-kickback and Stark law), HIPAA privacy, state licensure and practice standards, and payor reimbursement. Ms. Wein monitors changes to legal and regulatory developments affecting the telehealth industry to better advise and guide her clients so they may align their business strategies with the current legal landscape. On a more global perspective Ms. Wein also advises providers with regard to state facility licensure requirements and Medicare and Medicaid participation. She was previously associate counsel at a large interdisciplinary health system where she advised the company in relation to its expanding telehealth offerings as well as the daily issues in the areas of fraud and abuse, HIPAA and state privacy law, and Medicare and Medicaid participation.

Kerry Palakanis

CEO

Crisfield Clinic

Dr. Kerry Palakanis is a Family Nurse Practitioner who has worked for over 26 years in rural health care in a variety of settings across the country. In 2012, she established the Crisfield Clinic, a private family practice, to provide care to the rural, underserved community of Crisfield, MD. Active in telemedicine, she has established remote telehealth sites on Smith Island and across the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Dr. Palakanis provides care to primary care, behavioral health and substance abuse patients via telemedicine. She is a founding board member of the Maryland Telehealth Alliance, a board member of the Maryland Rural Health Commission, a legislative committee member for the Maryland Rural Health Association and past president of the Nurse Practitioner Association of Maryland.

Jonathan M. Joseph

Partner

Christian & Barton, LLP

Jonathan M. Joseph is a partner at the Richmond, Virginia law firm of Christian & Barton, L.L.P., where he serves as the leader of the health care practice group. He focuses his practice on telemedicine and electronic health data storage issues, health care transactions, managed care, compliance issues, fraud and abuse, and HIPAA. Jon also advises clients on Board of Medicine and Board of Nursing matters, medical staff issues, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement issues and appeals, Certificate of Public Need, and federal health reform issues.

Jon is a past chair of the Health Law Section of the Virginia Bar Association and a former adjunct professor of health law for the Master of Health Administration program at Virginia Commonwealth University. He is an established author—his most recent publication is a 50-state survey of data breach notification laws, and he frequently lectures for national bar and health care organizations.

Jon earned degrees from Boston University School of Law and Middlebury College, and volunteers as a member of the board of a Virginia nonprofit continuing care system.

Brian Scarpelli

Senior Policy Counsel

ACT | The App Association

Brian Scarpelli is Senior Policy Counsel for ACT | The App Association’s Connected Health Initiative, a leading industry coalition advocating for policy and legal changes to drive the uptake of digital health tools throughout the American healthcare system. For the App Association, he works on a diversity of legal and policy issues impacting mobile app development companies and platforms, including disability access, intellectual property (patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secrets), privacy, cybersecurity. He often speaks publicly at conferences and in the media on challenges and opportunities to the small business app developer community.

Rebecca Gwilt

Partner

Nixon Law Group PLLC

Rebecca Gwilt is a Partner at Nixon Law Group, advising innovative healthcare providers, institutions, and entrepreneurs. In particular, she provides business and regulatory services to healthcare technology companies, among them startups and early stage companies, that provide data analytics, telemedicine, mobile health, remote monitoring, EMR, and other Health IT services to consumers and clinicians.

Bonnie Britton

Executive Director

Reconnect4Health

Bonnie is the Executive Director of Reconnect4Health and is recognized as a Telehealth pioneer/expert. She has dedicated the past 20 years of her career as a nurse, advancing the adoption and implementation of Telehealth both nationally and internationally. Bonnie was the 13th inductee into the ATA’s College of Fellows. Bonnie is a previous ATA Board Member, has chaired multiple ATA SIGs, and has participated in multiple ATA Committees. She has presented at numerous conferences, and has published a variety of articles. She currently serves as a Board Advisor and Consultant for the MATRC and is the co-chair of NICHA’s Telehealth Task Force. Bonnie has also successfully implemented CMS’s Chronic Care Management programs.

Previously, Brian worked for over five years at the Telecommunications Industry Association, a trade association representing telecommunications equipment manufacturers and vendors that is also an American National Standards Institute-accredited standards developer. He has also spent time with the Federal Communications Commission, the District of Columbia Public Service Commission, and the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions.

Dr. Nina Panelist Solenski M.D.

Associate Professor of Neurology

UVA/Department of Neurology

Dr. Solenski is an associate professor in neurology subspecializing in cerebrovascular disease at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA. Dr. Solenski is a graduate of Jefferson Medical College (Philadelphia, PA ’89). She received her residency training at Dartmouth Mary-Hitchcock in internal medicine and at University of Virginia in neurology. She completed an ACGME accredited cerebrovascular disease fellowship training program at UVA in clinical and basic research. She is currently dual APBN boarded in general and vascular neurology.

Dr. Solenski has been asked to serve as a member of the STAIR (stroke therapy academic industry roundtable) committee and has participated in numerous clinical research stroke trials, many focusing on acute stroke neuroprotective therapy. As an active member of the American Academy of Neurology since 1990, she is working with other members on the stroke education committee as part of the overall stroke and vascular neurology strategic plan. Dr. Solenski served as chair of the ASA-VDH Virginia stroke task force from 2005-2007. In 2010, she was appointed co-chair of the Virginia joint commission on healthcare Virginia stroke systems task force. Through federal and UVA-MC funding, they have developed a stroke telemedicine program to provide stroke care to remote regions of the state. As a member of the VAST (Virginia Acute Stroke Telehealth) network, she has dedicated her career to serving the needs of stroke patients and their families, particularly the underserved populations of Virginia.

Morgan Boyer BSN, RN,

LIONNET NURSE COORDINATOR

Penn State Health

Morgan Boyer is a telestroke nurse coordinator for a blossoming 16 partner network. Morgan has a varied expertise evolving from bench research to neuroscience critical care nurse to a neuro-interventional procedural nurse. Her background in acute stroke care and passion for process improvement has made her a resource for her partner hospitals. As a consequence, the network has driven down treatment times while increases thrombectomy cases. Morgan’s desire to contribute to telehealth initiatives grows; she is currently enrolled in a Master’s of Public Health program.

Kelly Rotondo DNP, RN, SCRN

PROGRAM MANAGER LIONNET

Penn State Health Milton Hershey Med Center

Kelly Rotondo, DNP, MSN, RN, SCRN is the program manager for LionNet, a busy telestroke network in central and northeast Pennsylvania. Dr. Rotondo’s has over 20 years in various healthcare positions including: education, clinical positions, and administration. She is passionate about improving healthcare with telemedicine and is always looking for innovative ways to improve the telestroke program at Penn State Health.

Johnamaithili Seelam

RESEARCH ASSISTANT, DEPARTMENT OF NEUROLOGY

VCU Health System

I am an undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University, majoring in Biomedical Engineering. I have a strong passion for research and medicine, which led me to work with Dr. Chapman Smith in the Department of Neurology at VCU Health. I work extensively with Dr. Chapman and her research team to study the feasibility of a mobile prehospital telestroke system, starting with the design of the telestroke equipment based on end-users perspectives.

Marcus Divers B.S., CHES

EQUITE PROGRAM COORDINATOR

UVA

Marcus Divers, B.S., CHES is a Project Coordinator for the Department of Neurology working on developing telestroke resources and research. He is a 20117 graduate of James Madison University with a degree in Health Sciences with a concentration in health studies. He started his career in healthcare by shadowing the Karen S. Rheuban Office of Telemedicine at UVA before working with the Department of Neurology’s STAT Program. He is looking to continue to gain experience in the realm of telemedicine while pursuing an MHA or an MPH in the near future.

Omar Uribe B.S.

Medical Student

University of Virginia School of Medicine

Omar Uribe is a current 4th year medical student at the University of Virginia and an engineering graduate from the Georgia Institute of Technology. His interest lie at the intersection of computer science, technology, and medicine and plans to develop a career bringing useful technologies to clinical practice.

2018 Program

Other Summits

Telehealth on Trial

Telehealth 101

Chronic Care Management and Remote Patient Monitoring 101

Project ECHO: Leveraging Technology to Extend Knowledge to Providers

Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine - Expanding the Use of Telehealth for Improved Value-Based Health Care

Telemental Health 101

Welcome to Pennsylvania and to MATRC Summit 2018

Telehealth on Trial Case 1 – Could the Failure to Provide Telemedicine Breach the Standard of Care?

Intro to the Telehealth Technology Assessment Center and the Telehealth Technology Showcase

Telehealth On Trial Case 2 – Telehealth and Adherence to the Standard of Care

Navigating Telehealth and the Prescribing of Controlled Substances

Deconstructing Reimbursement for Remote Patient Monitoring

Preparing for the Boomers - Telehealth Models for Meeting the Needs of Caregivers and Seniors

Safer and More Effective Telestroke Care

Telehealth as a Force Multiplier in Addressing the Opioid Crisis

How Do I Get Paid? Business Models and Reimbursement for Telehealth

Making Connected Care a Reality

Educating and Training for Effective Telehealth Care Delivery

Telehealth On Trial Case 3 - To Use or Not To Use the Tools You Have to Save a Life? That is the Question

A Look At The Changing Policy Environment In 2018 And Beyond