Mary Ellard RN, MPA/H, RAC-CT

Mailing Address

Five Star Quality Care, Inc. 400 Centre Street Newton, MA 02458 Phone: 781-329-4315 Email address: mary.ellard@aanac.org Term: 7/1/06-6/30/09

• BA, Human Resource Management, University of Massachusetts-Boston, Masters in Public Administration/Healthcare Administration from Suffolk University; Certified RAC-CT and member of AANAC since 2002
• Mary has more than 30 years in Healthcare, 20 + in LTC and has held a variety on positions from CNA to Executive Director. Those positions include MDS Coordinator, Staff development, Admissions coordinator, ADON, and Executive Director.
• Served as a Regional Clinical Director with Mariner Healthcare and a Reimbursement Advisory Specialist with the Healthcare Education, LLP affiliate of Landa and Altsher LLC, a CPA consulting firm in Massachusetts. She has also worked as an independent consultant in Massachusetts on MMQ and MDS education and training.
• In Her current role as Clinical Assessment Specialist with Five Star Quality Care, Inc. she supports over 100 MDS coordinators and 4 Regional MDS consultants. In this role she is responsible for education and training, policy development, reviewing CMS guidelines, Case Mix education, implementation of electronic data collection systems and software education.

Carol Siem, MSN, RN, BC, GNP, RAC-CT

Mailing Address

6733 Highway 94 South Augusta, MO 63332 Phone: 636.482.4894 Email: carol.siem@aanac.org Term: 07/01/07 - 6/30/10

• Sinclair School of Nursing, University of Missouri-Columbia
• Advanced Practice Nurse/Geriatric Nurse Practitioner
• Member of the University of Missouri MDS Quality Research Team, active in the statewide training of MDS Coordinators in Missouri and maintaining the MU web site for MDS coordinators
• CMS RAP workgroup - 2004 (for MDS 3.0)
• Member of AANAC since 2001
• Credentialed as RAC-C with AANAC 2003 (currently RAC-CT)
• Member of Primaris, Missouri's QIO
• Researcher and educator in long-term care related to quality improvement at the individual facility level
• Nursing career spans over 30 years with the last 19 years working with geriatrics in Acute Rehabilitation and Hospital based Skilled Nursing units. Has worked in the capacity of a floor nurse, DON and Unit Manager
• Finalist in the Advancing and Leading the Profession category for the Midwest Nursing Spectrum 2006 Nursing Excellence Awards

Kate Dennison, RN, RAC-MT

Mailing Address

The Cedars 630 Ocean Ave. Portland, ME 04103 Phone: 207-772-5456 Email address: kate.dennison@aanac.org Term: 1/1/07-6/30/10

• Participated in Case Mix Demonstration Project in the State of Maine as MDS Coordinator with over 18 years experience
• Attained AANAC Master Teacher status in 2006
• Credentialed as RAC-C with AANAC 2002 (currently RAC-CT)
• Member of AANAC since 2001
• Has served professionally as MDS Coordinator/Team Conference Leader, Director of Staff Development, Director of Infection/Exposure Control, Resident Service Director, Utilization Review Committee
• Developed and conducted an MDS 2.0 course
• Independent Consultant for RAI process
• Developed Exposure Control Policies and Procedure Manual
• Kate currently works as the Nurse Assessment Coordinator at The Cedars in Maine, a 102-bed dually-certified SNF/NF facility. She is responsible for the overall management of the MDS/RAI process, as well as the orientation and ongoing education of nursing staff in the RAI process. She also serves on the U/R Committee, Medicare and Long-Term Care Rounds Committee meetings and PPS and MDS Meetings Chair.

Susan Paulsen, CPA, NHA, RAC-CT

Mailing Address

22232 17th Avenue SE, #310 Bothell, WA 98021 Phone: 425-489-3416 Email address: susan.paulsen@aanac.org Term: 7/1/08-6/30/09

• Susan Paulsen has over twenty-seven years of accounting, auditing and consulting for many types of organizations including not-for-profit and health care organizations. Susan, along with her husband, Dennis Megaard, own a CPA firm in Bothell, Washington, which specializes in accounting and auditing for health care entities. Their firm also manages a skilled nursing facility in Seattle, Washington, which is also owned by Susan and Dennis.
• Susan has a BA in Business Administration and an MS in Accounting from California State University in Sacramento, California and is a licensed CPA in the state of Washington.
• Susan is considered an expert in not-for-profit and nursing home accounting and reimbursement.
• Recently Susan became a licensed nursing home administrator in Washington state. In addition, she has completed the requirements for the AANAC Certification and now is certified as a Resident Assessment Coordinator-Certified (RAC-CT).

Andrea Clark, BSM, RN, NHA

Mailing Address

Golden Living 1000 Fiana Way Fort Smith, AR 72919 Phone: 479.201.5186 Email address: aclark@aanac.org Term: 7/1/08-6/30/10

• 30 years of experience in all disciplines of long-term care
• Developed and implemented the "Proud to be a Beverly Nurse" program which increased morale and decreased nurse turnover.
• Developed Clinical Education Program with emphasis on evidence based practice and clinical competency
• 100% of Golden Living facilities are members of the Advancing Excellence Campaign with emphasis on consistent assignments for CNAs
• Directs Quality of Life initiatives which includes the Enabling Freedom program for Alzheimer's residents
• Oversees development and execution of the corporate Quality Improvement System
• Has also served as Regional Director of Professional Services, SNF Executive Director, Assistant Administrator, DON, SDC

Josephine Cronin, RN, MBA, RAC-CT

Mailing Address

LarsonAllen, LLP 42 Thomas Patten Drive Randolph, MA 02368 Phone: 781.961.0070 Email address: jcronin@aanac.org Term: 7/1/08-6/30/10

• Has held Senior Reimbursement Consultant position for over 5 years
• Accomplished speaker and presenter on clinical and reimbursement topics
• Has served as SNF DON, successfully taking a facility from construction to operation
• Consults on JCAHO credentialing, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement and compliance

Carol Job, RN, RAC-CT
Senior RN Consultant

Mailing Address

Myers and Stauffer, LC 4123 SW Gage Center Dr. Suite 200 Topeka, KS, 66004-1833 Phone: 800-255-2309 Email Address: carol.job@aanac.org Term: 7/1/07 - 6/30/10

• More than 30 years of professional nursing practice with extensive background in administration, development of program policy and nursing leadership
• Developed and implemented alternative in-home services as part of South Dakota's continuum of care programs
• Served as project director for South Dakota's participation in the federally funded Multistate Nursing Home Case Mix and Quality demonstration
• Played a key role in the development and implementation of the federally mandated Minimum Data Set
• Lead author for the December 2002 revision of the Long Term Care Resident Assessment Instrument User's Manual
• Lead author of the Swingbed Minimum Data Set Training Manual
• Author of the AANAC RUG-III and Quality Indicators Modules
• Well known presenter providing training on case mix reimbursement and the RUG-III Classification system
• Works with state Medicaid agencies in the development of case mix verification systems to assess the accuracy of the MDS data used for payment

Sue Mitchell, RHIA

Mailing Address

5148 Blacklick Eastern Road Baltimore, OH 43015 Phone: 740.862.4458 Email Address: sue.mitchell@aanac.org Term: 7/1/08-6/30/10

• Sue Mitchell is a Registered Health Information Administrator with considerable experience in the long term care industry.
• She has worked extensively with long term care clinical information systems, automated data submission of the MDS, and long term care initiatives related to the electronic health record.
• She has served as an instructor for numerous programs on HIPAA, PPS, MDS, Quality Indicators, Quality Measures, and the electronic health record.
• Sue is a member of the HL7 Electronic Health Record Technical Committee, the Health Information Infrastructure Committee of the American Health Care Association, and the EHR Practice Council of the American Health Information Management Association.
• She is also on the Board of Directors for the American Association of Nurse Assessment Coordinators, Vice-President of the Ohio Association of Nurse Assessment Coordinators, and is a facilitator for the Long Term Care Community of Practice of the American Health Information Management Association.
• Sue is currently the Director of Clinical Systems for Omnicare Information Solutions.

Christine Mueller, PhD, RN, BC, NEA-C, FAAN

Mailing Address

Adult and Gerontological Health Cooperative Unit University of Minnesota, School of Nursing 5-140 WDH, 308 Harvard St. SE Minneapolis, MN 55455 Phone: 612-626-4922 Email: cmueller@aanac.org Term: 7/1/08 - 6/30/10

• Member of American Academy of Nursing, American Nurses Association, Gerontological Society of America, Minnesota Nurses Association Foundation and other state and national organizations
• Academic research in the areas of nurse staffing, quality, nursing leadership and nursing professional practice models in long-term care facilities
• Member of expert panel addressing the validity of the MDS 3.0
• Member of the research teams that developed MDS 2.0 and RUG-III classification system
• Over 30 years of experience improving care for elders in facilities

Adrianne Tong, JD,
Deputy City Attorney

Mailing Address

Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center 375 Laguna Honda Boulevard San Francisco, CA 94116 Telephone: 415-759-2322 Fax: 415-759-3365 Email: adrianne.tong@aanac.org Term: 7/1/06 - 6/30/09

• Deputy City Attorney with the San Francisco City Attorney's Office
• A member of the City Attorney's Health and Human Services Team
• Provides legal advice and guidance to the Executive Administrators at Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center, the largest single site long-term skilled nursing facility in the country
• Operated and owned by the Department of Public Health, San Francisco City and County, Laguna Honda Hospital provides acute, rehabilitation and long-term care for over 1,000 residents, including providing hospice and respite care, an AIDS unit, a head trauma group, and an adult day care program
• Represents the City in providing legal risk management counsel, supervising legal claims and lawsuits, and advising on Local, State and Federal regulatory issues related to healthcare
• 20 + years experience as an attorney in a variety of matters
• President of Chinese American Voters Education Committee since 2003
• Presented with the City and County of San Francisco Certificate of Honor from Mayor Gavin Newsom for work as Board Chair, January 2004; Board Member since 1997

Elaine Townsley, MSN, MBA, DHA,C

Mailing Address

ConvaCare Management 2908 Hawkins Drive Searcy, AR 72143 Phone: 501.305.3453 Email: etownsley@aanac.org Term: 7/1/08 - 6/30/10

• Arkansas Coordinator for the Nursing Home Collaborative
• Risk Manager for all facilities managed by ConvaCare
• Corporate Compliance Officer for ConvaCare
• Consultant for resident care services and quality of care
• Independent Nurse Consultant
• Has also served as Regional MDS Coordinator, Regional Quality Services Manager, SNF DON, ADON
• Recognized speaker and author on long-term care nursing
• Developing Arkansas Certified Nursing Assistant curriculum