Meet the Presenters of the 2024 Advanced IRF Boot Camp
June 11-12, 2024
11:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. ET
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Kate Beller, JD, President, AMRPA
Kate Beller, JD, has served as the American Medical Rehabilitation Providers Association (AMRPA) President since March 2024, and previously served in leadership roles within the Association since February 2019. In her current role, Beller helps AMRPA identify current and emerging policy issues affecting the rehabilitation industry, including the annual inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) Prospective Payment System and Quality Reporting Program, Medicare Advantage coverage reforms, the IRF Review Choice Demonstration, auditing and oversight programs within the field, and Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) post-acute care payment analysis, among many other issues.
Prior to joining AMRPA, Ms. Beller served as a principal at a healthcare-focused consulting/lobbying firm, where she developed and helped lead the legislative and regulatory strategies for post-acute care providers and other entities across the health policy spectrum. She received her Juris Doctorate at Georgetown University Law Center and her undergraduate degree at Duke University.
Alberto Esquenazi, MD, Senior Vice President for Rehabilitation Services, Chief Clinical Officer of Jefferson Moss-Magee Rehabilitation and the John Otto Haas Chair of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Albert Einstein Medical Center
Alberto Esquenazi, MD, serves as the Senior Vice President for Rehabilitation Services, Chief Clinical Officer of Jefferson Moss-Magee Rehabilitation and the John Otto Haas Chair of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Albert Einstein Medical Center, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Also in Philadelphia, Dr. Esquenazi is Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine at Jefferson School of Medicine.
Dr. Esquenazi received his medical degree in Medicine and Surgery from Universidad Nacional Autonoma (the National Autonomous University of Mexico), in Mexico City. He completed his residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Temple University, in Philadelphia, and a fellowship in gait analysis and prosthetic research at MossRehab. Dr. Esquenazi’s research focuses on gait analysis, limb prosthetics, orthotics, spasticity management and robotics in rehabilitation. Dr. Esquenazi has published widely in peer-reviewed journals and has authored more than 40 book chapters. His research in spasticity management, gait, orthotics, limb prosthetics and robotics has led him to be an invited speaker at national and international events. He serves on the editorial boards of five national and international journals.
Dr. Esquenazi is a member of several national and international professional, educational, and research societies and review panels, including Chairing the National Advisory Board on Medical Rehabilitation Research of the National Institute of Child and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health. He is Past president of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and a member of the board of the American Medical Rehabilitation Providers Association. He is the recipient of prestigious national and international awards for his clinical, research and educational efforts.
Troy Hillman, Director of Quality and Health Policy, AMRPA
Troy Hillman has served as the American Medical Rehabilitation Providers Association (AMRPA) Director of Quality and Health Policy since January 2023. In his current role, Mr. Hillman helps AMRPA identify policy issues affecting the rehabilitation industry, including the inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) prospective payment system and Quality Reporting Program, as well as MedPAC and other Post-Acute Care (PAC) payment reform proposals. Prior to joining AMRPA, Mr. Hillman served as the Manager of Analytics and Government Relations Director at UDSMR/Netsmart, where he helped develop and interpret the reporting of IRF data and outcomes, educate and train industry stakeholders on outcomes and quality measures, as well as monitoring, interpreting, and responding to legislative and regulatory updates. He also has experience in the Market Research, Banking and Health Insurance industries, where he was focused on analytics and performance improvement. In his spare time, he enjoys golfing, coaching hockey, suffering with the Buffalo Bills, and helping to raise two teenage sons.
Scott Littig, MBA, MRMC, MA, CCC/SLP, Program Manager, Jefferson Moss-Magee Rehabilitation
Jan McCafferty, Managing Director, Tandem Solutions
Jan McCafferty co-founded Tandem Solutions in 2002, an innovative organization helping clients to envision and create their future success. Tandem has been recognized as a Top Organizational Change Management Company by Manage HR, and Top Leadership Development Company by HR Tech Magazine. McCafferty collaborates with leaders to transform their organizational cultures to reflect their espoused strategy and values, supporting them to become role models and operationalize the values into work practices & behaviors. She has a passion for coaching clinical leaders to deepen their self-awareness, embrace a leadership mindset, and connect with others in a way that honors their dignity to create an environment of trust, respect, and belonging.
She uses a humanistic approach, supporting her clients with consulting, individual and team coaching, and learning programs to strengthen the leader’s capabilities to build strong teams and make pragmatic and lasting change.
McCafferty is the former Director for HealthCare Services at Linkage, Inc. and a seasoned veteran of Andersen Consulting (now Accenture). At Andersen Consulting, she developed a methodology for building interdisciplinary teams that was rolled out as a global standard for Patient Centered Care engagements for the Worldwide Healthcare Team. As the healthcare practice leader at Linkage, Jan led the development and implementation of competency-based learning programs that empowered healthcare leaders to actively engage in their learning and adapt new mindsets and skills in their unique cultures. Her learning systems and performance management systems for the healthcare industry have been recognized by the Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations for their innovative approach to developing hospital workforces. These nationally recognized programs have formed the basis for the Tandem Solutions Longitudinal Learning™ approach to developing excellence in talent development systems.
Anne Marie McDonough, BSN, MPH, FACHE, Senior Director of Rehab Medicine, Staten Island University Hospital, Northwell Health
Joe Nahra, Director of Government Relations and Regulatory Policy, AMRPA
Joe Nahra has served as the AMRPA Director of Government Relations and Regulatory Policy since May 2023. In his current role, Joe works with AMRPA leadership, member hospitals, and stakeholder partners to develop and execute strategies for ensuring patient access to inpatient rehabilitation care, including communicating AMRPA’s policy positions to federal lawmakers and agency officials. Joe also works directly with members and AMRPA committees to provide advice and guidance relating to regulatory and compliance issues. Prior to joining AMRPA, Joe represented patients, providers, and disability advocacy organizations before Congress and the Administration at a Washington, DC-based law and lobbying firm. He received his undergraduate degree at the University of Pennsylvania and is currently working towards a Juris Doctorate at Georgetown University Law Center in the evening program. In his spare time, he enjoys playing and watching tennis, cooking, and trying to beat his own times solving crossword puzzles.
Jane Snecinski, MBA, FACHE, MRMC, President and Principal Consultant, Post Acute Advisors
Jane Snecinski has a Bachelor and Masters of Music and an MBA in Healthcare Administration from the University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL with a wealth of hands on hospital administration and management experience in all of the post acute levels of care. She is the President and Principal Consultant of Post Acute Advisors, a niche consulting firm located in Atlanta, Georgia with a nation-wide practice that specializes in the needs of post acute providers. Focuses include the areas of compliance, medical necessity and regulatory medical record review, appeal assistance, operational assessment, and accreditation assistance.
Snecinski is a frequent presenter for national conferences and webinars and local meetings of post acute providers and authored multiple articles for professional journals and newsletters. She also has participated in the development of the certification process for rehabilitation managers/administration for AMRPA.
Peter W. Thomas, JD, Managing Partner at Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville, PC
Peter Thomas is Managing Partner at Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville, PC, a health care law firm in Washington, DC. He has a federal law and legislative practice in the areas of healthcare and disability policy; Medicare coverage and reimbursement policy; access to medical rehabilitation services; coverage, coding and payment of orthotics, prosthetics, and assistive devices and technologies; and appropriations and policy advocacy involving rehabilitation and disability research and development. Peter has served on the National Advisory Board for the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR) at NIH, the National Advisory Council of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the President's Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry, and the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on Improving the Disability Decision Process. He also serves as a Co-Principal Investigator for a PCORI-funded research project on peer support for trauma survivors.
Peter has also served on a number of non-profit boards including the Foundation for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, the American Trauma Society, the Viscardi Center, and the Center for International Rehabilitation/Physicians Against Land Mines. He served as a Trustee for the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). Peter has served as Co-Chair of the Health Task Force of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) for nearly 30 years and is general counsel to the National Association for the Advancement of Orthotics and Prosthetics (NAAOP) as well as counsel to the Orthotic and Prosthetic Alliance. Peter uses two prosthetic limbs and is a co-author of The Americans with Disabilities Act: A Guidebook for Management and People with Disabilities. He graduated from Georgetown University Law Center in 1989, Boston College in 1986, and is licensed to practice law in both New York State and the District of Columbia.
Christopher Thorson, PT, MRMC, CCCE, Rehabilitation Manager, Essentia Health Miller-Dwan Rehabilitation Services
Christopher Thorson graduated with a Master’s Degree in Physical Therapy from University of North Dakota in 1998. He was the Primary PT on SCI team at IRF within Essentia Health from 2000-2016 before becoming the Therapy Manager for IRF within Essentia Health 2016-present.In addition, he is the Center Coordinator of Clinical Education (CCCE) for therapy students at Essentia Health, co-chair of Essentia Health Falls committee, safe patient handling trainer for Essentia Health nurse orientation, Essentia Health trainer for new therapist orientation. Christopher is also a Minnesota APTA payment committee member and a valued member of the AMRPA Certification Committee. In his spare time he enjoys travel, indoor rock climbing, golf, Nordic skiing, trail running, mountain biking and hiking.
Natasha Woolery, PT, MBA, MRMC, Director of Business Development, Post Acute Services, HCA Healthcare
Natasha Woolery was born and raised in Dallas, TX. After graduating from Texas A&M University, she further pursued her education, and completed the UT Southwestern Medical School physical therapy program in 1998. She quickly afterwards started her career at Parkland Hospital as a physical therapist. While working at Parkland, she enjoyed working in all areas of the hospital, but especially the burn unit and wound care center. After Parkland, she transitioned to People First Rehab (a division of Kindred) to pursue advancing her career into management. She was the Director of Rehab at Kindred White Rock, and then relocated to Kindred Southwest in Fort Worth holding the same role. After several years at Kindred, she then took the Director of Therapy Operations role at HealthSouth Fort Worth. After working there for several years, she joined HCA. She currently serves a Business Development Director on the corporate Post Acute Services team traveling the country training staff. Natasha decided to pursue further education while at HCA and obtained her MBA as well as MRMC with AMRPA.