Dr. Brad Batkoff is a trained cardiologist and Board Certified in Cardiovascular Diseases and Interventional Cardiology. His clinical interests include endovascular therapies for complex aortic diseases and minimally invasive valve therapies. Dr. Batkoff received his medical degree from the University of Texas at Houston, completed Internal Medicine training at the University of Iowa, and received his Cardiology and Interventional Cardiology training at the University of Washington in Seattle.

He has been in practice for 25+ years and is currently the President and Medical Director of the Providence Spokane Heart Institute.

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Ginger Biesbrock comes to MedAxiom Consulting from West Michigan Heart, a 39 Physician practice with 24 mid-level providers, where she acted as Director of Operations. At West Michigan Heart, Ginger oversaw all operations for ambulatory services, tertiary care and rural health practices. Ginger’s background as a Physician Assistant with a Master of Physician Assistant Studies from Grand Valley State University has been a valuable asset to her work in operations. Ginger also obtained a Master of Public Health degree from Michigan State University. Prior to her role as Director, Ginger was the COO of The Cardiovascular Group at Centra-health. This consisted of 22 Physicians and 10 mid-level providers. Ginger’s responsibility included all operations for ambulatory services in an outpatient department of Centra-health.

Ginger has been a Midlevel Provider for 13 years, 10 of which have been in Cardiology and the other 3 years were spent in Internal Medicine. She has worked in acute care settings and also provided ambulatory services. Both Grand Valley State University and Western Michigan University have utilized Ginger as an adjunct faculty member for the past 8 years. Ginger has done process improvement work to include readmissions, Heart Failure clinic operations, multidisciplinary clinic development and general office operations. She has received greenbelt training in Lean/Six-sigma.

Ginger will be concentrating her work on Care Team development and optimization with the goal of high functioning work teams. She has a strong background in developing chronic disease management programs around CV diseases that include transitional care and long term management. With the advent of bundled payments, healthcare reform, volume to value – these programs will be so valuable to our community.

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Cathleen Biga is President and CEO of Cardiovascular Management of Illinois. She has over 30 years experience in health care, including positions as hospital CEO, VPof patient Care services and has been active in practice management for the last 15 years. She has recently completed three integrations for her current groups – successfully transitioning 46 cardiologists. CMI now offers management, billing, and EHR support for the integrated groups. Cathleen serves as the Executive Director of Adventist Heart and Vascular Institute and is instrumental in the development and growth of the CV Service Line for the organization. She has been active nationally with consulting and lecturing on physician/hospital integration, development and formation of CV SL, quality initiatives, development of Clinical co management agreements, designing balanced quality score cards, and advocacy issues. She serves on the advisory board of Medaxiom, is Past-President of CSCA, past-president of Cardiology Advocacy alliance, an active member of numerous ACC committees and workgroups and is on the Illinois Board of Councilors of ACC. She serves on multiple Boards and remains active in her community. With her background in hospital administration she is able to bring a unique perspective to practice management in these complex times.

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Dr. Charles L. Brown earned his undergraduate degree from the University of New Orleans in New Orleans, Louisiana. He earned his medical degree from Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans and completed his internship, residency and fellowships in cardiovascular disease and interventional cardiology with Emory University Affiliated Hospitals. During his cardiovascular disease fellowship, he served as chief resident of medicine and he fulfilled an additional fellowship in peripheral angioplasty at the Red Cross Hospital in Frankfurt, Germany.

Dr. Brown is board-certified in cardiovascular diseases, internal medicine, and interventional cardiology. He is also a member of numerous professional societies, including Alpha Omega Alpha, the American College of Cardiology, the American College of Physicians, the American Medical Association, the American Heart Association, the Medical Association of Atlanta and the Medical Association of Georgia.

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Denise Brown is the Vice-President of MedAxiom Consulting. As a health care executive with over 25 years of experience in hospital system and private practice healthcare operations, operational efficiency, physician recruitment, business development, marketing, and facilities planning; she recently achieved her Green Belt in Lean Sigma from the Johns Hopkins, Center for Innovation in Quality Patient Care.

Prior to her current position she was Chief Operating Officer at West Michigan Heart in Grand Rapids, Michigan. There she led the clinical, technical and business operations initiatives; business development efforts and operationalized both co-management and integration efforts for the practice. Ms. Brown also served as Director of Business Development for Wisconsin Heart and Vascular Clinics, owners of the Wisconsin Heart Hospital. She has extensive experience in developing clinical program models to drive referring physician, patient/consumer and payer engagement.

Denise also held prior positions as the AV.P. of Purchasing for Health Services Corporation of America (HSCA) one of the founding members of AmeriNet GPO as well as Materials Management Directorships at two healthcare systems in Wisconsin.

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Cory Countryman is Chief Executive Officer of Walnut Hill Medical Center, a full-service acute-care hospital in Dallas, Texas.He began his career as a Registration Clerk at Zale Lipshy University Hospital in Dallas, Texas after a tour in the US Navy.Over the next two decades Cory worked in various healthcare management positions progressing into roles as Chief Executive Officer at Cleveland Regional Medical Center and Weatherford Regional Medical Center. Cory earned a Bachelor of Arts and Science degree from Dallas Baptist University and a Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of Texas, Permian Basin.

In addition to his work in healthcare, Cory Countryman supports the efforts of several prominent nonprofit organizations, including the United Way and the Make A Wish Foundation.He also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Vickery Meadow Improvement District in Dallas, Texas and is a past director of the East Parker County Chamber of Commerce, Board of Director for the Weatherford College Foundation and the Weatherford Independent Schools Foundation.

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Nick is responsible for a number of services for Rhode Island Hospital and system wide for Lifespan, including supply chain operations, pharmacy, imaging services, rehab, Rhode Island Express Care, the Wound Care Center, the Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Cardiovascular Institute. He has been with Rhode Island Hospital and Lifespan since 2000, when he joined the staff as the Director of Materials Management. He has over twenty five years of experience in health care operations.

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Dr. Fry is an Interventional Cardiologist for St. Vincent Medical Group, St. Vincent Heart Center of Indiana.He is the Chairman of the Cardiology Division, St. Vincent Medical Group, Clinical Director of the St. Vincent Health CV Service Line, Chair of the Ascension Health Interventional Cardiology Affinity Group, Board Chair of Navion Healthcare Solutions, President of the Indiana Chapter of the American College of Cardiology, and member of the ACC Board of Governors.

Dr. Fry received his undergraduate degree from Grinnell College, Grinnel, IA, and earned his MD degree from Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO.He did his internship and residency in Internal Medicine as well as his Cardiology fellowship at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO.He completed his interventional cardiology fellowship at Nasser, Smith & Pinkerton Cardiology in Indianapolis, IN.

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Mr. Heath has been practicing law continuously since 1979 as a health care attorney. He represents a wide array of physician practices and other health care clients nationwide. He regularly provides advice and counsel regarding business and regulatory issues pertaining to professional practices, hospitals and health systems and the formation of joint ventures between and among physicians and/or hospitals, specialty hospitals and medical practices. He also counsels clients on ongoing "corporate" affairs of medical practices and many other business, tax, clinical services and regulatory matters. Owners of professional practices also often enlist Mr. Heath's help in transactions in partnering with other related entities, such as ambulatory surgery centers, cardiac catheterization laboratories and diagnostic/imaging centers.  Mr. Heath has rendered or renders advice and counsel to the nation's largest cardiology practice and the nation's largest nonprofit health system, as well as many other general hospitals, specialty hospitals, joint ventures and physician practices.  Mr. Heath helps clients form hospital-physician ventures designed to improve the quality of health care services offered in their local communities. He was selected by Nightingale Publications as one of the top 10 physician's attorneys in the United States.  Mr. Heath is a past managing partner of Hall Render Killian Heath & Lyman, the nation's largest law firm devoted to serving health care providers.

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Suzette Jaskie is President of MedAxiom Consulting and the Executive Vice-President of MedAxiom. Ms. Jaskie was the CEO of West Michigan Heart and Wisconsin Heart and Vascular in Milwaukee, WI prior to her current position. She also previously served as the Executive Director of the Frederick Meijer Heart and Vascular Institute, for Spectrum Health System in Grand Rapids, MI, that governs and manages the cardiovascular service line for the regional health system. Ms. Jaskie has a Masters Degree in Business Administration from the University of Hartford and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Wisconsin. 

Ms. Jaskie is a former President of Medical Group Management Association's cardiovascular assembly (CSCA) and is currently a serving on the American College of Cardiology's Practice Management Council. Ms. Jaskie is a faculty member of the American College of Cardiology Advanced Leadership Institute and a former board member of the Cardiovascular Advocacy Alliance. She has rich experience in strategic planning and program development and has been a speaker at numerous conferences on varied topics such as Physician Compensation, Strategic Planning, Product Line and Program Development, Performance Management, Operations Efficiency, as well as Governance and Leadership.

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Brad Kruger has more than 15 years of experience in healthcare administration. In his current role, Kruger is responsible for strategic and operational leadership of the Cardiovascular, Thoracic, Pulmonary Services, and Organ Transplant programs at Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center, as well as the Aurora Select Global & Executive Health Program. These services account for $1 billion in net revenue.

Kruger has successfully led multidisciplinary teams that developed and implemented cost-effective, large-scale, multimillion-dollar transformational care models across a complex integrated delivery network. He has received international recognition for implementing hybrid interventional cardiology suites, hybrid staffing models, clinical outcomes, and cost reductions across episodes of care.

He has a bachelor’s degree in economics from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, a master’s degree in mental health counseling from Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, and an MBA from University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

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Dr. Michael Mack has practiced cardiothoracic surgery in Dallas, TX since 1982. He is board certified in Internal Medicine, General Surgery, and Thoracic Surgery and is currently the Director of Cardiovascular Surgery for Baylor Scott & White Health, Chair of the Baylor Scott & White Health Cardiovascular Governance Council and Director of Cardiovascular Research at The Heart Hospital Baylor Plano. He also co-founded and is Chair of the Board of Cardiopulmonary Research Science and Technology Institute (CRSTI). He has over 400 peer reviewed medical publications.

Dr. Mack was President of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) 2011 and is Past President of the Thoracic Surgery Foundation for Research and Education (TSFRE) 2009-2011, the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association (STSA) 2009 and the International Society for Minimally Invasive Cardiothoracic Surgery (ISMICS) 2000. He has served on the Board of Directors of the STS and is currently on the Board of Directors of CTSNet and is a member of the American College of Cardiology Foundation (ACCF) Board of Trustees and the ACC Interventional Scientific Council. He is an honorary Fellow of the German Society for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery and the Indian Association of Cardiothoracic Surgery. He was the first Chair of the STS/ACC National Transcatheter Valve Therapy (TVT) Registry Steering Committee and is the liaison to the TVT Registry from the ACCF National Cardiac Data Registry (NCDR) Management Board and is on the Steering Committee of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Network (CTSN) of the NIH. He is a member of the FDA MDEpiNet Advisory Committee, the NCDR Management Board and the Brookings Institute National Medical Device Postmarket Surveillance System Planning Board.

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Jeff has more than 20 years of healthcare industry experience serving health systems, hospitals, medical groups and academic institutions. For the past 4 years, Jeff has served as the VP at Sanger Heart and Vascular Institute, an integrated 85 member cardiology and CT surgery group at Carolinas Healthcare System. During Jeff’s tenure at Sanger he was responsible for 26 locations, representing over 500 employees in North Carolina and South Carolina. Previously, he spent 3 years with LarsonAllen, LLP as a healthcare consultant with expertise in physician-hospital alignment, strategic and business planning, compensation plans, process improvement, organizational development, governance and leadership development.

Jeff's experience also includes serving as large group administrator for Primary Care, Multispecialty and Specialty group in both private practice and integrated health systems including Sentara and Columbia/HCA. He has a Masters of Business Administration from Averett University and is a Certified Medical Practice Executive since 2009.

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For over 14 years, Joel Sauer was Chief Executive Officer of a large Midwestern multi-specialty physician group. Through his leadership, the group expanded from a single specialty practice of 15, to over 225 physicians with over 600 employees in nearly every medical specialty.

In 2009, Joel orchestrated the acquisition of his own group by a large health system and then acquiring other practices to create an accountable care network. Beyond engineering the transaction details, Joel provided the leadership behind the operational and cultural integration of the merged entities. Beginning in 2001, Joel led his group's conversion from a paper chart to a full electronic health record. Given the complexity of the process, both from an operational and cultural standpoint, Joel considers this one of his greatest accomplishments. Joel headed up two significant site development projects for the group including the construction of an attached, two operating room, ambulatory surgery center and a significant expansion and renovation of the group's previous building. Other relevant experiences Joel brings to the table include: strategic planning, joint venture formation, hospital/health system relations, financial analysis, payor contract negotiations, implementing operational efficiencies, and ancillary services creation. 

Prior to his tour as CEO, Joel worked for a large hospital, managed an outpatient ancillary services business, and worked for a healthcare software developer in implementation and support.

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Dr. Timothy Sullivan is Chairman, Vascular & Endovascular Surgery at the Minneapolis Heart Institute at Abbott Northwestern Hospital and Medical Director of the Abbott Northwestern Vascular Center. Now in his 25th year of practice, he has special interests in cerebrovascular disease and diseases of the thoracic and abdominal aorta. Dr. Sullivan has published 150 peer-reviewed manuscripts and book chapters, and serves as Editor-in-Chief of Annals of Vascular Surgery. He is a founding member of Vascular Interventional Advances (VIVA), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to education and research in vascular disease, and is an Adjunct Professor of Surgery at the University of Minnesota.

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Tom Talley has worked in healthcare for 38 years, both in hospitals and in medical practices in a senior administrative position. He has 23 years of leadership experience in cardiovascular groups in Iowa, North Carolina and Minnesota. He is currently the COO of the Minneapolis Heart Institute, which consists of 65 Cardiologists and Surgeons along with 47 NP’s and PA’s. Tom has operational responsibility for the Cardiovascular Service Division of Abbott Northwestern Hospital, consisting of the 128-bed Heart Hospital on the Abbott Northwestern campus along with the five metro and regional cardiology clinics within the Minneapolis Heart Institute. For the past 11 years, he has served as an Advisory Board member of MedAxiom.

Tom received his BS in Business Administration and his MBA in Management from Emporia State University in Kansas.

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Dr. Edward A. Walker, MD, MHA, is the founding director of the UW Healthcare Leadership Development Alliance, as well as the Cheryl M Scott / Group Health Cooperative Professor of Health Services and Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Dr. Walker is nationally recognized for his expertise in coaching and developing physicians and other senior healthcare leaders, improving quality measures, and leading change in medical institutions.

Dr. Walker served as Chief Medical Officer for the UW Medical Center from 2002-2008. He directs the University of Washington Certificate in Medical Management and is a board member of the Washington Physicians Health Program. In addition to maintaining his clinical practice, Dr. Walker is a core faculty member of the UW Master of Health Administration program. His principal community outreach occurs through the Healthcare Leadership Development Alliance, an interdisciplinary research and training center designed to utilize evidence-based leadership development concepts in the ongoing professional development of senior executives and physician leaders in local healthcare organizations. He designs and provides professional development programs for the Washington State Medical Association as well as governance education for the Washington State Hospital Association.

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Dr. White is the Chief of Medical Services for the Ochsner Medical Center – New Orleans, the System Chairman of Cardiovascular Disease for the Ochsner Health System, the Medical Director of the John Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute, and Professor of Medicine for the Ochsner Clinical School-University of Queensland. He graduated AOA from Case Western Reserve Medical School in Cleveland, Ohio and completed his residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Cardiology in San Francisco at Letterman Army Medical Center.

Currently, Dr. White is the Steering Committee Chairman for the National Cardiovascular Database Registry’s carotid revascularization group and the Co-Chairman of the Society of Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions Ethics Committee.He served as the President of the national Society of Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions. Academically, Dr. White served as Editor-in-Chief of Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions for 10 years, and is currently Associate Editor for JACC Interventions. His current research interests involve the detection of biomarkers for vascular disease, studying embolic protection devices to prevent renal artery atheroembolization and the development of coated stents to prevent restenosis.Dr. White remains clinically active with a referral practice in interventional cardiology and endovascular interventions.

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Dr. Wilcox is Chief Physician Executive of Saint Thomas Heart and a practicing cardiovascular surgeon in Nashville, Tennessee. His medical degree is from the University of Tennessee, where he also completed general surgery and cardiothoracic surgical training.

Dr. Wilcox is a diplomate of the American Board of Surgery and American Board of Thoracic Surgery. He has held numerous hospital, network and medical staff offices and currently serves on several hospital and system boards. He recently led a System evaluation of cardiac surgery program consolidation.

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Dr. Dale Yoo is a cardiologist affiliated with multiple hospitals in the Dallas, Texas area. He serves as the Director of Cardiac Electrophysiology at Walnut Hill Medical Center in Dallas and the Medical Center of McKinney. He also works at North Texas Heart Center in Dallas. Prior to that, he was an emergency room physician at the Atlanta VA Medical Center in Atlanta, GA.

Dr. Yoo received his medical degree from University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX, and has dual undergraduate degrees in bioengineering and biology from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. He was awarded U.S. and international patents for a topical steroid adhesive in 2009. He serves on the advisory board for Boston Scientific and is a consultant for a variety of organizations including St. Jude Medical, Aesculap USA, Medtronic, Spectronetics and Biotronik. In addition, he has authored numerous articles and is a reviewer for Clinical Cardiology and Annals of Internal Medicine.

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