Credentialing Resource Center (CRC) is assisted in its mission by a number of volunteers. Distinguished MSPs, medical staff leaders, medical staff lawyers, and quality professionals contribute their expertise, guiding the development of timely news and analysis, practical resources, and meaningful membership benefits for the entire CRC community.
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer board member, please reach out to Managing Editor Karen Kondilis.
Alpesh N. Amin, MD, MBA, MACP, MHM, FRCP (Lond), FACC, FHFSA
Executive Director, Hospital Medicine
Chair, Department of Medicine
Associate Dean for Clinical Transformation, UCI Health
Professor of Medicine, Business, Public Health, Nursing, Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences and Biomedical Engineering
University of California, Irvine
Dr. Alpesh Amin chairs the Department of Medicine at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). He is professor of medicine, business, public health, nursing, pharmacy & pharmaceutical science and biomedical engineering at UCI. He is also founder and executive director of the hospital medicine department. Amin has served as vice chair for clinical affairs and quality for 12 years, chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine for six years, associate program director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program for 14 years, and medicine clerkship director for 14 years. Amin obtained his MD at Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago and completed his internship and residencies in internal medicine at UCI, where he also earned a healthcare MBA. Throughout his career, Amin has been innovative in clinical, quality, and educational program development. He has developed processes to improve patient care delivery by reducing readmission and avoidable admissions. He has also made improvements in length of stay, mortality, and customer service. He is a member of several professional organizations, including the Society of Hospital Medicine, the American College of Physicians, the Society of General Internal Medicine, and the Association of Chiefs and Leaders of General Internal Medicine. Amin has authored or co-authored more than 300 peer-reviewed articles. He is the co-editor/co-author of Core Competencies in Hospital Medicine, published by the Society of Hospital Medicine and OB/Gyn Hospital Medicine.
Christine Blake, CPMSM
Director, Medical Staff Services – Northwest Network
Peace Health
Bellingham, Washington
Christine Blake has more than 30 years of experience in medical staff services. As regional network director for PeaceHealth in Bellingham, Washington, Blake oversees medical staff services in Ketchikan Medical Center, Peace Island Medical Center, St. Joseph Medical Center, and United General Medical Center. She has served on the boards of the California Medical Association and the Colorado Association of Medical Staff Services. Blake has worked in several different health systems in California and Colorado, both as a consultant and as a permanent employee. Her strengths lie in coordination of systemwide peer review and OPPE/FPPE processes. Blake is co-author of the book, Resolve Practitioner Turf Conflicts: Tools for Handling Your Medical Staff, AHP, and Offsite Disputes, and author of the Medical Staff Briefing article, “The Evolving Role of AHPs.”
Michael R. Callahan, Esq.
Senior Partner
Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP
Chicago
Michael Callahan is a senior partner in the Health Care Practice Group at Katten Muchin Rosenman, LLP, in Chicago. Callahan assists hospital, health system, and medical staff clients on a variety of healthcare legal issues related to accountable care organizations (ACO), Patient Safety Organizations (PSO), healthcare antitrust issues, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and regulatory compliance, accreditation matters, general corporate transactions, medical staff credentialing, and hospital/medical staff relations. He is a frequent speaker on topics including ACOs, healthcare reform, PSOs, healthcare liability, and peer review matters. He has presented around the country for organizations such as the American Health Lawyers Association, the AMA, the American Hospital Association, the American Bar Association, the American College of Healthcare Executives, the National Association Medical Staff Services (NAMSS), the National Association for Healthcare Quality, and the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management. Callahan recently served as chair of the Medical Staff Credentialing and Peer Review Practice Group of the American Health Lawyers Association. He also was appointed as the public member representative on the NAMSS board of directors. He was an adjunct professor in DePaul University's Master of Laws in Health Law Program, where he taught a course on managed care. After law school, he served as a law clerk to Justice Daniel P. Ward of the Illinois Supreme Court.
Jodie M. Chant, MPA/HCA, BHSA, CPCS, RHIT
President, CEO, and Owner
Jodie Chant Consulting, LLC/Chant Medical Staff Resources
Lansing, Michigan
Jodie Chant possesses 25 years of executive healthcare leadership experience in the acute care, managed care, physician organization, and physician hospital settings. Chant currently serves as president, CEO, and owner of Chant Medical Staff Resources, providing credentialing and credentialing consulting services to physician organizations in Michigan. Concurrently, Chant serves as executive director of the largest physician organization in upper and lower Michigan and its associated charitable foundation. Chant recently served as health system director of medical staff services and performance improvement for a large healthcare system in Michigan, directing centralized credentialing operations for five hospitals and a health plan, medical staff accreditation and regulatory compliance, competency-based privileging, medical staff peer review, institutional mortality review, and all aspects of focused and ongoing professional practice evaluation (FPPE/OPPE). Chant is experienced in contractual negotiations with health plans, including value-based, pay for performance, gainshare, fee for service, limited risk, and full risk contracts; delegated credentialing contracts; provider network management, provider enrollment, health information management and credentialing software development. Chant graduated from the University of Michigan with a Master of Public/Health Care Administration, holds undergraduate degrees in health science administration and applied science, and is a former EMT. Chant is a Certified Provider Credentialing Specialist (CPCS), a Registered Health Information Technologist (RHIT) and a TeamSTEPPS Master Trainer. Chant previously served as President of the Michigan Association of Medical Staff Services (MAMSS) and has served on several NAMSS committees. Chant has authored numerous books and articles on various aspects of credentialing, privileging, credentialing delegation, etc., and given presentations to diverse audiences on a variety of medical staff issues.
Sandra DiVarco is a partner in McDermott Will & Emery, LLP’s Health Industry Advisory Practice Group. She focuses her practice on the representation of hospitals and health systems. In addition to maintaining an active transactional practice, DiVarco has a deep knowledge of regulatory, licensing, and accreditation issues of concern to healthcare providers in today’s heightened enforcement climate. She regularly advises clients on the legal aspects of clinical regulatory issues, policy/procedure and operational subjects, and medical staff matters. A significant component of her practice involves assisting healthcare provider clients across the United States with regulatory, licensure, and accreditation issues, including state-level and CMS survey responses, formulation of successful plans of correction, Joint Commission complaint responses, and Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act/regulatory investigations. Drawing on her experience as a registered nurse, and holding a license in the state of Illinois, DiVarco brings a pragmatic perspective and firsthand knowledge of healthcare operations to these complex matters.
As director of credentialing and risk management for OrthoIllinois, A Division of OrthoMidwest, Leslie Elmer brings over 18 years’ of experience in the healthcare industry. Early positions as medical assistant and medical receptionist for a large hospital health system provided her with a hands-on perspective that has enriched her work now overseeing the execution of credentialing and risk management needs for OrthoIllinois’ 100-plus mid-level and physician providers and 17 facilities, including three ambulatory surgery centers. Her department handles all aspects of credentialing, privileging, licensing, certification, and graduate medical education. Elmer also has various risk management roles and responsibilities. Elmer is active in the National Association Medical Staff Services (NAMSS), holding previous leadership positions such as vice chair of the Membership Committee, and previous chair of the Young Professionals Subcommittee. In 2016, she was awarded the NAMSS PASS Visionary Innovators 500 Award.
Mathieu Gaulin, CPMSM, CPCS
Senior Director of Professional Medical Staff Services
Boston Children’s Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts
Mathieu Gaulin has been at Boston Children’s Hospital since 2006, starting as an agency temporary employee. He worked in provider enrollment for 10 years, during which time he created and managed the centralized provider enrollment team. Currently, he is the senior director of professional medical staff services with oversight of medical staff services and provider enrollment while working with the medical staff and its leaders on their self-governance and oversight of patient safety and quality obligations. He is currently a member of the Board of Advisors of the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston. He is a recent alumnus of Harvard Business School and previously served on the National Association Medical Staff Services (NAMSS) Membership Committee and as the secretary of the Massachusetts Association Medical Staff Services. He is a national speaker and thought leader in multiple medical staff domains.
Christina W. Giles, MS, CPMSM
C. Giles & Associates
Nashua, New Hampshire
Christina Giles has been a consultant and speaker for more than 30 years. She specializes in education/training of credentialing personnel; orientation/training of medical staff leaders and MSPs; administrative functions such as accreditation survey preparation, credentialing, privileging, and peer review; and assessment and development of medical staff governance documents and policies and procedures. Giles serves as an advisor to multiple medical staff publications. She is a co-author and editor of The Medical Staff Services Handbook: Fundamentals and Beyond and co-author of Health Care Credentialing: A Guide to Practical Innovations. She has presented nationally on multiple topics, including accreditation preparation, credentialing, privileging, and medical services management.
Robert Marder, MD
Robert J. Marder Consulting
Evanston Illinois
Dr. Robert Marder is president of Robert J. Marder Consulting. He brings more than 30 years of healthcare leadership, management, and consulting experience to his work with physicians, hospitals, and healthcare organizations nationwide. A highly respected speaker, consultant, and author, he has helped hundreds of hospital medical staffs evaluate and improve their approach to peer review and physician performance measurement. He is the author of Effective Peer Review (HCPro, 2013), Peer Review Benchmarking: Pursuing Medical Staff Excellence (HCPro, 2016), and Peer Review Committee Essentials Handbook (HCPro, 2019).
Kathy Matzka, CPMSM, CPCS, FMSP, is a speaker, consultant, and writer with over 30 years of experience in credentialing, privileging, and medical staff services. Matzka worked for 13 years as a hospital medical staff coordinator before venturing out on her own as a consultant, writer, and speaker. She holds certification by the National Association Medical Staff Services (NAMSS) in both medical staff management and provider credentialing. She is one of the first recipients of the NAMSS Fellow Designation. The Fellow Designation is the pinnacle of achievement and acknowledgment for the Medical Services Professional (MSP), recognizing a career MSP who has made outstanding contributions to the profession through service as a leader, mentor, and educator. Matzka has authored a number of books related to medical staff services including The Clinician’s Quick Guide to Credentialing and Privileging, Medical Staff Standards Crosswalk: A Quick Reference Guide to The Joint Commission, CMS, HFAP, and DVN Standards, Chapter Leader’s Guide to Medical Staff: Practical Insight on Joint Commission Standards, Compliance Guide to Joint Commission Medical Staff Standards, and The Medical Staff Meeting Companion Tools and Techniques for Effective Presentations. For eight years, she was the contributing editor for The Credentials Verification Desk Reference and its companion website The Credentialing and Privileging Desktop Reference. She is co-author of the sixth and seventh editions of Verify and Comply: Credentialing and Medical Staff Standards Crosswalk. She has performed extensive work with NAMSS’ Education Committee developing and editing educational materials related to the field including CPCS and CPMSM certification exam preparatory courses and study guides, CPMSM and CPCS professional development workshops, a standards comparison grid, and NAMSS core curriculum. She also served as a speaker for NAMSS. Matzka is a highly-regarded industry speaker, and in this role has developed and presented numerous programs for professional associations, hospitals, and hospital associations on a wide range of topics including provider credentialing and privileging, medical staff meeting management, peer review, negligent credentialing, provider competency, and accreditation standards.
Todd A. Meyerhoefer, MD, MBA, CPE, FACS
Former Chief Medical Officer & Vice President of Medical Affairs
Canton, Ohio
Dr. Todd Meyerhoefer is a former chief medical officer and vice president of medical affairs. He also previously served as senior vice president of physician alignment for Akron (Ohio) General Health System and president of the health system’s Partners Physician Group. An experienced physician executive, Meyerhoefer has held various medical staff leadership positions, including trauma committee chair and bylaws committee chair, and has been a member of peer review, credentials, and utilization review committees. Meyerhoefer previously served on the Ohio Committee on Trauma and the Stark County Medical Society. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a lifetime member of the American College of Physician Executives. Meyerhoefer received his Doctor of Medicine from Northeast Ohio Medical University and his Master of Business Administration from Ashland University. He is the author of Criteria-Based Core Privileging: A Guide to Implementation and Maintenance (HCPro, 2016).
Maggie Palmer, MSA, CPCS, CPMSM
Vice President, Medical Staff Professional Services & Regulatory Affairs
Parkland Health & Hospital System
Dallas, Texas
Maggie Palmer is a healthcare administration professional with over 25 years of experience in medical staff professional services, and numerous other administrative areas of healthcare. Palmer holds a master’s degree in healthcare administration from Central Michigan University. She is dual certified in her field through the National Association Medical Staff Services (NAMSS) since 2000, as well as a former Fellow of American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE). Palmer is currently the vice president of medical staff professional services & regulatory affairs at Parkland Health & Hospital System in Dallas. She is the president for Texas Society of Medical Service Specialists (TSMSS). She also served as the president of the California Association Medical Staff Services (CAMSS) and board member of the Hawaii Association of Medical Service Professionals. Palmer is the author of numerous publications, including Core Privileges for Physicians (HCPro, 2019) and Core Privileges for AHPs (HCPro, 2020).
Sally Pelletier is an advisory consultant and the chief credentialing officer with Chartis Clinical Quality Solutions (CCQS). She brings over 30 years of credentialing and privileging experience to her work with medical staff leaders and medical services professionals across the nation. She advises clients in the areas of medical staff accreditation and regulatory compliance, medical staff services department and centralized credentialing operations, and privileging redesign. She is also a frequent presenter, providing leadership development training for medical staff leaders and medical services professionals. Pelletier serves on the faculty for The Credentialing Solution, a 3-day educational program for medical leaders and professionals. Her client engagements have included leading three systemwide initiatives to integrate and centralize credentialing across their respective enterprises and leading systemwide privileging redesign for several clients, including a prominent NYC integrated health system.
Cindy Radcliffe, CPMSM, CPCS
Director, Medical Staff Services
Sharp Metropolitan Medical Campus
San Diego, California
Cindy Radcliffe has more than 25 years of experience in the field of medical staff management. She is the director of medical staff services for Sharp Metropolitan Medical Campus in San Diego. She is the former director of medical staff services at St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton, California. Radcliffe is currently serving as president of the San Diego California Association Medical Staff Services and served as president of the Orange County California Association Medical Staff Services Chapter from 2004–2005; she has extensive experience in many Orange County community hospitals. She has maintained her Certified Professional Medical Services Management (CPMSM) credential since 1994 and her Certified Provider Credentialing Specialist (CPCS) since 2019. Radcliffe completed the medical staff service science program at Cypress College, California and received a Bachelor of Arts in Legal Studies at Brandman University at Irvine, California.
Todd Sagin, MD, JD
President
National Medical Director
Sagin Healthcare Consulting
Laverock, Pennsylvania
Dr. Todd Sagin is a physician executive and lawyer recognized across the nation for his work with hospital boards, medical staffs, and physician organizations. He is the national medical director of Sagin Healthcare Consulting, LLC, which provides guidance on a wide range of healthcare issues. He served for more than half a decade as the vice president and national medical director of The Greeley Company. Sagin is a frequent speaker for organizations such as The Governance Institute, American College of Healthcare Executives, and the National Association Medical Staff Services, and he has consulted with hundreds of hospitals across the nation. Sagin is a practicing family physician and geriatrician who has held executive positions in academic and community hospitals and in organized medicine. He frequently lectures and facilitates retreats on medical staff affairs, physician leadership skills, relationships between hospitals and doctors, strategic healthcare planning, governance, and related topics. His work includes writing or revising medical staff bylaws, merging health system medical staffs, and performing audits of credentialing and peer review activities.
Teresa P. Sappington, FACHE, MBA, CIPM, CAPPM, CPHQ, CPMSM
Consultant, Medical Staff Affairs and Healthcare Regulatory Compliance
Augusta, Georgia
Teresa Sappington specializes in medical staff affairs and healthcare regulatory compliance. She is a healthcare professional with more than 20 years of experience directing diverse medical staff and serving as an advisor in a wide variety of healthcare facilities, including healthcare systems and multi-site, acute care, community, rural, urban, academic, and faith-based hospitals. Sappington is adept at managing busy day-to-day operations while implementing best practices. She inspires individual and organizational excellence, creates a shared vision, and manages change to guide an organization to strategic goals and successful performance. Sappington applies business principles, including systems thinking, to the healthcare environment, with proven ability to mentor and create strong staff leadership teams.
Elizabeth A. “Libby” Snelson, JD
Legal Counsel to the Medical Staff
Elizabeth Snelson works for medical staffs around the country. In addition to medical staff bylaws analysis and drafting, she handles issues such as disruptive practitioner policies, conflict management, and credentialing questions. As a medical staff attorney, Snelson has extensive experience with peer review matters. A frequent speaker on medical staff legal issues, Snelson has participated in programs sponsored by the AMA; the National Association Medical Staff Services (NAMSS) and several state medical staff services associations; the Massachusetts Medical Society; the Medical Society of the State of New York; the Texas Medical Association; the California Medical Association and other state medical associations; the American Society of Anesthesiology; the American Bar Association; and other national organizations. Snelson presents medical staff leadership training and medical executive committee retreats and serves as an expert witness and consultant in peer review litigation. She is the author of Credentialing and Medical Staff Law, published by the NAMSS Institute, and The Physicians’ Guide to Medical Staff Organization Bylaws, published by the AMA.
Janet Wilson has been involved in the medical staff services, quality, and credentialing industry for the past 38 years. Her healthcare experience extends to hospitals, ambulatory care, quality/peer review, managed care, and the CVO environment. Wilson served for three years on the National Association Medical Staff Services (NAMSS) board of directors and was designated a Fellow by NAMSS in 2019. She also served on the board of directors of the Texas Society of Medical Staff Services and held the office of president during her tenure. Wilson has been an independent consultant for more than 15 years in the areas of credentialing/privileging, quality/peer review, governance, CVO development, and medical staff services. She has also worked as an independent educator in the healthcare industry for 17 years and has spoken at numerous state and national conferences. Wilson served as a NAMSS instructor for 10 years and is also on the faculty of Edge-U-Cate, LLC and teaches CPCS/CPMSM certification focused study programs and many other industry related programs. Wilson is the co-author of Verify and Comply: Credentialing, Medical Staff, and Ambulatory Care Standards. She also provided updates to the AMA standards table related to the AMA Physician Profile and Continuous Monitoring Services.
Terry Wilson, BS, CPMSM, CPCS
Independent Consultant
Director, Medical Staff Services
Flagler Hospital
St. Augustine, Florida
Terry Wilson has been in the medical staff services profession for 40 years, working in three hospital systems in Ohio and Florida. She has served as director of the medical staff services department at Flagler Hospital in St. Augustine, Florida for the past 25 years. Wilson earned her bachelor’s degree in business from Bowling Green State University in Ohio and received her Certified Professional in Medical Service Management (CPMSM) and Certified Provider Credentialing Specialist (CPCS) certifications in the 1990s. Wilson has been a member of the National Association Medical Staff Services since 1990 and a member of the Florida Association of Medical Staff Services (FAMSS) since 1998. She was a member of the Ohio Association of Medical Staff Services from 1990 to 1998 and served as the secretary of the northeast chapter of FAMSS from 2002 to 2003. Wilson is a firm believer in self-improvement through continuous education. As such, she was an instructor at Bryant & Stratton Business College in Ohio from 1996 to 1998; a GRE/LSAT/SAT instructor for Kaplan, Inc. from 1999 to 2012; a Kaplan freelance writer from 2001 to 2003; and an adjunct professor in healthcare sciences at St. John’s River State College from 2003 to 2013. Wilson is a collaborator and subject matter expert with Team Med Global Consulting in Illinois.
