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Our People
The Blue Chip team includes experts in all aspects of surgery center development and operations.
Our people are:
- Passionate about clinical quality
- Dedicated to and invested in the success of our projects and facilities
- Partners in our firm – not just employees.
We pride ourselves on being responsive, building trust-based relationships, and doing what we say we are going to do. That’s the Blue Chip Difference – and it’s all about our people
Operations
- Kathleen Whitlow, BS, RNC, CASC – Chief Operations Officer
- Beth Ann Johnson, RN, BS – Vice President, Clinical Systems
- Gina Dolsen, RN, BSN, MA – Vice President, Operations
- Sandra Baber, RN, MHA – Vice President, Operations
- Jill Dowe, MHA, CASC – Director of Business Office Operations
- Georganna Howell, RNFA, CNOR, CEN, LNC – Director, Operations
Ms. Whitlow is the COO for Blue Chip Surgical Center Partners. She joined the company in April 2008 as a partner. She has more than 25 years of experience in the medical/healthcare industry, working in a variety of capacities and positions. Kathleen has worked as an ASC administrator and consultant with expertise in development, marketing, operations and strategic planning in support of facilities across the country. As Director of Surgical Services for a large national hospital system, she developed and directed the outpatient and ambulatory surgery programs, clinics, case management and endoscopy department. She has served as an advisor/consultant to a group of attorneys representing physicians.
Kathleen has a nursing and business background, combining expertise in the financial, operational and clinical sides of the ASC business and is CASC certified.
Ms. Johnson joined Blue Chip Surgical from LCA Vision where she was Vice President of Operations responsible for the growth of the ophthalmic surgery center business. Previously, Beth was with Aetna as Director of Provider Relations, Recruitment & Contracting for the tri-state region. She has extensive experience in the development and ongoing management of hospital-owned, minimally invasive surgery centers. She began her career as a Registered Nurse in the operating room, rapidly advancing to Director of Surgical Services, supervising 13 operating rooms and the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit in Cincinnati’s Good Samaritan Hospital, a major tertiary care medical center.
Ms. Johnson obtained her RN diploma from the Jewish Hospital School of Nursing, Cincinnati, Ohio, and her Bachelor of Science degree in Healthcare Management from the College of Mt. St. Joseph, also in Cincinnati.
With more than 30 years in healthcare, Gina has broad expertise and deep experience in ASC development and operation, especially in regulatory compliance, clinical quality management and accreditation support. She comes to Blue Chip after holding a regional management position with Health Inventures, where she worked closely with consulting and development teams in the operations preparation process. Previously, she served as a Regional Quality Coordinator for a network of 11 ASCs in Illinois and Ohio, and has worked as a PACU nurse and director of nursing for both ASCs and hospitals. Gina holds an MA in Education and Administration from the University of Detroit, and a BSN from Mercy College of Detroit.
Sandra Baber recently joined Blue Chip as Vice President, Operations. She was President and CEO of Baber Healthcare Consulting, a business she founded to assist physicians with as development and practice management. During her 15+ years in healthcare, she has held a range of leadership positions. She served as Vice President of Service Line Operation at Audrain Medical Center, Administrator/CEO at Vail Valley Surgery Center, and Director of Orthopedic Service Line at Missouri Baptist Medical Center. Since 2007, she has been a Director and Internal Consultant to Ascension Health Ministries. Sandra holds Master‘s and Bachelor‘s degrees in Science Health Care Administration from Adams University, and a dual Associate‘s degree in Applied Science of Nursing and Liberal Arts Teaching from St. Mary‘s College.
Jill Dowe was recently appointed Director of Business Office Operations for Blue Chip. She is joining our team after serving as Business Office Manager of Surgery Center Cedar Rapids in Cedar Rapids, IA. There, she supervised office teams and worked with other members of management to ensure interdepartmental continuity and efficient operations in key areas, including scheduling, registration, admissions, coding/billing, accounts receivable and medical records. She has also worked as a consultant for Health Inventures, where she trained new business office managers in daily and monthly tasks. Ms. Dowe obtained a Master‘s degree in Health Administration at the University of Iowa and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from Simpson College.
Ms. Howell brings more than 32 years of nursing and healthcare management experience to her role as Director of Operations. Her specialty is in turning around underperforming surgery centers. As a "first-responder" for Blue Chip, she joins the leadership team and heads up performance improvement efforts at centers that have recently joined the Blue Chip network. Most recently, she served as the administrator of Greenspring Surgery Center in Baltimore. At Greenspring, she increased case volumes, decreased operational costs, negotiated more effective vendor agreements, improved throughput, and raised staff morale. As a result of these efforts, she was recognized as part SmartCEO Magazine's "2011 Management Team of the Year."
Ms. Howell has achieved numerous certifications, including Health Care Risk Management, the Trauma Nurse Core Curriculum, Emergency Pediatric Nurse Core Curriculum, Certified Nurse Operating Room and Certified Fixed Wing Helicopter Transport. She holds a BS degree in Physical and Social Science from the University of Texas-El Paso and an RN/Masters from the Jefferson School of Nursing at the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Business Development & Relationship Management
- Jeff Leland – Chief Executive Officer
- Chris Bishop – Senior Vice President, Acquisitions & Business Development
- Vicki Dekker – Director of Business Development
- Amanda Kane – Manager of Business Development
- Jessie LeFevers – Manager, Business Office and Business Processes
Jeff served as Executive Director, Lutheran General Medical Group, a 260-physician, multi-specialty medical group located in Chicago. Jeff was once a senior-level executive with Advocate Health Care in Chicago, responsible for both business development and Advocate’s 225,000-member health plan. He also served as President of HealthSpring Medical Group, a primary care medical group that was acquired by Met Life & Travelers, and as Chief Executive Officer of Western Ohio Health Care, an HMO with 200,000+ members, which was acquired by United HealthCare. He is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School with undergraduate studies at the University of Cincinnati.
Mr. Chris Bishop is a partner and Senior Vice President of Acquisitions & Business Development for Blue Chip Surgical Center Partners. Mr. Bishop’s responsibilities include optimizing performance at ASCs currently within the Blue Chip network and acquiring and “turning around” underperforming surgery centers.
Prior to joining Blue Chip in 2010, he was a Vice President with Ambulatory Surgical Centers of America (ASCOA). In his five years with ASCOA, he developed or acquired 11 surgery centers, leading to substantial revenue and profit increases. He was instrumental in refocusing the firm’s core strategy on acquisitions and turnarounds. In 2007, he was named #4 in Becker’s ASC Review’s “60 People to Know in ASC Industry.”
Mr. Bishop also has extensive leadership experience and a proven track record in developing surgeon partnerships within the medical device industry. He developed Smith & Nephew Endoscopy’s ASC sales team to grow market share for this rapidly growing segment.
Mr. Bishop holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Middle Tennessee State University, is a member of the Leadership Healthcare Council, and resides in Nashville, TN with his wife and two children.
Vicki has extensive experience with coding, billing, collections and business office operations for ear, nose, throat, and spine physicians. Prior to joining Blue Chip Surgical, she was responsible for the business office supporting the 40 physicians of the ENT, Neurosurgery and Neurology Departments at the University of Minnesota. Previously, Vicki managed an ENT Group in Atlanta, where she developed and managed a single-specialty ENT surgery center.
Bringing 10 years of experience in serving physicians, Amanda Kane joined Blue Chip from Safe Sedation, an anesthesia services provider. There, she helped attain more than $5 million in annual revenue while managing key relationships with surgeons and office staff. Prior to working with Safe Sedation, Ms. Kane spent eight years in various roles at Quest Diagnostics, most recently serving as an Account Executive. Amanda holds a B.S. in Marketing from Pennsylvania State University’s Smeal College of Business.
Jessie manages the Blue Chip business office. She also looks after our relationships with potential partners, strengthens relationships with Blue Chip's affiliated surgery centers, assists with marketing and business development processes and programs. Previously, Ms. LeFevers invested six years in a senior administrative role with various marketing organizations.
Finance
- Jay Rom, MBA, CPA – President
- Tiffany Huber, MBA – Vice President, Finance and Information Technology
- Tammy Brinkman, CPC – Director of Contracting and Reimbursement
- Amjad Nabi – Financial Analyst
Prior to joining Blue Chip Surgical, Jay served as CEO of a cardiology group in Cincinnati with 15 physicians and was Vice President for Physician Services of the Franciscan Health System, where he was responsible for a 60-physician multi-specialty group. Jay was also a member of the start-up team, which created and launched a venture capital-backed physician practice management company based in Dayton, Ohio. Jay was once Finance Director/Controller of a 200,000-member HMO that was acquired by United HealthCare, where he continued after the acquisition as an executive responsible for UHC's accounting and finance. Jay has an MBA and holds a CPA license.
During her 20+ years in healthcare, Tiffany has held a range of positions. She has worked as COO for a start-up developing an integrated claims payment system and as a Strategic Enterprise Project Manager for United Medical Resources (a United Healthcare company), where she had responsibility for implementing high-priority projects, post-merger integration and network development initiatives. She also has experience in pharmacy benefits and financial reporting and analysis. She has worked for IBM as a healthcare and IT consultant and for the Mayfield Neurological Institute. Tiffany holds a dual masters degree in Business Administration and Hospital/Health Administration from Xavier University, and a BS in Finance from Northern Kentucky University.
Tammy has more than 20 years of experience in healthcare and joins Blue Chip from Aetna Healthcare, where she gained deep insight into the managed care industry. Most recently, she was responsible for the recruitment, contracting and re-contracting of physician practices, ASCs and small hospitals for the tri-state area. She also served as a Provider Relations Representative. Previously, she held the position of Information Resource Manager for a large primary care physician practice. Tammy also worked for a regional hospital and a senior care facility. Active with the American Cancer Society and local schools, Tammy is a graduate of the Kentucky College of Business.
Amjad Nabi brings rich and diverse experience in a range of industries to his role as financial analyst at Blue Chip. Previously, he owned and operated a restaurant, served as assistant controller for a land development company and as a senior accountant with a technology company. Amjad holds a B.S. in Accounting from Northern Kentucky University.
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