PEDIATRIC SERVICES: Special Care for Special People- Providing specialized, comprehensive nursing care to medically fragile and technology dependent infants and children throughout the Delaware Valley.- Utilizing Registered Nurses and Licensed Practical Nurses to provide specialized nursing care services to special needs children in the comfort of their own home and surrounded by their family.- Providing liaison and advocacy services for parents/guardians, trust officers, physicians and insurance case managers. - Assisting parents/guardians with coordination services with PT, OT, ST and Special Education.CARE MANAGEMENT SERVICES:- Assisting families and clients with recognizing and understanding the quality of life issues surrounding their care or the care of their family members.- Identifying solutions that best reflect the wishes, resources, and capabilities of the client and family.- Assisting clients and families in acquiring the tools, contacts, and support to put those solutions into practice.- Assist families in locating assisted living facilities or skilled nursing facilities when needed/required.- Meet with discharge planners to design care plans specific to individual needs.- Coordinate doctors visits and communicate with families about cared received. Communicate with all involved physicians about concerns related to drug interactions and ongoing care.- Provide families with assistance to obtain durable medical equipment, physician specialists, physical therapy, and other treatment options.

- Consulted and Testified with Law practices in the Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and New Jersey areas.- Including Medical Malpractice cases for Homecare Agencies and Hospital Systems involving alleged negligence, supervisory misconduct, Medicare breach of regulatory compliance and Nursing Standards of practice.- Consult Special Needs Trusts- Review cases for legitimacy and merit- Medical records review- Summarize medical records- Chronologies- Identify types of expert witnesses needed- Testify as an expert witness on Pediatric and Geriatric cases

Responsible for reviewing catastrophic medical claims. Complete Reinsurance Notices for claims over 100K to all carriers.Review all claims with the potential to exceed 500 K to 1 millionEvaluate catastrophic claims for appropriateness of care, consistent with professional guidelines, etc.Complete all medical reviews requested by Stop Loss Underwriters and Auditors for carriers: Gerber, Companion, Pareto, RSL, HCC, NUSEvaluate claims for potential Transplants.

• Responsible for fostering a relationship between patients and the facilities providing their care.• Establish the patients’ eligibility for care, communicating with families, and interacting with a wide range of staff members, from Admissions Directors to Case Managers to Physicians.• Responsible for assessing patients, reviewing their medical record and determining appropriateness of admission to the skilled nursing facility.• Explain the types of care and services each of our facilities offers to patients and their families. • Assisting our facilities in scheduling therapy sessions and doctor visits.• Coordinate with other staff members to ensure smooth patient discharge.

The Home Support Manager is responsible for providing overall leadership and management of the health and well being of the residents within the community. Responsibilities include:- All clinical programs, quality assurance and regulatory compliance- Assists in the recruiting, hiring and training of clinical team members- Completes clinical staffing, scheduling and daily reviews of timekeeping reports (Kronos)- Responsible for team member engagement, performance management and evaluations- Responsible for all aspects of the Home Support Team- Completion of Resident Assessment Support Plans and Service Health Updates on all residents in the community- Assisting our Residents with all healthcare needs and follow up, including aging in place with changes in health status- Responsible for DPW compliance with all aspects of the med program, pharmacy guidelines, training, Plans of Care, Inservice requirements, Incident report filing, and Resident files- Assessment of all potential new residents for appropriateness of admission within the Assisted Living community per DPW and Erickson Living standards

- Assisting families with recognizing and understanding the quality of life issues surrounding the care of elderly family members.- Identifying solutions that best reflect the wishes, resources, and capabilities of the family.- Assisting families in acquiring the tools, contacts, and support to put those solutions into practice.- Provide non medical caregivers to geriatric clients wishing to remain in their own home.- Assist families in locating assisted living facilities or skilled nursing facilities when needed/required.- Meet with discharge planners to design care plans specific to individual needs.- Coordinate doctors visits and communicate with families about cared received. Communicate with all involved physicians about concerns related to drug interactions and ongoing care.- Provide families with assistance to obtain durable medical equipment, physician specialists, elder law attorneys, physical therapy, and other treatment options.

- Supervise School Nurses in Charter Schools throughout Philadelphia- Provide coverage for various schools health office- Provide Screening Teams to the Charter Schools for mandated health screen

- Co founded the first Prescribed Pediatric Extended Care Center in Southeast Pennsylvania for up to 30 special needs children (ages: infant to 8 years) who are medically fragile and/or technology-dependant. Managed daily operations (M-F, 7am to 7pm), hired and supervised 6 RN’s, 2 EMT’s, and daycare workers.- Served as architect/ interior designer, interacted with equipment and supply vendors to make purchases. Obtained permits and operating licenses.- Developed policies and procedures to ensure regulatory and HMO compliance for commercial and medical-assistance insurance.- Performed marketing to MDs, pediatric specialty/ other hospitals, and PR pieces to obtain referrals (received Reaching Out Award by Pennsylvania DOH 2003)- Facilitate QI program to determine indicators and improve process identified by State surveys (deficiency-free 2003)- Planned and implemented an Easter Seals School to provide state-mandated educational requirements for special education- Implemented a Pediatric Community Health Residency program- Performed direct care, as needed, for special needs child clients, including ventilator/ tracheostomy management, monitor interpretation, feeding tubes, skin integrity management, and standing order medication- Coordinated multidisciplinary teams (social workers, insurers, DME vendors, MDs, PT/OT/STs , nutritionists) to develop/update goals and complete all plans of care

- Private duty nurse for pediatric clients- Provided home health care for those patients

- Managed 24-hour clinical and administrative operations of high tech pediatric homecare services organization- Managed hiring, supervising, and evaluating up to 130 staff members and field contractors, caring for homebound patients requiring ventilator/ tracheostomy management, venous access device initiation/ troubleshooting, and related services- Provide on-call triage/ direct care, when necessary- Interacted with insurers to obtain preauthorization’s for initial/extended long-term home health care (and appeal denials, if needed)

- Managed 24-hour clinical and administrative operations of home healthcare agency, hiring, supervising, and evaluating up to 30 staff member (as well as additional contractors)- Completed 3-month self-study and application for CHAP accreditation for all four offices of Absolute Nursing Care; interacted with inspectors during initial “deficiency free” surveys to successfully obtain accreditation- Reviewed/ updated and created new policies and procedures to improve delivery of care and to respond to changing regulations and technologies; coordinated 90-day MDS/Medicare updates to ensure compliance- Performed marketing/outreach to discharge planners, physicians, and insurers to obtain referrals; served as Intake Coordinator, as needed, evaluating new patients for appropriateness of admission and interacting with insurers to recertify care (appeal denials)- Developed community outreach materials and coordinated BP/diabetes screening and other health teaching events- Facilitated CQI/QA Committee, determining indicators and gathering data on such problems as documentation accuracy, adherence to CHAP and Medicare protocols, and over utilizing/ length of stay- Wrote/ updated job descriptions and evaluated staff members to determine career development plans, coordinating in-service/training and certification programs on IV/PICC Therapy, Ostomy/Wound Care, Documentations, and other topics- Served as Member, Professional Advisory Committee (a board of directors made up of Administrator, physician, RN, CHHA, therapists, and client) to evaluate overall program and update strategic plan