Melissa Black Email & Phone Number

United States

Deerfield Beach, Florida

Corporate Legal Document Review

Miami/Fort Lauderdale Area

Responsible for developing and implementing online risk management information system which resulted in significant increase in ability to report, track and quickly address risk issues. Oversight over 12 FTE including Executive Director, Directors, Managers and Administrative Staff. Direct report to Chief Medical Officer of health system. Management of $1.2M budget without overages. • Development and implementation of a new online Patient Safety Event System reduced time to review, investigate and resolve incidents from 10 days to 4 days. New system allowed for enhanced transparency to patient / families resulting in retention of good-will and lower settlement fees.• Implementation of an Claims Early Resolution program.• Effectuated Root Cause Analysis decision tree methodology with in-depth analysis of significant events with action plans developed, implemented, measured and formalized. resulting in ability to identify and support corrective actions with improved ROI. • Reduced malpractice claims, costs, and attorney’s fees by $7.5M by creating in-house medical malpractice claims department resulting in 43% fewer litigated claims due to proactive investigations and creation of Early Resolution Program.• Successful Risk Management, Patient Safety and Claims Management program audits resulted in Insurance premiums remaining flat and SIR decrease of 76%.• Encouraged creative thinking, problem solving, and empowerment of risk management team to improve morale and teamwork.

Miami/Fort Lauderdale Area

Reviewed and revised risk management, associated policies and SOP with supporting education while building trust with physicians and health care staff. Appointed leader in facility surveys and inspections by governmental agencies.• Reorganized and developed a robust healthcare risk management program with limited personnel and resources.• Represented Jackson Health System at State and National Risk Management industry organizations.• Reduced improper regulatory reporting with creation of an adverse incident analysis algorithm. • Partnered with risk management information system vendor to create appropriate taxonomy for proper metric capture, analysis, and response to incidents. o Trained team on new technologies for on-line incident reporting system, resulting in increase of incident reporting by of 55%. Hired critical personnel.• Decreased annual malpractice expenses by 15% and saved $500K by resolving old open claims.

Boca Raton, Fl

Responsible for overall trial preparation of medical malpractice defense litigation. Coordinate and participate in all aspects of discovery including unsworn testimony, depositions, written discovery, document production, medical records review, obtaining experts, motion practice, attend hearings and case evaluation. Analyzed probable outcomes of cases using research and knowledge of legal precedents.• Represented firm with potential clients at annual meetings of Florida Society for Healthcare Risk Management and American Society for Healthcare Risk Management.

Weston, Fl

Responsible for managing and maintaining individual caseload and provided overall medical malpractice defense litigation support to senior partner.• Coordinated and participated in all aspects of discovery from initial claims investigation through litigation including: legal research, drafting motions, attending hearings, discovery, depositions, document production, interrogatories, and witness interviews.• Reviewed and analyzed medical records with retained experts to assess exposure and need for further discovery.• Prepared clients’ status reports to assist senior partner with client reporting requirements.• Provided client access to current case law information and updates.• Worked closely with client health care facility risk managers and provided advise on ongoing risk management issues.

Miami/Fort Lauderdale Area

Doctor Of Law (J.D.), Law

Master Of Business Administration (Mba), Health/Health Care Administration/Management

Activities and Societies: Residency at Medical College of Pennsylvania

Bachelor'S Degree, Communications

Bachelor'S Degree, Communication And Media Studies