Fall Conference 2017

Ms. Strunk specializes in helping clients understand the Medicare prospective payment systems for skilled nursing facilities and home health agencies, as well as the Medicare conditions of participation and fee schedule for rehab agencies.  Her experience includes utilizing medical record reviews and data systems to help both inpatient and outpatient therapy providers meet regulatory guidelines and deliver medically necessary therapy services in these settings.  Ellen received her Masters in Physical Therapy from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and earned her American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Board Certification in Geriatric Physical Therapy in 1999. She has been a practicing physical therapist for over 20 years, working in the hospital, skilled nursing, home health, outpatient and cardiac rehab settings.  She has held various roles including clinician, manager and Director over multiple programs. Presently, Ellen is owner of Rehab Resources and Consulting, Inc., a company providing continuing education and consulting services for post-acute care settings.  Ellen is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), where she has served on Payment Policy Strategy Committees advising the APTA Board of Directors on payment policy in all settings. She serves on a state level as the Chair of the Practice and Reimbursement Committee for the Alabama Physical Therapy Association.  In 2009, Ellen became a Certified Expert in Exercise for the Aging Adult, a certification course sponsored by the APTA's Academy of Geriatric Physical Therapy.  In 2015, Ellen became Certified in Healthcare Compliance through the HealthCare Compliance Association.

Nancy Beckley is President of Nancy Beckley & Associates LLC, a firm specializing in outpatient therapy compliance.  The firm offers compliance outsourcing, risk assessment, compliance plan development, annual compliance training, and external auditing, due diligence and investigation support.  Clients including providers under Medicare probe review, progressive corrective action plans, corporate integrity agreements, ZPIC investigations and RAC audits.

Nancy’s background includes 15 years hospital experience serving in management capacities at two large inpatient rehabilitation facilities with extensive program management and managed care contracting experience.  A therapist by background and training, Nancy as served as a manager, program director, and facility executive director in both inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation facilities.

She is a nationally known speaker in the area of rehab compliance, and has presented at the Provider Practice Compliance Conference, Florida Compliance Conference, and the Annual Compliance Institute.  She featured in a Healthcare Compliance Association webinar on Hospital Risks in Outpatient Therapy.  She has authored three articles for Compliance Today and written over 20 articles on the RAC program.

Mark is Owner/President of Mountain Land Rehabilitation, Inc., a Rehabilitation Agency providing therapy services throughout the western United States.  Mountain Land Rehabilitation has a staff of approximately 1000 employees and provides services in outpatient settings, hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and home health agencies.  Mark is a graduate of the University of Utah in 1980 with his degree in Physical Therapy.  He currently serves as an Associate Professor at the University of Utah and has taught Administration and Management to Physical Therapy students for the past 20 years. Mark is actively involved in the National Association of Rehabilitation Agencies (NARA) and has for the past 20 years.  He has served in multiple capacities with NARA including Board Member at Large, Past Vice President, and current appointed Vice President.  Mark has been very involved with the legislative efforts of NARA.  He has served as the Legislative Liaison and is a recipient of the George G. Olsen service Award.  In addition to his involvement in NARA, Mark is an active member of the   American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and has served as Chapter President for 2 terms as well as on numerous national committees and work groups within APTA.  He is currently on the PT- PAC Board of Trustees and is very involved in the political process.  Mark is the past chair of the Utah Physical Therapy Licensure Board and is also was delegate for The Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy.  

Heather Smith currently serves as the Director of Quality for APTA.  In her current roll, Heather leads and coordinates quality initiatives for the Association and develops key member resources related to quality for programs under Medicare that impact PTs including the respective post-acute care Quality Reporting Programs (QRPs), the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), and the Functional Limitation Reporting (FLR) requirements for therapy services under Medicare.  She serves in a consulting role for the Physical Therapy Outcomes Registry with a focus on measure development and compliance with quality reporting regulations. She has presented at national meetings and webinars on quality related topics that impact physical therapists.

Heather is involved in several technical expert panels which work to maintain measures for quality reporting programs including: MIPS measure #130 Documentation of Current Medications in the Medical Record, #131 Pain Assessment on Evaluation and #182 Functional Outcome Assessment.  Additionally, she participated in two TEPs in 2013 convened by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and RTI International which focused on the results of the Developing Outpatient Therapy Payment Alternatives (DOTPA) project including data analysis for the Continuity Assessment Record and Evaluation (CARE) item set.  

Heather previously worked for New York Presbyterian Hospital and University of Pennsylvania Health System where she served in a quality improvement position. She received a Black Belt in Six Sigma from Pennsylvania State University.   Her transition into quality was facilitated in part by the acquisition of her Masters in Public Health from Drexel University.  Previous to her role in quality improvement, she was a practicing clinician for over ten years.

Linda Riccio, a 35-year veteran of long-term care operations and clinical development, has a BS in Occupational Therapy. She has a diverse skill set in program development and implementation resulting in fiscally responsible and meaningful programs.  Linda consults in healthcare strategy nationwide as President of Creative Rehab Strategies, and Vice-President of Clinical Services for Creative Health Solutions and Vertis Therapy. She has been an active member of NARA for many years serving on the Conference Committee before recently taking on the Chairperson role of the committee.