Mr. Abbasi is board certified by both the American Board of Radiology (ABR) and the American Board of Medical Physics (ABMP). He is Vice President of Technical Operations at West Physics, a leading nationwide provider of diagnostic medical physics services. A six-time recipient of Inc. Magazine’s “Inc. 5,000” award for being one of the fastest-growing privately-held companies in America, West Physics provides ACR and IAC accreditation support, x-ray compliance testing, nuclear medicine consulting, and shielding design services to over 1,100 clients in 49 U.S. states and several foreign countries. West Physics also provides technical and regulatory expertise to clients in the area of radiation dose reduction and optimization. Zubair holds Master’s degrees in both Health Physics and Nuclear Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. After graduating from Georgia Tech, Zubair joined West Physics Consulting as a medical physicist in 2006, and served in a variety of technical roles prior to being promoted to his current position leading the company’s technical team. Zubair is responsible for all aspects of the delivery of physics services to West Physics clients worldwide, providing technical support and resources to staff to ensure absolute technical excellence, monitoring customer satisfaction and responding to concerns or problems, managing company growth and developing new products and services.
Nathan Baugh
Session: AHRA Washington Update
Nathan Baugh works for the government relations firm Capitol Associates in Alexandria, VA. His areas of expertise include medical imaging policy, health disparities, and rural health. Nathan graduated from The College of William and Mary with a degree in government and prior to joining Capitol Associates worked on various campaigns throughout California and Virginia. Nathan has worked with the AHRA Regulatory Affairs Committee since July of 2015.
Tosca Bridges, BSRT(R)(CT)(QM)
Session: Imaging & Social Media "What Happens in the Hospital Doesn't Always Stay in the Hospital"
Tosca Bridges Taylor is the education Coordinator for medical imaging at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek, CA. She also works as a radiology instructor at Kaiser Permanente School of Allied Health Sciences in Richmond, CA. In her spare time she travels the west coast teaching continuing education symposiums on radiation protection and digital radiography. Tosca holds a bachelor’s degree in radiological sciences from William Carey College in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. She is certified in radiography, computed tomography, and quality management. Tosca has been a radiology professional for almost 20 years. Recently Tosca represented the United States at the International Society of Radiographers & Radiologic Technologist (ISRRT) in Seoul South Korea. While there she spoke on the state of the radiology profession in the U.S. as well as presenting a poster presentation on Social Media & Radiology.
Curtis Bush, MBA, CRA, FACHE
Session: Mentorship: Building Leaders and Being Built
Curt Bush is the Director of Imaging Services at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. He has a Bachelor of Science in Nuclear Medicine Technology from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, a Master’s of Science in Management with a concentration in Healthcare Administration, and a MBA from Troy University. Curt is a Certified Radiology Administrator, and is board certified in Healthcare Leadership by the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Christa Cole, RT(R), BS, CRA
Session: Mentorship: Building Leaders and Being Built
Christa Cole is the Director of Imaging Services at Methodist Hospital in Henderson, Kentucky, where she has worked for nearly 22 years. She has earned her Bachelor's of Applied Science in Radiologic Technology from the University of Southern Indiana with specialties in Radiology Management and Clinical Education. She has nearly completed her MBA with a concentration in Healthcare Administration, from Sullivan University in Louisville, KY. Christa is a Certified Radiology Administrator and she enjoys watching her nieces play basketball, and playing with her granddaughter in her spare time.
Leslie Jebson, MHA, FACHE, FACMPE, LHRM
Session: The Bundled Payment Pie - How Big is the Imaging Slice?
Les Jebson is an Administrator, Adjunct Lecturer at the SIU School of Medicine. As a nationally recognized administrator, Les has held professional positions in both private practice and academic health systems. Having worked in research, clinical, financial, and operational roles; he continues to share his experiences and insights as a guest faculty instructor and presenter with over 100 authored publications and national presentations.
Robert Junk, BA
Session: Are You Prepared for Imaging 3.0?
Mr. Junk is President of RADIOLOGY Planning, a recognized global leader in radiology and imaging suite design. Rob has been involved in healthcare design and medical imaging for over 25 years. He is an expert contributor to the US Department of Veteran Affairs’ and Department of Defense imaging series Design Guides and has served as an expert witness in cases involving imaging suite failures. Mr. Junk writes and speaks extensively on imaging suite safety and planning principals. Recent publications include, Asian Hospital & Healthcare Management, Advanced Imaging, Modern Healthcare. He served as a contributor to the current AHRA Asset Management in Radiology professional development series. Mr. Junk’s speaks frequently at healthcare conferences such as the American Healthcare Radiology Administrators Annual Meetings, Healthcare Facilities Symposium and the American Institute of Architects Academy of Architecture for Health. Mr. Junk most recently presented at the 2016 Middle East Patient Safety Congress in Dbai.
Tammy Merisotis, BSRS, RTR
Session: Data Phobia: The Recovery Process
Tammy Merisotis has over 25 years of clinical and management experience in multiple diagnostic imaging modalities. She has worked in the commercial and non-profit sectors in frontline management, operations, and marketing roles. In her tenure at GE, she has helped to develop key emerging digital imaging technologies, including Tomosynthesis. Tammy was GE’s Voice of the Customer Champion for digital xray development, providing customer coaching and workflow analysis for both the Hospital of the Future and GDXR divisions of the company. She co-authored a 2005 article for presentation at the European Congress of Radiology and holds multiple digital imaging patents. She was a 2016 AHRA Annual Meeting Speaker. Tammy was a Chief Technologist for Women’s Imaging where she lead service line growth for a multi-site, multi-modality, full-service Women’s Imaging service & one of the first ACR accredited sites for Stereotactic Biopsy.
Sandra Michalski, MBA, RT(R)
Session: Resetting Your Customer Experience Culture
Sandy Michalski is a Service Line Director with Mercy Health’s Toledo Region. Sandy’s responsibilities include setting the strategic initiatives, growth plans and business development for Imaging, Sleep and Pain Services. Sandy has been on several design, development and implementation teams for 2 Free-standing ED’s, a stand-alone Imaging center, and an Imaging center within a MOB. The culture she has created at these sites have received awards from Press-Ganey and Mercy Health, for their patient satisfaction results 2 years in a row. Sandy has over 30 years of radiology experience ranging from Inpatient tertiary care to the outpatient settings. While she has responsibility for all modalities, she maintains her registry in Radiography, earned her MBA in 2012 and holds the CRA credential. In 2015 she received the Outstanding Leadership Award at the annual NWO Imaging Professionals Event. Sandy has a passion for customer service and accountability and is excited to share her experience and learnings with others.
Greg Patrick
Session: Are You Prepared for Imaging 3.0?
Greg Patrick is the CEO and co-founder of RedRick Technologies Inc., a provider of workspace solutions with a focus on the optimization of the radiology reading room since 2001. He is also a co-author of an independently published document “Medical Imaging Reading Environment Optimization; A Planning Guide” (2015).
Leslie Pegram, BS, RT(R)
Session: Engaging Radiology Staff in Quality Management
Leslie Pegram currently serves as a Training Specialist for UF Health Jacksonville, a level 1 trauma center, in Jacksonville, Florida. She has over 10 years of experience in Radiology as a Fluoroscopy Technologist, Quality Improvement Coordinator and Radiology Staff Educator. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Health Education from the University of Florida and has begun her Masters in Health Informatics at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Michael Peters, MBA, CMC, RT(R)(T)
Session: Healthcare, It’s All About the “P”
Michael brings more than 20 years of experience in health care management expertise to the development, management and implementation of oncology and imaging services. As founder and CEO of US Cancer Specialists, Michael works directly with executive and clinical leadership to assist with all phases of oncology and imaging service line development, strategic planning, and integrative oncology services. His excellent relationship-building and communication skills have helped organizations achieve strong financial performance through strategic program growth and operational efficiency measures. Michael also serves a dual role as the Chief Operating Officer, for American Asian Cancer Centers, Ltd. where he is responsible for bringing Western based Comprehensive Cancer Care and Imaging Services to Asia. Michael began his healthcare career as a clinician, moving into various successful administrator level positions within the US and also successfully obtained his Masters of Business Administration with an International focus. He has provided consulting expertise to Global Fortune Companies such as GE Healthcare and Varian Medical Systems, focusing on departmental throughput modeling, including cost of care delivery, utilization, productivity, workflow improvement, and advanced healthcare analytics. Michael is skilled in Lean Manufacturing, Accelerated Change Management, and is a Certified International Management Consultant and Certified Six Sigma Black Belt (CSSBB).
Michelle Rowe, RN
Session: Resetting Your Customer Experience Culture
Michelle Rowe, RN is the Oncology Service Line Director with Mercy Health’s Toledo Region (3 infusion centers, 4 clinics and 2 radiation oncology practices). Michelle’s service line responsibilities include setting the strategic initiatives, growth plans, physician partnerships and business development for Medical Oncology, Radiation Oncology and Infusion services. Michelle has most recently been responsible for the design, development and implementation of a 25M Comprehensive Cancer Center and a freestanding Radiation Oncology department which opened this past April and November. Over the past year her team has trained all staff, including physicians, on creating and sustaining an amazing patient experience. Michelle has over 13 years of nursing and healthcare experience. Over the past 6 years, Michelle has held various healthcare management and director positions including human resources, marketing project management and business development. She is an experienced speaker and health and wellness media contributor in the Toledo market.
Daniel Stover, BA
Session: Developing Emotional Intelligence: The Brain of a Leader
Daniel Stover manages the west coast office for Integrated Leadership Systems from Los Angeles, California. He received his education from The Ohio State University where he studied Psychology, Criminology and Security & Intelligence. The core of his development and training was in cognitive-behavior psychology and mental health crisis intervention. Through this experience, he learned that his passion and purpose is to help others understand their emotions. Dan has concentrated this passion on working with companies ranging in size from 30 to 1,000 employees in ten states in multiple industries. Some examples of his clients are: healthcare executives, physicians, construction and general contractors, technology entrepreneurs, partners in tax and consultative accounting, pharmaceutical manufacturing, robotics manufacturing, university administration and wellness providers. The scope of Dan’s work in succession planning, team consulting, coaching, training and development provides insight into the core issues that keep an individual or team from performing at their highest level. Although the work is designed to address emotional intelligence, it is aimed to positively impact the bottom line. Dan is a community advocate and has served on multiple non-profit boards in the areas of mental health and community development in both Columbus, OH and as a volunteer in Los Angeles, CA.