HPCAI Fall Conference Education Session Speaker Bios Mary Alfrey has been on the administrative team at Cedar Valley Hospice in Waterloo for three and a half years and is responsible for the agency s marketing and public relations as well as overseeing all agency fundraising. Her association with Cedar Valley Hospice began in 2004 as a volunteer member of the Friends fundraising committee. She is a graduate of the University of Iowa with a B.B.A in marketing. Her background includes years of experience in communications and public relations, media relations, campaign development and event planning. Moses Altsech holds a Bachelor s degree in marketing and international business from the University of Cincinnati and a PhD in marketing from Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Altsech is a Marketing Professor and Marketing Department Chair at the Edgewood College MBA program in Madison, WI., and President of callmoses.com, a consulting firm with clients in higher education, health care, hospice, high fashion, manufacturing, automobile, food service, luxury hospitality, real estate, sports administration, advertising and other industries. He has been the recipient of more than 20 awards and distinctions, and serves on the board of directors of the Rotary Club of Madison. Dr. Altsech has been a consultant and trainer to corporate clients, professional associations, and nonprofit organizations both in the United States and overseas, and has extensive experience as a marketing consultant and a public speaker. Joy Barry is a Principal of Weatherbee Resources, Inc. (WRI), the Hospice Education Network (HEN) and Hospice Quality Resources, LLC (HQR). Her clinical and administrative expertise, coupled with a thorough understanding of regulatory compliance and standards of care, contribute to the provision of comprehensive consulting services unmatched by others in the industry. During her tenure as executive director of a large and successful hospice program in the Southwest, Joy honed her administrative and clinical skill sets. In this role, she increased the hospice s average daily census while streamlining operational processes and ensuring the highest quality of care to patients and their families. Under her leadership, this hospice successfully operated five inpatient facilities of various types including a first-of-its-kind collaborative model. Joy offers her managerial expertise to hospices seeking rightsizing and reorganization for successful growth management. Tami Briggs is President of Musical Reflections located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She is a therapeutic harpist and has played the harp at the bedside of hundreds of hospital and hospice patients. She uses her musical experience and her clinical training to address the immediate needs of the patient, the patient s loved ones, and the professional staff. In addition, she has produced 13 CDs for relaxation, comfort and stress reduction, and is the author of a published book titled Grace Notes: Reflections on the Harp and Healing.
Dr. Ann Broderick became the first medical director employed by Iowa City Hospice in 1997. For 10 years, she worked for Iowa City Hospice as a half-time medical director and as a general internist with an outpatient practice. She was Board certified in Hospice and Palliative Medicine in 1999, and then recertified in 2008. She proudly tells anyone who listens that the hospice trained her, on country roads, in IDT, and in patient s homes how to attend to the needs of the critically ill and dying. She was appointed as Director of the University of Iowa Palliative Care Program in 1997. Dave Bunce has been a Pharmacist with NuCara Pharmacy since 2006. He earned his degree from South Dakota State University College of Pharmacy in 1983. He has served as an adjunct faculty member for the Drake University College of Pharmacy. Julie Dalbey, RN, BSN, CCM is an RN Case Manager at Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, and a member of Wellmark s Palliative Care Team. She earned her BSN from Grandview College, and her past experience in nursing includes serving as a home health nurse, working in the pediatric ICU at Mercy, and as a nurse case manager at ChildServe. Jane DeGooyer, RN-BC, MSN is a Pain Clinician at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines. A registered nurse for more than 25 years she has been practicing in pain management for the past 10 years. She completed her Master s of Science in Nursing from the University of Iowa in 2005 and achieved ANCC certification in pain management in 2006. She has conducted numerous education programs for health professionals and the community. Jane is a member of the American Society for Pain Management Nursing. N. Joel Fry, MSW, LISW, has served as a social worker, metro team director and as part of the leadership team with Hospice of Central Iowa (HCI) in West Des Moines. In 2006, he joined Weatherbee Resources and serves on its team of consultants providing a wide range of consultative services and education regarding hospice and palliative care topics. Joel is currently president of Team Restoration Ministries; a ministry designed to strengthen marriages, families and individuals in central and southern Iowa. He has served on the HPCAI (formerly IHO) Board for five years and is a member of the HPCAI Education Committee, currently serving as co-chair. Joel is part-time faculty at Simpson College and also adjunct faculty at The University of Iowa School of Social Work. Danette Hanson is the Palliative Care Coordinator for Mercy Medical Center, Des Moines, Iowa. She is currently enrolled in the BSN program at South University. Prior to her position in palliative care Danette was in oncology case management, home care management and cardiac surgical care. Molly Johnson is an AKC-Canine Good Citizen and a member of the International Association of Canine Professionals (IACP). She has over 16 years of experience in therapy dog training and ownership, program management and public relations and marketing. Molly has worked with hospice organizations, funeral homes, domestic abuse shelters, public libraries and other community organizations to form partnerships and establish therapy dog programming. She manages the Therapy Dog Community
Enrichment Program for Fox Valley Humane Association in Appleton, WI and stays active in the community with her two TDI certified therapy dogs, Dudley and Beamish. She is currently training her ninth dog, Madigan, for work as a therapy dog. Dr. Lee A. Kral, PharmD, BCPS is a Faculty Member at The Center for Pain Medicine and Regional Anesthesia at The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, IA. She holds an adjunct faculty position at the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy, is actively involved in training pharmacy students and residents, and lectures for several departments in the hospital and the Carver College of Medicine. Dr. Kral is a member of the outpatient and inpatient pain services, the Narcotic Teaching Team, and the hospital's Pain Management Subcommittee. Her current areas of interest include methadone use in chronic pain and regional/intraspinal pain medicine. Connie Lucas, program specialist for the Greater Iowa Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, has worked in the field of dementia for over 26 years. She was instrumental in planning and directing the first dementia specific adult day program in Iowa. Connie's personal goal for each presentation is to challenge the audience to recognize the humanness of every person with dementia. Judi Lund Person has been the vice president of regulatory and state leadership for the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization since 2002. Prior to joining NHPCO, she served for 22 years as the president and CEO of The Carolinas Center for Hospice and End of Life Care. A recognized national leader in the field of hospice and end-of-life care, she works with state hospice organizations and local hospice providers on regulatory issues, data collection, quality, performance improvement, and strategic planning. She graduated with honors with a bachelor s degree in social work from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a master s degree in public health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Daniel Maison is a nationally recognized expert in hospice care. Dr. Maison is board certified in internal medicine and hospice and palliative medicine. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, one of only 60 in the United States and sits on national committees for the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. He is a graduate of Georgetown Medical School where he was elected to the national honor society, Alpha Omega Alpha. He did his residency in internal medicine at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, California. He was also chief resident of the internal medicine program there. Dr. Maison has conducted extensive training sessions for physicians and other health care professionals in hospice and palliative medicine. He has given numerous lectures at the local, regional, state, and national level. He has also published articles on subjects relevant to hospice and end-oflife care. Abby Miller is a licensed acupuncturist and a Diplomat in Chinese Herbs and Acupuncture. She has studied across the United States and abroad. Miller is in private practice in the Des Moines and Ankeny area. She specializes in pain management and women's health.
Sasha J. Mudlaff, M.A. is the grief consultant for Hamilton s Academy of Grief & Loss as well as Hospice of Central Iowa in Des Moines, where she specializes in working with grieving children, having done so for over 15 years. She received her undergraduate degree in psychology from Cornell College in Mt. Vernon Iowa (1989) and her master s degree in developmental psychology from Columbia University in New York (1991). Sasha co-founded Hamilton s Academy of Grief & Loss, a division of Hamilton s Funeral Home in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1996. Sasha served as the Academy s full-time director until August of 2004, when she transitioned to her home office and the positions of grief consultant and stay-at-home-mom. In addition to directing the Academy s two children s grief groups, Sasha is very involved with schools throughout the state of Iowa, providing education, teacher training and crisis support. She is also a national speaker on the subject of grief & loss. Sasha is a member of Women s Reciprocity Group of Des Moines as well as a member of the Mercy Hospital Perinatal Bereavement Advisory Board. She has co-authored three children s grief books: Molly s Mom Died, Sam s Dad Died and A Terrible Thing Happened, and written several afterwards for other books to help children. Kay Mueggenberg is vice-president of education, research and community integration with Hospice of the Bluegrass. Prior to being a paid hospice employee, Kay was Assistant Professor with the University of Kentucky College of Nursing where she taught community and public health and leadership/management. Kay s passion is in the health of populations which is a perfect with hospice and palliative medicine programs. She uses educational programming to increase availability, accessibility and acceptability of quality end-of-life care to the 32 counties served by Hospice of the Bluegrass. Kay completed her graduate degree in community health nursing from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and her terminal degree in Education Administration and Higher Education at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Barbara Muller, MD, FACP is Medical Director, Population Health Management at Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield. She also is professor of medicine at University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. Muller is board certified in internal medicine, allergy immunology and health care management. She is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Healthcare Executives. John Nuhn, LMSW, CCM is a Social Work Case Manager at Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield and a member of Wellmark s Palliative Care Team. He is vice president of the Iowa Chapter of the Case Management Society. Nuhn earned his MSW from Arizona State University. Prior to joining Wellmark, he served as a social worker, director of case management, and was a program evaluation supervisor. Dr. Donald Schumacher has served as the president/ceo of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) since 2002. A globally recognized authority on hospice and palliative care, Dr. Schumacher has served as an expert strategic planning consultant to individual hospice and palliative care programs and state associations throughout the U.S. Dr. Schumacher is a licensed clinical psychologist and holds a
doctorate degree in psychology from the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology in Boston. Laurie Schipper has worked within the Battered Women s Movement for 26 years and is currently the Executive Director of the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence (ICADV). Laurie graduated in 1985 with a B.S. in Social Work from Iowa State University. Prior to her work with the Coalition, she worked in a battered women s shelter and rape crisis center in Ames for 10 years. Laurie provides technical assistance and training to domestic violence advocates and other professionals who interface with battered women and their children. In addition, she participates in training and curriculum development and consults on public policy as it relates to violence against women. Laurie has assisted thousands of battered women and their children and based on that experience, has testified as an expert witness or trial consultant in hundreds of cases involving domestic violence and the impact on children. Shannon Strickler has served as the registered lobbyist for HPCAI since 2002. She has responsibilities for legislative strategy and policy development as well as assisting members with legal questions. Shannon also serves as an adjunct professor at Des Moines University teaching the leadership seminar series on Advocacy. She is a graduate of Drake law school and Simpson College and a member of a variety of professional organizations. Kay Thuesen, Fundraising Adviser, works with not-for-profit clients for ME&V, including libraries, retirement communities, hospices and hospitals. She conducts feasibility studies and provides fundraising consultation. Kay also coordinates strategic creative projects providing clients with the tools and resources to successfully market their product or services. Kay graduated from Western Illinois University with a B.S. in education. Kay s volunteer and work experience with not-for-profits and small business ownership provides experience applicable to her current clients. Her background includes years of grant writing, as well as fund- and friend-raising at the University of Northern Iowa Museums. Linda Todd, RN, BA is Director of Hospice of Siouxland and Siouxland PACE in Sioux City. As Director, she developed a community-based Palliative Care Program to serve individuals and families with advanced illness. Todd also developed Siouxland PACE, a program which provides inclusive care for the elderly. She serves on the boards of NHPCO and the Nebraska Hospice and Palliative Care Partnership. Michelle Weckmann completed a combined residency in Family Medicine and Psychiatry at The University of Iowa in 2005 and has been on staff in the departments of Psychiatry and Family Medicine since that time. She also staffs the palliative medicine service and is medical director of Iowa City Hospice. Weckmann is board certified in Hospice and Palliative Medicine and specializes in geriatric psychiatry and delirium. Sara Wray is the Patient Care Coordinator at Grinnell Regional Hospice, and is a certified hospice and palliative care nurse. She earned her AA in nursing from
Marshalltown Community College and has previous experience as a med-surg nurse and hospice staff nurse.