Brochure
Sessions
Speakers
Sponsors
Expo
Location & Lodging

Speakers

Jake Allspach, State Fire Inspector, State Fire Marshal Division - West Central Territory, Iowa Department of Public Safety, Denison
Jake Allspach graduated the Iowa Department of Public Safety’s 35th Basic Academy in April of 2011 as a state trooper assigned to District 16 in Des Moines where he served for three years. From there Allspach transferred to District 8 in Mason City and served 1.5 years before transferring to District 4 in Denison (Guthrie County). While on the state patrol, he held duties as a technical collision investigator and was a member of the State Patrol Honor Guard. In January of 2019 he transferred to the State Fire Marshal Division and is currently assigned to the West Central Territory.

Jennifer L. Barboa, Senior Consultant, BKD, National Health Care Group, Springfield, MO
Jennifer Barboa is a member of BKD health care billing services, a special team within BKD National Health Care Group that is responsible for managing more than $50 million in revenues for home care and long term care providers. Her expertise involves coordinating the billing services for skilled nursing facilities. These services include billing outsourcing and accounts receivable recovery services. Barboa is a 2007 graduate of Southwest Baptist University, Bolivar, Missouri, with a BA degree in communications.

Dr. Robert Bender, MD, Healthy Aging International, Clive
Dr. Robert Bender is a geriatrician who has practiced in Iowa for nearly 40 years. He is board certified in geriatrics and has a master’s degree in psychopharmacology. Dr. Bender is the section chief of the Geriatric Medicine and Memory Center at Broadlawns Medical Center.

Bill Bojan, Director, Business Risk Services, CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA), Minneapolis, MN
Bill Bojan is a director with CliftonLarsonAllen’s governance advisory and business risk services group and has 30 years of experience serving primarily health care, financial institutions, and non-profit industries, both in the private sector and in an advisory capacity. In the private sector, Bojan has served as a chief risk officer, chief ethics officer, and general auditor for a Fortune 30 health care company and as a board member, board chair, and governance committee chair for several large nonprofit organizations. Bojan’s advisory experience extends to all aspects of an organization’s corporate governance, including board operations and effectiveness, enterprise risk management (ERM), ethics, and internal audit. He has assisted the board and executive team of various organizations in staying healthy, as well as successfully getting back on track after an organizational crisis or ethical breakdown.

Rebecca A. (Becki) Brommel, BrownWinick, Des Moines
Becki Brommel is a member of BrownWinick and primarily practices in the area of administrative law and litigation.  Brommel has represented long term care facilities with respect to various litigation issues, including challenges to citations, involuntary discharges, contract disputes and non-payment issues.  She has experience in navigating the challenges involved in dealing with family members of long term care residents with respect to financial and other decision-making.  In addition, Brommel has significant experience in dealing with managed care organizations, government agencies and professional licensure boards for various health care providers.  Her practice includes presenting cases before boards, administrative law judges, district court judges and the Iowa appeals courts.  Brommel graduated from Drake Law School in 2001 with highest honors and has been recognized by Best Lawyers in the area of Health Care-Litigation.

Christie Carlson, RPh, Compliance Office, Iowa Board of Pharmacy, Des Moines
Christie Carlson began her current work as the compliance officer with the Iowa Board of Pharmacy in 2017. She graduated from Drake University after training in compounding at Prescription Specialties and Central Iowa Compounding. After graduation, Carlson worked as a staff pharmacist at Central Iowa Compounding helping the pharmacy achieve Pharmacy Compounding Accreditation Board accreditation.

William Carney, Managing Director, Ziegler, Chicago, IL
William Carney joined the senior living team at Ziegler in 1999 after 15 years of credit and banking experience with clients in the Midwestern and Western states. He has assisted providers with financing new construction, campus repositioning, and start-up projects. He is a frequent speaker at state and national conferences on senior living topics. Carney is responsible for clients in the Midwest region, including the states of Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, North and South Dakota, Colorado, Iowa, and Nebraska.

Christopher Downs, Safety Consultant, Iowa OSHA, Des Moines
Chris Downs has been a safety consultant with Iowa OSHA consultation and education since mid-2014. He is an OSHA authorized trainer for OSHA 10 and 30-hour classes for both general industry and construction. He travels the state of Iowa providing compliance assistance and education to employers in all industries so that they can take charge of eliminating workplace hazards to minimize risk to their employees. He is a 10-year Navy combat veteran with deployments around the world and five years of experience aboard nuclear submarines, where he fulfilled safety and health responsibilities. Continuous improvement of safety and health management systems was not only mandatory, it was necessary for the successful completion of missions and to ensure that everyone on the team returned home to their families.

Patrice Fagen, RN, BSN, Assistant Division Administrator & Bureau Chief, Health Facilities Division, Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, Des Moines
Patrice Fagen has been the assistant administrator of the Health Facilities Division since January 2016. Fagen has been with the division since 2000, when she began working as a health facilities surveyor. She has also been the program coordinator for multiple programs in the Medicare and Medicare/Medicaid Services Bureaus.

Sean Fahey, JD, Attorney, Hall Render, Indianapolis, IN
Sean Fahey represents the needs of skilled nursing and assisted living facilities in all areas of health care compliance, transactions, accounts receivable, and reimbursement recovery. Fahey counsels clients on admission agreement language relevant to collection matters and provides advice on discharge planning issues. Sean is a member of the elder law section of the Indiana State Bar Association and has been a speaker at long term care conferences as well as at continuing legal education seminars focusing on assisted living and skilled nursing facility issues. He is admitted to practice in Indiana, Illinois, and New York.

Nicole O. Fallon, Vice President, Health Policy & Integrated Services, Director, Center for Managed Care Solutions & Innovations, LeadingAge, Washington, DC
Nicole Fallon joined LeadingAge as its vice president of health policy and integrated services in September 2016 and also leads its Center for Managed Care Solutions & Innovations. She brings more than 25 years of extensive and diverse health policy experience to this role working across sites of service (hospitals, senior living, home and community-based care, and social services); populations (older adults, disabled, low-income); and payment sources (Medicare, Medicaid, and managed care). Fifteen of those years were spent advocating before state legislatures and regulatory agencies on behalf of various businesses, trade associations, and nonprofit organizations. While working for UnitedHealth Group, Fallon focused on developing dual integration and Medicaid managed care programs with state Medicaid agencies around the country and shaping health care reform policy at both the state and federal level. Then, as a consultant with CliftonLarsonAllen, Fallon advised health care providers and employers on the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Health Reform) including translating its expectations into strategic direction and assisting in post-acute care alignment and planning for future reimbursement models.

Julie Halfpop, RDN, LD, Director of Nutrition Services, Martin Bros. Distributing Inc., Cedar Falls
Julie Halfpop is the director of nutrition services at Martin Bros. Distributing. She has devoted 35 years to inspiring dining strategies to maximize client satisfaction and wellness in senior living. She currently oversees 10 dietitians who work closely with senior living professionals in menu development, provision, and staff education.

Stacy Hejda, Vice President Regulatory Compliance, Assisted Living Partners, Cedar Rapids
Stacy Hejda is co-owner and consultant with Assisted Living Partners. She provides consulting services to assisted living facilities focusing on program development and regulatory compliance monitoring as well as elderly waiver and HUD rental assistance programs. Hejda has more than 20 years’ experience working with assisted living programs in Iowa.

Kelly Hindman, Vice President, Campus Support Services, Friendship Haven, Fort Dodge
After nearly four years with the Dayton and Fort Dodge police departments, Kelly Hindman spent 28 years with the Iowa State Patrol as trooper, accident reconstructionist, safety education officer, sergeant and lieutenant/district commander of the Spencer and Fort Dodge offices. He was an initial responder at United Flight 232 crash in Sioux City, Parkersburg tornado, crisis counselor at Ground Zero, child abduction of two girls in Dayton, Officer Jamie Buenting murder in Rockwell City and countless other emergencies. All these experiences offer an “inside look” at what really occurs in a disaster and what support is coming your way. Hindman has been with Friendship Haven in this current role since mid-2007.

Theresa Hogenson, BSW, ALM, Consultant, Assisted Living Partners, Cedar Rapids
Theresa Hogenson is a consultant for Assisted Living Partners, L.L.C. Hogenson provides consulting services to assisted living facilities focusing on program development and regulatory compliance monitoring. She has been in the assisted living arena for 20 years working as a director, regional manager, and consultant. She received her Assisted Living Manager Certification in 2003. She has been with Assisted Living Partners for 8 1/2 years.

Tori Johnson, MS, CCC-SLP, Speech-Language Pathologist, Friendship Haven, Fort Dodge
Tori Johnson has worked for Friendship Haven since 2013 as a member of the therapy team. She currently is the director of Trilogy therapy at Friendship Haven and also provides speech therapy services to patients.

Linda Kellen, RN, MS, Bureau Chief, Adult Services/Special Services Bureaus, Department of Inspections and Appeals, Des Moines
Linda Kellen has been with the Department of Inspections and Appeals as a surveyor/monitor in the special services and adult services bureaus since 2008 and is now the bureau chief for both bureaus. Kellen is a registered nurse and has a bachelor’s degree from Morningside College in Sioux City and a master’s degree in administrative studies (health care emphasis) from the University of South Dakota. Prior to joining DIA, Kellen worked as chief operations officer for a brain injury rehabilitation facility in Sioux City and as director of nursing and staff nurse at other facilities in the Sioux City area.

Jennifer Knecht, Vice President, Marketing and Sales, Immanuel, Omaha, NE
A seasoned insider to senior living and home-based services, Jennifer Knecht has been at the executive leadership level in health care for nearly a decade. She’s an innovative change agent, working with teams to develop marketing and branding strategies and winning sales teams to keep occupancy and census at 90%+, while orchestrating multi-million-dollar growth plans.

Amy Knudsen, Manager of Grants and Prospect Research, Planned Parenthood North Central States, Co-Chair, Education Committee, Grant Professionals Association-Central Iowa Chapter, Des Moines
Amy Knudsen is a certified grants professional and has been manager of grants at Planned Parenthood North Central States for eight years. Knudsen has been a grant manager/writer for more than 13 years in the non-profit sector. She has been writing public and private grants for more than 20 years and has more than 25 years’ experience in human services and non-profit management. Knudsen has served on numerous non-profit and community wide boards and currently serves on the board of the Central Iowa Chapter of Grant Professionals Association (GPA) where she is chair of the education committee, serves on the governmental advocacy committee of the GPA and serves on the Polk County Continuum of Care Board. In addition to grants, she has been an adjunct professor of sociology for 15 years at DMACC and Drake University. Knudsen has a BA in sociology and MA in applied sociology from the University of Massachusetts/Boston.

David Koelling, President, Strategic Dining Services, Barrington, IL
David Koelling is principal and president of Strategic Dining Services, a dining and hospitality management company, focused in the senior living industry. Previously, Koelling has served as vice president of corporate services for a large senior living company, where he led the company's corporate support teams in the areas of hospitality, programming, dining services, property operations, and purchasing.

Carson Lamb, Associate, Dorsey & Whitney, Des Moines
Carson Lamb represents a wide variety of clients throughout the health care industry, including hospitals, health systems, health networks, individual, and group practices. Lamb’s practice focuses on transactional, regulatory and administrative matters on both the state and federal levels. His transactional practice focuses on aiding clients in navigating and complying with complex regulatory requirements in mergers and acquisitions of all kinds. Lamb has experience in putting together collaborative networks of health care providers including accountable care organizations and clinically integrated networks. His transactional experience extends to matters of corporate organization and governance, employee issues, and antitrust law, always with an eye towards client satisfaction. Lamb’s regulatory practice is focused on a variety of matters surrounding state and federal regulatory compliance. His practice covers state and federal fraud and abuse laws, including Stark, Anti-kickback, and the False Claims Act; Medicare and Medicaid rules; commercial insurance; HIPAA and HITECH; certificates of need; and EMTALA, among others. Lamb’s administrative experience includes assisting providers in matters involving self-disclosure, repayment, and reporting as well as seeking advisory opinions from relevant authorities as appropriate.

Drew Larson, Attorney, BrownWinick Law Firm, Des Moines
Drew Larson practices primarily in the areas of health law, corporate formation and transactions, intellectual property, estate planning, and tax. He represents business clients in various aspects of their operations, including startup organization, financing, acquisitions, contract drafting and negotiation, succession planning and regulatory compliance. Larson views his role as an attorney as a trusted advisor and partner with his clients, helping to assess their legal needs and working to provide the most simple, straightforward and complete answers as possible.

Ed McIntosh, Partner, Dorsey & Whitney, Des Moines
Ed McIntosh is a partner and co-chair of Dorsey’s Health Transactions and Regulations practice.  He helps a variety of health care providers address complex regulatory issues, strategic acquisitions, affiliation and contractual agreements. He represents large metropolitan hospitals as well as critical access hospitals, retirement communities and physician groups, on a broad range of health, employment, regulatory and litigation matters. He has represented health care providers in the development of co-management agreements, acquisition of physician practices, and medical director agreements.  He appears frequently before administrative agencies, including the State Health Facilities Council, the agency which evaluates applications for Certificates of Need in Iowa. He represents nursing homes in administrative proceedings related to surveys.

Katie McKain, Associate Attorney, BrownWinick Law Firm, Des Moines
Katie McKain is an associate attorney with BrownWinick and has a general practice, including but not limited to real estate, banking, bankruptcy, and corporate transactions. McKain has significant experience working on drafting and negotiating national vendor contracts, operating agreements, management agreements and leasing contracts. She is a member of the Polk County and Iowa State Bar Associations, serving on the Corporate Counsel Section and Real Estate Section. She is also a member of the Polk County Women Attorneys. McKain was admitted to the Iowa bar in September 2012.

Lisa Milliken, MA, CCC-SLP, FNAP, CDP, Education Specialist, Select Rehabilitation, Humble, TX
Over the last 32 years, Lisa Young Milliken has served older adults as a clinician, manager, vice president, consultant, compliance director and education director and is most passionate about mentoring health care professionals in the post-acute communities across the country. She currently provides continuing education support to therapists in 35 states as an education specialist for Select Rehabilitation. She has authored and lectured more than 200 professional CE courses at the state and national level and currently serves in a variety of roles with the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA), the Texas Speech-Language and Hearing Association (TSHA) and the National Academies of Practice. She is a Certified Dementia Practitioner and is a Fellow of the national Academy of Practice. She was initially trained in successful aging practices through Masterpiece Living through participation in the intensive Successful Aging Initiative Workshop (SAIW). She then continued to study and teach successful aging concepts over the last four years for multiple national and regional organizations.

Anne Millman, MS, CPPS, Senior Advisor, The Just Culture Company, Denver, CO
Anne Millman is a senior advisor with The Just Culture Company, where she teaches Just Culture Certification Courses and works with health care clients to ensure successful progress along their Just Culture journey. She brings more than 15 years of experience as a patient safety professional, having served as a patient safety officer at tertiary and community hospitals and having consulted on culture improvement for hospitals across the United States, as well as in England and Saudi Arabia.

Matthew Mule, Vice President, Ziegler, Chicago, IL
Matthew Mule is vice president at Ziegler, an investment bank serving not-for-profit senior living providers. His primary responsibility is to provide banking support and analytics for senior living providers. Since joining Ziegler in 2012, Mule has worked to bring more than $3 billion of capital to not-for-profit senior living providers across 70+ financings for single-site and multi-site providers.

Kathleen Niedert, Western Home Communities

Gail Nielsen, Chair, Board of Directors, Luther Park Community, Des Moines
Gail Nielsen serves as national and international consultant for advancing health care transformation. She is a fellow and faculty of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) focusing on IHI’s work in reducing avoidable re-admissions, improving transitions from acute to community-based care, quality of post-acute care, health literacy, patient-centered care, and implementing Always Events®. Nielsen serves as an ISQua expert, mentor and education advisor for the International Society for Quality in Health Care and faculty for the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland’s Leadership & Quality in Healthcare Diploma Program. During her IHI Fellowship, Nielsen completed the Harvard School of Public Health Clinical Effectiveness Program. Nielsen is a board member of Luther Park Community, serving as 2019-2020 chair.

Joel Prevost, Founder, MBA, Licensed Nursing Home Administrator, Health Services Executive, Prevost Partners, Golden Valley, MN
Joel Prevost has spent his entire career serving seniors. For more than 15 years he operated senior communities spanning the full continuum. He now consults for the senior services field where he passionately works to bridge the gap between technology and health care. As an early adopter of technology and a seasoned leader in the industry, Prevost understands the challenges and opportunities involved with innovation and new-tech implementation.

Mary Prevost, MBA, Founder, Prevost Partners, Golden Valley, MN
Empowering brands and inspiring people to think differently, this is how Mary Prevost has approached her 17 years of health care public relations. As founder of Prevost Partners, she consults with health care companies in the areas of social media, media relations, content marketing and branding. Previously, Prevost worked with health care clients as account supervisor at a Minneapolis agency and was director of communications at Cheyenne Regional Medical Center in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Prevost earned an MBA from Augsburg University, a BA in mass communications from Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, Colorado, and an AAS in radio/TV broadcasting from Central Wyoming College in Riverton, Wyoming.

Sherri L. Robbins, RN, CLNC®, RAC-CT®, Senior Managing Consultant, BKD National Health Care Group, Springfield, MO
A member of BKD National Health Care Group, Sherri Robbins has more than 30 years of experience and focuses on long term care.  She provides clinical consulting for health care providers and educates providers about Medicare reimbursement strategies.  Robbins has trained numerous skilled nursing facilities as well as swing bed and skilled nursing units about proper minimum data set completion to manage the Medicare program.  She performs comprehensive follow-up reviews focused on patient-centered care and regulation compliance to help providers obtain appropriate Medicare reimbursement. Prior to joining BKD, she had 10 years of health care experience as a director of nursing and administrator in a skilled nursing facility and worked as a licensed practical nurse and certified nurse assistant. She is a member of the American Association of Post-Acute Care Nurses and serves on their scholarship and awards committee. Robbins is a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant (CLNC®), licensed nursing home administrator and Resident Assessment Coordinator – Certified (RAC-CT®).  As a CLNC, she assists attorneys representing health care providers.  She frequently presents to long term care and senior living associations. Robbins is a 1992 graduate of Mercy College of Nursing and Health Sciences of Southwest Baptist University, Springfield, MO, with a registered nurse (RN) certification, and a 1998 graduate of Southwest Baptist University, Bolivar, MO, with a BS degree in nursing.

Dustin Ross, Director of Development-Iowa, Planned Parenthood North Central States, Des Moines
Dustin Ross serves as director of development for Planned Parenthood North Central States (PPNCS)  where he leads fundraising efforts in Iowa to support Planned Parenthood’s health care, education, and advocacy goals both in the state and across the five-state affiliate. Ross joined PPNCS from the Des Moines Symphony where he led a multi-million-dollar campaign to create a new, free outdoor summer concert series and nearly double the organization’s endowment. Prior to this, he integrated and led the annual giving and alumni engagement programs at Cornell College. Ross has 15 years of experience in annual and major gifts, corporate sponsorship, and comprehensive fundraising campaigns across various politics, education, arts, and healthcare organizations. He holds a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Nebraska - Omaha and a bachelor’s degree from Luther College, and he is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and Mid-Iowa Planned Giving Council.

Molly Schaeffer, BS, Director of Social Services, Friendship Haven, Fort Dodge
Molly Schaeffer has worked for Friendship Haven since 2015. She is currently the director of social services and was a former director of adult day services. Schaeffer completed the LeadingAge Iowa Emerge program in 2018 and served as a mentor for the Emerge program in 2019.

Cyndi Siders, RN, MSN, CPHRM, DFASHRM, CPPS, CEO and Executive Consultant, Siders HealthCare Consulting, LLC, Grand Forks, ND
Cyndi Siders has more than 30 years of health care, administrative and insurance experience, 25 of those focused on risk management and patient safety. Siders’ responsibilities as CEO and executive consultant of Siders HealthCare Consulting, LLC include providing customized risk management and patient safety professional consultation and strategic support, coaching, mentoring and education for health care organizations and health systems; risk management companies, insurance and claims management companies, and insurance agencies.

Carol Sipfle, MPA, Interim CEO, Luther Park Community, Des Moines
Carol Sipfle has spent her entire career in the non-profit sector, including 15 years of experience in leadership positions, working in partnership with a board of directors to advance strategic goals for organizations that provide services to the aging population. Sipfle currently serves as the interim CEO and COO for Luther Park Community in Des Moines. She has a BA in psychology from the University of Northern Iowa and master’s in public administration from Drake University.

Chantelle Smith, Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General of Iowa, Des Moines
Chantelle Smith is an assistant attorney general in the Iowa Attorney General's Office, Consumer Protection Division. Her focus is on issues affecting older Iowans and on nonprofits and charitable trusts. She is also cross-designated as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa. She joined the AG's Office in 2000, and prior to that was a judicial law clerk in the Fifth Judicial District. She received her law degree from the University of Iowa.

Alissa Smith, Partner, Dorsey & Whitney, Des Moines
Alissa Smith is a partner in Dorsey & Whitney LLP’s health group. Smith represents health care organizations such as health systems, hospitals, pharmacies, long term care providers, home health agencies and medical practices, as well as nonprofit and municipal organizations. Smith’s practice involves a wide range of corporate and regulatory matters facing health care providers, nonprofit organizations and municipal entities. Her transactional practice includes contracts, leases, mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures. Smith’s regulatory practice includes the interpretation and application of state and federal fraud and abuse laws, Medicare and Medicaid rules, tax-exemption laws, HIPAA and privacy laws, EMTALA laws, licensing matters, employment laws, governmental audits, open records and open meetings matters, and corporate and health system governance issues including the revision and negotiation of medical staff bylaws. She also assists with hospital-provider relations such as co-management arrangements, peer review investigations and medical staff fair hearings. Smith represents health care providers before the State Health Facilities Council in Certificate of Need hearings.

Joe Tye, CEO and Head Coach, Values Coach Inc., Solon
Joe Tye is CEO and head coach of Values Coach Inc., which works with health care organizations to design and build a culture of ownership on a foundation of values. He is the author or coauthor of 15 books and dozens of journal articles on personal achievement and organizational culture and a frequent speaker for health care association conferences and hospital leadership programs. He is a leading authority on strategies to foster a culture of ownership in health care organizations and a frequent speaker on values-based life and leadership skills and cultural transformation. Prior to founding Values Coach in 1994 he was chief operating officer for a large community teaching hospital.

Mindla White, Bureau Chief, Department of Inspections and Appeals, Des Moines
Mindla (Mindy) White was employed at a local nursing home in Wisconsin as a CNA when she was in high school. After high school she went to nursing school and later returned back to the same nursing home as a charge nurse on the evening shift. In 1995, White moved to Des Moines and worked at another long term care facility as a MDS coordinator.  She joined the Department of Inspection and Appeals in 1998 and was a long term care surveyor for eastern Iowa until 2000. In 2000 White was promoted to a compliance officer within DIA and then in 2006 was promoted to a bureau chief. White oversees the surveyors who conduct the recertification surveys in long term care facilities and also has responsibility for the enforcement actions.

Jack York, Co-founder, It’s Never 2 Late (iN2L), Silicon Valley, CA
Jack York is co-founder of It’s Never 2 Late (iN2L), a company dedicated to helping older adults realize the full benefits of adaptive technology. Originally, York did not envision iN2L as a business; the impetus for what became the company was a philanthropic idea to donate computers to assisted living communities and nursing homes in Southern California.  With a 15-year background in the Silicon Valley, he saw a vast potential in fostering these connections, but also saw that conventional technology was too difficult for most residents to use in a meaningful way. As a result, in 1999, York retired as vice president of strategic sales for Vishay Intertechnology and started what has become a successful gerontechnology company, It’s Never 2 Late (iN2L).  He is a sought after national and international speaker on technology being used to create personalized experiences that engage and connect older adults to their loved ones and the world at large, specifically individuals with dementia.  As of 2019, the company has a customer base of 3,000 senior living communities spread out across all 50 states.  iN2L’s work has been recognized by the Wall Street Journal, NPR, and dozens of senior living publications. For more information, visit in2l.com.