Company History

Boyer & Associates, LLC was formed in September 2005. Boyer & Associate, LLC, is succeeding BDO Healthcare Group in providing clinical and operational consulting services and education to BDO's clients and other members of the long-term care industry. Boyer & Associates will provide facilities with the same quality and expertise they have come to expect from BDO, but under a new name.

Patricia J. Boyer, MSM, RN, NHA was an operations consultant with BDO Healthcare for 5 years.

Boyer & Associate Staff

Patricia J. Boyer, MSM, RN, NHA
President & Operations Consultant

Areas of Specialization
Consults with sub-acute and long-term care providers including nursing homes, assisted living centers and senior housing in the areas of operational assessment, quality indicators, outcomes management, corporate compliance, mock surveys, team development, financial management, clinical assessment/documentation systems, and performance improvement.

Professional Profile
Prior to founding Boyer & Associates, Pat was an Operations Consultant for BDO Healthcare Group, LLC. Pat has more than 30 years of healthcare industry experience in long-term care and sub-acute operations, state and federal compliance programs, and performance improvement process development. Her experience includes:

• Provides consultation services to sub-acute and long-term care providers in the areas of PPS, MDS, RUGs III, quality indicators, outcomes management, corporate compliance, mock surveys, team development, financial management, clinical assessment/documentation systems and performance improvement processes.
• Conducts operational assessments for continuing care retirement communities, assisted living facilities and skilled nursing homes nationwide. Based upon the each client's specific needs, these assessments have included analyses, recommendations and quantifications of financial performance, staffing, information systems, clinical processes and systems, dining services, general services, resident life and marketing/sales.
• Conducted clinical, financial and management training programs for hundreds of long-term care providers, state healthcare associations and other long-term care and senior housing organizations throughout the United States on topics such as Managing the Survey Process, Use of the Quality Indicators in the Survey Process and facility operations, Performance Improvement processes to improve facility outcomes and efficiencies, and PPS/RUGs III and Financial Management for Department Managers.
• Served in the roles of Director of Nursing Services, Administrator, Quality Improvement Specialist and Director of Regulatory Compliance for a national nursing home company that owns and manages more than 200 nursing homes in 13 states. In these roles, Pat used the Resident Assessment Process (RAI) to improve survey outcomes and facility processes.
• Provides education services to facilities undergoing Corporate Integrity Agreements with the OIG. Pat also is part of the Boyer & Associates Independent Review Organization team which performs IRO audits and reviews.

A.S., Nursing, St. Petersburg Junior College
B.S., Management, Cardinal Stritch University
M.S., Management, Cardinal Stritch University

American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA)
American Health Care Association (AHCA)
Minnesota Health & Housing Alliance (MHHA)
National Association of Female Executives
Wisconsin Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (WAHSA)
Wisconsin Health Care Association (WHCA)

Frequent speaker on long-term care issues at local and state associations including:

Performance Management	MDS/PPS
Restorative Nursing	State Case Mix Systems
Medical Review

McKnight's Long-Term Care News - Monthly "Ask the Payment Expert" Column Author

          

Additional Staff Members

Jean Edwards, BSN, RN and Clinical Operations Consultant, has more than 15 years of health care experience. Among the positions she has held for several large long-term care companies are Regional Director of Clinical Operations, Regional Clinical Reimbursement Coordinator and Compliance Specialist. Her expertise includes helping facilities accomplish the highest level of resident functioning through maintaining quality of life and quality of care at levels that exceed those required by federal and state regulations. She has taught the survey process, including survey readiness on a 24/7 basis, and has helped providers develop programs to enhance all departments in the facility, including activities, dining, medical records, nursing and social services. She also is experienced in the RAI process and has taught both Medicare- and case mix Medicaid-specific techniques to meet and capture resident needs accurately while optimizing reimbursement.

          

Elise S. Battillo, PT and Rehabilitation Operations Consultant, has nearly 20 years of experience in providing rehabilitation services in acute and long-term care settings. She formerly was with a national long-term care provider as the company's regional rehabilitation manager, a position in which she was responsible for planning, management, evaluation, clinical direction and financial success of therapy services for multiple facilities. She also had responsibility for ensuring compliance with all regulatory agency, corporate QA/QI and program standards. Elise also was the rehabilitation director for several independent therapy providers, where she coordinated physical, occupational and speech therapy services, developed new program and protocols, and conducted in-service programs and staff education. In addition, she has been a faculty member of two universities where she instructed students in the theories and practical applications of physical therapy modalities.

          

Michele G. Peterson, M.A./CCC-SLP and Rehabilitation Operations Consultant, has 21 years of healthcare experience that includes a variety of positions within the industry, from director of home health within a skilled nursing facility to director of speech pathology services and vice president of clinical operations for a multi-state rehabilitation company. Most recently, as a rehabilitation consultant for a national long-term care company, she was an integral part of the development and implementation of training materials and alternative service delivery systems. Operationally, her responsibilities included all aspects within the rehabilitation department such as financial, regulatory, program development, clinical service delivery, competency testing, case management and human resource development for 18 skilled nursing centers. Well-versed in the intricacies of the prospective payment system (PPS), she has successfully guided facilities through their transition as part of a multi-disciplinary team.

          

Gail A. Robison, RN, RAC-C and Clinical Operations / Reimbursement Consultant, has more than 34 years of nursing expertise in long-term care, assisted living, mental health, and addictions. Professional focus has been standard of practice of all disciplines, State and Federal compliance, outcomes management, reimbursement, performance improvement, and operations. Among the health care positions she held: Regional Nurse Consultant, Product Line Manager, Director of Nursing, Quality Assurance/Utilization, and Compliance Nurse Coordinator. Her primary professional goal is assisting the facility process to improve resident quality of life at the highest level of care. Direct responsibilities have been implementing systems to improve reimbursement, measuring facility performance in evaluation processes including mock survey, auditing and diligently focusing facilities to excel in a standard of practice that maintained continuous compliance. Gail is also a Paralegal Nurse. As a RAC-C she focuses on resident care clinical assessment and accurate completing of the RAI/MDS assuring regulatory compliance, and optimal reimbursement with commitment to the team approach.

          

Mary M. Conroy, MS, CCC-SLP and Rehabilitation Operations Consultant, has 21 years of healthcare experience providing rehabilitation services in the acute, sub-acute, skilled nursing facility, and home care environments. She has held positions of progressive resposibility, including: Speech Pathologist in a private practice setting, Director of Speech Therapy Services, Director of Operations for a multi state rehabilitation company, Senior Regional Therapy Consultant, and Divisional Rehab Director for a national provider of long term care services. In these capacities, she was responsible for all aspects of the clinical service delivery model within physical, occupational and speech therapies, human resource and staffing functions, program/forms development, clinical competency, and quality assurance auditing, as well as developing and presenting training seminars. Operationally, she was responsible for budgeting, productivity management, fiscal performance, as well as Medicare / third party payor regulatory compliance in approximately 45 facilities across 8 states. She teaches a graduate seminar called "The Business of Therapy: Ethical, Financial and Reimbursement Considerations and Their Impact on Your Clinical Practice". She has presented at the National Stroke Conference on the topic of dysphasia.

          

Jane Flink Carter, MS, RD, LNHA and Dietary Consultant / Operations Consultant, has worked in the long-term care industry for 25 years as a dietary consultant, director of facility dining services, director of quality assurance / validation and nursing home administrator. Her expertise includes menu development, food service operations, resident and employee wellness program development and management of total facility operations. She formerly was employed by a national long-term care company where her responsiblities included dietary department supervision, clinical assessment and documentation of residents' nutritinal needs, compliance monitoring, facility licensure, relocation planning and policy / procedure development and trainin. Jane has taught nutrition at the college level and is a frequent speaker for long-term care associations and facilities.

          

Evonne A. Fillinger, RN, BSN, WCC, RAC-CT and Clinical Operations Consultant, has more than 23 years of professional health industry experience. Her areas of expertise include long term care operations, legal consulting and wound care management. Among the health care positions she held include Director of Nursing Services, Nurse Manager, Legal Nurse Consultant, CBRF Consultant, and Manager of Clinical Services. Her primary professional goal is assisting facilities process to improve resident quality of life at the highest level of care. She has been instrumental in developing person centered clinical processes that have been integrated into facility culture change. Evonne’s direct responsibilities are implementing systems to improve reimbursement, measuring facility performance in evaluation processes including mock survey, implementing culture change, developing wound care systems, auditing and diligently focusing facilities to excel in a standard of practice that maintained continuous compliance. She has also trained and tested nursing assistants and provided educational workshops in multiple states.

Additional consultant profiles available on request