SimiTree Promotes Fuller, Regan, and Skehan to Managing Directors, Hawthorne to Director

HAMDEN, Conn., Jan. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SimiTree, a company that provides industry-leading, tech-enabled specialty revenue cycle management (RCM), coding, professional services, and talent management resources for post-acute and behavioral health organizations, has promoted Directors Tiffany Fuller, Wayne Regan, and Kimberly Skehan to Managing Directors and Nicole Hawthorne to Director.

All four exemplify innovative and effective leadership qualities SimiTree relies on to direct clients through market challenges and add value to the client experience, according to William Simione, SimiTree CEO and Managing Principal.

"Wayne has more than 20 years of interim management experience in home care, hospice, palliative, and long-term care, while Kim has extensive experience in home health, and hospice clinical operations, regulatory compliance, risk management, and survey readiness," Simione said. "Tiffany has more than a decade of Coding & OASIS management experience in the home health and hospice industry, and Nicole has more than 20 years of experience in the delivery of quality care, patient satisfaction, levels of care transitions, and dealing with the regulatory and reimbursement challenges of the industry."

During his seven-year tenure with SimiTree, Regan more than tripled the Interim Management department's revenue. He has more than 20 years of progressive leadership and consulting experience in home care, hospice, palliative, and long-term care, and more than a decade of experience in sales and marketing of healthcare products and services. Most recently, he served as Senior Vice President of MetroWest HomeCare & Hospice, Tenet Healthcare, where he led regional operational efforts for post-acute services. He also was a principal with Homecare & Hospice Solutions, an independent consulting firm in post-acute services focusing on strategic planning, business development, feasibility studies, interim management, and turnaround operations. An active collaborator in post-acute care services and advocacy, Regan previously served as President of the Board for the Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts, and previously served as a member of the regulatory committee of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. Regan earned a B.S. in pharmacy from Ohio Northern University, Ada, Ohio.

"I am excited to continue the great work SimiTree has been known for and honored to be included in the leadership team as we continue to craft talent solutions for our clients," Regan said.

Fuller has more than 20 years of leadership and management experience, and more than a decade in the home health and hospice industry. In her current role as Director in the SimiTree Coding & OASIS department, she has helped grow the Coding & OASIS department by 14% year over year. Before joining SimiTree, Fuller served as Chief Operating Officer at Home Health Solutions, a nationwide coding and OASIS consulting and outsourcing company. During Fuller's tenure, HHS was named three consecutive years to Inc. 5000, the list of the nation's fastest-growing companies published annually by Inc. magazine. She holds a B.S. in Business Management and home health survey accreditation from the Accreditation Commission for Healthcare. 

"I consider myself privileged to work with a group of people that make our success seem effortless," Fuller said. "I am honored for the recognition and excited for the opportunities to grow with our team as we continue to align business and care."

Skehan, RN, MSN, HCS-D, COS-C, has more than 30 years of clinical, management, and consulting experience in home health and hospice clinical operations, regulatory compliance, risk management, and survey readiness. She oversees SimiTree's work on federal and state government audits, appeals, and survey readiness activities as well as leading overall compliance and regulatory consulting services. Skehan is nationally recognized and highly respected by state, federal, and industry leaders and has served as a liaison to state and federal regulatory agencies and legislators to facilitate collaboration regarding issues affecting the home care and hospice industry. She serves on the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) Regulatory Committee and National Association for Home Care and Hospice (NAHC) Hospice Quality Committee and is a member of the CT Association for Healthcare at Home, where she previously served as VP of Clinical and Regulatory Services. An AHCC-accredited home care coding specialist (HCS-D) and certified OASIS reviewer (COS-C), Skehan earned her B.S. degree in nursing from Southern Connecticut State University, and her M.S. degree in nursing administration from the University of Connecticut (UCONN), where she has also served as adjunct faculty for the School of Nursing.

"This opportunity will allow me to focus on the growth and further development of our Compliance/Regulatory and M & A teams, as well as the expansion and development of collaborative solutions with other SimiTree service lines. I am grateful for this opportunity to continue to support SimiTree in a Senior Leadership role," Skehan said.

Hawthorne, RN, BSN, COS-C, HCS-D, has more than 30 years of healthcare experience, including decades in home health and hospice with a focus on the regulatory and reimbursement challenges of the industry and providing cost-effective and compliant quality services. She has extensive experience in due diligence, operations, ADR/Recovery Audits and appeals, and quality outcome and reimbursement management through OASIS and Coding expertise. Initially, Hawthorne entered the Home Health and Hospice industry as an RN Case Manager and then advanced throughout several large healthcare systems as a Clinical Supervisor, Administrator, Director of Operations and Program Development, Director of Quality and Compliance, and Clinical Consultant.  Nicole earned her bachelor's degree in Nursing from Georgia Baptist College of Nursing, after attending The University of Georgia for Health Promotion. She is a member of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice and holds certifications for Clinical OASIS Specialist and Homecare Coding Specialist-Diagnosis.

"I'm excited to join this extraordinary group of leaders and continue partnering with our clients to assess new opportunities and achieve success," Hawthorne said.

SimiTree was created by the merger of Simione Healthcare Consultants and BlackTree Healthcare Consulting in 2021. In 2022, SimiTree further expanded its RCM capabilities with its Imark Billing acquisition, and its behavioral health footprint with a strategic alignment with Infinity Behavioral Health Services, now known as Infinity, a SimiTree company. Two additional companies were acquired earlier this month, when SimiTree announced the acquisition of Afia Health, a company offering behavioral health data analytics, and GreenpointMed, a medical billing and credentialing company.   

In addition to clinical, financial, and operational consulting, SimiTree offers a robust suite of outsourced services, including billing, coding, OASIS, Review Choice Demonstration (RCD) and Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement (QAPI), and revenue cycle management; executive placement, interim management, retention consulting and other talent solutions; mergers and acquisitions support; compliance assessments and risk mitigation plans; sales and growth training; and benchmarking and data analytics. For more information, visit www.SimiTreeHC.com.

Media contact: Lynn Eastep, Vice President, Marketing, SimiTree, [email protected]

SOURCE SimiTree