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Advisory Team
Sleep Center Management Institute's Advisory Team has over 250 years of combined professional experience.

SCMI offers a full menu of sleep service consulting services.  Each service project is fully customized per the specific client's needs. 

Advisory Services are billed by the quarter hour otherwise arranged. Consultation is available by phone, email or Skype. Phone and Skype consultations are billed on actual time. Email consultations are billed on total time spent to research and answer submitted questions. 

Contact the SCMI office for more information and/or to request a customized service proposal at 
1-888-556-2203.


Meet the SCMI Advisory Team:





Michael B. Breus, PhD, D-ABSM

Dr. Breus is a Diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine. He is board-certified in both clinical psychology and clinical sleep disorders. Dr. Breus is the "Sleep Expert" for WebMD, answering questions daily on the sleep disorders message board. He also contributes features on a variety of sleep issues and leads live online discussions with WebMD users. He is on the faculty of the Atlanta School of Sleep Medicine, has taught several CME courses on sleep disorders, has provided editorial services for many medical and psychology peer-reviewed journals, and has given more than 200 presentations to professionals and the public. Dr. Breus is the Chairman of the Clinical Advisory Board for National Sleep Centers, where he is responsible for guiding the innovative and unique mission of building a global sleep diagnostic center network. . He is a bestselling author and  the co-founder of Sleep Center Management Institute.



Duane M. Johnson, PhD

Dr. Johnson is one of America's most respected practice management consultants and a member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. He has a Ph.D. in Psychology, has been in practice management Advisory Service for over thirty years, and he is often referred to as the "Doctor's Doctor." Dr. Johnson is a member of the National Speakers Association and has spoken to medical, dental and other healthcare groups in all fifty states, Canada, Europe and Australia. He has written extensively in books and articles, being most widely known for his practice management columns syndicated by International Medical News Group publications for over two decades, circulated to over a quarter million doctors. His video- and audio-tapes have also been utilized nationwide, and he has consulted with thousands of physicians over his professional career. Finally, Dr. Johnson is the author of several of our reference manuals and is a senior partner and co-founder of SCMI.



James C. O'Brien, MD, FCCP, Diplomate-ABSM

Dr. O'Brien is a medical physician who has been in private practice for 27 years.  He first became involved in sleep medicine over twenty years ago when he began to notice that many of his patients, who were not responding to standard medical treatments, actually harbored undiagnosed sleep disorders.  Not surprisingly, many of these patients when tested and treated for sleep disorders, improved dramatically and experienced greater than anticipated clinical results.  These early and remarkable patient experiences shifted his medical focus towards sleep disorders and achieving healthy sleep.

During his medical career, Dr. O'Brien has worked as a primary care physician, pulmonologist and sleep physician and has lectured innumerable times to healthcare professionals in the United States and abroad about sleep disorders.  Additionally, he has appeared on many television and radio programs addressing the need for healthy sleep and the early detection and treatment of sleep disorders.

Dr. O'Brien received his medical degree from New York Medical College in 1975.  He completed his Internal Medicine, Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine training in the Boston area where he resides.  Dr. O'Brien is currently board certified in Internal Medicine, Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine.  He is a co-founder and the President of TalkAboutSleep.COM, a patient education website designed for those diagnosed and treated for sleep disorders and sleep professionals.




Jamison R. Spencer, DMD, MS, D-ABDSM

Dr. Jamison Spencer’s Boise and Denver based dental practices are completely limited to the treatment of sleep disordered breathing and craniofacial pain disorders.  Dr. Spencer is a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine and a Diplomate of the American Board of Craniofacial Pain.  Dr. Spencer currently serves as the President-Elect of the American Academy of Craniofacial Pain.  Dr. Spencer has treated nearly 1,000 patients who have been intolerant to CPAP with oral appliances over the past 10 years.  He acts as the dental advisor to several accredited sleep labs in the Boise area and lectures on the topics of dental sleep medicine and craniofacial pain around the world.


Scott Leibowitz, MD, D-ABSM

Scott Leibowitz, M.D. is a Board Certified Practicing Internist as well as being a Diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine. A graduate of Brandeis University and the Medical College of Georgia. Dr. Leibowitz completed his Internal Medicine training at the University of Colorado’s Health Sciences Center. Prior to his Fellowship at Stanford, he studied sleep medicine while working with the Sleep Disorders Center of Southeastern Lung Care in Atlanta, Georgia. Recognizing the broad impact and importance of sleep disorders on public health, Dr. Leibowitz is dedicated to raising the awareness of sleep disorders to both the public and the healthcare community.



Thomas DeMarini, MD, FCCP, MBA

Dr. DeMarini is the CEO and founder of a six-physician pulmonary practice with three sleep labs and three pulmonary offices and over 65 employees, which serves seven hospitals. He did most of his medical training in the Greater Chicago area at Northwestern University Medical School and Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine degrees at Loyola University. Dr. DeMarini is board certified in Internal Medicine and Pulmonary Disease and has completed a Sleep Medicine fellowship. He has an MBA for physicians from Kennesaw State University in Georgia. Dr. DeMarini advises sleep centers and other medical practices throughout the U.S. with emphasis on the entrepreneurial aspects of developing a more profitable sleep center and medical practice.

Dr. DeMarini is the CEO and founder of a six-physician pulmonary practice with three sleep labs and three pulmonary offices and over 65 employees, which serves seven hospitals. He did most of his medical training in the Greater Chicago area at Northwestern University Medical School and Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine degrees at Loyola University. Dr. DeMarini is board certified in Internal Medicine and Pulmonary Disease and has completed a Sleep Medicine fellowship. He has an MBA for physicians from Kennesaw State University in Georgia. Dr. DeMarini advises sleep centers and other medical practices throughout the U.S. with emphasis on the entrepreneurial aspects of developing a more profitable sleep center and medical practice.



Daniel B. Brown, JD


Dan is a shareholder in the Atlanta office of an international law firm with offices in the United States and Europe. He is a member of the Firm’s Health Business Group and has extensive experience advising clients on the legal and regulatory issues impacting sleep physician groups, laboratories and independent diagnostic testing facilities. Dan earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee and a B.A. from Vanderbilt University. He is a member of the American Health Lawyers Association and the Health Law Section of the Georgia Bar. Dan has been practicing law for nineteen years. Dan is the co-author of SCMI’s publication Sleep and the Law.



Jayme Matchinski, JD


Jayme Matchinski is a partner with Hinshaw & Culbertson, LLP where she concentrates her practice on health care and corporate law. She handles regulatory compliance, reimbursement, licensure and certification issues affecting health care providers, health care transactions, and the purchase, sale and formation of health care entities. She has also successfully represented health care providers in reimbursement claims against insurance carriers and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Ms. Matchinski works with physicians, as well as not-for-profit and for-profit health care systems in the licensure, certification, legal structure and reimbursement structuring of post-acute venues of care, including sleep disorder centers, rehabilitation hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, long term acute care hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation facilities, nursing homes and assisted living facilities.


Clay Stribling, JD

Mr. Stribling is a practicing attorney with Texas –based Brown and Fortunato, P.C.  He is a member of the Health Law Section of the State Bar of Texas and the American Health Lawyers Association.   Mr. Stribling represents sleep facilities and durable medical equipment companies from the independent to hospital based environment.  He is a frequent author and lecturer throughout the country on issues concerning durable medical equipment suppliers.  Mr. Stribling attended Southern Methodist University's Dedman School of Law where he distinguished himself in negotiations competition, becoming the national champion at the ABA negotiation competition in 1999. He received his J.D. with honors in May 1999.




Kathryn Hansen, BS, REEGT, CPC

Ms. Hansen is the Director of the Sleep Wellness Center for a large hospital in Kentucky. She is known for her extensive experience in sleep society leadership, accreditation, and sleep grants/research. Ms. Hansen speaks extensively, providing over 150 sleep related presentations to business, industry, and professional organizations annually. She speaks to medical staff, civic groups, professional organizations, an businesses abut the detrimental effects of sleep deprivation as it impact on the financial bottom line and employee performance. Kathryn serves on numerous multidisciplinary healthcare committees, and is an expert in preparing sleep labs for Joint Commission surveys an accreditation site visits. She is the Executive Director and past president of the Kentucky Sleep Society. Ms. Hansen holds a degree in Biological Sciences form the University of Kentucky, and studied in the department of Neurology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. She is a Registered Electroneurodiagnostic Technician as well as being a Certified Professional Coder.  Ms. Hansen is a Senior SCMI Advisory Team member with special focus and expertise in sleep lab accreditation and portable monitoring.



Bob Floro, MS, RRT, RCP

 

Bob Floro has a strong background in respiratory care as well as the durable medical equipment industry including previous equity and leadership positions. He most recently served as the Director of the Home Care Accreditation Program at The Joint Commission, and his knowledge of the DME industry has helped position The Joint Commission favorably within the accreditation market segment.  Prior to The Joint Commission, he served as General Manager of American Home Patient, Brentwood, Tennessee, and held equity and leadership positions with Respro Home Care, London, Kentucky.  Mr. Floro began his health care career in Respiratory Care leadership positions at Good Samaritan Hospital (Lexington, KY), Baptist Medical Center (Little Rock, AR), and the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center.. He also managed Cardiopulmonary Services at McDowell Medical Center (Danville, KY), as well as serving as Associate Professor in the College of Allied Health at the University of Kentucky.

Mr. Floro holds a Master of Science in Leadership from the Ken Blanchard College of Business, Grand Canyon University, a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, Eastern Kentucky University and an Associate in Science in Respiratory Care, University of Kentucky.  He is a Registered Respiratory Therapist with the National Board for Respiratory Care and a Licensed Respiratory Care Practitioner in Kentucky. 


Robert Eckerle, BS

Mr. Eckerle has been involved in the Sleep Industry for over 20 yrs. His experience consists of selling and marketing of sleep diagnostic equipment, sleep service consulting and owning sleep centers as well as a sleep DME service. For the past 5 yrs. Mr. Eckerle has been working in the very new and growing area of 'cardiology and sleep', exclusively working with Cardiologists developing, building and managing their Sleep Centers.



Edward Grandi, BA

Edward Grandi is the executive director of the American Sleep Apnea Association. The association is only national nonprofit dedicated to reducing injury, disability and death from sleep apnea and enhancing the lives of those affected by this common disorder.  

 

He is a member of the editorial advisory board for Sleep Review magazine, a member of the American Thoracic Society Patient Advisory Roundtable and sits on the ATS Members in Training and Transition Committee.

 

Prior to joining the ASAA, Mr. Grandi served as the development director for two other non-profit organizations. Before entering the non-profit sector he worked for 25 years as an insurance executive, specializing in insurance and risk management for non-profits.  Mr. Grandi holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Johns College in Annapolis, Maryland, the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter designation from the American Institute of CPCU, and the Associate in Risk Management designation from the Insurance Institute of America.




Susan Keller-Yenney, RPSGT

Ms. Keller is the founder of Sky Consulting.  As the former Director of Wellstar Sleep Disorders Services, a position she held for tenyears. In a Director capacity she was responsible for the direction and management of an AASM accredited 12 bed sleep center and 2 bed satellite facility, including budget maintenance, staff scheduling, policy and procedure revision, and community education. Ms. Keller is a member of the faculty of the Atlanta School of Sleep Medicine and Technology where she focuses on the training of technicians and physicians in sleep disorder diagnostic procedures. She is a member of the Association of Polysomnograpic Technologists, a Board member of the Georgia Association of Sleep Professionals and the Communications Team Chair for Wellstar Health System.  As a member of the SCMI Advisory Team Ms. Keller-Yenney specializes in sleep lab start-up, sleep study scoring and pediatric sleep services.

Kent A. Savage, BA, REEG/EPT, CNIM, RNCST

Kent Savage of SCMI's Advisory Team specializes in sleep database management and software applications. Since commencing his career in 1984, Kent has worked toward a personal goal to develop and accurate and efficient data management tool to enhance and to document clinical care, quality improvement, accreditation and financial success. He has developed numerous database applications over the past 22 years, many of which remain in use today. Saint Joseph Healthcare in Lexington, KY, Sleep Wellness, Neurodiagnostic and Epilepsy Centers where he is a manager, use his most current database application that is in its fifth version.

Previously Kent developed and managed the Clinical Neurophysiology laboratories at two North Carolina hospitals including polysomnography services and worked within the private practice setting as a clinician and practice administrator in Florida. He has significant experience in CPT/HCPCS coding, billing and collections. Mr. Savage serves as an educator in clinical neuroscience for both sleep and electroneurodiagnostic professional in the areas of anatomy, physiology, equipment technology and preparation for board certification. He has served as an examiner for the American Association of Electrodiagnostic Technology. Electrodiagnostic Technology (AAET) and the American Society of Electroneurodiagnostic Technologists (ASET).

Kristine B. Mensching, MBA

Kristine is Sleep Center Management Institute's Business Services consultant. She has eighteen years of marketing, management and business development experience with the last nine years dedicated to specializing in healthcare professional service marketing and development. A business development and marketing specialist, Kristine has been instrumental in the initiation and growth of numerous companies over the past two decades. She earned her MBA from Memphis State University and BS from The Florida State University.  Kristine also coordinates SCMI's professional, educational and adminstrative services.



Tracy Nasca

Tracy Nasce is a co-founder and the Senior Vice President of Talk About Sleep, Inc., a web-based company providing quality information, support and resources to sleep disorder patients, their family, friends and healthcare professionals.  Diagnosed in 1989 with profoundly sever mixed apnea and RLS, she was a CPAP failure and told by her doctos to get compliant or prepare to die.  Tracy changed her attitude, fought through the difficulties and reached compliance with bilevel.  The positive changes encouraged her to self educateon sleep apnea and other sleep disorders.  The more she learned, the more alarming it became that there was so little support for struggling sleep disorder patients.  Tracy's life is dedicated to helping others accept their diagnosis and ontain theraputic compliance and this she is a true expert in sleep patient education.

Steve Vinci, RRT

Steve Vinci, RRT, has 30 years experience in respiratory care and sleep DME services. He provides leadership to a $15M operation and has personally managed 11 successful Joint Commission accreditations. Steve serves on the board of the California Association of Medical Product Suppliers (CAMPS), a statewide advocate for home care. Steve was also appointed to the Home Care PTAC with the Joint Commission and has served for five years, including as its chair.

Mitch Naylor

Mitch Naylor, originally from Wyoming, brings 20 years of DME data processing and computer systems experience to the team. This includes the development and operational management of DME information and compliance systems. His success in the analysis, negotiation and competitive bids has helped secure over $50M in contracts.



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