PointByPoint

This is the latest episode in our Women in Healthcare series for PointByPoint. Ashley Johnson is the Chief Development and Integration Officer of QualDerm, a physician practice management company specializing in the dermatology space. 

Ashley has a decade of experience in healthcare revenue cycle and hospital and physician practice operations and most recently served as Chief Operating Officer of Saline Memorial Hospital in Benton, Arkansas. She led many business development initiatives as a hospital COO, and as a woman leading the way for a PE-backed healthcare services company.

On this episode, we take a closer look at Patient Safety Organizations, or PSOs. We look at their benefits for healthcare providers, the formation process and any compliance questions related to PSO formation.
Andrea Timashenka is PSO division director for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Molly Huffman is a partner in Waller's healthcare compliance and operations group. And she has formed numerous component patient safety organizations for large healthcare entities and works with hospital association-based PSOs and various healthcare providers participant in commercial PSOs as well.

Rural facilities were struggling even before COVID-19 – and while federal funds provided a brief reprieve – big questions still loom about the future of rural healthcare. John Tishler, chair of Waller's healthcare restructuring group, and Rex Burgdorfer, managing director at Juniper Advisory, discuss how decisions made in the next few months could critically impact healthcare availability in rural communities across the United States.

Waller partners Bo Campbell and Chris Dunn discuss the pandemic's impact on the real estate industry with one of Nashville’s most prominent developers, Tony Giarratana. Which sectors were hit hardest? Which are poised for the quickest recovery? Hear what’s next from three heavy hitters in Nashville real estate development. 

Late last year, HHS further signaled the shift to a value-based care model with the first major overhaul of both the Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute since they were introduced three decades ago. In this episode, Patsy Powers - the co-leader of Waller's healthcare industry team - gives an overview of the changes and what they mean for healthcare providers. 

2020 was already expected to be a challenging year for the retail industry and the worldwide pandemic only intensified the underlying troubles. Heading into the year, one estimate projected that 12,000 major chain stores would close in 2020. Today, a number of high-profile brands are in bankruptcy and tenants and landlords alike are struggling to recover from COVID-19 related closures. On this episode, Waller's Steve Kirkham and Mark Taylor are joined by Tracy Pelham, counsel at Genesco, to discuss the retail industry's woes and what options exist for retailers, landlords and lenders moving forward.

Waller's Denise Burke talks with Dr. Elizabeth Cherot, Chief Medical Officer with Axia Women's Health, a fast-growing healthcare company operating more than 150 women’s health care centers and 400 women’s health providers.
Dr. Cherot is an established and highly skilled physician with more than 20 years of experience in obstetrics and gynecology. 
In addition, she also completed the Executive MBA at Johns Hopkins University Carey School of Business in 2016. She has spearheaded several projects, resulting in promoting best practices and implementing progressive change in an OB/GYN practice.
Dr. Cherot completed undergraduate studies at Johns Hopkins University. She received her medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry and completed her residency training in OB/GYN at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in New York.

In this episode, Waller's Drew Warth is joined by Brittany K. Barnett, co-founder and director of the Buried Alive project, an organization that has gained freedom for dozens of men and women serving life sentences under federal drug laws.

Barnett is an attorney and entrepreneur focused on social impact investing. She has dedicated her career to transforming the criminal justice system and has won freedom for numerous people serving lengthy sentences for federal drug offenses –  including seven clients who received executive clemency from President Barack Obama.

Her memoir, A Knock at Midnight, was published by The Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, on September 8, 2020.

Drew and Brittany worked together on the Chris Young case, which involved a Clarksville, Tennessee man who was facing a life sentence for a nonviolent drug offense. In this episode, they discuss the case - which garnered national attention - and the importance of pro bono work.

As businesses across the U.S. reopen, employers from nearly every industry have expressed deep concern that they will soon be subject to unwarranted litigation despite investing significant costs and efforts to implement protective measures designed to keep their employees and customers safe. Earlier this year, Tennessee became one of the states that passed COVID-19 liability legislation. In this episode, Nicole Watson, an attorney in the firm's Government Relations group, is joined by Bradley Jackson, president and CEO of the Tennessee Chamber to talk about the effort to make this legislation a reality.