Prior to joining the National Rural Health Association, Brock Slabach was a rural hospital administrator for more than 21 years and served on the board of the NRHA and the regional policy board of the American Hospital Association.

Mr. Slabach serves on the Star Rating Technical Expert Panel (TEP) of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), is a member of the National Quality Forum’s Measures Application Partnership (MAP) Hospital and Rural Health Workgroup, and previously served as a board member of the Accreditation Association for Hospitals and Health Systems (AAHHS), the parent company of Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP).

Mr. Slabach is the 2015 recipient of the Calico Quality Leadership Award of the National Rural Health Resource Center and the 2018 recipient of the Award of Honor of the American Society of Healthcare Pharmacists Board of Directors.

He earned a Master of Public Health degree in Health Administration from the University of Oklahoma and is a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Sallie Poepsel’s practice focuses on rural critical access hospitals and she is an advocate for access to healthcare services in rural and medically underserved areas.

Ms. Poepsel has over 46 years of experience in health care, including clinical, education, research, leadership, and management.

Following completion of a Rural Health Fellowship in 2015, she was appointed in 2016 to serve on the National Advisory Committee for Rural Health and Human Services (NACRHHS).

She is a former Director for Region IV of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) and previously served as a board member of the Accreditation Association for Hospitals and Health Systems (AAHHS), the parent company of Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP). She has been a volunteer anesthesia provider overseas since 2001 through the Medical Missions Foundation Inc.

Ms. Poepsel received her Master of Science in Cardiovascular Nursing from St. Louis University and a PhD in Public Policy and Administration, specializing in Healthcare Services, from Walden University.

Dr. Mark S. DeFrancesco is a Past President and former National Secretary of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and has been in private practice for many years. He is a founder of Women’s Health Connecticut/Physicians for Women’s Health and served as its Chief Medical Officer from 1997 to 2014.

Dr. DeFrancesco served as a Board Member and President of the Board of Directors of Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC). He also served as a Board Member and Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of Accreditation Association for Hospitals and Health Systems (AAHHS), the parent company of Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP).

Dr. DeFrancesco also is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Connecticut Health Center.

Prior to becoming a physician, he had a brief career in banking and served as a Representative in the Connecticut state legislature.

A graduate of Yale University, Dr. DeFrancesco received his medical education at the University of Connecticut. He earned an MBA from the University of New Haven.

Len Holman is a Registered Pharmacist with 46 years of experience in health care, including 41 years working for, managing, owning, advising, and/or operating companies that prepare sterile pharmaceutical products and 35 years in the home infusion arena. His pharmacy career includes experience in retail, hospital, home infusion, and specialty pharmacy.

Additionally, Mr. Holman held an executive business development position with Allina Hospital System in Minneapolis. He founded, owned, and operated Option Care of Northeast Ohio, where he served as President and CEO for 23 years. He also served as Vice President of Governmental & Regulatory Affairs and Chief Compliance Officer for CarePoint Partners.

Mr. Holman has been a member of the National Home Infusion Association since 1991, and served as both a board member and chairman. He is a graduate of the Raabe College of Pharmacy at Ohio Northern University.

John Barrett has more than 40 years of experience that includes a broad background in different industries. He worked in telecommunications, factory automation, and appliance manufacturing. He spent over 25 years in the medical device industry, and has experience in quality assurance, quality systems, and regulatory compliance.

Mr. Barrett is currently a Senior Consultant for Quality Systems Engineering, where he helps clients improve business and quality system processes.

He has multiple certifications from the American Society for Quality and has been an examiner for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. He received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Tennessee and an MBA from East Tennessee State University.

Roy Chew retired as President of Kettering Health Network in southwest Ohio, where he served for 43 years in various positions of administrative responsibility. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Kettering Health Network, as well as the boards of several of its hospitals and foundations.

Mr. Chew has served on the board of the Accreditation Association for Hospitals and Health Systems (AAHHS), the parent company of Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP); Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce; Ohio University Center for Osteopathic Research and Education; American Hospital Association Region 5; Wilmington College; and Kettering College.

He is the recipient of various awards for community service, including the Dayton Area Citizen Legion of Honor Award, Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce Leader of the Year Award, United Way Community Services Award, and Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine Phillips Medal of Public Service.

Mr. Chew earned a BS from the University of Missouri, an MS from the University of Dayton, and his PhD from Stanford University.

Gregory Bentley is Principal of The Bentley Washington Law Firm in Washington, DC. The firm concentrates on corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, antitrust, intellectual property licensing, commercial contracts, employment, credit and loan agreements, corporate governance & Sarbanes-Oxley matters, and SEC ’34 Act filings.

Mr. Bentley also has an extensive background in the medical device and pharmaceutical industries, having been General Counsel of two pharmaceutical companies between 1999 and 2011 and Vice President, Regulatory and Quality for Siemens Medical Systems Inc., a major medical device company, between 1994 and 1999. Between 1977 and 1994, Mr. Bentley practiced corporate and antitrust law at Shearman & Sterling, a major Wall Street law firm, and as Associate General Counsel for Siemens Corporation, the U.S. holding company for Siemens AG, a major multinational corporation.

Mr. Bentley earned a Juris Doctor degree from Columbia Law School, a Master’s in Economics from Tufts University, and a Bachelor’s in Applied Physics from Tufts University.

Mr. Bentley has been a member of the ACHC Board of Commissioners since 2012.

Jennifer Burch is a recognized leader in local, state and national pharmacy organizations. She currently serves as Treasurer for the Pharmacy Compounding Foundation. She is the past Chairman of the Board for both the Alliance of Compounding Pharmacy (ACP) Board of Directors and the North Carolina Retail Merchants Association (NCRMA) Board. She has served as President of the Durham-Orange Pharmacist Association (DOPA) and has served multiple terms on the North Carolina Association of Pharmacists (NCAP) Board of Directors.

Dr. Burch’s focus is on strong patient care. Customized hormone replacement therapy and nutritional supplementation are two of her specialties. She has pursued an interest in diabetes care and is a Certified Diabetes Educator.

Dr, Burch earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Campbell University School of Pharmacy in 1993 after which she worked at the family owned independent pharmacy, Central Pharmacy, in Durham, NC. Central Compounding Center launched in 2003 and in 2006, Central Compounding Center South opened and the compounding businesses were consolidated.

José Domingos is President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC) in Cary, North Carolina. His over 25 years of experience in health care include numerous director level, sales, marketing, and strategy roles in the medical device industry.

Mr. Domingos joined ACHC in 2011 as the Vice President of Marketing and Business Development and assumed the role of CEO of ACHC in 2012. Mr. Domingos also serves on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Specialty Pharmacy.

Prior to joining ACHC, Mr. Domingos served as the Market Segment Director for Becton Dickinson Diagnostics, where he led the Global Marketing team. He also previously served as the Director of Marketing for the Surgical Division of Teleflex Medical, where he led the development, branding, promotion, and product and marketing management strategy for minimally invasive and open surgery products. He has over 20 years of international medical marketing and product management experience, as well as sales and sales management.

He holds an Associate of Engineering and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering Technology from Pennsylvania State University.

Dr. Rich Feifer is chief medical officer at InnovAge, a leading national provider of PACE programs serving frail, duel-eligible seniors by delivering comprehensive patient-centric care that enables them to age independently in their own homes for as long as possible.

Prior to joining InnovAge, he served as chief medical officer at Genesis HealthCare, one of the nation’s largest skilled nursing, rehabilitation, and long-term care providers.  He led medical directors across the organization, and managed a team of over 550 providers who care for Genesis patients. In that capacity, he also served as chief medical officer of the Genesis HealthCare Accountable Care Organization, the only national ACO focused on nursing home patients.

Before Genesis, Dr. Feifer was Aetna’s chief medical officer of National Accounts. He led Clinical Consulting, Strategy, and Analysis, which helped our nation’s largest employers improve the health and productivity of their members.  He also previously served as vice president of Clinical Program Innovation and Evaluation at Medco, where he was responsible for the organization’s portfolio of care enhancement programs.

A graduate of Brown University and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Dr. Feifer is a board-certified internist with experience in population health, primary care, geriatrics, and urgent care medicine at the Fallon Clinic.  He received his MPH in Health Services Management from Columbia University, and is currently an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Connecticut.

Denise M. Leard joined the Amarillo, Texas, law firm Brown & Fortunato, P.C., in 1997 and serves as a contributing member to the firm’s Health Care Group. Ms. Leard represents numerous home/durable medical equipment companies, pharmacies, and other healthcare providers nationwide. She has authored numerous articles and is a frequent lecturer throughout the country. She is licensed in Idaho, Oklahoma, Texas, and Washington, and is board-certified in health law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Ms. Leard earned a BA from the University of Washington and received her law degree from the University of Oklahoma School of Law.

Marshelle Thobaben is a Professor Emeritus at Humboldt State University (HSU) in Arcata, California, and also is a Nursing Consultant. For over 30 years, Professor Thobaben taught community and public health nursing and chaired the HSU Department of Nursing as well as the HSU and CSU academic senates. She has been honored as an HSU Scholar of the Year for her extensive research and publications and received the inaugural HSU Service Award for her outstanding service.

Professor Thobaben has published more than 150 articles in leading nursing journals, written chapters and co-authored textbooks, and presented at numerous national conferences on nursing and social issues. She has been nationally recognized for her work in elder abuse prevention and home health psychiatric nursing.

Professor Thobaben received a BS from the University of Portland and an MSN from California State University, Fresno. She was a Robert Wood Johnson Fellow at the University of Rochester and attended the Institute for Research on Higher Education Executive Program on Managing Higher Education at the University of Pennsylvania.