Moderator/Panelist Biographical Information
Moderator:
Bill Pfingsten, FACHE
Vice President, Ambulatory Services
Central Florida Health Alliance
Bill Pfingsten is presently the system Vice President for Ambulatory Services for Central
Florida Health Alliance. This system includes a 326 tertiary care hospital Leesburg,
Regional Medical Center, a 221 bed hospital in The Villages the Villages Regional
Hospital and a 22- inpatient rehabilitation hospital.
Bill Pfingsten joined Central Florida Health Alliance in October 2012 and is responsible
for all outpatient and ambulatory services within the system. This includes the Urgent
Care Centers, Ambulatory Surgery Centers, Employed Physician Practices, Outpatient
Therapy, Wellness Center and Laboratory Services. He is also responsible for leadership
and management oversight for the 22 bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital.
Prior to joining CFHA, Bill was the Chief Operations Officer for a 80+ physician
multispecialty group Bozeman Deaconess Health Group which was the employed
physician practices division of Bozeman Deaconess Health Services. Over a period of 7
years Bozeman Deaconess Health Group grew to zero employed physicians to over 80
employed physicians. Also under his leadership Bozeman Deaconess Health Group was
the first NCQA level 3 Medical Home in the state of Montana. He also served on a
committee with the Montana Insurance Commissioner to work with all commercial
insurances in the state to develop standards for payment of those medical groups that
met Medical Home NCQA standards.
Bill has worked in various senior leadership positions over his 29 year career in
healthcare from Strategic Planning and Business Development, Marketing and
Communications, Chief Operations Officer, and CEO of multispecialty groups.
Bill Pfingsten has been a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives for
over 15 years and has served on the Regent Advisory Council for Montana as well as
other healthcare organization boards (i.e. MGMA and ACHE).
Panelists:
Barbara Meeks, MSN, MBA, RN, CENP
Chief Nurse Executive
Nemours Children’s Hospital, Orlando
Barbara Meeks is the Chief Nurse Executive for Nemours
Children’s Hospital overseeing all nursing services for Nemours
clinical sites in Florida, including major clinics in Orlando,
Jacksonville and Pensacola. She joined Nemours in June, 2010.
Meeks played a critical role in fine tuning the design of the hospital to improve work
flow for staff members and increase efficiency for patient care. These innovations
helped to reduce design and operational costs for the organization.
Meeks also is the executive sponsor for the Family Advisory Council (FAC), a group of
parents, family members and community partners who have been instrumental in
influencing the design and amenities of the hospital to meet the needs of patients and
families. She also arranged for 17 FAC parents to be trained in interviewing techniques,
so that they can screen all top level NCH leaders and physicians towards ensuring
creation of a strong patient and family centered care culture.
With over 30 years of experience in the health care industry, Meeks is a recognized
leader in children’s health and family centered care. She maintains an active role in
several professional organizations, including the American Organization of Nurse
Executives, the Society of Pediatric Nurses and the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor
Society for Nursing, to name a few.
Before joining Nemours, Meeks served as Vice President of Pediatric Patient Care
Services at the Medical College of Georgia Children’s Medical Center in Augusta,
Georgia. Under her leadership, the facility was consistently recognized by a health care
survey organization as a top national performer in patient satisfaction.
Meeks has an MBA from the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business and a
Master of Science in Nursing from Indiana University. She is nationally certified in
Executive Nursing Practice. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Ronald
McDonald House Charities of Central Florida and has been a member of the Health
Leadership Council at the Osceola Council on Aging since 2011.
Jonathan Ware, MD
Medical Director of Population Health Management
Orlando Health Physicians Group
Jonathan S Ware, MD is Board Certified in Family Medicine and Board Eligible for Clinical
Informatics. He did a preliminary year of Residency in Internal Medicine in 1998 at
Mount Sinai in NYC and then completed a Family Medicine Residency at a Temple
University program in Allentown, Pennsylvania where he also served as Chief Resident.
In addition, he was a Medical Director of EMS in North East Pennsylvania.
Dr. Ware was in a traditional solo private practice in South Florida from 2002-2004. He
then moved to a split solo Hospitalist and part time private outpatient provider until late
2009. During this time, he served as Medical Director for a large urgent care company.
Also during this time, Dr. Ware opened and served as Chairman and CEO of a large
telecommunications company with six subsidiaries; one being international
telemedicine. He served as a Medical and Technical Advisor to President Leonel
Fernandez of the Dominican Republic from 2004-2008.
Dr. Ware was a Clinical Professor of Medicine in Family Medicine for The University of
Miami-Miller School of Medicine, Nova Southeastern University School of Medicine,
Ross School of Medicine and Miami Dade College (PA's). Dr. Ware practiced as a Family
Physician at Community Health Centers, Inc. in Orange and Lake Counties from late
2009 to late 2012. He was the Associate Medical Director and Director of Clinical
Informatics during his time there. He then joined Orlando Health as an Academic
Hospitalist.
Currently, he serves as Medical Director of Population Health Management for Orlando
Health and practices as a Hospitalist part time. He joined ACHE in 2008.
Bernardo Ramirez, M.D., M.B.A.
Associate Professor, University of Central Florida
College of Health and Public Affairs
Bernardo Ramirez, M.D., M.B.A. is the Director of the Executive Master in Science in
Health Services Administration Program (e-MSHSA) and of Global Health Initiatives of
the Department of Health Management and Informatics at the University of Central
Florida, where he teaches the US Health System, International Health Systems, Issues
and Trends in the Health Professions, Health Informatics Applications; Quality
Improvement, Managerial Epidemiology and Strategic Planning in the graduate and
undergraduate programs. . He is actively engaged in the promotion of minority health,
diversity and cultural competency.
Dr. Ramirez is an experienced health services Administrator in public and private
organizations and his experience includes clinical practice and administrative experience
from the hospital departmental level to health systems reform, planning and policy. He
has provided technical assistance, developed research and conducted training under the
auspices of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Pan American Health
Organization, The World Health Organization, The International Hospital Federation, The
World Bank, The Inter-American Development Bank and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation
for 35 years in more than 60 countries in 5 continents. Among other positions, he has
been General Director of Health Standards of the Ministry of Health of Mexico;
President of the Mexican Hospital Association; Vice-President and Director of
International Programs and currently a Member of the Board of Directors of the
Association of University Programs in Health Administration-AUPHA.
Dr. Ramirez is the author of numerous publications, training materials and presenter in
many national and international forums. He has served as a Rotarian, in the board of the
Celebration Foundation, and currently on the boards of Shares International Florida
Hospital Foundation and proudly our very own ACHE of Central Florida board.