2013 Speakers

Paul Bergantino is the CEO of Numotion, the largest complex rehab equipment (CRT) provider in the country. In his 25 years in the industry, Paul has been part of tremendous organizational growth, beginning with a small startup that has evolved into a company with more than 2,000 employees serving 100,000 customers per year. In 1990, Paul founded Connecticut Rehab, Inc., which was acquired by ATG Rehab in 1999. At ATG, Paul was promoted from president of CT operations to Eastern US president to president of ATG, and, in 2011, to CEO. Through a combination of organic growth, consolidation and acquisitions, Paul led ATG through a period of rapid growth. In 2013, ATG merged with United Seating & Mobility, becoming Numotion, with Paul as its CEO. Paul is a leader in the CRT industry, serving as a member of the NCART executive committee and numerous advisory boards. He is also the past president of NEMED. Paul lives in Connecticut with his wife and 2 children.

Don Davis is president of Duckridge Advisors, a full-service merger and acquisition advisory firm for the HME industry. Duckridge Advisors specializes in the home medical equipment industry, designing unique and targeted strategies to achieve maximum returns for each client. Don has more than two decades of M&A experience, raising nearly $1 billion dollars for companies over his career and completing acquisitions totaling $350 million on four continents. He has served as the CFO of a billion dollar multinational firm, as well as successful HME-based startups. Don is a graduate of Duquesne University and a certified public accountant.

Nathan Feltman joined Home Health Depot (HHD) in 2010 as co-owner and president. He has successfully led the company through multiple acquisitions, helping HHD become one of the largest home medical equipment companies in the Midwest. Prior to joining the company, Nate served in numerous leadership roles throughout Indiana, Illinois and internationally. From 2006-2008, Nate served as Secretary of Commerce for the State of Indiana and CEO of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC). As Secretary of Commerce, Nate served as a member of Governor Daniels' cabinet and led Indiana's economic development efforts. From 2005-2006, he served as executive vice president and general counsel to the IEDC. From 2005-2008, Nate helped reinvigorate Indiana's international outreach efforts leading trade and investment delegations to France, Germany, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan and the U.K. Nate has been a partner with the law firms Faegre Baker Daniels and Ice Miller in Indianapolis, and Altheimer & Gray in Chicago, where his legal practice focused on mergers and acquisitions and cross-border transactions, public-private partnerships and economic development representations. Before his U.S. legal experience, Nate spent nearly four years in Moscow, Russia, with the international law firms Baker & McKenzie and Steptoe & Johnson, where he represented multi-national companies seeking to do business in Russia.

Rick Glass is president of Steven Richards & Associates, Inc. and has negotiated the sale of more than 200 HME/respiratory businesses since 1994. He has extensive experience in developing strategic growth plans, and implementing systems and controls to increase operating profits. Previously, Rick served as a senior manager with Arthur Andersen for seven years, providing financial services to a wide variety of businesses. He has a comprehensive knowledge of business acquisitions and divestitures and their tax consequences. Rick holds a Bachelor of Science from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He's also a certified public accountant and member of AICPA and FICPA.

Chris Kinard is the HME legal and regulatory market analyst for QS1, an industry leading HME business management software company. Prior to QS1, Chris served as operations director of an independent, pharmacy-based HME business and has more than 17 years experience in the HME industry.

Geoffrey Kearney is founder and CEO of Praedx, a leading provider of cloud-based business analytics to the healthcare sector and elsewhere. Geoff has served as CEO, COO, CFO and director of both technology and non-technology companies, and is adept at formulating and implementing the strategic planning and corporate performance measurement processes for both large multinationals, as well as startup organizations. He has a strong operational, financial management and investment banking background, including many years of exposure to the healthcare provider market, where he recently served as CEO of a technology company serving the DME market and, prior to that, as CEO of a medical device company supplying customized respiratory products to sleep specialists both nationally and globally. He has a bachelor's degree and an honors degree in finance and is a chartered accountant.

Miriam Lieber is an independent consultant and trainer specializing in operations management for homecare providers. Her extensive experience with Medicare and other third-party payers has brought her national recognition in the homecare industry. With more than 20 years in the homecare field, Miriam is a featured author of many articles in the areas of operations and accounts receivable management, regulations and compliance. Additionally, she is a nationally known speaker for many homecare trade associations. In her consulting practice, Ms. Lieber's clientele includes home healthcare companies, pharmacies, manufacturers, Medicare and other third-party payers, investment firms and hospitals. She has worked with more than 400 homecare providers. Lieber is known to have practical approaches to complex operational matters and assists her clients with the nuts and bolts of running a profitable business.

Terry Luft is the president and founder of Central Medical Equipment, an HME provider based in Harrisburg, Pa., with satellite offices and showrooms in Pittsburgh, Lancaster, York and Lebanon. He is also the CEO of Dynamic Healthcare Services (DHS), the parent company of Central Medical Equipment and East Suburban Medical Supply, which were incorporated in 1981. DHS is a portfolio company of GMH Ventures LLC, a private equity group. In 2012, DHS acquired HomeTown Oxygen and Evanko Respiratory, both regional providers of HME in the Pennsylvania market. So far in 2013, DHS has acquired the operating assets of APO2 of Hazelton, Pa. DHS has increased its staff to more than 100 employees with these acquisitions.

Timothy McBride is currently a professor in the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. Prior to joining the Brown School in August 2008, he spent five years in the Department of Health Management and Policy and served as Division Head of Health Policy at the School of Public Health, Saint Louis University. Dr. McBride spent 12 years at the University of Missouri-St. Louis as an associate professor in the Departments of Economics and Public Policy, and spent four years at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C. from 1987-1991. Dr. McBride, who received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Wisconsin, focuses his research in the areas of health economics, health policy, and aging. In particular, most of his research focuses on Medicare policy, health reform, the uninsured and insurance markets, rural health, Medicaid and long-term care. McBride is co-author or editor of two books, several book chapters, and several dozen journal articles in these subject areas. Dr. McBride served as the first associate dean for public health at Washington University, responsible for all phases of the development of the new Master of Public Health Program (MPH) from 2009 to 2012. The program received accreditation from the Council on Education in Public Health (CEPH), a process led by Dr. McBride. Dr. McBride is serving on many national, state and local committees that recognize his contributions to health policy and economics. For example, he serves on the Methods Council for Academy Health, and the Advisory Board for the American Society of Health Economists (ASHE). McBride is currently serving as a member on the nationally-recognized Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI) Rural Health Panel, which provides advice and briefings on rural health issues to the U.S. Congress and other policymakers. Dr. McBride is currently serving as the chair of the MOHealthNet Oversight committee for Missouri (providing oversight and advice on Medicaid).

Anna McDevitt is a marketing consultant and graphic designer specializing in home medical marketing. Her company, Laboratory Marketing, offers effective marketing solutions to HME providers through education, strategy and design services. She strongly believes that every provider can create successful marketing by finding the right combination of strategies and materials to answer the marketing objectives of their business. Anna started her marketing career in advertising agencies, working with clients from a variety of industries (including automotive, food and beverage, health care, higher education, financial, real estate and more) before choosing to focus on the home medical industry. She has a B.A. in visual communication design from Kent State University.

Justin Racine serves as marketing manager of Care Resources in East Providence, Rhode Island. Care Resources offers medical supplies, home infusion therapy and home care services through multiple brick-and-mortar locations in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. As marketing manager, Justin is overseeing the company's e-commerce website initiative that is designed to diversify the current product mix and expand patient care. Prior to Care Resources, Justin served as a category manager for Invacare Supply Group, working with 40-plus e-commerce accounts/HME providers to help build their marketing, pricing and business strategy for online sales. Justin has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in marketing communications/advertising from Western New England University in Springfield, Massachusetts. In his volunteer time, he also contributes articles to Wheel:Life, a social media program that supports and educates wheelchair users worldwide.

Louis Rocco Joined Landauer Metropolitan in 1999 and has been its president and CEO since 2003. Prior to joining Landauer, Lou was president of Metropolitan Home Care, Inc., a company he started and successfully grew to become the largest privately held home medical equipment provider in the Tri-State area. In 1999, Landauer acquired Metropolitan Home Care and, shortly thereafter, the two businesses were merged to form Landauer Metroploitan, Inc. Lou has a Bachelor of Science Degree from Long Island University and is a registered respiratory therapist. The LMI management team is very experienced with new acquisition transitions. This skill set has been tested time and again over the past five years. Under Lou's watch the company has completed 14 acquisitions, timely integrating each acquisition group into LMI's clinical, operational, IT and financial framework.

Mike Sperduti is the CEO of Emerge Sales. He is an authority in business psychology and performance in the healthcare industry. He teaches business and communication strategies and techniques that produce immediate and lasting results. Mike is the creator of the HME industry's 7 Step Sales Training Certification Program and SalesGen, a way to get sales representatives appointments that generate new referrals and revenue. Sperduti's client list includes VGM, HME News, HME News Business Summit, MED Group, Medtrade, GE Healthcare, Covidien, McKesson and hundreds of HME providers. Through his live and webinar events, Sperduti has trained more than 1,000 companies and 10,000 service and sales representatives.

John M. Sphon, CEO of MedCare Equipment Company, LLC, has more than 25 years of experience in healthcare operations and business development in the western Pennsylvania market. Since the mid-1980s, he has led MedCare Equipment Company, a large multi-million dollar home medical equipment and respiratory company, on a progressive growth strategy that has resulted in a partnership with eight area health systems (30 hospitals) serving western Pennsylvania, portions of central Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, northern West Virginia, and southern New York. Before devoting his energies full time to the chief executive office of MedCare, Sphon also served as vice president, Ambulatory and Ancillary Services for Excela Health, southwestern Pennsylvania's third largest healthcare provider of which MedCare is a part. A graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania with degrees in journalism and sports science, Sphon is a longtime board member of Economic Growth Connection. An accomplished athlete, Sphon has mentored young people as a swimming coach and advisor, helping them to recognize their potential and to reach for their goals. He has produced numerous high school state champions, collegiate All-Americans and Olympic Trial competitors.

Gregg Timmons brings more than 25 years of successful general management experience across numerous high-tech software companies spanning F500 corporations and startups. He has served as president & CEO of MedAct Software since 2009. His experience includes application software, Internet markets and data security. He serves on the board of directors at MedAct Software and Providence International. Gregg holds a BBA in accounting from the University of Texas, San Antonio.

Lynn Stephens Watson is the director of care management and social services for St. Clair Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Lynn is responsible for the care management and care coordination for the hospital. During this past year, she has co-lead a team that is responsible for the reduction of readmission and improved continuity of care during transitions from the acute care setting. Prior to joining St. Clair Hospital she was the manager of case management at The Washington Hospital. While at Washington Hospital, she was part of the management team that successfully initiated the Clinical Documentation Initiative, which improved the case mix index for the hospital. She also participated in the development of patient care coordinators and patient center rounding. Lynn received her Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from Pennsylvania State University and her Master of Business Administration degree from Waynesburg College.

Lisa Wells is a veteran of online marketing and e-commerce, with nearly 20 years of experience in public relations, marketing communications and web-based product management at medical device, medical supply and health technology companies. As the president of Get Social Consulting, she has advised on the development of numerous online marketing programs and strategic marketing plans for HME providers worldwide. Her book, "Get Social: How to Use Social Media for Healthcare Marketing," can be purchased on Amazon.com.