2026 Speakers
General Session & Concurrent Speakers
KEYNOTE
Tech that Cares: Empathy-Enabled Transformation
Strong technology platforms aren’t enough. Great leadership alone won’t solve it. Even your best contact center software is just a foundation. But when operations, technology and leadership work in sync? That’s when your contact center moves from isolated wins to enterprise-level impact. How do you create this alignment in a healthcare contact center, where complexity is the norm and technology must serve both staff and patients? Ed Marx will share six success factors he discovered while serving as CxO across three best-in-class organizations: Vision & Governance, Intentional Relationships, Scaling Leadership, Shared Performance Objectives, Cross-Pollination, and Business Integration. The thread that connects them all? Technology that cares about the people using it.
Ed Marx
Marx Advisory
Bio
The youngest child of Holocaust survivors, Ed moved to the United States at age 10. At 16, he served as a medical clinic janitor where he discovered his healthcare calling. Ed took successive positions as combat medic, anesthesia tech, strategic planner and technology manager. He quickly learned how the convergence of clinical, business and digital saved lives. His passion ignited, he jumped feet first into technology and operations in the C-Suite of Cleveland Clinic, NYC Health & Hospitals, Texas Health Resources and University Hospitals.
Intermixed, Ed served the supplier side as well. He was CEO for consulting firm Divurgent, global CDO for Tech Mahindra Health & Life Sciences and CIO of the Advisory Board. Concurrently, he served 15 years as an Army combat engineer officer and combat medic. Today, Ed is focused on his own advisory practice.
Ed does a fair amount of speaking, writing and podcasting. He authored healthcare bestsellers including “Voices of Innovation” and “Healthcare Digital Transformation”. He is currently writing a book for Mayo Clinic on “Patient Experience” and “Voices of Innovation – Payers”. His podcast “DGTL Voices” is “Top 3%” globally. His Blog, CEO Unplugged, surpassed 1M views. Ed recently started a YouTube channel to expand his audience.
Most importantly, Ed is husband to Simran who holds a Doctor of Nursing (DNP). They love to dance and climb mountains. They have 5 grown children and 4 grandchildren. To stay fit, he is captain of TeamUSA Triathlon.
For more career information you can find me:
Twitter https://twitter.com/marxtango
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwardmarx/
Website https://www.marxadvisory.com/
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGWmQaZ_rfAUcTqHER4EzmQ
Presentation
The Shift from Workforce Management to Workforce Experience
“Some leaders view Workforce Management (WFM) solely as a scheduling or staffing function, but in a healthcare contact center, an effective WFM strategy actually boosts employee engagement, satisfaction, and performance—not just productivity.
At Maimonides Health, WFM is not viewed as control — but as empowerment. Our employee engagement approach emphasizes employee well-being and flexibility, supporting balance and predictability. It is proactively planned based on employee input, which genuinely enables choice and autonomy.
This session explores how Maimonides actively planned and implemented WFM based on employee input, genuinely enabling choice and autonomy. It covers employee engagement involvement, communication planning, and lessons from implementation — all framed through Maimonides’ real experience.”
Martin Quinn
Director, Maimonides Health
Bio
Martin Quinn serves as the Director of the Appointment Scheduling Contact Center at Maimonides Health, overseeing scheduling for 25 clinical areas, as well as the ED and inpatient discharge outreach initiatives. He champions technology to bridge the gap between patient expectations and healthcare services, facing unique challenges along the way. Martin’s leadership philosophy is built on continuous learning and empowering his team to deliver exceptional patient experiences.
Frances Horner
President, VoC Consulting Group
Bio
Frances Horner, President of VoC Consulting Group, guides organizations in reaching their goals through insightful data analysis and effective customer journey strategies. She has advised healthcare leaders—including Maimonides Health, Mount Sinai Medical Center, University Hospitals, Jefferson Health, and Luminis Health. As a well-respected thought leader, she is dedicated to creating and executing truly exceptional patient experiences.
Presentation
Can You Hear Me Now? Why Patients Shout and How We Can Help Them Feel Heard
Across North America, healthcare leaders are facing a sharp rise in the number of patients who are angry, exasperated, or vocally demanding. This isn’t just a healthcare problem. In fact, it’s a learned behavior reinforced across many industries. Over time, patient have discovered that raising their voices often leads to faster/better results, and the pattern has become deeply ingrained.
At Mount Sinai, leaders recognized early that this challenge wasn’t simply a service issue – it was a behavioral one. Nowhere was this more evident than in the patient scheduling and access departments, where high emotion and high stakes collide daily. Mount Sinai set out to understand what drives patient frustration and how teams could respond in a way that reduces escalation rather than reinforcing it.
Drawing on Mount Sinai’s frontline experience, emerging behavioral research, and practical coaching models, this session reveals how to reframe patient communication as both an art and a science. The case study illustrates how empathy and ownership—not just policy, process, or technology—became Mount Sinai’s most effective tools for de-escalating tension and rebuilding patient trust.
Allison Grabin
AVP, Patient Connection Center, Mount Sinai Medical Center
Bio
Allison Grabin serves as the AVP of the Patient Connection Center at Mount Sinai Medical Center, leading enterprise-wide strategies that enhance patient access, experience, and operational performance. She specializes in blending technology, process improvement, and human-centered design to optimize the patient journey from first contact to care delivery.
Sharon Oatway
President & CEO, VereQuest Inc.
Bio
Sharon Oatway is President + Chief Experience Officer of VereQuest, an organization known for its expertise in improving customer, patient, and employee experiences. For over 20 years, her team has helped organizations enhance service quality, foster empathy, and build high-performing frontline teams recognized for delivering support with genuine compassion.
Presentation
The Frontline Voice: Why the Call Center is the Unsung Hero of your Organization
In today’s competitive healthcare landscape, first impressions are no longer formed in waiting rooms—they begin on the phone. The call center is often the first point of contact for patients, referring physicians, and caregivers, making it a powerful gateway to the patient experience. This session will explore how a high-performing radiology call center drives operational efficiency, strengthens brand trust, and directly impacts patient satisfaction and retention. Attendees will walk away with a fresh perspective on how elevating call center operations can transform the entire care journey.
Rachel Papka
Chief Innovation Officer, SDMI
Bio
Rachel Papka is the Chief Innovation Officer at Steinberg Diagnostic Medical Imaging (SDMI), where she leads technology-driven transformation across 12 imaging centers. With deep expertise in health informatics and operational strategy, she champions initiatives that enhance patient access, streamline communication workflows, and elevate both patient and employee experience. Rachel is known for integrating innovation with empathy, ensuring advanced tools — including AI-enabled solutions — meaningfully improve how patients connect to care. Her work reflects a commitment to creating healthcare experiences that are efficient, human-centered, and future-ready
Presentation
Inspiring Career Growth in the Contact Center
“Effective leadership in healthcare goes beyond managing operations—it requires cultivating the next generation of leaders who will shape the future of patient care. In today’s rapidly changing healthcare landscape, leaders face increasing challenges, from technological innovation to workforce shortages and evolving patient expectations. To thrive, organizations need leaders who are not only skilled in strategy and decision-making but also equipped with emotional intelligence, resilience, and the ability to inspire others.
This session explores the vital responsibility of healthcare leaders to identify, mentor, and develop emerging talent within their teams. By creating a culture of trust, accountability, and continuous learning, leaders empower others to step into roles of greater responsibility and influence. Growing leaders is about more than filling positions—it is about fostering vision, character, and collaboration that ripple throughout an organization.
Attendees will gain insight into practical strategies for building leadership pipelines, including mentorship, coaching, and succession planning. The session emphasizes that when leaders grow leaders, they multiply their impact, ensuring continuity, innovation, and excellence in patient-centered care. Ultimately, developing leaders is not just a professional responsibility—it is a calling that strengthens both healthcare organizations and the communities they serve.”
Darlene McAshan
Executive Director, Grady Health System
Bio
Bio Coming Soon
Presentation
From Career Path to Pay for Performance: Redesigning Growth and Engagement at Penn Medicine.
Before 2022, Penn Medicine’s Patient Engagement Center faced high attrition, disengaged employees, and no formal structure to recognize or reward top performers. Frontline agents were often tasked with training peers, leading to burnout and frustration. To rebuild engagement, the team launched a structured career path and dedicated trainer roles to professionalize onboarding and development. Building on that foundation, Penn Medicine is now sunsetting the career path and introducing a performance-based incentive plan that ties recognition to measurable outcomes. This session will explore the evolution from informal training and limited growth opportunities to a robust system built on accountability, performance, and leadership investment, offering practical lessons on redesigning how healthcare contact centers inspire, reward, and retain their teams.
Chanel Holder
Associate Director of Operations, Penn Medicine
Bio
Chanel Holder, MBA, is the Associate Director of Operations for Penn Medicine’s Patient Engagement Center, overseeing a team of more than 250 employees in a large high volume call center with over 500 employees. With a decade of experience in healthcare operations and leadership development, she has led transformative initiatives including leadership onboarding, peer mentoring, digital transformation, and the rollout of Penn Medicine’s first incentive program for patient access staff. Chanel is also an adjunct professor of business administration, blending academic insight with real-world experience to cultivate engaged teams and performance-driven cultures.
Presentation
Bring Your Human to Work: A Trust-Based Approach to Staffing, Training, and Engagement
In a field where retention strategies often rely on surveillance and micromanagement, I offer a different perspective. At Upstate Connect, our motto is “bring your human to work.” We recognize that personal life doesn’t pause at the door—and we build our culture around that truth. I don’t monitor keystrokes or screen time. I trust professionals to be professionals. Yes, we track productivity, but in meaningful ways: calls in queue, time in ready, disconnect durations, answer speed, and call length. When someone struggles, we start with “why?” and ask, “what do you need?” This isn’t a free-for-all—it’s a workplace built on trust, empathy, and accountability. The result? Zero percent turnover in two years. While that streak may eventually end, it won’t be because of our culture. Even those who’ve left have found success elsewhere, and we celebrate that. We’re growing our client base and keeping our team strong. That’s worth talking about.
Jacqueline Pilon
Manager, SUNY Upstate Medical University
Bio
Jacqueline Pilon has served SUNY Upstate Medical University for 25 years in a variety of roles. She currently manages Upstate Connect, a 25-person call center that functions as both a hospital switchboard and a medical answering service. Her team plays a vital role in patient care coordination and also dispatches medical emergencies across two hospital campuses, ensuring rapid response and continuity in critical situations.
Panel Discussion
Topic TBD
Session description will be posted when available.
Tara Mahoney
Vice President, Healthcare, Genesys
Bio
Tara Mahoney is the Vice President of Healthcare at Genesys. She is passionate about transforming care leveraging operational and technological innovation to meet the needs of patients, members and care teams.
She is recognized as an industry expert in patient access, patient-member experience, care coordination and virtual care. She has worked with Life Sciences, Health Systems and Health Insurance companies globally leveraging engagement technology across the care continuum can change outcomes.
As practice leader, she grew healthcare to be the largest vertical for Avaya in North America and for Genesys Cloud globally. Prior to finding her passion in healthcare, she consulted with large enterprises on technology adoption and was the GM for Avaya’s applications business and GM for Nortel’s contact center business.
TBD
Panel Members
Concurrent Sessions
Presentation
How Virtual Rounding Transforms Healthcare Contact Centers
“This presentation will explore practical strategies for applying leader rounding in a virtual healthcare setting and demonstrate how the same principles scale seamlessly to physical, onsite operations. We’ll focus on its impact on team engagement, communication, and operational efficiency within scheduling teams. In a remote world, leader rounding becomes a deliberate, structured approach where leaders use digital tools to regularly connect with staff—building trust, gathering feedback, and addressing concerns proactively.
By adapting this practice to telework realities and aligning it with organizational priorities such as patient experience, staff satisfaction, and workflow optimization, we show how consistent, intentional virtual interactions can drive measurable improvements. Importantly, these methods are not limited to virtual teams—they translate effectively to onsite environments, reinforcing a culture of connection and accountability across all work settings.”
Cassie Crary
Manager Mayo Clinic
Bio
Cassie Crary is an experienced healthcare leader at Mayo Clinic with more than 19 years of progressive leadership across patient access, clinical operations, laboratory services and pathology, research, and international appointment coordination. As a Manager in the Office of Access Management, she supports multiple scheduling supervisors. She specializes in workflow optimization, scheduling redesign, and cross-functional team development—consistently driving improvements in accuracy, turnaround times, and patient experience. A dedicated mentor and educator, Cassie holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Business Administration and serves with the academic rank of Instructor in Healthcare Administration. She has presented nationally, contributes to enterprise committees, and actively volunteers across the organization.
Missy Bowman
Manager, Mayo Clinic
Bio
Missy Bowman is an accomplished healthcare leader with over 24 years of experience in health care and clinical operations management at Mayo Clinic. As Manager in the Office of Access Management, Missy supports multiple scheduling supervisors and leads initiatives to improve patient access, staff engagement, and operational efficiency. Missy is recognized for her collaborative leadership, change management expertise, and commitment to quality improvement. She has presented nationally and internationally, served on enterprise committees, and contributed to peer-reviewed publications. Missy holds a Bachelor of Science degree and currently completing her Master of Business Administration.
Presentation
Can we Predict the Future? How AI helps fill up your Schedules.
“Improving Patient Access Through Predictive Analytics
Patient access to healthcare services has become increasingly challenging due to a reduction in available providers and resources. One persistent issue we’ve faced is reducing patient no-shows. Despite implementing more frequent calls, texts, and emails, these efforts yielded minimal impact.
This led us to rethink our approach: what if we embraced the likelihood of no-shows instead of fighting it? In collaboration with our Epic analysts, we explored the use of AI-driven predictive analytics to identify patients most likely to miss their appointments. Our pilot focused on screening mammography appointments.
Initially, we set the predictive threshold at 65% but found limited opportunities for double-booking. After adjusting the threshold to 50%, we uncovered more viable slots. Working closely with our technologists, we identified specific timeframes where overbooking could be implemented without overwhelming staff or compromising patient care.
This data-informed strategy has opened new possibilities for optimizing scheduling and improving access, while maintaining operational efficiency.
Judy Mushlitz
Director, St. Luke’s University Health Network
Bio
Judy Mushlitz is the Scheduling Director for a 16-hospital health system in Eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. She has been with the organization 23 years and has assisted with the growth of the organization from what started as a community hospital for nearby steelworkers to a health network that encompasses the oldest school of nursing in the country to the area’s first medical school and soon to open Health Sciences University.
Tara Calixto
Manager, St. Luke’s University Health Network
Bio
Bio coming soon
Judy Mushlitz
Director, St. Luke’s University Health Network
Judy Mushlitz
Director, St. Luke’s University Health Network
Presentation
Breaking Silos with People, Process and Technology: Turning Marketing Insights into Action at the Contact Center
“For years, health systems have struggled to connect marketing intelligence with real-time patient engagement. Franciscan Health, in partnership with Innovaccer, has spent more than three years tackling that challenge head-on. Together, they built and implemented a cloud-based agent desktop powered by a unified Data Activation Platform that brings together insights from the EHR, third-party consumer data, marketing campaigns, and more.
The real innovation wasn’t just aggregating data—it was making it actionable. Learn how Franciscan empowered 60+ engagement center agents with timely, personalized insights to better serve existing patients and connect with prospective ones who hadn’t yet entered the system.
This session will explore the people, process, and technology strategies that bridged the long-standing gap between marketing and operations—driving measurable results including over $25 million in total value, 39,000 additional annualized PCP visits, and improved call performance.
Join us to see how breaking silos can transform both patient experience and organizational outcomes.
Michael Shepherd
Vice President, Marketing and Communications, Franciscan Health
Bio
Jaysa Boyer-Tushaus is Head, Employer Engagement at
Ultimate Medical Academy. She began her tenure at UMA in
2014 and has spent the last nine years focusing on scaling
Employer Partnerships to over 150 national partners
and assisting in the placement of thousands of UMA
graduates into these organizations.
Boyer-Tushaus found her career match in healthcare
education and has dedicated her career to
changing the lives of graduates, filling the talent pipeline
for employer partners, and making a positive impact on the
healthcare community by creating customized solutions to
bridge the gap in healthcare recruiting and workforce development needs.
Boyer-Tushaus holds a Bachelor of Science in integrated
marketing from Maryville University of Saint Louis, where
she graduated Magna Cum Laude, and a Master of Science
in marketing communications with an emphasis in business
marketing and advertising from Webster University.
Mitchell Holdwick
Director, Consumer Transformation, Innovaccer
Bio
Mitch Holdwick is a results-driven marketing professional specializing in healthcare strategy and consumer engagement. In his role at Trinity Health’s Michigan region, Mitch led innovative initiatives that repositioned the marketing function from cost-center to strategic growth engine — including a campaign that accelerated patient conversion timelines and clearly demonstrated ROI.
With a deep understanding of the evolving healthcare consumer and the digital tools needed to reach them, he’s spoken on topics such as precision marketing, omni-channel campaigns and nurturing the consumer journey across systems.
As a speaker, Mitch blends real-world results with actionable take-aways, helping audiences see how marketing can drive both improved patient outcomes and organizational performance.
Presentation
On-Prem to Cloud: Elevating Your Contact Center for the Future
In a rapidly evolving digital landscape, traditional on-premises healthcare contact centers are increasingly challenged to keep up with patient expectations, operational scalability, and modern technology demands. The “On-Prem to Cloud: Elevating Your Contact Center for the Future” session explores how migrating your contact center to the cloud becomes not just a technical upgrade, but a strategic transformation.
Attendees will walk away with a clear understanding of why migrating to a cloud contact center is critical today, how to plan and execute, and what capabilities they can unlock once in the cloud.
Stacy Neill
Director, Digital Optimization & Effectiveness, OSF HealthCare
Bio
Stacy Neill is the director of digital optimization and effectiveness at OSF OnCall. She began her OSF HealthCare career in 2016 in a leadership role as a director of the quality team. Prior to this she served as manager of clinical information systems at BJC HealthCare for 10 years. Stacy is a registered health information administrator and project management professional who has a master’s in health administration and a Bachelor of Science in health information management.
In this role, Stacy oversees the education, digital optimization and business operations team. She is responsible for planning, implementing and managing data strategy, clinical and technical education, customer service and process improvement efforts for OSF OnCall operations. She leads identification of resources, process improvements, software and data analysis to drive efficiency within operations.
Under her leadership, the digital optimization and effectiveness team supports the unified contact center, enhances workflows and technology through data, education, patient satisfaction and optimization. They embed best practices, drive efficiencies and deliver impactful services that create better patient experiences.
Presentation
Unlocking the Power of AI in Healthcare— With Humans Always in the Loop
At Mount Sinai, the rise of Artificial Intelligence is not viewed as a threat, but as a transformational opportunity to elevate care. We are already seeing evidence of AI streamlining routine tasks, improving accuracy, and surfacing insight faster than ever before. But, as we are reminded, technology cannot deliver care on its own. Healthcare is, and always will be, human work.
This presentation shares Mount Sinai’s philosophy and practical approach to AI adoption: a human-in-the-loop model where automation strengthens operational efficiency while preserving empathy, judgment, and human connection. In a human-in-the-loop framework, AI manages the predictable, and people handle the personal — ensuring that digital innovation enhances, rather than replaces, the compassion that defines high-quality care.
Drawing on Mount Sinai’s real-world learning across patient access, scheduling, and support services, this session demonstrates how AI and human oversight can work in harmony to create smarter operations, reduce burnout, support clinical teams, and deliver experiences where patients feel cared for by both humans and technology working together.
Tom Gillette
Chief Information Officer, Mount Sinai Medical Center
Bio
Tom Gillette serves as the Chief Information Officer at Mount Sinai Medical Center and is the winner of the 2025 South Florida ORBIE Award — the region’s premier honor recognizing excellence in executive technology leadership. Gillette’s 25+ years of experience in healthcare technology, including more than two decades at Mount Sinai, have been defined by one guiding principle: using technology to make healthcare more accessible, efficient, and effective for patients. His initiatives have directly improved how patients receive care, from the moment they first contact the hospital through their entire treatment journey.
Presentation
AI-Driven Patient Communications: Nebraska Medicine’s Strategy for Scalable Access
Nebraska Medicine partnered with Actium Health to address rising call volumes, long wait times, and the strain on access center staff. By implementing an AI-powered conversational agent, the organization now automates more than 70% of routine inbound calls—providing patients with immediate, 24/7 access to appointment scheduling and information. This session will share how Nebraska Medicine designed, deployed, and optimized this solution, including workflow design, integration with EHR systems, and change-management strategies for frontline teams. Presenters will walk through measurable outcomes such as significant reductions in call abandonment, faster patient access, and improved staff capacity for handling complex, high-value interactions. Attendees will leave with practical learnings they can apply within their own health system, regardless of size or digital maturity.
Pat Michael
Patient Contact Services Director, Nebraska Medicine
Bio
Pat Michael is the Director of Patient Contact Services at Nebraska Medicine, where he leads three integrated contact center operations supporting more than 2.5 million patient interactions annually. With more than 30 years of experience in healthcare operations, performance management, global call center leadership, and patient access transformation, Pat is widely recognized for building high-performing teams and delivering measurable improvements in patient experience, employee engagement, and operational efficiency. Prior to his healthcare career, he ran numerous contact centers, and served as a Navy Air Traffic Controller in Operation Desert Fox and Operation Restore Hope Somalia. Pat lives in Omaha, Nebraska, is married with a 16-year-old daughter, and is an avid Nebraska sports fan.
Matt Kurtz
Ambulatory Access Manager, Nebraska Medicine
Bio
Matt Kurtz is the Manager of the Ambulatory Contact Center at Nebraska Medicine, where he has led operations for the past eight years. A lifelong Omaha native, he brings over 25 years of prior call center experience to the role, specifically in patient satisfaction research and Medicaid transportation. Before his corporate career, Matt served four years in the U.S. Army. When he isn’t focused on patient access and team leadership, he enjoys life in Omaha with his wife, Sue, and their daughter, Marissa.
Presentation
Applying AI to the Contact Center
We will walk through lessons learned, successes gained, and our path forward applying AI to the patient access center.
Jim Economou
Vice President, Patient Access Contact Center, Endeavor
Bio
For more than 25 years, Jim Economou has led various Revenue Cycle departments including Patient Access Contact Centers, Financial Clearance, and Registration.
Throughout his career, he has spearheaded initiatives to improve health care delivery systems by prioritizing people, processes, and continuous improvement. As a Gold certified healthcare Lean practitioner, Jim practiced exclusively on healthcare continuous improvement for three years. It provided him with a learning framework towards patient satisfaction (personal fulfillment) with employee satisfaction (organizational success).
In his current role as Endeavor Health System Vice President of Patient Access Contact Centers, Jim ensures patients and families can access care in a safe, seamless, and personal manner. Jim is responsible for the strategy, design, and overall operations of the Patient Access Contact Centers across the system and is a strategic partner in developing and optimizing the patient access journey across all access points.
Jake Beyer
CTO, EDCi
Bio
After several years providing stellar engineering support and expertise in the contact center arena, Jake Beyer now focuses on enriching the patient, member and customer experience through the use of technology.
Since 2003, Jake has been focused on all aspects of the contact center, performing roles of principal engineer, database and software architect, consulting and sales. Using the philosophy that contact centers need to be integrated in order to provide the expected consumer experience, Jake and team have nominated and won numerous innovation awards Jake additionally invests a great deal of time networking with contact center leaders to keep abreast of current challenges and trends.
While continuing with past successes, in 2019 Jake started the healthcare vertical at EDCi and now leads one of the top health care focused contact center VARs in the country. Jake focuses on delivering lower costs, increased revenue via patient and agent experience using innovation. And on top of all of this, Jake makes sure that work and fun come together on a regular basis!
Presentation
The A-Z of Deploying AI Voice in Your Multi-Location Call Center: What to Ask Before You Buy
“You’ve seen the demos. The AI voice technology looks impressive. Your leadership is asking questions, but how do you actually evaluate, pilot, and deploy voice AI across multiple call center locations without disrupting operations or wasting budget on the wrong solution?
This session walks through the complete journey of bringing AI voice technology into a healthcare contact center operation, from initial vendor evaluation through pilot launch. I’ll share the real decision-making process: building the business case, getting stakeholder buy-in, selecting the right technology partner, and designing a pilot that actually tests what matters.
You’ll learn the questions vendors hope you won’t ask, the integration requirements your IT team needs to know upfront, and how to structure a pilot that protects your operations while gathering meaningful data. We’ll cover staffing considerations, change management strategies, success metrics that matter beyond call volume, and how to evaluate results honestly.
Whether you’re just starting to explore AI voice solutions or preparing for implementation, you’ll leave with a practical vendor evaluation framework, pilot design checklist, stakeholder communication templates, and implementation roadmap that accounts for the messy realities of multi-location healthcare contact centers in 2026.”
Jeannine Spagna
Vice President of Patient Experience/ Call Center Operations, Clearway Pain Solutions
Bio
Jeannie Spagna brings over two decades of experience in the contact center industry, with a proven ability to create environments where both people and processes thrive. Her career spans multiple sectors, rooted in retail and more recently focused on the healthcare industry.
Known for her collaborative leadership and dedication to continuous improvement, Jeannie excels at building strong, motivated teams and driving operational efficiency. She is passionate about mentoring emerging talent, optimizing workflows, and implementing strategies that enhance productivity while maintaining exceptional service standards.
Throughout her career, Jeannie has been guided by a belief in bringing out the best in others—ensuring every team member feels valued, supported, and empowered to succeed. Her work reflects a commitment to excellence, innovation, and making a positive impact on both employees and the customers they serve.
Kevin Henrikson
Co-Founder, Pretty Good AI
Bio
Kevin Henrikson is the co-founder of Pretty Good AI, a voice-first clinic intelligence platform transforming how healthcare practices operate. A veteran startup builder and engineering leader, Kevin previously led teams at Microsoft and Instacart and co-founded Acompli, acquired by Microsoft and relaunched globally as Outlook for iOS and Android. He now applies that same product and systems mindset to healthcare, helping providers reclaim time, reduce burnout, and deliver frictionless patient access through trusted AI automation.
Presentation
Project EDGE: Transforming Patient Access Through Digital Innovation
Discover how Emory’s Patient Access Contact Center is redefining patient engagement with Project EDGE—a strategic initiative integrating Epic Cheers, Genesys, and AI-powered tools to deliver seamless, personalized care experiences. This session will explore the vision behind Project EDGE, its phased rollout, and the operational and cultural shifts driving success. Learn how technology, process redesign, and workforce enablement converge to improve efficiency, elevate patient satisfaction, and empower staff. We’ll share lessons learned, early wins, and future innovations such as Copilot, auto-summarization, and omnichannel access. Join us to understand how digital transformation can turn a contact center into a strategic hub for patient connection—where empathy meets innovation.
Liz Johnson
Vice President, Patient Access Contact Centers, Emory Healthcare
Bio
Liz Johnson is a seasoned healthcare operations leader, and the Vice President of the Patient Access Contact Center at Emory Healthcare. She oversees a team of more than 600 professionals, driving excellence in patient access and engagement across the system. With a strategic focus on innovation and accountability, Liz is currently leading Project EDGE, a multi-year transformation initiative to integrate Genesys with Epic and deploy Epic Cheers—creating a seamless, personalized experience for patients at every touchpoint.
Before joining Emory, Liz spent over a decade at Northwestern Medicine, where she held progressive leadership roles in Capacity Management, Quality & Training, and Contact Center Operations. Her career is marked by a deep commitment to operational excellence, data-driven performance, and building empowered, patient-centered teams.
Liz is passionate about leveraging technology to enhance healthcare delivery and is recognized for her ability to lead complex change initiatives that improve both patient and employee experiences.
Leslie Land
Director, Patient Access Quality & Training, Emory Healthcare
Bio
Daniel M. Hoke Jr., MPH, is the Corporate Director of Telephony and Digital Technology Solutions for Patient Access at Emory Healthcare. With a robust background in healthcare technology, he drives advancements in telephony and digital solutions, enhancing patient access experiences. Known for his strategic insights and commitment to innovation, Daniel integrates technology that aligns with Emory’s patient-centered approach, streamlining communication pathways and access for better healthcare delivery. His leadership fosters a more efficient, connected, and accessible healthcare environment.
Presentation
Before & After Go-Live: Strategies for Successful Communication Platform Adoption
Implementing new technology in healthcare environments is never just about software; it’s about people, processes, and timing. This session explores real-world lessons from recent contact center software upgrades and onboarding additional hospital locations into standardized communication workflows. Attendees will gain insights into the wins and hurdles encountered during these transitions, including strategies for aligning stakeholders, mitigating risk, and ensuring continuity of critical communication. Join us for practical takeaways on planning, execution, and collaboration that can help your organization succeed in its next technology implementation.
Heather Myers
Senior Enterprise Sales Director, Spok, Inc.
Bio
Heather Myers is Senior Enterprise Sales Director at Spok, Inc., where she partners with healthcare organizations to improve clinical communication and patient outcomes. With over 20 years of experience in healthcare technology, Heather has driven initiatives in secure messaging, workflow optimization, and patient safety. Her career spans positions at leading companies in mobile communications, contact centers, and critical alert systems. She holds a Master of Science in Management from Georgia Tech and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from UNC Chapel Hill.
Scott Spangenberg
Senior Manager of IT Service Management and Paging Services, Emory Healthcare
Bio
Scott Spangenberg is Senior Manager of IT Service Management and Paging Services at Emory Healthcare, where he drives operational efficiency and reliability across critical communication systems. With over a decade in healthcare IT, he specializes in ITIL-based frameworks, incident and problem management, and technology adoption to support patient care. Scott holds ITIL, HDI Support Center Management, and Six Sigma certifications, reflecting his commitment to service excellence. Passionate about bridging technology and patient outcomes, he partners with clinical and administrative teams to deliver solutions that improve access, responsiveness, and reliability in high-stakes environments.
Presentation
From Hello to Handled: AI Agents That Transform Contact Center Performance
“Enterprise health systems like Inova and Intermountain Healthcare are proving that AI Agents can transform patient access by streamlining the most common and most costly call drivers. This session explores how these organizations are using Responsible AI Agents to support appointment scheduling, referral management, provider matching, general inquiries and message routing, all while reducing unnecessary manual work for their contact center teams.
Attendees will see the real successes and challenges behind these implementations, including the operational readiness steps, governance work and training required to make Agentic AI an accelerator rather than a disruption. We will outline the ROAI (Return on AI) use cases that delivered the biggest wins, from lower call abandonment to higher appointment conversions and faster resolution without adding new staff.
This session gives leaders a practical and transparent look at what it takes to deploy AI Agents responsibly across complex contact centers. They will leave with a clear understanding of where Agentic AI fits, what to expect during rollout and how to replicate the measurable results achieved at three nationally respected health systems.”
Israel Krush
CEO & Co-Founder, Hyro
Bio
Israel Krush founded Hyro in 2018 to increase access to care by helping healthcare organizations launch conversational AI. He has since raised over $50 million, building a team of 130 people across New York, California, and Tel Aviv, serving leading health systems. Before Hyro, Israel gained over 15 years of experience in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), managing engineering and product teams. He was Head of Product at Zeekit (acquired by Walmart) and began his career in 8200, the IDF’s elite technology unit. Israel holds an MBA from Cornell University and a B.Sc from Tel Aviv University.
Matthew Kull
Chief Information and Digital Officer, Inova Health
Bio
Matt Kull is the Chief Information and Digital Officer for Inova, overseeing all facets of technology and digital transformation. With more than 25 years of experience, including 15 in healthcare, Matt previously served as Global CIO of Cleveland Clinic, where he led enterprise technology, expanded the system across the US and UK, and launched innovations such as the first IBM quantum computer in a healthcare setting. He has held leadership roles at Parkland Health, AmerisourceBergen, McKesson, and NTT, and holds an MBA from SMU. Matt is a CHCIO and an award-winning industry leader.
Presentation
Beyond Scheduling: How Compatibility Improves Access and Experience
Scheduling is only the starting point for patient access. What truly shapes the experience is whether the patient feels understood and connected to their provider. When compatibility is built into the process, trust begins before the first appointment. This session introduces the Seven C’s framework—Connection, Compliance, Communication, Confidence, Contentment, Commitment, and Consequence—as a practical way to personalize access and improve outcomes. Using real-world data and survey insights, we will explore how matching patients and providers based on preferences and communication styles can reduce friction, increase adherence, and strengthen retention. Attendees will learn why compatibility matters, how it impacts both patient satisfaction and operational performance, and what steps organizations can take to move beyond basic scheduling toward scalable, data-driven solutions that make every interaction count.
Bob Waddell
Co-Founder, MD MatchUp
Bio
Bob leads the MD MatchUp team and is focused on helping healthcare networks acquire new consumers, retain current patients, grow service line volumes and drive downstream revenue through better patient+provider relationships. His previous experience includes working for marketing communications agencies in Kansas City, Cleveland and Omaha. Bob has built a wealth of experience driving strategy for consumer campaigns with numerous health systems across the country. Previous conference speaking experience includes HITMC, SHSMD, HIMSS, HCIC and more.
Matt McCahill
Regional Director of Digital Marketing, CommonSpirit Health
Bio
Matt McCahill is the Regional Director of Digital Marketing for the Central Region at CommonSpirit Health, bringing 25 years of experience to the role. He holds a BFA from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and an MFA from Bellevue University. His expertise guides CommonSpirit Health’s digital marketing strategies across a significant geographic area, including Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, Nevada, and Arizona. Matt has a passion for the online patient experience and improving the functionality that patients want and need.
Presentation
Building Trust in the Tools: Leading Successful Technology Change in Patient Access
Peyton Fry
Founder & CEO, Glass Raven
Bio
Bio coming soon
Tesha Montgomery
Senior Vice President, System Patient Access, Houston Methodist
Bio
Bio coming soon
Presentation
Efficiency and Empathy: How AI + Humans Deliver Consistent Outcomes
Healthcare call centers don’t fail at answering, they fail at completing. Whether AI is involved or not, patients repeat themselves at handoff, staff re-ask questions, and “handled” calls quietly fail to reach the goal. Three peer organizations will share how they redesigned around three principles: Context Preservation (no one starts over), Channel Coordination (one set of rules across phone, web, and portal), and Completion Metrics (measure outcomes, not just activity).
You’ll hear implementation stories at different maturity levels, where AI added scale, where humans stayed best for complexity, and what made handoffs succeed: a single source of truth, consistent provider rules, and warm transfers with full history. We’ll show documented results (training time compressed, doubled volume without new headcount, near-perfect scheduling accuracy) and the operational foundations behind them.
Leave with four tools you can use Monday: a Context Preservation Checklist, a Channel Coordination Assessment, a Completion Rate Calculator, and a simple Call Center Maturity Model. This is peer-to-peer implementation truth: useful whether you’re AI-curious or building the groundwork first.
Oakkar Oakkar
CEO, Keona Health
Bio
I’m the CEO and co-founder at Keona Health. I am a software developer by training, and my background is in machine learning, natural language processing and of course all things AI.
I was born in Myanmar, formally known as Burma. When I was growing up, the country went through a full out revolution and a lot of young people got killed. I was very fortunate to get out of the country and come to America to pursue my childhood dream. I am truly grateful to work with my amazing team here at Keona Health because we love our mission to improve patient care by streamlining the staff experience at your call center. We believe that your call center is a very first place you create a meaningful relationship with your patients and our healthcare CRM is at the core of this relationship building. That is the reason why we have built our Agentic AI from the ground up with our CRM as a primary source of intelligence. We have been around for 15 years positively impacting more than 20 million patient lives.
Michelle Speck
CEO, Southeast Primary Care Partners
Bio
Michelle Speck serves as an interim CEO at Southeast Primary Care Partners. She has more than 20 years of experience working in human resources, strategic planning and business development. In her position, Michelle oversees SEPCP’s management team and provides overall direction and strategic planning for all aspects of SEPCP’s functions, including physician and employee recruitment and retention, compensation and benefits, physician and employee relations, training, management development and organizational culture development.
Prior to joining SEPCP, Michelle served as regional vice president of human resources at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Health System, a world-renowned health care provider and insurer, based in Pittsburgh, Pa., that operates more than 20 academic, community and specialty hospitals and 400 outpatient sites. During her time at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Health System, Michelle was responsible for the strategic and day-to-day human resource operations of two healthcare institutions and all related physician entities.
Get In Touch
Email DLok@HCCTConference.com, or call the HMR Publications Group at 770-457-6106 for more information
