Business Principles for Legal Nurse Consultants
Jenny Beerman, MN, RN practices nursing both as Clinical Professor of Nursing at the University of Kansas Medical Center and as a medical/surgical and critical care nurse in a metropolitan Kansas City hospital. After graduating as a nurse in 1971, she obtained clinical nursing experience in a variety of medical/surgical and critical care areas including trauma, telemetry, medical and surgical intensive care units. She has worked as a Cardiac Clinical Nurse Specialist, was co-developer of a cardiac rehabilitative program, and has taught nursing in a wide variety of medical and surgical settings. She served as the Editor of the Journal of Legal Nurse Consulting from l996-l998, and currently is on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Nursing Law. She has been a member of AALNC since l989 and has testified in deposition and trial as an expert and expert fact witness. She also is a member of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses. She is a national speaker, as well as an author for several textbooks and journals on legal nursing topics. Ms. Beerman holds a degree in Psychology and a Masters Degree in Nursing. She was named most outstanding nursing faculty member in 2004 at the University of Kansas.
Elena Capella, MSN/MPA, LNCC wrote “Managing Change”. Elena works as a legal nurse consultant for Catholic Healthcare West. Prior to working as an LNC, Elena was a healthcare manager with responsibilities for quality assurance and risk management. During her tenure in healthcare management, Elena developed an interest in education and teaches for the University of San Francisco and at San Jose State University. The courses she teaches are related to healthcare quality, leadership, and organizational dynamics. Learning is an important part of her life, and Elena is a student in the doctorate program at the University of San Francisco. Her research is in the area of physician leadership and the implementation of treatment guidelines. Elena is a co-author of “Ethical Theory and the Practice of the Legal Nurse Consultant” in the American Association of Legal Nurse Consultant’s publication, Legal Nurse Consulting: Principles and Practice (2nd ed.). Her interest in the educational use of multimedia lead her co-author two papers published in the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education Digital Library, titled “Multimedia Statistics: A Design-based Study of the Benefits of Student-generated Multimedia for Learning in a Foundation-level Statistics Course”, and “Integrating Multimedia: Demonstrations of Student-generated Multimedia Products”.
Rose Clifford RN authored “Working With Employees”. She is the Chief Executive Officer of Medical Analysis Resources, Inc., a legal nurse consulting firm specializing in the analysis of medical records for merit and the detection of fraud. Located in Cynthiana, Kentucky, her firm has assisted attorneys, accounting firms, and the federal government in medical record analysis and fraud detection in Medicare fraud, billing practices of health care providers, and PIP auto insurance claims for the last 18 years. Her firm focuses on medical reviews for due diligence, medical malpractice, personal injury, criminal neglect, and false claims. As a past faculty member and lecturer for the Medical-Legal Consulting Institute she has established herself as a nationally recognized speaker and author. Recognizing a need for novice legal nurse consultants to work closely with mentors, Rose established an internship program for legal nurse consultants. Ms. Clifford is a current member of the Kentucky Nurses Association, American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants, and the American Nurses Association. Rose has co-authored textbook chapters on fraud and abuse in nursing home litigation and nursing malpractice.
Deborah D. D’Andrea, BSN, BA, RN authored “Working with Subcontractors”. She received her B.S.N. from Lewis University in Illinois. Deborah is founder and president of D’Andrea Consulting, Ltd, in Chicago. Ms. D’Andrea has been providing litigation support to attorneys who have cases focusing on health care issues, since 1986. Ms. D’Andrea’s clinical expertise included medical-surgical, critical care and trauma. She has been employed as an in-house legal nurse consultant for one of Chicago’s leading plaintiff attorneys and has testified as an expert witness. Her legal nurse consulting firm provides litigation support for both plaintiff and defense law firms as well as insurance companies. Ms. D’Andrea lectures extensively on liability issues, presenting seminars to nurses, paralegals, and attorneys. She is the past president of the Greater Chicago Chapter of The American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants and is a member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America and the American College of Legal Medicine. Ms. D’Andrea has coauthored a chapter in the textbooks Nursing Malpractice, Nursing Home Litigation: Investigation & Case Preparation and Legal Nurse Consulting: Principles and Practice (2nd ed). edited by Patricia Iyer.
Patricia A. Karalow, BA, RN, LNCC is the author of the Technology and the Office chapter. She enjoys employment with the national trial law firm of Bowman and Brooke LLP providing legal nurse consulting services to trial attorneys with an emphasis on creating visual presentations of the client’s case in mediations, settlements, and trial. Ms. Karalow has been a clinically active registered nurse since 1982 with over 13 years experience in the nursing of critically ill neonates, children and adults and five years experience in a national HMO providing case management services. She has been a legal nurse consultant since 1998, with certification through the American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants and has practiced as an independent legal nurse consultant for six years. Ms. Karalow received a Bachelor of Arts from Western International University – cum laude, Phoenix, Arizona and graduated from Little Company of Mary Hospital School of Nursing, Evergreen Park, Illinois. She is self taught in computer applications specific to her daily work which include programs such as Summation®, Trial Director®, and Flash®. Ms. Karalow also contributed her expertise in the chapter, “Use of Technology in Demonstrative Evidence”, Legal Nurse Consulting: Principles and Practice, 2nd ed.
Betty B. Joos MEd, BSN, RN authored the chapter on “Ethics and the Legal Nurse Consultant’s Business”. Her nursing background includes pulmonary, emergency nursing, school nursing, and more than 20 years as a nursing and allied health educator. She has been a nurse consultant since the late 1980s and is a charter member of AALNC. Ms. Joos began her nurse consulting career working for a defense law firm in Atlanta; she became an independent practitioner in the early 1990s and has maintained an independent practice since that time. She also helped develop a legal nurse consulting program at a school in Atlanta and taught in that program for several years. She has consulted with other colleges and universities in the setting up of their LNC programs and co-authored the book, Marketing for the Legal Nurse Consultant. Ms. Joos served on the national AALNC board in 1991-92 and was on the editorial board of the AALNC newsletter Network, and the Journal of Legal Nurse Consulting from 1991 until 1998. She has served as President of the Atlanta Chapter of AALNC and remains active in that group. Her current practice remains in defense medical malpractice, personal injury, and products liability issues.
Robert Morrison, BSN, RN wrote “Client Relationships”. He is the founder and current President of ANC Consulting, Inc., a legal nurse consulting firm serving clients throughout the Midwest, and the west coast. His case management career covers more than 10 years, serving both public health and occupational populations, and he has worked in healthcare since 1987. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Pattie Patterson, RN, LNCC, CLCP authored “Billing and Collections”. She is the owner of Medical-Legal Interface, a legal nurse consulting and life care planning firm. She has served both behind the scenes as well as an expert witness in both hospital and home health issues, for both plaintiff and defense cases. She has a nationwide client base. Her practice covers the gamut of areas, but an emphasis is placed on catastrophic injuries and illnesses. With more than 27 years of clinical experience, in various medical settings, she has a wide variety of experience. She started her nursing career as an LPN, and received her associate degree in nursing from Regents College in Albany, New York. She has written several published articles in legal publications and has spoken on many topics, both related to the practice of legal nurse consulting as well as nursing issues. She continues to teach in the home health field when time allows, and truly enjoys that aspect of nursing. She is currently the president of the Central Virginia Chapter of the AALNC and is also Director at Large for the LNC Section of the West Virginia Bar Association. She is very active in AALNC on a national level, as well. She is also editor and a founding member of a newsletter published for attorneys.
Debra A Summers, BSN, RN, LHRM, LNCC authored the “Essentials of Marketing” chapter. Debra received a Bachelor of Science from Florida Southern College of Nursing and is a licensed claims adjuster and healthcare risk manager. She is Director-at-Large for the Greater Orlando Chapter of AALNC and chairs the Education Committee. Debra also developed the chapter’s legal nurse consultant mentorship program in conjunction with the Orange County Bar Association Legal Aid Society Volunteer Advocates for Children Program. Debra is president and founder of Summers Westfall Claims, Inc. and spent five years investigating medical malpractice, nursing home abuse and neglect, and personal injury defense claims for Adventist Health Systems Sunbelt Healthcare Corporation.
Lenora Smith, MSN, RN wrote the “Business Aspects of Expert Witnessing” chapter. She is the sole proprietor of Carolina Nurse Consultants, a legal nurse consulting firm specializing in medical malpractice, personal injury, worker’s compensation, and product liability. She has been a testifying witness in emergency and home health nursing cases. She is currently a case manager with a local hospital in NC. Lenora received her ADN degree from Davidson County Community College, her BSN with honors from the University of NC at Greensboro, and her master’s with honors from the University of Phoenix. She is a founding member and past president of the Greater Charlotte Chapter of the AALNC and in 2003 was elected to the nominating committee of the national organization. She is active in several nursing organizations, including the American Nurses Association, NC Nurses Association, and Sigma Theta Tau National Nursing Honor Society, as well as the AALNC.
Teresa M. Treiger, MA, CCM, CPUR, RN authored the “Website Design and Maintenance” chapter. She is a clinical content developer for McKesson Health Solutions, as well as an independent consultant. She owns TMF WebDesign and specializes in website development for small business and professional organizations. During her career, she worked in acute care and rehabilitation facilities and managed care organizations. Mrs. Treiger has been a registered nurse for over twenty years. She received a nursing degree from Labouré College, a Baccalaureate in Healthcare Administration from Stonehill College and a Master’s Degree in Organizational Management from the University of Phoenix. She is a Certified Case Manager by the Commission for Case Management Certification, as well as a Certified Professional in Utilization Review. She serves as President of the Case Management Society of New England and as Moderator for the Managed Care Community of Practice for the Case Management Society of America. She is a member of the Massachusetts Association for Healthcare Quality and the American Academy of Case Managers.
Lynda Watson BSN, RN along with Jenny Beerman, authored the “Getting Started as a Legal Nurse Consultant” chapter. Lynda received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing in 1978 From Marycrest College in Davenport, Iowa. She has been as a critical care Nurse for 26 years. She has been a member of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses for 25 years and retained CCRN certification for 18 years. Ms. Watson was a CPR instructor for 3 years, and has been an ACLS Instructor since 1996. Ms. Watson established her independent LNC business in 1998 in Kansas and has been a member of AALNC since 1999. She is a consulting expert and expert witness for both defense and plaintiff attorneys. Ms. Watson has been published in the Missouri Lawyer Weekly and is the author of a bimonthly newsletter.