CONSULTANTS- ASSOCIATES

Marcy Sasso, CASC
Director Regulatory Compliance

Marcy Sasso, CASC, is a highly experienced healthcare Consultant with over 29 years of administrative, management, safety, and Consulting experience in the outpatient healthcare industry. She has worked with hundreds of Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs) and hospitals in a variety of leadership positions, including Administration, Operations, Compliance, and Marketing for multi-specialty ASCs.

In 2013, Marcy founded Sasso Consulting, LLC, a full-service Regulatory Compliance, Health, and Safety Resource for ASCs. Her extensive experience in the areas of ASC Policies and Procedure Manuals, Benchmarking, QA, On-site Trainings, Annual Education, and Mock Surveys has helped numerous ASCs achieve compliance with regulatory standards. Marcy is also a national speaker, educator, and has a passion for teaching compliance. Her mission for the ASC industry is to “Stop, Admit and Correct.”

Marcy received the coveted CASC certification (Certified Administrator Surgery Center) in 2013 and is current with required continuing education. She has participated in more than 100 CMS (Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services), State and Accrediting Organization surveys. Marcy has been a presenter for the National Ambulatory Associations at several national conferences and has written articles for several ASC publications. Her passion for keeping surgery Centers compliant, included writing a COVID-19 Handbook for Surgery Centers with safety as the top priority.

Marcy was a Co-founder and Co-Chair of the Surgery Center Coalition (SCC), a non-profit, educational resource group with over 1500 members that provided ongoing education and support to Administrators, Nurse Managers, Physicians, Accountants, and ASC Personnel. She has been a driving force behind the growth of the SCC for over 20+ years.

Marcy Sasso
(862) 812-5611 Cell
Marcy@SassoASC.com
Sassoconsultingllc.com

ASC Leadership Bootcamp: March 13, 2024 Randolph NJ

Trusted Advisors

Amit Gupta RPh, Pharm.D, CCP, CGP

Dr. Gupta has been a Consultant Pharmacist for the past 18 years in Skilled Nursing, Ambulatory Surgery Centers, and Dialysis Facilities serving New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.  His focus is on providing hands-on audits, customer service and exceptional education to your staff.  During his visits, he reviews Controlled Substances documentation, Medications, and does Chart Audits.

Amit Gupta Consulting
www.amitguptaconsulting.com
amit@amitguptaconsulting.com
908-334-5437

Khaled John Klele

Khaled John Klele is a partner at Riker Danzig, a Morristown, New Jersey based law firm, with additional offices in Trenton, midtown Manhattan, Stamford and Roseland.

Mr. Klele practices in the Firm’s Health Care and Commercial Litigation Groups, focusing his practice on health care regulatory, transactional and litigation work.  He provides counsel to a variety of providers, including ambulatory surgery Centers, laboratories, imaging centers, addiction centers, skilled nursing facilities, urgent care centers, pharmacies, group practices and solo practitioners.  He regularly assists his health care provider and pharmacy clients in a variety of areas, including the negotiation of provider agreements with payors, state and federal regulatory compliance issues, telehealth, medical billing audits and litigation, Medicare and/or Medicaid audits and other health care reimbursement issues, such as ERISA, medical board investigations and fair hearings, fraud and abuse litigation, self-referral and anti-kickback laws, insurance fraud litigation, pharmacy audits and coupon/copayment assistance programs, pharmaceutical compliance issues, and other health care compliance and audit issues and litigation.

He created and is a frequent contributor to Riker Danzig’s Health Care Law blog, “The Juris Doctor Report,” and is a frequent speaker on health care topics.  He also co-authored an article for the American Bar Association’s  Health Lawyer on “The Path to Successful Utilization of Alternative Payment Models,” which was the feature article in the ABA’s Health Lawyer’s June 2020 edition.

kklele@riker.com
973-451-8451

Carol Calabrese, RN, BS, T-CSCT, CHESP, CIC

As a healthcare professional with specialization in the field of Infection Prevention and Control for over 35 years, I have held leadership roles in several
organizations. In these roles, I have had oversight for instituting infection prevention and control programs to aide in the provision of a safe environment to protect patients, staff and visitors from acquiring an infection. While in these roles, my teams and I were able to achieve no citations during multiple accreditation surveys.

Other roles have included time in the medical device and disinfectant industries working with internal and external customers to provide guidance on reducing
the risk of healthcare associated infections. Since 1990, I have been board certified by CBIC® as an Infection Preventionist (CIC). In 2021, I obtained certification as a Certified Healthcare Environmental Services Professional (CHESP), through the American Hospital Association. In addition, I became a trainer for surgical cleaning technicians (T-CSCT). Being involved in my profession is important and I have also held several leadership roles in local chapters of APIC.

My nursing degree was obtained at Alfred State College and a BS from Barry University.

 carolacalabrese11@gmail.com

Dawn Meglino, CCSA, CHPA, CHPSE

Dawn Meglino is the Privacy & Security Compliance Officer at Anatomy IT. In addition to her internal responsibilities, she oversees and conducts on-site and remote Security Risk Analyses (SRAs) for Anatomy IT clients. As one of the largest and fastest-growing healthcare IT companies, Anatomy IT empowers over 500 healthcare organizations across all healthcare specialties. Dawn identifies vulnerabilities and offers best solutions for client-specific needs.

As part of her ongoing commitment to HIPAA compliance education & training, Dawn attends the annual National HIPAA Summit, the annual OCR/NIST Conference and numerous additional seminars/webinars around HIPAA, Security Awareness and Cybersecurity. Dawn also publishes weekly “HIPAA Tip Tuesday” that includes updates, best practices, and security insights to follow.  She has presented at the Surgery Center Coalition Annual ASC Conference, and at the Bootcamp for ASC Leadership.

 

Dawn.Meglino@anatomyit.com

Maria Alvarado, MBA-HCM, BSN, RN, CRCST

Maria is a Healthcare professional with 20 years of experience in the ASC industry. Maria’s focus is to promote quality of patient care and provide clinical support for multi- site ASCs in NJ. She is developing successful surgical teams. Maria’s Administrator and DON roles provided her with a strong foundation to manage the complexities of state laws and accreditation requirements for any Center she was helping navigate through compliance.

She is passionate about building strong professional relationships with physicians, nurses, techs and patients. Working with centers on daily operations and efficiency to improve overall operational outcomes. Maria’s skills have grown as she worked in every position in the ASC field: from clerical to clinical to healthcare operations.

“My joy in performing these jobs has led me and my team to very successful state surveys conducted by the Department of Health and accrediting organizations such as AAAHC, Joint Commission, HFAP, and AAAASF.”.
“My passion is to learn, lead, mentor, and train. I am constantly striving for exceptional patient experience and financially healthy ASCs.”

Maria is currently a Director of Operations.

Cell : 201-587-5586 E: maria.sbsc@yahoo.com

Anthony Riehl, CLSS-HC, CFI, CESI

Anthony Riehl is the Owner of Healthcare Life Safety Consultants, LLC.  He is a 23 -year Veteran Fire Captain with the Hackensack Fire Department, and an NFPA Certified Life Safety Specialist for Healthcare. Mr. Riehl is N.J. State Certified: Fire Inspector, Level 1 Emergency Services Instructor, Level 3 Incident Manager, and Safety Officer.  We have tailored Life Safety Programs, Inspections, Fire & Diaster Drills, Mock Survey, and training.

www.hlsconsultantsllc.com
Healthcare Life Safety Consultants
hlsconsultantsllc@gmail.com
973.271.8156

 Daniel Kane PT, DPT Senior Regional Clinical Director New Jersey

Dan joined the JAG-ONE Physical Therapy Family in March of 2010.  Dan has been part of the JAG-ONE Leadership team since 2012.  He currently is the Senior Regional Clinical Director of New Jersey.

Dan earned his Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Quinnipiac University. During his time at Quinnipiac, he was trained in Cyriax, Maitland, McKenzie, and Mulligan manual physical therapy techniques. He was awarded the Carissa M. Neubig award for the Doctoral student who exemplified the 5 Values of: Integrity, Compassion, Accountability, Respect, and Excellence.

In between studying at Quinnipiac, Dan stayed busy as the Assistant Intramural Director and Supervisor of the Fitness Center, while also participating as a member of the Quinnipiac University Rugby team.

Dan specializes in rehabilitation of sports-related injuries (All levels: Youth-Professional) and post-surgical patients. Another passion of his includes injury prevention. Dan provides complimentary seminars to the local community on injury prevention: Slips and Falls Prevention, Overuse Injuries in the Overhead Athlete, Ergonomic and Workplace Evaluations, and Prevention of Knee Injuries in the Adolescent Athlete.

Dan is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). He has served as Northern District Chair for the APTANJ and has served as Delegate for New Jersey in the APTA’s House of Delegates. He is also a Certified Clinical Instructor by the APTA.

When Dan is not working you can find him coaching his kids Mason (4) and Danny (7) in Soccer and Baseball or running the streets of Morris County preparing for his next marathon.

JAG-ONE Physical Therapy, (P) 908-222-0515

Dennis Simmons

Dennis Simmons is the CEO of WASC Holding LLC owner of Wayne Surgical Center LLC and Elite Surgical Center LLC.  Wayne Surgical Center was at the forefront of ASC insurance company litigation resulting in the Cody Amendment in 2009 (Garcia Case). He is very knowledgeable in health care insurance contracting and reimbursement. Mr. Simmons also initiated a same day total joint program in 2019 at the Elite Surgical Center.

Prior to coming to Wayne Surgical Center Mr. Simmons worked for two public physician practice management companies (focusing on mergers and acquisitions), he had brief stent with United Healthcare, was director of the Emergency Medical Service and developed a helicopter program STARFLIGHT in Austin, Texas. He was also a heath care contractor working in the Middle East during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

Mr. Simmons holds an MBA from St. Edwards University in Austin, Texas and is a graduate of Texas A & M University. He is also a U.S. Army veteran.

When not working Mr. Simmons is an avid musician (drums and guitar) and has been a certified PADI Divemaster for 30 years. He is featured in Just Like You: 24 Interviews of Ordinary People Who’ve Achieved Extraordinary Success – Chris Dessi (author) – December 2015.

Dr. Christo S. Klele, MD

Dr. Christo S. Klele is proud to have been named a New Jersey Top Doctor by New Jersey Monthly magazine two years in a row.

Dr. Klele is an attending Anesthesiologist and partner at Advanced Perioperative Medicine, P.A. (APM) and a member of the Executive Committee. He serves as the director of ambulatory anesthesia for many of APM’s facilities and is a member of the Executive Committee at Wayne Surgical Center. He recently has been presidentially appointed to the New Jersey State Society of Anesthesiologists.

He graduated summa cum laude from Fairleigh Dickinson University with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and was a member of the Phi Omega Epsilon and Phi Beta Kappa honor societies. He received his medical degree from Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and completed an internal medicine internship at Hackensack Medical Center, where he was named Intern of the Year. Remaining at Hackensack Medical Center, he went on to complete his residency in anesthesiology as well as fellowships in pediatric anesthesia and cardiovascular anesthesia. During his anesthesia residency, he was named chief resident of anesthesia.

Dr. Klele is board certified in anesthesia by the American Board of Anesthesiology and is licensed in New Jersey and New York.  Christo Klele, MD (advancedperioperativemedicine.com)

Linda Calise, BSN, RN, CNOR

Linda has worked as a Registered Nurse in the Ambulatory Surgery Center industry for the last 11 years.

She has fulfilled the roles as staff Nurse, PACU Manager, Regulatory and Patient Experience Manager.

Linda has worked as Director of Nursing at multiple centers in New Jersey.

She is currently the DON of a large GI Center in Paramus.

Her emphasis is on patient experience, quality of care, QI studies and infection control.

Aaron Shechter, CASC 

Aaron Shechter, CASC has over 30 years’ experience in healthcare administration and management and for the last 15 years has had a focus in ASC (Ambulatory Surgery Center) operations and management of outpatient facilities in the for-profit healthcare industry.

Aaron is a Healthcare consultant with more than 20 years of Ambulatory Surgery, Interventional Radiology, Revenue Operations, and Regulatory Expertise.

Specialties include Healthcare, Practice Management, Accounting, Finance, Healthcare Technology, Regulation, Accreditation, Compliance, Human Resources, and Revenue Cycle Management.

Aaron is and accomplished Senior Executive equipped with a toolbox of ideas and successful track record of leading Large Group Medical Practices and Surgical Centers to business expansion, revenue growth, operational efficiency, cost savings, expense management, and significantly increased profitability in for-profit, academic, private practice settings, non–profit, and JV settings.

Aaron has held the CASC (Certified Administrator Surgery Center) certification since 2013 and currently is the CEO/Administrator of two large Ambulatory Surgery Centers in Northern New Jersey.

aaronshechter@gmail.com

Beth Dyjak, MSN, CGRN, CIC Healthcare Professional Leader

Beth Dyjak brings 36 years of clinical nursing expertise to the forefront, having worked in both hospital and surgery center settings. Her journey began as a compassionate clinical nurse, dedicating two decades to specialty care units. However, it was her fascination with gastroenterology nursing that truly ignited her passion.

During her tenure, Beth actively participated in a multitude of therapeutic endoscopic, hepatology, and pulmonary procedures. Her commitment to excellence led her to achieve the prestigious Certification in Gastroenterology Nursing (CGRN), a credential she proudly maintains to this day.

For the past 17 years, Beth has been an integral part of ASCs (Ambulatory Surgery Centers) affiliated with a prominent South Jersey Hospital organization. Her roles have been diverse and impactful:

  1. Team Leader for Endoscopy: Beth’s leadership in endoscopy has been instrumental in ensuring optimal patient outcomes. She fosters a collaborative environment, empowering her team to deliver exceptional care.
  2. Endo Decontamination and High-Level Disinfection: Beth’s meticulous approach to scope reprocessing ensures patient safety and infection control. Her expertise is a cornerstone of best practices within the ASC.
  3. Pain Management: As a resource for staff, Beth provides valuable insights into clinical practice and infection prevention. Her guidance contributes significantly to maintaining high standards of care.

In her current capacity as the Director of Clinical Practice & Infection Prevention, Beth’s impact extends across four ASCs. Here’s how she excels:

  • Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement: Beth identifies opportunities for enhancement, devising targeted initiatives to elevate the quality of care. She meticulously analyzes data, addressing issues promptly.
  • Regulatory Compliance: Beth ensures that all ASCs adhere to regulatory requirements. Her thoroughness and attention to detail contribute to a safe and compliant environment.
  • Monthly IPC Rounds: Beth conducts regular infection prevention rounds, proactively addressing any concerns. Her commitment to patient safety is unwavering.
  • Staff Development and Mentorship: Beth collaborates with Directors of Nursing (DONs) and management teams, fostering professional growth among staff. Her coaching and mentoring elevate clinical practice.

In 2023, Beth achieved her Certification in Infection Control (CIC), reinforcing her commitment to excellence. She can be reached at Bethdyjak1@yahoo.com or via cell at (609) 335-5045.

Beth Dyjak exemplifies leadership, expertise, and unwavering dedication in the healthcare arena. Her impact resonates far beyond the surgery centers she serves.

Phone

(862) 812-5611

Email

marcy@sassoasc.com

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