Healthcare Conference Webcast

Tom Joined the firm in May 2019 as a Partner in the Audit Department. Tom has more than 28 years of experience serving clients in the healthcare, not-for-profit and government industries. Prior to joining the firm, Tom served as the co-managing partner and head of business development for the Mid-Hudson Valley office of PKF O’Connor Davies, LLP, a top 50 national firm. Tom also served in the private sector as Vice President of Finance for a Manhattan-based health system where he oversaw the managed care organization for a Medicare Advantage plan, a Managed Long-Term Care Plan (MLTCP) and a Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) plan. Tom is a trusted financial advisor to client management and their boards of directors in financial, operational and internal control related matters and has written several articles on compliance for healthcare and not-for-profit organizations. Tom’s expertise includes providing services for health systems, hospitals, HMOs, physician groups, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), religious orders, voluntary health and welfare organizations, arts and educational institutions, foundations, school districts, community colleges, and local and county governments.

Gary Carpenter, CPA, President of Gary Carpenter & Associates is a Management Consultant specializing in the Healthcare Industry. With over 40 years of experience in the Industry he specializes primarily in the Homecare industry. He has worked in the past with various accounting firms including being a Healthcare Partner at both Holtz Rubenstein and Grassi & Co. He has served on various Boards including St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center, Advantage Care Diagnostic Treatment Center, Multiple Sclerosis Society and Siena College.

Lourdes M. Martinez is a partner in the Government Contracts, Investigations and International Trade Practice Group in the firm's New York office at Sheppard Mullin Areas of Practice Lourdes' practice includes defending clients in criminal, civil and regulatory government actions; assisting clients in implementing both fraud and abuse and HIPAA compliance programs; and advising clients on a wide array of compliance, regulatory and business matters. She has defended clients in federal False Claims Act cases, quality of care cases, physician licensing matters and federal, state and other third-party audits. Her clients include both for-profit and not-for-profit skilled nursing facilities, hospitals, home health agencies, physicians and other providers. Previously Lourdes was an Assistant District Attorney in the Kings County District Attorney’s Office, where she prosecuted hundreds of felony cases from inception through trial and served as Special Counsel to the Crimes Against Children Bureau.

Alexander Buchholz has amassed more than 15 years of experience in public accounting, including with a Big Four accounting firm. He is also the Practice Leader of the Firm’s Cemetery Division. Alex is responsible for the development of the audit approach as well as the supervision of staff. Additionally, he is responsible for managing the audit so that it is performed on a timely basis with as little intrusion to client operations as possible. Alex’s expertise is in Single Audits and internal control/compliance audits. His industry experience is in healthcare and Not-for-Profit entities, including skilled nursing facilities, social service agencies, charter schools, diagnostic and treatment centers, homecare service entities, adult homes, and other long-term care facilities as well as special-needs entities and cemeteries. Alex also serves as a peer reviewer. Alex is also an adjunct professor at Brooklyn College and Lehman College of the City University of New York in the Department of Accounting, where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in accounting and auditing. He conducts internal training seminars for the Firm and frequently speaks to outside organizations and associations. Alex is also a former member of the Firm’s continuing professional education (CPE) committee, with special emphasis on Single Audit training. He also writes various articles on accounting and auditing topics for a variety of professional publications. He has professional affiliations and civic involvement in the following: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA), Academic Advancement of Higher Education (Former Chair), Health Care Committee (Former Member and Chair), Not-for-Profit Committee (Former Member), Foundation for Accounting Education (Former Member), National Conference of CPA Practitioners, New York State Association of Cemeteries, New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJCPA), Nonprofit Interest Group, Greater Washington Society of CPAs Nonprofit Interest Group, Metropolitan Cemetery Association, New Jersey Cemetery Association, American Academy McAllister Institute of Funeral Service (Board Member and Chair), St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children (Board Member), and New York State Board of Public Health Accountancy (Board Member). His education includes Baruch College Master of Business Administration degree in Finance & Investments, and Brooklyn College Bachelor of Science degree magna cum laude in Accounting.

Reg Harnish is a nationally recognized cybersecurity veteran, investor, board member, advisor, speaker, author and the CEO of OrbitalFire. OrbitalFire is a leading cybersecurity services provider focused on simplifying, automating, and ultimately solving security challenges for the underserved – small businesses. Reg is responsible for the company’s vision, strategy, and growth. Reg is also the Founder and former CEO of GreyCastle Security, the CEO of Slingshot Cyberventures, a former Executive Vice President at the Center for Internet Security and the former CTO of Autotask. Reg is a fellow of the National Cybersecurity Institute, a member of the Forbes Technology Council and a board advisor to numerous cybersecurity startups. Reg has been practicing cybersecurity for nearly two decades. His experiences, skills and perspectives have established him as a highly respected thought-leader. Reg is regularly featured in Time Magazine, Forbes, The Washington Post, CBS Nightly News, CIO Magazine, Dark Reading, Software Magazine, ComputerWorld, InfoWorld and countless other media outlets. Reg is a nationally recognized speaker and has presented at numerous industry and cybersecurity conferences. His thoughtful and sometimes provocative perspectives have made him a highly sought-after keynote speaker. In addition, Reg: • is a recipient of multiple consecutive Inc. 5000 awards;
• is a Fellow at the National Cybersecurity Institute, a research center in Washington, D.C.;
• is a member of the Forbes Technology Council;
• was recognized as the Cybersecurity Consultant of the Year in North America by the Cybersecurity Excellence Awards for both 2018 and 2017;
• serves as a board member and advisor to numerous companies and educational institutions;
• has co-authored several books on cybersecurity;
• maintains numerous business and cybersecurity certifications.

Joseph J. Fifer, FHFMA, CPA, is President and CEO of the Healthcare Financial Management Association, which equips its more than 56,000 members nationwide to navigate a complex healthcare landscape. HFMA is a not-for-profit, nonpartisan organization that advances healthcare by collaborating with other key stakeholders to address industry challenges and providing guidance, education, practical tools and solutions, and thought leadership. Prior to assuming this position in 2012, Joe spent 11 years as vice president of hospital finance at Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He also spent time with McLaren Health Care Corporation, Flint, Michigan, as vice president of finance and with Ingham Regional Medical Center, Lansing, Michigan, as senior vice president of finance and CFO. Fifer started his career with nine years at Ernst & Young, also in Michigan. Fifer is a frequent speaker on consumerism, value improvement and healthcare finance at major conferences. He has written extensively on these and other healthcare topics.

For 20 years Mr. Kelley has focused his practice on health care and privacy. He chairs Offit Kurman’s Privacy and Data Protection Practice Group and helped to found the firm’s Health Care Practice Group. As part of his health care practice, Mr. Kelley concentrates on regulatory compliance in emerging health care sectors, including mental health, home health and long-term care, and telemedicine. Mr. Kelley also regularly counsels cannabis businesses and health care practitioners on cannabis law compliance. He serves as regulatory counsel for publicly-traded cannabis companies in transactional and compliance matters.

Bill Dombi is the President of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC). He also serves as the Executive Director for the Home Care & Hospice Financial Managers Association. As a key part of his responsibilities, Bill specializes in legal, legislative, and regulatory advocacy on behalf of patients and providers of home health and hospice care. With nearly 40 years of experience in health care law and policy, Bill Dombi has been involved in virtually all legislative and regulatory efforts affecting home care and hospice since 1975, including the expansion of the Medicare home health benefit in 1980, the formation of the hospice benefit in 1983, the institution on Medicare PPS for home health in 2000, and the national health care reform legislation in 2010.

Berenice Diaz is the vice-president of finance/chief financial officer for Urban Health Plan Inc. She provides leadership, expertise and oversight to a team of fifty six associates and helps manage a $140 million budget. She works closely with the chief executive officer and other executive leaders to drive the financial strategies that contribute to the growth and wealth of Urban Health Plan. With a master’s degree in business and an undergraduate degree in accounting from Baruch College at The City University of New York (CUNY) and seventeen years of financial health care experience, she provides an excellent perspective of the financial operations, including, budgeting and forecasting, financial planning and analysis, cash flow management, project management, reimbursement and grants management. Berenice has always demonstrated a fantastic ability with numbers and in the numbers resides her passion. She started her career as a bank teller at JP Morgan Chase in 1999 where she obtained many promotions and awards. Her versatility was again proved when she became an accountant at Melzer & Co., a private accounting firm specialized in taxation. She joined Urban Health Plan in 2002 as a grants specialist in the finance department. Over the years she served as a financial analyst, controller and assistant vice president of finance. Her professional memberships and affiliations include: Healthcare Financial Management Association, Institute of Management Accountants, National Association of Professional Women, National Association of Community Health Centers and Community Health Center Association of New York State (CHCANYS).

Steve Zeng is the Chief Financial Officer at Crystal Run Healthcare. Mr. Zeng is a graduate of LeMoyne College in Syracuse, NY where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Accounting. Mr. Zeng also holds a Master of Business Administration in Management from the Stern School of Business at New York University. Mr. Zeng assumed the role of Chief Financial Officer at Crystal Run Healthcare in May of 2020 with over twenty-five years of health care experience including finance, strategic planning, accounting operations, business operations and project management. In his role as Chief Financial Officer, Zeng oversees all financial and accounting operations for the practice including strategic and tactical matters as they relate to budget and management of all fiscal and regulatory reporting. Mr. Zeng joined Crystal Run Health in August of 2015 as the Vice President of Finance for Crystal Run Health Plans (CRHP) and became the Executive Director of CRHP in October of 2015. Prior to joining Crystal Run Health, Mr. Zeng spent two years with Affinity Health Plan in the Bronx, NY where he was the Senior Vice President of Operations. Mr. Zeng spent 15 years at EmblemHealth in New York City in various finance, accounting, and operational positions including most recently, Vice President of the Enterprise Project Management Office where he led company-wide initiatives to improve the member experience and operational efficiency and effectiveness. Mr. Zeng practiced as a Certified Public Accountant in New York for nine years, the last six of which were with Ernst & Young serving a variety of healthcare clients. Steve Zeng resides in Monroe County, Pennsylvania and enjoys spending time with his wife Teresa and three children.

John Chowske, LNHA, has been recently appointed administrator at St. Catherine of Siena Nursing and Rehabilitation Care Center in Smithtown—member of Catholic Health Services of Long Island. Prior to joining St. Catherine of Siena, Mr. Chowske was the administrator at Sands Point Center for Health and Rehabilitation in Port Washington. He has more than 25 years of experience in long term care management and administration. In his new role, he will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the 240-bed facility in Smithtown offering sub-acute, rehabilitation and long term skilled nursing services. Chowske holds a Master of Social Work degree and a Bachelor of Science degree, both obtained from Stony Brook University. He also holds a Nursing Home Administrator License in New York. Chowske resides in Centereach with his wife Tammy. He plays both the guitar and piano and enjoys golfing.

Krista Karabel is an Audit Senior Manager at PKF O’Connor Davies with eight years of public accounting experience. Since joining the firm in 2015, she has specialized in auditing healthcare organizations including skilled nursing facilities, managed care organizations, and home health organizations, as well as other not-for-profit organizations including higher educational institutions, schools and foundations. Prior to her work at PKF O’Connor Davies, Krista spent over seven years serving as the operations manager for a title and settlement company, where she gained extensive knowledge in the commercial and residential mortgage and real estate business. Beyond client engagements, Krista is very active in the community and serves on the board of a not-for-profit organization which supports brain cancer patients and their families.