Correctional Nurse Expert Witness

SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS

Strong and diverse experience as a REGISTERED NURSE, including:

• INTENSIVE CARE / CORONARY CARE
• EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS
  • SUPERVISOR
  • EDUCATOR
  • RADIO INTERFACE WITH FIELD PARAMEDICS
  • TRIAGE
• CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES
  • STAFF NURSE / SUPERVISOR
  • MANAGER
  • EDUCATOR
  • POLICIES AND PROCEDURES DEVELOPMENT
• MEDICAL PROGRAM MANAGEMENT / BUDGET
  • ADMINISTRATION
• UTILIZATION MANAGEMENT
  • MANAGER
  • APPEALS / DENIALS
• PRE AND POST ANESTHESIA CARE
• MEDICAL RECORDS REVIEW FOR:
  • QUALITY ASSURANCE
  • RISK MANAGEMENT
  • APPROPRIATENESS OF CARE ISSUES
• PRE AND POST ANESTHESIA CARE
• LITIGATION EXPERIENCE
  • DEPOSITIONS
  • COURT TESTIMONY/ EXPERT WITNESS

EDUCATION AND TRAINING / CERTIFICATIONS

• Associate of Arts Degree in Nursing
• Lower Columbia College, Longview, Washington – 1974
• Certified Emergency Nurse – 1981 – 1990
• Advanced Cardiac Life Support Instructor 1985 – 2016
• Certified Legal Nurse Consultant –
• Medical-Legal Consulting Institute, Inc. Houston, Texas – Since 2000
• Pediatric Advanced Life Support Provider (PALS) 2007-2015
• Emergency Nurse Pediatric Course (ENPC) 2010-2015
• Trauma Nurse Core Course (TNCC) 2011-2015
• Certified Auditor – American Correctional Assoc. – Since 2013

PROFESSIONAL LICENSURE

• Registered Nurse in the State of California

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

• National Alliance of Certified Legal Nurse Consultants (NACLNC)
  American Correctional Association (ACA)

CIVIC ASSOCIATIONS

• Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors (2001-2005)
• Boys and Girls Club of Camarillo Executive Board (2002-2006)
• Boys and Girls Club of Camarillo Advisory Board (2011 – 2013)
• Camarillo Hospice Board of Directors (2006-2007)
• Reagan Library, Chairman’s Circle Member (2009-2013)

AWARDS

• 2004 Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow
• 2004 Nurse Professional of the Year – Camarillo Healthcare District Apple of Excellence Awards
• 2006 CHW Mercy Witness Award – St. John’s Pleasant Valley Hospital

VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE

2002
Humanitarian Aid /Disaster Response
Volunteer nurse with International Disaster Response Program. Through partnerships with in-country health organizations we provide
Emergency healthcare to vulnerable populations, disaster relief, life-saving care,
Improving quality of care, and building local healthcare personnel through training and support to community based health and development programs to those in need throughout the world.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

4/16 – Present – Institute for Medical Quality – San Francisco, CA
Accreditation Surveys – Provide independent review by conducting on-site surveys to measure compliance with IMQ health care standards for local adult and juvenile detention facilities.
Title 15 Inspections – Provide on-site annual inspections of adult and juvenile detention facilities to assess all areas of medical and mental health care for compliance with Title 15, California Code of Regulations, “Minimum Standards for Local Detention Facilities”

4/13 – 1/15 – SANFORD USD MEDICAL CENTER – Sioux Falls, SD
Work per diem hours floating among 3 Acute Care facilities providing care for patients in all phases of urgent care including nursing diagnosis, treatment and follow up/referral to the next level of care.
Post Anesthesia Recovery Unit at the medical center.

4/13 – Present AMERICAN CORRECTIONAL ASSOCIATION COMMISSION ON ACCREDITATION FOR CORRECTIONS, Lanham, MD
Certified Auditor
Serve as an independent contractor to perform fieldwork for the American Correctional Association, which includes providing assistance to agencies working toward accreditation, conducting on-site audits of agencies to assess compliance with standards and confirm that requirements are met and monitoring to ensure maintenance of the conditions required for accreditation. Audits include county, state, federal and military institutions.

1/11 / 4-14 HOLLAND AMERICA CRUISE LINES – Seattle, WA
Work on a part time basis as a medical officer conducting clinic hours for passengers and on-going crew care. Duties include triage, assessment and treatment, 911 response, patient care for both ER and ICU-type settings when necessary, rotating call, pre-employment physicals, x-ray / lab testing, chart audits, QA

10/10 – 2/13 THOUSAND OAKS SURGICAL HOSPITAL – Thousand Oaks, CA
Work part time in this private hospital’s Post Anesthesia Recovery Unit.

12/09 – 10/11 COMMUNITY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, VENTURA, CA.
Returned after a 5-year absence to again be part of this 22-bed Emergency Department staff that sees more than 150 patients per day.

11/07 – 11-09 CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AND REHABILITATION
Supervising Registered Nurse III – Special Projects
Serve as a consultant to CDCR Southern Region to evaluate programs, provide training and direction as needed. Manage special projects at the request of the regional director. Manage projects sponsored by the Receivership to include Statewide Emergency Response development and implementation and the Medical Oversight Program in tangent with the Office of Internal Affairs as a member of a leadership team investigating unexpected inmate deaths and employee misconduct.

1/09 ———- Assigned to Lancaster State Prison as manager over the Triage and Treatment Area (TTA) supervising three first level supervisors and staff of 11 RN’s that include RN emergency ambulance response within the institution and RN staff handling non-urgent to emergent medical complaints. Duties include responsibility for overall operation of the TTA, initial training and rollout of the institution’s emergency response system, ongoing training of medical staff, and sustainability of the institution’s emergency response system.

8/07 – 11/07 SURGICAL CARE AFFILIATES, Oxnard, CA.
Work full time in this one-day surgery center in both pre and post anesthesia care units.

6/06 – 8/07 BLUE SHIELD OF CALIFORNIA, Woodland Hills, CA.
Supervisor, Appeals and Grievances.
Oversee the day-to-day operations of the clinical appeals and grievance team. Support the delivery of high-quality resolution of appeals and grievances by managing a team responsible for researching and summarizing various types of member grievances for medical care. Interpret and apply policies and procedures and make decisions concerning the objectives of the unit. Provide leadership, coaching and feedback to staff to develop their performance related to quality and productivity. Provide clinical expertise to non-clinical team members. Handle escalated and complex customer inquiries. Analyze quality.

2004 / 2006 ST. JOHN’S PLEASANT VALLEY HOSPITAL, Camarillo, CA.
Manager, Utilization Management Services
Work as part of the multidisciplinary team to effectively manage utilization of services and assist with appropriate discharge planning services. Supervise daily CM operations and assist where needed. Write commercial insurance / Medi-Cal TAR appeals. Act as a resource for CM, families, staff and physicians to problem-solve difficult cases. Enter into, and monitor, the avoidable day program. Track and report all statistics relative to case management
Weekly Relief House Supervisor that included assist in ER when
necessary and presence at all ER codes.

June 2003-05 AMERICAN CORRECTIONAL ASSOCIATION COMMISSION ON ACCREDITATION FOR CORRECTIONS, Lanham, MD
Certified Auditor
Serve as an independent contractor to perform fieldwork for the American Correctional Association, which includes providing assistance to agencies working toward accreditation, conducting on-site audits of agencies to assess compliance with standards and confirm that requirements are met, and monitoring to ensure maintenance of the conditions required for accreditation.

2000 – Present
CERTIFIED LEGAL NURSE CONSULTANT
Assist attorneys in developing a thorough understanding of the medical issues in their cases by organizing the medical information and clarifying the medical issues for them and assisting in the progression of their cases. Serve as a testifying expert in correctional medicine and in nursing standards of care.

2000 – 2004 COMMUNITY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, Ventura Ca.
Staff / Charge Nurse ER
Radiology Procedures Nurse
Administrative Supervisor
Quality Assurance / Quality of Care Reviewer
Social Services / Utilization Review
Center for Comprehensive Pain Management

Worked full time then per diem in this extremely busy ER, with additional responsibility for radiology procedures including starting all IV’s, sedation and monitoring of all patients requiring x-ray procedures, transfer of critical care patients, and scheduling of out-patient procedures.
In February 2001 I accepted 2 concurrent, part-time positions. As administrative supervisor I am responsible for the activities of the hospital and all staff during my shift, including hospital staffing, problem solving, and serving as a resource for both in-house and outside questions and requests. When working in Quality Assurance I review medical records for quality of care issues in the various disciplines and provide written reports and statistical summaries for the various medical peer review committees. I also review several areas in nursing including medication errors, sentinel events and other nurse and/or patient concerns.
In January 2002 I was recruited and work part time in Quality Assessment Resources and Social Services assisting patients with their discharge planning needs as well as conducting both concurrent and retrospective reviews.
Since November 2003 work at the Center for Comprehensive Pain Management assisting with procedures, recovery and management of chronic pain patients.

1989-1999 CALIFORNIA FORENSIC MEDICAL GROUP, Monterey, Ca. Medical Program Manager
Responsible for setting up and administering on-site and off-site health care services for 500 inmates in both adult and juvenile facilities of Placer Co. Jail in Auburn Calif.
Involved in setting up new contract sites throughout the state, as well as problem-solving in existing programs
Assisted in hiring and training of nursing, clerical, mid-level practitioners and physicians in various contract sites as well as assisting in initial accreditation or re-accreditation.
Transferred to Ventura County in 1990 and served as Nursing Director then Program Manager, supervising a staff of over 50 for 3 adult and 3 juvenile facilities, including a 32-bed infirmary at the Main Jail, and a total inmate population of 1600. Credited with regaining California Medical Association (CMA) accreditation for both the adult and juvenile facilities within 1 year.
Performed recruitment, hiring, orientation, supervising, scheduling and performance evaluations of nursing personnel and mid-level practitioners; assisted in the hiring of medical staff and mid-level practitioners and trained them in sick-call procedures.
Managed all financial aspects of programs, appropriateness and quality of clinical services, continuity of care, and liaison between CFMG, the judicial system and various county agencies.
Conducted sick call and performed physicals in the absence of the mid-level practitioner and provided vacation relief for managers and medical providers at other contract sites.
Obtained and maintained CMA accreditation
Conducted yearly training in applicable standards for medical and custody personnel
Testified in court hearings, trials, and depositions.

1991-2000 ST. JOHN’S PLEASANT VALLEY HOSPITAL, Camarillo, CA
Staff / Charge Nurse-Emergency Department

1988-1989 KAISER PERMANENTE HOSPITAL, Sacramento, CA
Staff / Charge Nurse-Emergency Department

1985-1988 SEQUOIA HOSPITAL, Redwood City, CA
Charge Nurse / Paramedic Preceptor Emergency Department
Relief Administrative Supervisor

1981-1985 MILLS HOSPITAL, San Mateo, CA
Staff / Charge Nurse / Paramedic Preceptor Emergency Department

1979-1987 SAN MATEO COUNTY JAIL, Redwood City, CA
Staff / Charge Nurse

1977-1979 STANFORD UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, Palo Alto, CA
Staff Nurse / Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit

1974-1977 ST. JOHN’S HOSPTIAL, Longview, WA
Staff nurse / ICU / CCU