• Presidential Patterings
• Meet your Board Members

• GSHRM Annual Meeting
• New Members
• Mock Trial Conclusions
• Financials.
• ERRATA
• Scholarship Program
• GSHRM Website
• Risk Manager of the Year Change
• ASHRM Certification Program
• Call for Nominations
• RCT Fund

Ever wonder who those board Members are and where they come from? The GSHRM Board are people in the healthcare and risk management community who face the same struggles, frustrations and "opportunities" you do. What makes them unique is their desire to learn and assist others in doing so. They give up their time, juggle priorities, attend meetings and are eager to assist others in need. The Board has hundreds of years of experience to put to use for the society in a variety of jobs from Consultant , Attorney, Compliance, Insurance, and Risk Management, The list of Degrees is also staggering. Let’s briefly meet the Board.

David L. Tibbals – President David began his risk management 22 years ago as an insurance consultant in Boston. He came to Atlanta in 1984 to establish Tillinghast’s Southeast Risk Management Consulting Practice. He is now the President of D. L. Tibbals Risk Management Consulting, Inc. David received his BA and MBA from Rutgers University as well as completing postgraduate work in finance and management at the University of Chicago School of Business Administration. He is the President of GSHRM, past president of The Society of Risk Management Consultants and a member of ASHRM

Paul A. Gutting – President Elect Paul has been employed in healthcare for 25 years. 16 of those years have been in Risk Management for large teaching hospitals, a health system and as a consultant. Paul is active in GSHRM because it gives him an opportunity to share and learn. He says risk management is his passion. Paul has a MBA in Health Service Management from The University of Dallas.

Lucy Speelman – Secretary – Interestingly, Spellman comes up on word speller as Superman. This adequately describes Lucy who gets the minutes of the meetings out faster than a speeding bullet. She is the Compliance and Risk Manager for Sentinel Healthcare Services which is the management service arm of Northside Anesthesiology Consultants. Lucy has had 15 years in healthcare in managed care, risk and claims management, and legal and regulatory compliance. Lucy has a Masters of Public Health Degree from Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University.

Karol Devito – Treasurer – Karol received her Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing from Michigan State University. She worked for the next 15 years in Critical Care in Michigan, Hawaii (Aloha), and Georgia. She was a researcher at Emory and is now a Nurse Consultant in Medical Malpractice and Product Liability in the firm of Weinberg, Wheeler, Hudgins, Gunn & Dial. She has been a GSHRM member for two years and is currently our Treasurer.

Deana Allen – Internet Committee Chair – Deana began her career in healthcare in the early 80’s as a Graduate Nurse in Florida and worked her way through the nursing administration ranks and in the early 90’s was offered a position in an Atlanta healthcare system in risk management where she was eventually promoted to Director of Corporate Risk Services. She now works for Zurich US where she is applying her wealth of experience for her clients and GSHRM members. Deana has been very active in GSHRM and ASHRM as well. Deana holds a MBA, an ARM and AIC, in addition to her nursing degree.

Deborah Boyd – Education Vice Chair – Deborah has been in healthcare for 19 years. She has had experience as the Director of Quality and Risk Management for the Visiting Nurse Health System in Atlanta, Director Quality, Risk, Infection Control and Utilization Management at St. Joseph’s Health System in Atlanta, and now is at Zurich US in their risk management department. Deborah has her undergraduate degree in Health Information Management and her Masters in Health Care Administration from Central Michigan University. She is active in both GSHRM and ASHRM.

In his 18 years of healthcare experience, Bob has accomplished much. He is an accomplished author and speaker on a local, state and national level. Bob has been active in ASHRM and is a past president of GSHRM as well as Risk Manager of the year in 1996-1997. Bob trained as a laboratory scientist and holds a Masters Degree from Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia. He holds a Distinguished Fellow designation earned in 1998. Bob is currently employed as a Clinical Analyst with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia.

Joyce Benton – RCT Chair – Joyce artfully neglected to put the date she graduated from Nursing School, but if you count the initials behind her name (25 not counting spaces) one would guess she has been doing this for a while. Joyce received her diploma degree in nursing from Georgia Baptist Hospital School of Nursing, a Bachelor of Science in Health Arts from the College of St. Francis and a Master of Science in Administration from Central Michigan. She has worked in Nursery and Pediatrics at Grady and Henry General where she began her Risk Management career. She now is Senior Consultant with Praeventus, a business unit of CNA HealthPro. Joyce is very active in GSHRM and ASHRM. She will be speaking shortly on the subject of "Ambulatory Healthcare: Stay a Step Ahead of Diagnostic Related Claims."

Kathy John – Nominating Chair – Kathy received her Undergraduate Degree in Health Services Management from the University of Missouri. Her Master of Science Degree in 1991 and ARM in 1994. Kathy has been working in Safety, Worker’s Compensation and Insurance Administration for 10 years the last two as Safety Officer at Piedmont Hospital. She became a member of GSHRM in 1991. Since that time she has diligently worked in GSHRM. She served as Treasurer for two terms from 1993 – 1995, President in 1996 and Nominations Chair 1999 – 2001. Kathy feels that her 9 years in GSHRM has helped her a lot and there are so many members that have a wealth of knowledge to share. She reminds us that the more we give to the Society, the more we can receive. Well said, Kathy!

Debbie Wexler – Chapter Historian – Debbie earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Cornell and her Masters in Public Administration from Georgia State University. She has 10 years experience in nursing and administration at Piedmont. Currently she is the Risk Prevention Coordinator at Piedmont Hospital. She has been in this position for about one and one-half years. She describes her work in incident reporting, claims and risk management information systems as both interesting and challenging. She also feels that GSHRM offers the opportunity to network and share information with other members.

Carolyn Merck – Immediate Past President – Carolyn was employed with a law firm for almost eight years before helping to start the first Office of the General Counsel at Emory University, where she has been for 22 years. She has been a member of GSHRM for more years than she can count, or remember for that matter and is also an associate member of the American Bar Association. She serves as Sub-Committee Chair on Dispute Resolution, no wonder she is so good at talking me into stuff, and as current Chair of the Communications and PR Committee. Here in GSHRM she has served as a member of the Membership Committee, as Secretary and as President.

We are in the process of transitioning to a new Chair of Membership. Jeannie Smith has additional duties with the merger of St. Paul and MMI. We wish her well with her expanded duties and thank her for her hard work in keeping up with the growth we have experienced during her tenure. Bob Bunting has graciously offered to step in and assume the Membership duties. His dedication and willingness to help are greatly appreciated.

Please talk membership up to your friends in risk management. The society is only as good as its members. With the landscape and texture of healthcare and risk management changing as rapidly as it is, we need a strong Society to meet the needs of its members.

A heartfelt thank you and a hearty job well done is due to Alan Herman and his team of litigators, witnesses and juries. As president elect I was hoping that the mock trial would have brought out some of the intangibles that exist in taking a case to court. The mock trial did that and more. In a split decision the juries came in with very different verdicts. Jury one found for the plaintiff in the amount of $ 1,800,000 and Jury two found for the defendants. Here are some of the lessons learned in the Mock Trial.

1. The split decision by two separate juries hearing the same facts illustrates the proposition that on any given day a designated group of individuals may see the facts and circumstances differently than another group of individuals with differing results.
2. Juries composed of individuals who work in the healthcare field are not necessarily shoo-inns for the defense, especially if the care at issue was not up to the standards that these jurors would expect.

The following outlines the Society’s financial condition as of August 30, 2000:

Cash as of August 30, 2000 $34,158.83

The Society has received a Federal ID Number, so we are legitimate, from the IRS as a 501 (c ) (3) Non-Profit Corporation. As such, we will be required to file a tax return. A CPA has completed an audit of the Society’s financial records for the period June 1, 1999 – May 31, 2000. They said the books looked good. Way to go Gail!

It is with sincere regret and with humble apologies that Zurich was left off the list of Sponsors for the Southeastern Regional Risk Management Conference in Charlotte. They were a gold sponsor. As always we are grateful to our sponsors

Do you need Risk Management education but cannot afford to go? Would a scholarship for a meeting convince your boss to allow you to attend a ASHRM or GSHRM Meeting? Then we have a deal for you. Through the generosity of our RCT (Resource Collaborative Team) we have funds available to give scholarship funds to those who qualify. To date, no one has availed themselves of the funds. The importance of Risk Management Education should not be underestimated. Not only do you get state of the art information, but the ability to share with your peers your frustrations and ideas are priceless.

Another copy of the Outline and the Application is enclosed. I encourage anyone who may be interested in the Scholarship to complete the Application and forward it to Joyce.

Sadly, we had no nominations for Risk Manager of the Year. As a past recipient, I can attest to the humbling feeling it is to receive recognition from your peers. We have many world class Risk Managers in Georgia who are deserving of this recognition. I invite you, if for no other reason, to reflect on the fruits of your labors and revel in the knowledge that day-by-day we make a difference.

At the last board meeting we decided to revamp the Risk Manager of the Year into a Distinguished Service Award. If you have any ideas on how this award should be constructed, what criteria should be used or how it should be given, please contact David Tibbals.

In late January, a call will go out to the Society for Nominations. This is vital for our continued existence. We ask each member to carefully consider putting their shoulder to the wheel to make GSHRM one of the best Risk Management Affiliates in the nation. We have seen some of our long-standing members come less and less. I have said it on many occasions that there are many members in this Society that are world-class risk managers whose leadership skills are finely honed. When you get the call for nominations, think seriously about what you can do for the society. I would love it if we can put a slate of officers together with more than one nominee running for a position, especially President Elect.

We cannot talk about RCT money without first reflecting on what that money does for the Society. GSHRM is blessed to have so many dedicated sponsors who are willing to assist the Society monetarily. This money makes it possible to hold down the costs of membership in the Society, hold nice events at our educational functions, makes it possible to have delicious meals and provides diversions form the hectic and stressful pace Risk Managers lead. The Society cannot adequately express our gratitude to the many companies who assist us in every way possible. Joyce Benton has done a marvelous job in acting as the RCT Chair. She will once again hit the Mail-ways to raise funds for the 2001-2002 year.

If you are already a sponsor, thank-you, thank-you, thank-you. Please consider giving again this year. If you have not been a sponsor, we ask you to consider assisting us in this important function. The RCT Committee and other sponsors are a wonderful group of people. GSHRM members are encouraged to thank our sponsors when you see them.