Connect & Care

John enlisted in the United States Marine Corps after graduating from St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland, Ohio. He completed his undergraduate studies in Zoology and Chemistry at Ohio Wesleyan University where he graduated with Honors in Individual Study. While attending the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine he developed an interest in clinical and benchtop research. He served multiple research fellowships during his medical school training. He successfully completed an Emergency Medicine residency at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio. After his residency, he completed a cerebrovascular fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic foundation. During his fellowship he enrolled and completed a Masters of Science degree in epidemiology and biostatistics in 2005 while working full-time as a member of the teaching faculty at 2 Emergency Medicine residency programs. Dr. Duldner has maintained an active clinical and research practice and has published widely in the field of Emergency Medicine and Neurology. He has been a staunch proponent of patient education, patient safety and outcome-based clinical quality metrics. In addition, he has significant expertise in managed care, case management and clinical guideline development.

James Cook is a professional programmer and the founder of HindSight Ltd and of HindSight Ventures. HindSight Ltd, was begun in 1984 in order to market Cook's InView & StockView applications for professional photographers. They continue to be used on a daily basis by professional photographers worldwide. In 1996 the company added two more products: searchLynx and forumLynx. These were among the very first web savvy databases in existence. searchLynx is a client searchable image library for web sites with a huge array of custom options for the site owner. forumLynx is an online discussion manager with extensive threading and topic searches. In 2005, Jim was equal to the task and has been providing custom software applications. Most have been internet oriented applications. Clients have included both the University of Colorado and the University of Aarhus (Denmark) for managing the flow of objects and tests for their radio carbon dating labs. For TransVideo and Google he built applications that allow film crews to log their progress, expenses and other information from wherever in the world they were working. For MSC Canada he built a system platform to receive, process and dispense an average of $500,000 per month in donations for missionary projects throughout the world. He is the chief programming architect for Connect & Care.

Dr. Smith received a B.S. in biology from the University of Georgia and his medical degree from the Medical University of South Carolina. Following graduation, he completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He completed a fellowship in gastroenterology at Vanderbilt. He is currently in practice at Gastroenterology Associates of the Piedmont in Winston Salem, NC. Dr. Smith provides outpatient care and also provides inpatient GI consults at Forsyth Medical Center. His clinical interests include esophageal diseases, hepatobiliary disease, and colon cancer. He is a big advocate for patient care and safety.

Dr. Slavin graduated with honors from Universidad Nordestana Medical School in 1980. After completing a Medical Internship at the Catholic Medical Center of NY in 1981, he completed a General Surgery Residency at Nassau County Medical Center on Long Island, NY. After his residency, Dr. Slavin pursued executive training and obtained a Masters of Healthcare Administration at Long Island University in 1999. This training prompted an interest in Quality Improvement and he was chosen to lead a VA-sponsored QI fellowship associated with Harvard and Dartmouth Universities, headed by Donald Berwick and Paul Batalden. Lee continued his Quality Improvement studies and obtained an MPH at Case Western University in 2002. Dr. Slavin still maintains a busy career as a Surgical Intensivist at several local Cleveland-area trauma centers which affords time for healthcare quality improvement with a focus on patient-empowerment.

Dr. Moorhead is a graduate of Kenyon College where he received his BA in chemistry. Before completing his medical school degree at the Northeast Ohio University College of Medicine, He received his Masters Degree in Anatomy at Wright State University. Dr. Moorhead completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at Akron General Medical Center. He has a very active inpatient and outpatient practice. He has practiced a hospitalist-medicine model for more than a decade. He has specific interest in chronic disease management and skilled facility care. He also has an interest in aesthetic medicine. He serves on various committees both at the hospital and state level.

Lynnette has been active in the nursing profession for more than 20 years since receiving her nursing degree from Lorain Community College. She started her nursing career by gaining experience in several medical/surgical and subspecialty floors. She expanded her skills and challenges by transitioning to ICU nursing. She spent several years in the Neonatal Intensive Care unit at Rainbow Babies & Children’s in Cleveland. She then applied her intensive care nursing skills to some of the most critical patients in medicine as a clinician in the Burn Intensive Care Unit at the MetroHealth Medical Center. She has also provided nursing care and supervision in the community setting where she served as the district nurse supervisor for a large suburban school system. She has a fundamental commitment to the patient and families, their well-being, their safety, and ensuring their capacity to make informed clinical healthcare decisions.

Dr. Jim Mooney currently works in Ashland, Ohio as the director of the Hospitalist program for the local community hospital. He further serves the community in the director position for both the Hospice program and a for-profit, 110 bed extended care facility. Given his varied positions across the healthcare delivery system, he understands the importance of communication and data-driven care. He is board certified by both the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Quality Assurance and Utilization Review Physicians (ABQAURP). He graduated from Case Western Reserve University medical school in 1994 and completed his Internal Medicine residency at University Hospitals in Cleveland in 1997.

Dr. Teresa Fuller is double board-certified in pediatrics and integrative holistic medicine, and holds a Ph.D. in physiology. Her major clinical interest is working with patients to identify and treat the root causes of chronic illnesses, especially neuropsychiatric disorders such as ADHD, depression and anxiety. Having worked in both pediatric emergency and primary care settings, Dr. Fuller has a strong interest in creating and using systems that reduce medical errors and improve patient safety.

Carmella Kofron, RN, BSN earned her bachelor of science from Ashland University. She has over 30 years of nursing experience. The last 15 years she has specialized in Case Management and Denial Management. She is knowledgable in insurance and Medicare compliance. She has always had a strong belief in patient advocacy, and would like to see increased opportunities for patients to make more informed decisions about their own healthcare.

Christopher J. McNally, M.A., will receive his doctorate in Counseling Psychology from the University of Akron in December, 2015. He currently teaches in the Department of Psychological Science at John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio. Chris's involvement with Connect & Care stems from his experience in the field of mental health and his work as a Research Coordinator for the Cleveland Clinic, overseeing patient recruitment and data collection for a number of grant-funded studies in the areas of stress reduction and patient satisfaction. The advent of hospital apology laws and legislation in this area has been a central focus of Chris's work with Connect & Care.

Dr. Heimann earned her Doctorate of Pharmacy degree from Ohio Northern University in May 2009. After graduation she completed a Pharmacy Practice Residency at Akron General Medical Center in Akron, Ohio. Since finishing her residency, Dr. Heimann has practiced as a clinical pharmacist in Emergency Medicine at 2 large hospitals. She obtained Board Certification in Pharmacotherapy (BCPS) in 2013. Some of her responsibilities included medication management during medical emergencies, collaboration with various healthcare professionals, providing drug information to medical staff and patients, antibiotic stewardship and assisting with medication histories. She is also involved in precepting pharmacy residents as well as students from local pharmacy schools. Dr. Heimann is an advocate for patients in the Emergency Department, and collaborates with the healthcare team to provide the best quality patient experience.

Jim McMillan received his Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Adrian College. After graduation he went to work for British Petroleum and served in several roles including engineering and construction, strategic planning, marketing and project management. Jim developed a wide skill set including strategic project management with extensive experience analyzing, developing, communicating, and implementing strategic, capital, and operating plans for business units. He was responsible for Strategic Planning including Acquisitions & Divestments, Retail and Marketing Management, Brand Management and Public Relations, Construction & Engineering, and IT. Strong project management, analytical, and organizational skills with the ability to simplify complex issues to enable communicating with all levels of the organization including retail, marketing, technology, financial analysis, and economics are the tools he brings to Connect & Care.

Dr. Schaller completed his medical degree (M.D.) from University of Arizona College of Medicine. He also completed a master’s degree in public health (M.P.H.), specializing in occupational health, from San Diego State University. Dr. Schaller completed residencies in internal medicine in Phoenix, Arizona and General Preventive Medicine in San Diego, California. He is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine. He is also certified by the American Board of Preventive Medicine in both Occupational Medicine and Public Health/General Preventive Medicine. He was formerly a partner with a multi-specialty physician group, SHARP Mission Park Medical Group, in San Diego, California for 7 years. Dr. Schaller has served as the medical director at a national health plan. He has served as corporate medical management and medical director for health plans including responsibility for operations, utilization review and case management. Ensuring appropriate allocation of resources and unique care management strategies to achieve high levels of quality, safe care and superior outcomes are his self-imposed career mission.