We’re back with a new episode of, Be Advised, the podcast from the Mary Free Bed Advisory Group. This episode digs into the world of spinal cord injuries and with Dr. Michelle Meade and Dr. Jonathan Vandenberg.

Dr. Meade is the Director of the University of Michigan Center for Disability Health and Wellness, and principal investigator and director of the Michigan Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems. Dr. Jonathan Vandenberg is a physiatrist at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation specializing in spinal cord injury.

The conversation explores the goals of the Michigan Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems and how it aims to improve the lives of Michiganders with spinal cord injuries. It also covers how they are collecting data on new spinal cord injuries and using that data to improve clinical practices and patient outcomes.

Dr. Meade and Dr. Vandenberg also highlight the importance of education and community outreach. They discuss various educational events offered and emphasize the value of including people with lived experience in research and advocacy efforts.

If you or someone you know is living with a spinal cord injury, this episode offers valuable insights and resources. You'll learn about the Michigan Spinal Cord Injury Model System and how it's working to improve care for patients throughout the state.

If you’d like more information regarding the information in today’s podcast email us at AdvisoryGroup@maryfreebed.com.

Find out more about the Mary Free Bed Advisory Group. 

We’re changing things up for our newest episode of Be Advised, the Mary Free Bed Advisory Group podcast.

In this episode, we are featuring an interview with the Mary Free Bed Education Academy. The conversation is previewing their upcoming stroke conference for rehabilitation and health care professionals.

Included in the discussion is Dr. Cad Shannon, Director of Learning and Organizational Development for Mary Free Bed and two guest speakers from the conference. Those speakers are Peter Muszkiewicz, MT-BC, and Bailey Schulte, MT-BC, Music Therapist, both Inpatient Recreation Therapists for Mary Free Bed.

Dr. Shannon shares about the Mary Free Bed Education Academy and their live online courses, interprofessional grand rounds, conferences and workshops.

Muszkiewicz and Schulte talk about their class during the stroke workshop, and how they will share about the history of music therapy, and how it’s used to help patients in stroke rehabilitation recover.

It’s a great quick conversation to help listeners learn about the Education Academy. Find more info about their upcoming offerings and large library of videos at educationacademy.maryfreebed.com.

For questions about this or other Be Advised podcasts, email us at: AdvisoryGroup@maryfreebed.com 

Find out more about the Mary Free Bed Advisory Group. 

Want to grow your business and increase access for patients? The Be Advised podcast is back with a new episode to answer your referral questions. 

Mary Free Bed’s Advisory Group podcast, Be Advised, highlights all things referral development with Mary Free Bed’s Jeff Munford. He shares his experience and insight from 15 years working in access and business development at the rehabilitation hospital. 

Jeff currently serves as vice president of patient access and referral development for Mary Free Bed.  

He joined Mary Free Bed in 2008 to lead an expanding business development and marketing team. In that time, he’s led a team through immense growth as Mary Free Bed expanded from an 80-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Grand Rapids, to a system of over 400 beds throughout the Midwest. 

Be Advised is hosted by Joyal Pavey, vice president of the Mary Free Bed Advisory Group. On this episode of Be Advised, Joyal and Jeff discuss:  

• Data driven decisions 
• Best practices  
• Outcome sharing 
• Response times 

For questions about this or other Be Advised podcasts, email us at: AdvisoryGroup@maryfreebed.com  

Find out more about the Mary Free Bed Advisory Group. 

Thinking about accreditation for your rehabilitation facility? The newest Be Advised podcast is for you. 

Mary Free Bed’s Advisory Group podcast, Be Advised, is diving into the benefits of CARF accreditation for health and human service organizations. The Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) has been accrediting organizations since 1966 and has over 1,800 accredited locations globally. 

The guest for this episode is Terrence Carolan, managing director of medical rehabilitation for CARF International. Carolan has more than 20 years of experience in the field of medical rehabilitation as an administrator, provider, and educator. He holds a master’s degree in physical therapy. 

Before joining CARF as the managing director, Terrence was a CARF surveyor for over 10 years. In his managing director role, Terrence oversees CARF’s medical rehabilitation area which includes standards for:  

• Inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation 
• Home and community services, 
• Residential rehabilitation and vocational services 
• Interdisciplinary pain and occupational rehabilitation 
• Independent evaluation services and case management 

 CARF also accredits specialty programs in the areas of: 

• Pediatrics 
• Amputation 
• Brain injury 
• Cancer 
• Spinal Cord Injury 
• Stroke 

 Be Advised is hosted by Joyal Pavey, vice president of the Mary Free Bed Advisory Group. On this episode of Be Advised, Joyal and Terrence discuss: 

• What makes CARF Unique? 
• The national and international span of CARF 
• Common questions about accreditation process 
• Advice for first time accreditation 
• What’s next for CARF in five years 

For questions about this or other Be Advised podcasts, email us at: advisorygroup@maryfreebed.com

Find out more about the Mary Free Bed Advisory Group.

In the latest episode of the Mary Free Bed Advisory Group podcast, Be Advised, we talk with Paula Digby, owner of AQ-IQ consulting. She has years of experience helping providers achieve accurate reimbursement and an effective revenue cycle.

Digby has worked with the Mary Free Bed Advisory Group and Mary Free Bed on several initiatives, including our Educational Academy offerings for the PPS IRF-PRO Labs, clinical documentation improvement, coding and consulting.

Recently, inpatient rehabilitation facilities have been under increased scrutiny and targeted by audits searching for improper payments and potential fraud. The rehabilitation organizations are asked to provide documentation and proof that their payments are correct and meet the regulatory requirements.

We’ve invited Digby onto the show to share some of the insights and tips she gives organizations facing similar scrutinies. On this episode of Be Advised, Paula discusses:

• The potential pitfalls within documentation and coding
• Common questions from organizations working with her
• Error rates and financial impacts
• When do organizations find coding issues
• How poor documentation impacts reimbursement
• And more! 

 Be Advised is hosted by Joyal Pavey, vice president of the Mary Free Bed Advisory Group. Pavey and Digby have worked together for the past nine years. You can tell from the episode that they have a wealth of knowledge and experience in this space, and it made a great conversation! 

In the newest episode of the Mary Free Bed Advisory Group podcast, Be Advised, we are joined by Ryan Podvin, MBA, chief financial officer of Mary Free Bed.

Ryan knows first-hand the challenges and value of excellent rehabilitation. In 2010, Ryan sustained a spinal cord injury and received inpatient rehabilitation for several months at Mary Free Bed.

After graduating from rehabilitation and re-learning how to walk, Ryan developed a new passion for health care, and earned his MBA with a finance emphasis. He then returned to Mary Free Bed as an intern and worked his way through Human Resources, Finance, Accounting and the Revenue Cycle departments.

In 2021, Podvin was promoted to CFO, where he is helping grow the Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation System for value-based care and to be a transformative partner in post-acute care.

In this episode of Be Advised, Ryan discusses:

• His own story of rehabilitation
• Why mission is important
• How to maximize margins without jeopardizing values
• Ways rehabilitation programs can be more efficient
• Complicating factors of revenue cycle management
• And more! 

Be Advised is hosted by Joyal Pavey, vice president of the Mary Free Bed Advisory Group.

For questions about this or other Be Advised podcasts, email us at: advisorygroup@maryfreebed.com

Find out more about the Mary Free Bed Advisory Group.

In a very special episode of Mary Free Bed’s Advisory Group podcast, Be Advised, we are joined by Airica Steed Ed.D, MBA, RN. Steed is the incoming President and CEO of Metro Health System in Cleveland Ohio and former Executive Vice President & System Chief Operating Officer of Sinai Chicago Health System, President of Mount Sinai and Sinai Children’s Hospital.

Steed has been listed in 2020 Modern Healthcare among its “Top 25 healthcare Innovators” and last year named as a “Top 25 Minority Leader”. Becker’s Hospital Review named this innovative and dynamic leader as one of the “Top 120 Women Hospital & Health System Leaders to Know” and placed her on their list of “75 Black Healthcare Leaders to know.”

In her role at Sinai Chicago, Steed led cultural, clinical and operational transformations that led to $200M in improvements over 3 years, while achieving substantial improvements in publicly reported quality measures.

During her conversation on Be Advised she discusses:

• Her career track and how she evolved into her leadership roles
• What her passions in healthcare are
• What health care innovation means to her
• How post-acute care can support overall health equity
• What value she sees in post-acute partnerships
• And more!

Be Advised is hosted by Joyal Pavey, vice president of the Mary Free Bed Advisory Group. 

For questions about this or other Be Advised podcasts, email us at: advisorygroup@maryfreebed.com

Find out more about the Mary Free Bed Advisory Group.

The newest episode of Mary Free Bed’s Advisory Group podcast, Be Advised, spotlights physical medicine and rehabilitation residency programs and how they bring value to an organization.

This episode’s featured guest is Dr. Adam Lamm, assistant medical director for Mary Free Bed’s Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency (PM&R) program.

Dr. Lamm specializes in the care of adults with brain injuries and strokes. He works with patients in our inpatient and outpatient Brain Injury programs as well as our post-concussion program.

A graduate of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Dr. Lamm earned his medical degree as well as a master’s degree in bioethics. He completed a physical medicine and rehabilitation residency at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital/Harvard Medical School, where he served as chief resident. Following his residency, Dr. Lamm completed a brain injury medicine fellowship at Spaulding.

Be Advised is hosted by Joyal Pavey, vice president of the Mary Free Bed Advisory Group. The podcast hosts experts who shine a spotlight on the field of medical rehabilitation as a critical component of health care.

This conversation covers a wide range of topics, including:

• Dr. Lamm’s background and journey to the field of PM&R
• The history of Mary Free Bed’s residency program
• What value does a residency program add to an organization?
• What can incoming residents expect from Mary Free Bed’s program?
• Where do graduating residents go onto in their careers?

The comprehensive PM&R Residency at Mary Free Bed includes clinical, educational and research opportunities in all areas of physical medicine and rehabilitation. Resident physicians gain experience working with brain injury, spinal cord injury, stroke, multiple trauma, amputation, cancer, COVID-19 rehabilitation and other diagnoses.

For questions about this or other “Be Advised” podcasts email us at: advisorygroup@maryfreebed.com

Find out more about the Advisory Group.

The ‘Be Advised’ Podcast is back with a new episode exploring the topic of medical leadership and what that looks like now and into the future of rehabilitation programs. This episode’s guest is Dr. Michael Jakubowski, the Chief Medical Officer of Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital.

 Over the last several years, the inpatient rehabilitation industry has seen a rise in the complexity of persons served. Patients now often have multiple co-morbidities, a higher case mix index and require a well-coordinated team of specialty providers.

 Through Dr. Jakubowski’s leadership, Mary Free Bed has been able to ensure patients with complex needs receive critically-important medical coordination, to help facilitate sustainable functional outcomes, as well as decrease complications of care.

 On this episode of Be Advised, Dr. Jakubowski discusses the role medical leadership plays in a progressive, forward-focused rehabilitation program. He is joined by host, Joyal Pavey, vice president of the Mary Free Bed Advisory Group. Co-advisors, and co-hosts are J’nise Ramsey and Sherry Mullins who serve as regional directors of care transitions and Dr. Robert Krug.

For questions about this or other “Be Advised” podcasts email us at: advisorygroup@maryfreebed.com

Find out more about the Advisory Group.

In the latest episode of the Advisory Group Podcast, “Be Advised,” we learn about the Mary Free Bed Guild. Our guest is Meg Derrer, program director of the Mary Free Bed Guild and a passionate community advocate.

The history of Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital dates back to 1891, when a small group of women set out to help people who couldn’t afford health care. Seeking support from the local Grand Rapids community, they passed around a little black purse asking anyone named Mary – and anyone who knew someone named Mary – to donate 10 cents. Mary was the most popular woman’s name at the time, so the group quickly raised enough money to fund a bed at a local hospital. That became known as the first “Mary free bed.”

As the needs for care in the community grew, so did the group of volunteers. The group incorporated in 1911 as the Mary Free Bed Guild of Grand Rapids. Now 120 women strong, the Guild has representation on all hospital boards and committees. Its reach extends into the community, where the Guild donates to dozens of organizations dedicated to furthering the quality of life for people with disabilities.

On this episode, Meg Derrer talks with the “co-advisors” about Guild services, support and sponsorships of hospital and community events. She shares how the Guild is a keeper of the culture at Mary Free Bed – helping to ensure positive experiences and better futures for patients.

Derrer also shares her growth in community involvement and walks listeners through how they can make their own personal mission statement.

For questions about this or other “Be Advised” podcasts email us at: advisorygroup@maryfreebed.com

 Learn more about the Mary Free Bed Guild. 

 Find out more about the Advisory Group. 

The Mary Free Bed Advisory Group’s podcast, “Be Advised,” is back with its eighth episode. Special guest is Dr. Ralph Wang, a Mary Free Bed physician, who discusses his role at the hospital, including involvement with its COVID-19 ReCOVery Program, and offers input on the importance of transitions of care.

Dr. Wang is a physiatrist – a physician who specializes in physical medicine and rehabilitation. An employee since 2019, he cares for adult inpatients with a variety of diagnoses at Mary Free Bed’s main campus in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He earned his medical degree at Northwestern University and completed his residency at the Baylor College of Medicine and TIRR Memorial Hermann. He served as Illinois medical director for U.S. Physiatry prior to joining Mary Free Bed.

“Be Advised” is hosted by Joyal Pavey, vice president of the Advisory Group. The podcast spotlights the field of medical rehabilitation and why it’s a critical component of health care. 

In our latest episode of “Be Advised,” we discuss home health and skilled nursing facilities and how they partner with inpatient rehabilitation programs.

Home care, sub-acute, and skilled nursing facilities play a vital role in the post-acute continuum of care, and when that care is well coordinated, patients can sustain better outcomes.

But, how do you actually help patients and staff with the changing reimbursement models and the current health care environments?

 Our guests on this episode of “Be Advised,” the Mary Free Bed Advisory Group Podcast, will help us answer that! 

 For this episode you’ll meet Kiersten Cudney, LNHA, MPA, Administrator for Mary Free Bed Sub-Acute Rehabilitation, and Trey Kubizna, Regional Director and Administrator for Mary Free Bed at Home.

For questions about this or other “Be Advised” podcasts email us at: advisorygroup@maryfreebed.com 

Advisory Group: https://www.maryfreebed.com/about-us/mary-free-bed-advisory-group/ 

Mary Free Bed Sub-Acute Rehabilitation: https://www.maryfreebed.com/conditions/sub-acute/ 

Mary Free Bed at Home: https://www.maryfreebed.com/mary-free-bed-at-home/ 

The "Be Advised" team talks nursing in our latest episode.  Jeannette Pollatz,  director of Interprofessional Education at Mary Free Bed, joins the conversation to discuss nursing engagement and education. 

Nursing and nurse leadership is critical to any organization.  Patient satisfaction and outcomes are often directly impacted by nursing. Hospitals with poor nurse engagement and high nursing turnover tend to struggle with achieving satisfaction and outcome goals.  Building an environment where your nursing teams are engaged, valued and supported not only supports outcomes and patient safety, but creates a cohesive team culture. 

In this episode, Jeannette will share her perspective on how the needs of nursing education have changed over the last several years and how the recent COVID 19 pandemic has impacted the ability of some organizations to retain nurses. 
 

In our newest episode of “Be Advised,” host Joyal Pavey talks with Lorissa MacAllister, president and founder of Enviah, a health care design firm. She shares how removing barriers can improve staff success and patient satisfaction. Mary Free Bed CEO Kent Riddle joins the podcast to discuss how Enviah assisted Mary Free Bed to address growth.

Lorissa MacAllister, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, is a thought leader in the healthcare and transformative design fields, and she focuses on the way people interact with – and are affected by—the physical environment. With a background in architecture and medical social work, MacAllister has blended her experience to pioneer a unique, evidence-based approach in the health care industry and beyond. 

Kent Riddle is the president and CEO of Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital. Riddle, originally an engineer, realigned his career path after his wife suffered a traumatic brain injury and recovered at Mary Free Bed. He’s been the CEO since 2011 and led the organization through a $66 million dollar expansion and renovation project while helping it grow into one of the nation’s largest rehabilitation systems.

Jason Peoples joins the Be Advised podcast to discuss virtual care, telemedicine and how to accelerate the meaningful use of these mediums in acute care and rehabilitation.

Jason is the Director of Technology and Innovation at Mary Free Bed. He has 12 years of experience in health care, with his last five years at Mary Free Bed. Jason was instrumental in the development of Mary Free Bed’s virtual care programs leading up to and during the pandemic.

 In this episode, Jason shares his experience and insight on health care organizations can best utilize virtual services to help patients have the best experience. 

Dr. Allan J. Kozlowski joins the Be Advised podcast to discuss how outcomes research aligns with care transitions. 

Allan J. Kozlowski, Ph.D., serves as the Director of Outcomes Research at the John F. Butzer Center for Research & Innovation and Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. He’s been instrumental in the development of many of the Advisory Group care transitions services and many other research based initiatives at Mary Free Bed and Michigan State University. 

The second episode of Be Advised features Dr. W. Christian VandenBerg,  who joins us to discuss aligning Care Transitions and Patient Access. 

Dr. VandenBerg is medical director of Access at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital. He specializes in cancer rehabilitation, traumatic and non-traumatic neurological impairments (spinal cord injury, brain injury, stroke and multiple sclerosis) and spasticity/dystonia. He has been a staff member since 1989.

Dr. VandenBerg is a graduate of the Michigan State College of Human Medicine and completed his PM&R residency through Northwestern University at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.

The Mary Free Bed Advisory Group is proud to launch its podcast "Be Advised." In our first episode, meet the team behind the advisory group, including Chief Strategy Officer Jeff Garber. Learn how our expertise can align with your team’s talents.