We’re back with a new episode of, Be Advised, the podcast from the Mary Free Bed Advisory Group. This episode digs int 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.