Overview
Make plans now to be a part of the 2021 MASI Spring Conference. This year’s conference is set for Tuesday, March 23, 2021 and will be held in-person at the Country Club of Jackson.
SIX HOURS of Continuing Education Applied for:
Agents—Adjusters—PC and Health—MSCLE—CCM—CRC—PT—OT
In addition to the day-long conference on Tuesday, MASI members and friends will gather at Anjou the night before for a festive Pre-Conference Reception.
For anyone needing overnight accommodations, the Hampton Inn & Suites – Jackson/Ridgeland has been designated as our host hotel and a limited number of rooms are on hold for this event.
600 Steed Road
Ridgeland, MS 39157
Phone: (769) 300-5556
Room Rate: $89 per night plus tax
Website
Please use Code 0003283437 in the designated box under Special Rates to receive room rate. Special thank you to the Mississippi Trucking Association for their assistance in obtaining this great room rate. As always, thank you to our Spring Conference sponsors who help MASI have such successful events!
Agenda
March 22, 2021
| 5:30 – 7 p.m. | Pre-Conference Reception Anjou Ridgeland, Mississippi |
March 23, 2021
| 7:15 – 8:15 a.m. | Registration & Exhibitor Networking |
| 7:30 – 8:15 a.m. | Faith Based Claims Association Breakfast Breakfast and Testimony Carol Pinkerton, American Behavioral Health/an IBH Company |
| 8:15 – 8:30 a.m. | Welcome Remarks Steven D. Smith, Board President Wendy Powell, Executive Director |
| 8:30 – 9:00 a.m. | 2021 Political/Legislative Update Tammra Cascio & Sandy Sanford, Cascio Sanford Government Law Group |
| 9:00 – 9:30 a.m. | Opioids and Regulation – Looking Forward to Better Outcomes Daniel P. Culpepper, Attorney, Anderson, Crawley & Burke |
| 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. | Controlling Healthcare Costs – A Conversation with the CEOs Frank York, CEO, NewSouth NeuroSpine Dwayne Blaylock, CEO, Merit Health River Oaks Jeff Bedford, CEO, Capital Ortho |
| 10:30 -11:00 a.m. | Morning Break with Exhibitors |
| 11:00 – 12:00 p.m. | Yielding More Favorable Claim Outcomes With A Case Management Prescription Review Jeff Carlisle, Vice President, Carlisle Medical Louise Moore, RN, CCM, Carlisle Medical |
| 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. | Conference Lunch and Exhibitor Networking |
| 1:00 – 1:30 p.m. | 2021 Healthcare Update Honorable Mike Chaney, Commissioner, Mississippi Insurance Department |
| 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. | Work Comp Law – From Both Sides Now Betty Arinder, Moderator and Attorney, Wells, Marble & Hurst Andy Sweat, Attorney, Wise Carter Christopher Neyland, Attorney, Morgan and Morgan Megan Garrot, Attorney, Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission |
| 2:30 – 3:00 p.m. | Afternoon Break & Door Prizes with Exhibitors |
| 3:00 – 3:30 p.m. | Mississippi Telemedicine – Seven Years Strong Tearsanee C. Davis, DNP, FNP-BC Director of Clinical and Advanced Practice Operations, Center for Telehealth, UMMC |
| 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. | Active Shooter Seminar – 60 Minutes That Could Save a Life Michael Young, Attorney, Markow Walker Cherry Roberts, RN CCM CNLCP, Clinical Director, AmFed |
| 4:30 p.m. | Final Announcements—Cash Giveaway—Adjourn. |
Speakers
Speaker Bios
Carol Pinkerton
Ms. Carol Pinkerton joined American Behavioral family, an IBH company in September of 2004, currently serving as a Practice Leader. Carol brings more than 35 years of healthcare experience including development and implementation of all phases of behavioral health services and market expansion. Carol has always stated that working within the field of behavioral health cannot be a job, it has to be a passion. She believes this is a calling. Mental Nervous/Substance Abuse effects all families on some level, at some time in their life. After many years of society being embarrassed to talk about mental health illness, we are finally peeling away the stigma that was attached to having a clinical behavioral diagnosis or addiction, allowing employer groups to address these critical needs in a timely fashion. This objective is strengthened by partnering with a behavioral health company such as IBH, which focuses on the management of these needs from start to finish for each individual, from the first point of contact to end of treatment. It is OUR PASSION to care. Read More
Tammra Cascio, Cascio Sanford Government Law Group
Tammra Cascio received her B.A. from Murray State University, Murray, Kentucky and her J.D. from the University of Mississippi School of Law. Tammra served as General Counsel for Gulf Guaranty Life Insurance Company for 16 years overseeing litigation, risk assessment and prevention, legislation and governmental relations. Prior to joining Gulf Guaranty, she practiced in the areas of medical malpractice, insurance and products liability in the Mississippi Delta. Tammra formed her own company, Cascio Consulting, LLC in 2013 through which she has provided specialized governmental, legislative, economic development and political consulting in all areas of Mississippi. Most recently, Tammra is a member and principal of Cascio Sanford Government Law Group PLLC where her main focus is assisting clients with legislative, regulatory, economic development and administrative law consulting as well as advocacy in all branches of government. Read More
Sandy Sanford, Cascio Sanford Government Law Group
Sandy Sanford received his B.Accy from the University of Mississippi, and his J.D. from the Mississippi College School of Law where he graduated first in his class and served as Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review. The vast majority of Sandy’s over twenty year legal career was spent as Special Counsel for AT&T Mississippi, where he provided counsel on regulatory, legislative, and litigation matters, and as Special Counsel for Adams and Reese LLP, where he led the firm’s Mississippi government relations practice and provided regulatory and litigation services. In June 2019, Sandy became a founding member of Cascio Sanford Government Law Group PLLC where he performs government relations services, and advises clients on regulatory, public procurement, economic development and business litigation matters. Read More
Daniel Culpepper, Anderson Crawley & Burke, PLLC
Daniel P. Culpepper is the Managing Member of Anderson Crawley & Burke, PLLC, (www.acblaw.com), a law firm headquartered in the Jackson, Mississippi metro area. Since joining Anderson Crawley & Burke, PLLC, his practice has focused primarily on representing Employers, Carriers, and Third Party Administrators in Mississippi Workers’ Compensation matters. Mr. Culpepper received his certification as a Certified Self-Insured Workers’ Comp Professional as established by the Mississippi Association of Self-Insurers. Not only did he receive his certification, but he has served as an instructor for the program since its inception. Read More
Jeff Bedford, CEO, Capital Ortho
Jeff Bedford is a Senior Health Care Executive Leader and Professional with nearly 30 years of healthcare experience. He is currently the CEO at Capital Ortho in Flowood MS, an orthopedic practice with nine board certified physicians and seven mid-level providers.
Prior to joining to Capital Ortho in 2015, Jeff was the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Health Management Associates’ Southern Division, which encompassed 16 acute care hospitals and over 500 employed physicians in Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Texas. With HMA, he was recognized as Chief Financial Officer of the Year and Highest Margin Award winner. Read More
Dwayne Blaylock, CEO, Merit Health River Oaks
Dwayne Blaylock has more than 20 years of experience in Health Care Administration. He previously served as the President and CEO of Gilmore Memorial Regional Medical Center in Amory, Mississippi, Chief Operating Officer of Merit Health River Oaks, President and CEO at Harton Regional Medical Center in Tullahoma, Tennessee, and President and CEO of Jamestown Regional Medical Center in Jamestown, Tennessee.
Mr. Blaylock holds a Master’s Degree in Health Administration from Saint Louis University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Mississippi. He is active in his church, Meadowbrook Church of Christ, and serves on several community boards, including as Vice-President of Sunnybrook Children’s Home.
Frank York, CEO, NewSouth NeuroSpine
Frank York is the Chief Executive Officer at NewSouth NeuroSpine in Flowood, MS, where he has served since the practice began in 2007. NewSouth NeuroSpine, Mississippi’s first comprehensive spine center, employs over 90 full time professionals in 5 separate medical divisions with 13 physicians in fields of neurosurgery, orthopaedic spine surgery, physical medicine, and anesthesia/spinal intervention.
Jeff Carlisle, Vice President, Carlisle Medical
Jeff Carlisle serves as Vice President of Carlisle Medical. Carlisle Medical has been a leader in the workers’ compensation Managed Care Industry for over 40 years. Carlisle Medical offers a wide range of services which includes nationwide Pharmacy Management, Case Management Prescription Review, Telephonic and Field Nurse Case Management and Durable Medical Equipment. Jeff holds a degree from Auburn University in Management Information Systems. Using his experience and knowledge of information systems, Jeff assumed the role of IT Director at Carlisle where he developed Carlisle’s current analytic software and continues to oversee strategic technology issues. Read More
Louise Moore, RN, CCM, Carlisle Medical
Louise Moore, RN, CCM is currently the Case Management Director for Carlisle and Associates. Ms. Moore has been providing case management services within the Worker’s Compensation arena for over 16 years.
She is currently responsible for overseeing Carlisle’s case management staff which includes a multi-state team of case managers, telephonic case managers and prescription review team. She also manages Quality and Performance programs for staff and contract case managers. Read More
Mike Chaney, Mississippi Insurance Commissioner
Mike Chaney, a Tupelo native and long-time resident of Vicksburg, is Mississippi’s Insurance Commissioner. Prior to taking office in January 2008, Commissioner Chaney served seven years in the Mississippi House of Representatives and eight years in the Mississippi Senate, where he was the first Republican to serve as Chairman of the Education Committee.
Commissioner Chaney also served as a key member of the Senate Insurance Committee and Chairman of the Senate Education Committee. He is a graduate of Mississippi State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business and Finance and is a veteran of the United States Army, serving in Vietnam from 1968-69. He is married to Mary Thurmond Chaney, and the couple has three married children and eight grandchildren.
Betty Burton Arinder
For more than thirty years, Betty Burton Arinder has handled cases regarding workers’ compensation defense, including all matters before the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. As a senior litigator, she has litigated in both federal and state courts in Mississippi. She also has extensive experience in the areas of alternative dispute resolution and health care representation.
In 2010, Betty was named one of Mississippi’s Top 50 Leading Attorneys in the Mississippi Business Journal’s Leadership in Law Class. Betty maintains a Martindale-Hubbell rating of AV, the highest rating one can achieve. She is also a Mid-South Super Lawyer and a Best Lawyer, and in 2018, received the “Friend of MASI Award”. Additionally, Betty was selected to serve as a statewide mediator in a program administered by the Workers’ Compensation and Administrative Law Section of the Mississippi Bar for which she has also served as Chair. She is, by appointment, a past member of the Advisory Council to the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. Read More
Megan Garrott, Senior Attorney, Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission
Megan Garrott is Senior Attorney at the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. Prior to joining the Commission in 2012, she clerked for Judge T. Kenneth Griffis on the Mississippi Court of Appeals. Megan graduated from Mississippi College School of Law where she was a member of the Moot Court Board. She received her undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Mississippi College. She is married to Anderson Garrott and has three boys ages 3.5-7. It is just as wild as you imagine.
Christopher H. Neyland
Christopher H. Neyland was born in Jackson, Mississippi on November 11, 1971. He received his Bachelor of Science degree with honors from Millsaps College in Jackson and received his law degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law in May of 1998, where he received the Contract Negotiation award (1996).
Mr. Neyland is admitted to practice in Mississippi, the United States District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi, as well as the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He is a member of the Mississippi State Bar, where he is a member of the Worker’s Compensation practice section, as well as a member of the Mississippi Association for Justice. Read More
Andrew D. Sweat
Andrew D. Sweat has practiced with Wise Carter for over 30 years focusing on workers’ compensation and insurance defense.
Andy represents and defends employers, carriers, and self-insurers in all aspects of workers’ compensation claims. In addition, Andy helps workers’ compensation self-insurers with a variety of regulatory and compliance issues affecting them.
A graduate of the University of Mississippi School of Law, he has represented the Self-Insurance Guaranty Associations since their inception. He has defended employers and carriers and has served as a defense expert in bad faith actions relating to workers’ compensation claims.
Tearsanee C. Davis, DNP, FNP-BCDirector of Clinical and Advanced Practice Operations, Center for Telehealth, UMMC
Tearsanee C. Davis, DNP, FNP-BC is the Director of Clinical and Advanced Practice Operations for the Center for Telehealth at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi. She is responsible for all telehealth clinical operations at the Medical Center. These telehealth services include Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) for chronic disease management, TeleMental health, Corporate Telehealth, Specialty Telehealth, and Store and Forward services.
With over 20 years of nursing experience, she has worked in various healthcare settings which include private practice, community health, emergency medicine, and academia. In addition to representing the Center for Telehealth at various professional organizational meetings and committees, she serves as principal investigator for numerous telehealth research projects. Dr. Davis received her Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Master’s degree (MSN) with a focus in Family Nurse Practitioner form Alcorn State University, and Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing (BSN) from the University of Southern Mississippi.
Michael Young, Attorney, Markow Walker
Michael Young was born and raised in Pascagoula, Mississippi. He subsequently earned undergraduate degrees from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and Mississippi College, before earning his juris doctor degree from Mississippi College in 1997. Mr. Young began and continues his legal career with Markow Walker, with over 20 years of experience, with the majority of his practice being dedicated to defending employers, carriers, self-insureds and third party administrators in workers’ compensation matters in Mississippi. He has also been bestowed a Preeminent AV rating through Martindale-Hubbell, as determined by his professional peers. Michael is active in the professional community and is a member of Madison County Bar Association, Mississippi Association of Self Insurers, Home Builders Association of Mississippi, and National Association of Home Builders. Read More
Cherry Roberts, RN CCM CNLCP, Clinical Director, AmFed
Cherry Roberts is the Clinical Director at AmFed, a workers’ compensation carrier and TPA. She provides leadership in development and integration of strategic medical management services, programs and partnerships. With over 25+ years experience in medical management services in workers’ compensation, Cherry has held positions with Methodist Rehab, Infusa Care, The Curtis Group, St. Dominic’s Hospital and Comprehensive Health Services- Nissan. She holds certifications in case management and life care planning. Cherry has served as President of the Mid MS Chapter of CMSA and has held multiple positions with this organization. She has also served as officer on the CNLCP Certification Board.
Register Now
Attendee Registration
Attendee spots for the 2021 Spring Conference are currently sold out due to the limitations of social distancing. A waiting list has been started should those limits be lifted between now and March 23. If you would like to place your name on the waiting list, please contact MASI Executive Director Wendy Powell at wendyp@masiweb.org or (601) 749-6274. Thank you!
Sponsorship Opportunities
Sponsorship Online Payment / Sponsorship Form to Pay with a Check
Exhibitor Registration
Exhibitor spots for the 2021 Spring Conference are currently sold out due to the limitations of social distancing. A waiting list has been started should those limits be lifted between now and March 23. If you would like to place your name and organization on the waiting list, please contact MASI Executive Director Wendy Powell at wendyp@masiweb.org or (601) 749-6274. Thank you!
Thank You Sponsors!
