Michigan Great Lakes Leadership

Role: Senior Manager – Healthcare Consulting

Experience: As a senior manager in Plante Moran’s healthcare Management Consulting practice, I offer my clients a wide range of expertise in healthcare finance and reimbursement including feasibility studies, service line analysis, and reimbursement optimization assisting providers in strategically positioning themselves in their market.

I have extensive knowledge of healthcare finance, reimbursement, and decision support. I work with hospitals and health systems as well as clinics and behavioral health providers to identify and develop solutions to drive increased revenues and improve financial performance.

My clients appreciate that I can relate to their needs as I have extensive experience on both the professional and provider side allowing me to consult on strategic opportunities which present as challenges to the industry.

Early in my career I audited a mix of clients throughout the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I enjoyed audits of local area not-for-profit organizations which drove me to a career in healthcare finance. I have always enjoyed a challenge and sought to make a difference which has led me to consulting. With the industry knowledge and experience I have gained over my career I have been successful in identifying and implementing numerous opportunities to drive increased financial performance for a variety of providers.

I am an active member of the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) having served as President Elect, Vice President, Board Member, Education Director, and Insurance & Reimbursement Committee Co-Chair during my tenure. I am the incoming President for the Michigan Great Lakes Chapter.

I have spoken on areas of cost reporting and reimbursement optimization along with other macro trends affecting the healthcare industry from a financial perspective. With my commitment to HFMA and the healthcare finance industry I have also earned my Fellowship with HFMA.

I have a bachelor’s degree in accountancy from Northern Michigan University and a Master of Science of Accountancy from Walsh College. 

Courtney serves as the Vice President of Patient Financial Services for Corewell Health where she has worked for the past 23 years. She is also the current Michigan Great Lakes Chapter of HFMA Vice President. Courtney has been an HFMA member since 2015 and an active volunteer with the chapter since 2017.

HFMA Services & Achievements

• CRCR 2019
• CHFP 2020
• FHFMA 2020
• Women in Leadership committee member since 2017
• Women in Leadership committee chair 2019-2022
• Certification Director 2021-2023
• William G. Follmer Bronze Award 2022

Nichole Niesen is the Director of Automation for Corewell Health.  Nichole got involved with HFMA back in 2017 at the suggestion of her CFO because she supported Revenue Cycle and Finance technology.  Her active volunteering began shortly after attending a Spring conference, joining the Women In Leadership and Social Committees.  Nichole has served in Michigan Great Lakes Board Positions both as Certification Director and Communications Director, and currently chairs the Communications Committee.  Nichole actively partners to enhance our chapter’s strategy to deliver Virtual Conferences & Virtual Education.       

Throughout her 12 years in Healthcare Technology, in addition to supporting Revenue Cycle & Finance technologies, she has also led technologies within Clinical Informatics, Service Desk, and Site Support. Nichole leverages her HFMA derived knowledge to infuse financial acumen into Corewell Health’s Enterprise Automation Program.     

Prior to healthcare, Nichole also worked in banking, transportation, staffing, and higher education.  She completed her Bachelor of Applied Arts & Master of Arts at Central Michigan University, holds multiple Epic software certifications and is a Fellow of Healthcare Finance Management Association.  Currently residing in northwest Michigan, you can find Nichole creating in her kitchen (chicken piccata is her specialty) or outside enjoying all the beauty Michigan has to offer.

Nancy has worked for Trinity Health for more than 15 years.  She is currently a revenue management consultant for the reimbursement department.  Prior to Trinity Health, she worked for National Government Services, LLC as an audit manager.  

 HFMA Services & Achievements

• Member since 2008
• Officer – Treasurer 2022-2024
• Officer – Past President 2021-2022
• Officer – President 2020-2021
• Officer – President-elect 2019-2020
• Officer – Vice President 2018-2019
• Officer – Secretary 2017-2018
• Director 2014-2017
• Medal of Honor Award Recipient 2022
• Muncie Gold Award Recipient 2018
• Reeves Silver Award Recipient 2017
• Follmer Bronze Award Recipient 2016

HFMA Committees and Other Activities

• Member – Women In Healthcare Leadership Program 2019-Present
• Chair – Spring Conference Committee 2019-2020
• Member – Networking Committee 2019 – 2023
• Member – Yerger Committee 2018-2020
• Member – Program Committee 2017 – 2021
• Chair – Women In Healthcare Leadership Program 2017-2018
• Chair – Directory Committee 2016
• Contact – Chapter Certification 2015-2017
• Co-Chair – Programs Committee 2015-2017
• Member – Newsletter Committee 2014-2018
• Chair – Membership Committee 2014-2015
• Member – Spring Conference Committee 2013-2019
• Member – Registration Committee 2013-2017

Hannah Perez is a Senior Project Specialist supporting the revenue cycle at Corewell Health. She has been with the revenue cycle team since February 2018. Prior to joining revenue cycle, Hannah was a practice manager at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital and managed the Aerodigestive subspecialty practices; pediatric pulmonology and sleep medicine, pediatric allergy and immunology and pediatric gastroenterology. Hannah has been with Corewell Health for 13 years functioning in a variety of roles prior to her management positions. She earned her undergraduate degree in Health Services Administration from the University of Evansville and graduate degree in Administration with a focus in Health Services from Central Michigan University. Hannah is actively involved in the HFMA Michigan Great Lakes Chapter and currently serves as the chapter secretary and early careerist director. She previously led the membership committee and participated in education and certification committees.

Ariana has worked at Trinity Health for the past 10 years.  She is currently the Manager, Provider Enrollment in the Reimbursement department and leads the System Office Government Provider Enrollment Team with oversight over government provider enrollment work system-wide.  

Ariana is committed to proactive promotion of equity and ending systemic racism (including health equity and reducing measurable social disparities of health) and is an active volunteer with many organizations in metro-Detroit communities. She is also the Co-Lead of the Women’s Inclusion Network (W.I.N.) Colleague Resource Group at Trinity Health, which fosters personal and professional development of colleagues.

Ariana has a JD from Wayne State University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Communication from Eastern Michigan University.

Ariana has two rescue dogs, two cats and a rescue ball python.  Her hobbies include kayaking, tubing, gardening and karaoke.

HFMA Services and Achievements

• HFMA member since 2017
• HFMA Michigan Great Lakes Chapter President-Elect FY23
• HFMA Michigan Great Lakes Chapter Vice President FY22
• Board Member – 2020 – present
• HFMA-EMC New Member of the Year Award 2017
• Follmer Bronze Award 2019
• Reeves Silver Award 2020
• Muncie Gold Award 2021

Committees and Other Activities 

• Co-Chair Early Careerist Committee FY18-FY23
• HFMA Michigan Great Lakes Chapter Membership Director FY21
• HFMA Michigan Great Lakes Chapter Women in Leadership Committee Member 
• HFMA-EMC Member of Women’s Conference Planning Committee FY19, FY23
• HFMA Michigan Great Lakes Chapter Women in Leadership Committee 
• Past HFMA-EMC Membership Committee member
• Past HFMA-EMC Reimbursement Committee member
• Follmer Bronze Award 2020

Bill has worked for healthcare solution and service providers for over 20 years primarily working to help healthcare providers solve their revenue cycle challenges and improve the patient experience. Bill is a past-president for the Southeast MI HFMA chapter, with his president year occurring the year that the three Michigan chapters finalized steps to merge into one.

Due to Bill’s professional role, he attends several industry conferences and events each year across the Midwest and nation. These include, the HFMA chapters of IN, OH, IL, WV, KY, PA, VA and more – as well as AAHAM events and the Michigan Revenue Cycle Association. This gives Bill tremendous exposure to how other organizations are providing education and what content they are presenting which will be beneficial to our own chapter as we look to line up the very best education opportunities and speakers.

HFMA Services & Achievements

• Member since 2010
• Officer – Past President 2020-2021
• Officer – President 2019-2020
• Officer – President-elect 2018-2019
• Officer – Secretary 2017-2018
• Officer – Treasurer 2016-2017
• Follmer Bronze Merit (2015)
• Reeves Silver Merit (2017)
• Muncie Gold Merit (2019)
• William Lubaway Award for Outstanding Committee Chair (20-15-2016)

Committees and Other Activities

• Chair – Communications & Social Media Committee
• Chair – Education Committee
• Event Photographer/Event Speaker/Newsletter Article Author

Revenue Cycle at Sparrow. Her most recent role is Director of Revenue Integrity. Her areas of expertise are reimbursement, contract management, and Charge Description Master. Heather is very excited about her new role as it has allowed her to learn even more about Revenue Cycle as a whole. Heather became an HFMA member in 2015. She joined both the networking committee and the program committee in 2019 for the Western Michigan Chapter. Heather remained on the program committee through the merge of the 3 Michigan HFMA Chapters. She now serves as the Networking Director and sits on the Sponsorship and communications committee.

Heather graduated from Central Michigan University in 2011 with a B.A. in Health Administration and Finance.

HFMA Services & Achievements

• Member since 2015

Committees and Other Activities

• Member – Networking Committee 2019-present
• Member – Sponsorship Committee 2022-present
• Member – Communications Committee 2023-present

Tom Matonican is the President/CEO of CBM Services, a full service collection agency that has been recovering debt for over 103 years. Tom is a past president of the Great Lakes HMFA chapter and a current board member for Michigan Great Lakes HMFA and also the sponsorship director. He is the current treasurer for the Michigan Association of Collection Agencies. Previously, he was appointed by Governor Snyder to serve on the Michigan Collection Practices Board, past treasurer for The Safe and Sound Child Advocacy Center and a past board member for the Midland Area Chamber of Commerce and the Commerce Center Management Corporation. Tom was employed as a public accountant for Burnside & Lang, P.C. and then as Director of Finance for the Midland Area Chamber of Commerce. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Accounting from Michigan State University. Tom was born and raised in Traverse City, but has made Midland his home for the past twenty years.        

Tom is married to his lovely wife Tara, who is employed at Edward Jones.  They have two beautiful daughters, Madison (16) and Cassidy (14).

HFMA Services & Achievements

• Past President – Great Lakes Chapter

Rachel works at Trinity Health in Revenue Excellence as a Senior Performance Management Consultant. She brings seven years of Revenue Cycle performance management and insurance billing operational leadership to Trinity Health. She has expertise in facility billing including denials prevention, write-off reduction, payer strategy, collectability risk assessments, and Epic workflow optimizations. Rachel is skilled at building cross-functional relationships to help facilitate sustainable process improvements and reduce AR. Rachel joined the Michigan Great Lakes HFMA Women in Leadership Committee in 2022 and is the Chair of the Committee for the 2023-24 HFMA year. She was recently selected to become the Interim Key Focus Group Director for the Great Lakes Chapter for the remainder of the HFMA year.

Rachel lives in Livonia with her husband and two-year-old daughter. She enjoys staying active and spending time with family and friends. She earned a Bachelor’s in Biomedical Engineering and a Master’s in Biomedical Engineering both from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor.

Josh is a Principal with Plante Moran’s healthcare team. He has over fifteen years of experience performing audits for community-based hospitals and large multihospital health systems. Additionally, he assists clients with new accounting implementations, reimbursement related projects, and bond issuances. He often authors thought leadership on recent accounting or regulatory trends and regularly speaks to clients and at industry conferences on new accounting changes.

Josh participated in Leadership Oakland in 2017 and serves on the Leadership Oakland finance committee. Josh is also a member of the AICPA, the Michigan Association of CPAs, and has served on the Central Michigan University Alumni Board.

HFMA Services & Achievements

• Member since 2012
• Officer – Past President 2023-2024
• Officer – President 2022-2023
• Officer – President-elect 2021-2022
• Enterprise Director – 2020-2021
• Sponsorship Director – 2019-2020
• Officer – Treasurer 2019-2020
• Director – 2018-2019
• Reeves Silver Award (2022)
• Follmer Bronze Award (2019)
• William Lubaway Award for Outstanding Committee Chair (2018)
• New Member of the year award (2017)

Committees and Other Activities

• Co-Chair – Program Committee – 2018-2020
• Member – Fall Conference Committee – 2018 – Current
• Member – Membership Committee – 2014

Rick has over thirty years of expertise in the healthcare financial and reimbursement service areas. He has worked in a variety of roles in hospital finance departments, including ten years as a CFO for Acute Care and Rural hospitals. Additionally, he has consulted for multiple national healthcare consulting firms and worked for a healthcare payor. Rick prides himself on providing the high level of service that is synonymous with The Rybar Group. Rick received his Bachelors in Accounting and his Masters in Public Administration from Western Michigan University. He is an active member of the Michigan Great Lakes Chapter of the HFMA, recently having served as the Chapter President for the Western Michigan Chapter and is a current programs chair and member of the Board. In addition, he is a member of the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants. Rick’s work was acknowledged when he became the recipient of the 2013 North Bay CFO of the Year Award for his work in Northern California.

Meghan has worked for Dickinson County Healthcare System – Now Marshfield Medical – Dickinson out of Iron Mountain, MI for the past 11 years.  She is currently Director of Analytics for Enterprise Services for the Analytic Center of Excellence. 

 HFMA Services & Achievements

• Co-Chair Membership Committee
• Co-Chair Programs Committee 
• Chair for Business Intelligence Subcommittee 

Meghan has worked at Dickinson County – Marshfield for 11 years and was recently promoted to Marshfield Health System in December of 2022 as Director of Analytics and leads the System for all Care Delivery Operations analytics and report generation. Meghan has earned her Bachelors in Healthcare Administration and Masters in Business Administration from Central Michigan University. She also is credentialed via HFMA for the following: Certified Specialist in Business Intelligence, Certified Revenue Cycle Representative, and Certified Healthcare Financial Professional. Meghan has been an HFMA on and off for the past several years and is now Director of Membership Committee as well as spearheading the new subcommittee for Business Intelligence. Meghan is very passionate on extending HFMA out to other areas of the healthcare environment, as HFMA is more than Revenue Cycle and Accounting – those individuals who help support these areas through Analytics are very important to HFMA and should leverage this platform for opportunities to understand best practice, report generation to help drive good business decisions, and network with peers who you wouldn’t have been able to otherwise.

In her free time, Meghan coaches volleyball for a local High School and club as well as continues to play volleyball herself. Meghan has a 6 year old daughter as well as 2 dogs, 1 cat, and a load of chickens to take care of as well.

Tina has worked at Trinity Health for 9.5 years and has over 15 years invaluable experience in front and back-end Revenue Cycle.  Throughout her career she has managed, led and been an integral part of optimization initiatives and process enhancements as well as worked in analysis, managed care contracting, provider enrollment and credentialing to name a few. Tina currently works as a Revenue Management Consultant and has a great passion for Revenue Cycle.  Tina also has great enthusiasm for HFMA and the service they provide to our healthcare community. She has certifications in CRCR, CSPR, and CSBI and is currently chair of the Certification Committee and is part of the Board of Directors both now and from 2017- 2020.  Tina holds two Master’s degrees in Finance and Public Health Administration.

Brent has worked at McLaren HealthCare for over 10 years and was recently promoted to Corporate Director of Net Revenue in May 2023. Brent earned his Bachelors in Business Administration – Accounting and Masters in Business Administration – Accounting from University of Michigan Flint. Brent is credentialed as a Fellow of the Healthcare Financial Management Association. Brent has been involved for over 15 years within HFMA serving multiply stints as President and board member. Brent is currently an acting Director with the Michigan Great Lakes Chapter and is also the Enterprise Committee Chair.