POINT Premier Educational Conference

Ryan Ball, Orthotics and Prosthetics Group of America (OPGA) Government Relations, has been involved in all levels of government and politics for more than ten years as a staff aide, campaign consultant and lobbyist. His daily responsibilities include tracking health care legislation affecting orthotics and prosthetics, giving presentations stressing the importance of orthotics and prosthetics professionals being involved in the legislative process and helping OPGA members with regulatory issues facing their practice. He has been featured in several government-related orthotics and prosthetics publications, including O&P Business News, O&P Edge, 360oandp.com, OPGA Connection and, also, provides daily updates for the OPGA Government Effects blog, detailing important news and analysis of key events.

David Boone, BS, CP, LP, MPH, PhD
Chief Technology Officer, Orthocare Innovations, LLC
800-672-1710 dboone@orthocareinnovations.com

David Boone spent the past 20 years as an innovator, developer, researcher and instructor in rehabilitation and bioengineering. He is a frequent lecturer at academic medical centers and speaks on a range of prosthetic and rehabilitation topics. David is a widely published author, and is credited with multiple technology patents, including a foot scanning technology licensed to Nike. With the support of the National Institutes of Health, he recently invented and developed two new patent-pending alignment technologies: Compas and RoboPAL.

Currently, Boone is the chief technology officer for Orthocare Innovations, LLC, clinical associate professor in the department of rehabilitation medicine, University of Washington, and editor-in-chief for the Journal of Prosthetic and Orthotics.

Dennis Clark, CPO
President, Orthotic and Prosthetic Group of America
877-274-4412 dennis.clark@vgm.com

Dennis Clark, CPO is the president of Orthotic & Prosthetic Group of America, a division of The VGM Group. Additionally, he owns the Waterloo-based company, Clark & Associates Prosthetics and Orthotics, which was contracted by the U.S. Department of Defense to provide prosthetic care to wounded soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Clark has been in the O&P field for over 30 years, serving as a certified orthotist and prosthetist, an instructor at Northwestern University and past president of the American Board for Certification in Orthotics and Prosthetics, former board member of American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists, former president of AOPA region 7, and is a recipient of the Distinguished Practitioner Award from the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists. In 2003, Clark and his partners were contracted by the U.S. Department of Defense to provide prosthetic care to wounded soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Kurt Gruben, CPO
National Clinical Manager Bionics, Ossur
800-233-6263 kgruben@ossur.com

Kurt is an ABC Certified Prosthetist Orthotist who graduated from the University of Illinois in1992 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. In 1993, he received his MS degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Iowa. He completed the Northwestern University Program in Orthotics in 1995 and the Northwestern University Prosthetics Program in 1996. Kurt joined American Prosthetics and Orthotics as a clinical prosthetist/orthotist in 1994 and continued his clinical work at Wisconsin Prosthetics and Orthotics in 2002.

Kurt joined Ossur Americas as a Regional Clinical Manager of the Northeast Region in 2005, and recently (2010) has transitioned into the role of National Clinical Manager for Bionics. A native of northern Illinois, he currently resides in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, with his wife and three children.

Wayne H. van Halem, CFE, AHFI
President, The van Halem Group, LLC
404-343-1815 Wayne@vanHalemGroup.com

Wayne van Halem is an author, consultant, and President of The van Halem Group, LLC in Atlanta, GA. Since 2006, his company has helped countless providers navigate complex issues related to Medicare and Medicaid audits, appeals, enrollment, and compliance. The van Halem Group is unique in that consultants and clinicians are former HHS or Medicare contractor employees. Therefore, clients benefit from a unique perspective and first-hand knowledge of the audit and appeal process and how to navigate through it more successfully. A former auditor and national Appeals Director with Medicare, Wayne’s proven experience and sound counsel, captured in books, lectures and publications, has uniquely positioned him as a resource to all types of healthcare providers. In 2011, The van Halem Group acquired HCComply and expanded its breadth of services to include compliance assessments and tailored program design.

Davin Heyd, C.O.
VP Program Development, Bracemasters International, LLC
888-790-6880 davin@bracemasters.com

MR. DAVIN HEYD, C.O., has worked for more than 25 years in the O&P Industry as a technician, an Orthotist, and a Central Fabrication Manager. His passion for innovation of products and clinical applications for treating patients to achieve quality results developed during his first ten years in clinical practice. During the next six years as a Central Fabrication Manager with Orthomerica he was responsible for the manufacture and development of numerous Orthotic devices and programs. Mr. Heyd spent the next four years as the Director of Orthotics and Prosthetics at RMS in Sioux Falls, South Dakota leading a clinical practice group with new clinical practice methods and product designs developed in conjunction with Bracemasters International. Mr. Heyd joined BMI in 2009 as Vice President of Program Development. His focus is to constantly evolve product design and practitioner programs to achieve the best possible results for providers and their patients. Davin refers to this as ”Support for Life”. Mr. Heyd received his bachelor’s degree at Concordia College and his orthotic training at Century College in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. He completed an Orthotic Residency program at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, and was certified by the American Board for Certification in Orthotics in 1990. He designed and developed the O.U. Ankle Joint and Motion Control Limiter, two orthotic lower limb devices. He was the recipient of a Quality Service Award from the governor of Minnesota in 1994, and was awarded Most Outstanding Student at Century College, for 1995-96. Mr. Heyd formerly served as President of the Minnesota Chapter of the Academy for Orthotics and Prosthetics, Chairman for the Technical Exam Committee through the American Board for Certification in Orthotics and Prosthetics, and Chairman for the Lower Limb Orthotic Society for the Academy. Mr. Heyd is also currently Adjunct Faculty at Northwestern University in Chicago.

Jeremy Kauten
General Manager, VGM Forbin
877-814-7485 jeremyk@forbin.com

Jeremy manages the day-to-day business functions of VGM Forbin. He also identifies, develops and directs the implementation of VGM Forbin’s business strategy. Jeremy has developed a reputation for delivering effective solutions to medical businesses seeking to enhance their presence on the World Wide Web. He is a frequent speaker on topics relating to optimizing search engine rankings, patient/consumer use of the Internet and online social media marketing. He joined VGM Forbin in 1997.

John Michael, MEd, CPO/L, FAAOP, FISPO
President, CPO Services, Inc.
612-281-4290 jwm@cposervices.com

John Michael is a renowned prosthetist/orthotist who has been in the field since 1976. He earned 20 different awards and recognitions from national industry associations including Distinguished Practitioner Award from the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association (AOPA) and the Outstanding Research Award from American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists (AAOP).

John is a published author of more than 45 articles and has been an active member of many professional societies. His clinical expertise evolved from his field experience, which includes work as a hospital psychiatric case worker early in his career, advancement to director of professional and technical services at Otto Bock USA and work in his current position as president and CEO of CPO Services, Inc.

Greg Schmitz, Ph.D.
President, VGM Education
866-227-8171 greg.schmitz@vgm.com

Greg Schmitz, Ph.D., is the President of VGM Education, a VGM Group, Inc. company. He joined VGM in October 2010. Greg’s primary responsibility is to guide the expansion of VGM Education’s offerings in both its traditional areas of interest and into areas beyond.
Prior to joining VGM, Greg was President of Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo, Iowa. He also held several high-level positions in public education and in private industry. He began his professional career as a certified public accountant with KPMG Peat Marwick. Greg earned his master’s and PhD degrees from Iowa State University, and his BA from Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa.
Greg has given presentations at the national level, has many professional affiliations and serves on numerous community boards.

Michael Sperduti
President and CEO, Emerge Sales
631-923-0223 mike.sperduti@emergesales.com

Michael Sperduti is President and CEO of Emerge Sales and has gained national recognition for his expertise in building world-class businesses and revitalizing underperforming firms. A leading authority on business psychology, he is a master of cold calling and salesmanship and unwavering in his dedication to peak performance.

Sperduti is a pioneer and leading producer of customized high impact online training and webinar events. HME News has called him a “Master Salesman in the HME industry” and more than 1000 HME companies and 10,000 representatives are using his cutting edge sales techniques and market research. Michael is a high powered coach, trainer and speaker. Industry leaders have turned to Michael Sperduti for his highly effective and straight forward approach. Sperduti's list of client organizations include Medtrade, HME News, VGM,, HME Business Summit, NEMED, GE Healthcare, McKesson and hundreds of others.

Jay Subbert
Senior Programs Manager, BREG
888-886-5290 jsubbert@breg.com

Jay Subbert, MEd, OPAC, ATC, OTC, is the Senior Programs Manager at Breg, a company that provides premium, high-value sports medicine products and services that advance orthopedic patient care. From pioneering cold therapy products and innovative bracing to caring customer service and award-winning orthopedic practice solutions (OPS), Breg delivers a 360°customer experience unmatched in the industry.

Jay received his undergraduate degree in Kinesiology with Athletic Training emphasis from the University of Illinois and his Masters of Education in Exercise Science from Auburn University. Following his formal education, Jay worked as a Certified Athletic Trainer, Certified Orthopedic Technician. His responsibilities included patient care, including casting and x-ray duties. Jay furthered his professional career by attaining his certification as an Orthopedic Physicians Assistant. As an OPA-C, Jay was the direct link between physician and patient and assisted in the clinical and surgical settings. Jay’s experiences from the ground up with patients, physicians, hospitals, and the O & P community, have been instrumental in developing/restructuring O&P suppliers into successful and compliant business models.

Scott Williamson
President, Quality Outcomes
800-986-3004 Customerservice@qualityoutcomes.com

Scott Williamson, MBA, CAE, is President of Quality Outcomes, Inc., a company dedicated to establishing a consensus building approach to identify broad-based O&P outcomes data to identify and teach professional best practices. He just celebrated his 20th year in the nonprofit community and is active in several healthcare related activities.

Scott has worked in professional certification since 1992, and most recently worked for the American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics and Pedorthics, Inc. (ABC) from 2002 - 2010 as the Director of Facility Accreditation. He was the Director of Facility Accreditation and played a key role in establishing and maintaining the national standards for quality O&P care. Scott has been a key liaison between the O&P profession and CMS during the development of the CMS Quality Standards and their mandatory accreditation program. He is currently the Chairperson of the Healthcare Knowledge Taskforce of the American Society of Association Executives, a member of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), and a member of the National Quality Forum. In 1995, Scott earned his Masters of Business Administration from the University of Richmond and his undergraduate degree is in Management Economics from Hampden~Sydney College. While earning his MBA, Scott worked for MWH MediCorp (a hospital holding Corp.) where he developed and maintained billing and performance data and was responsible for corporate safety and security. In 2005 Scott earned his Certified Association Executive (CAE) credential from the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE). Scott is a frequent speaker on DMEPOS accreditation processes and standards, the CMS Quality Standards, and also speaks about how pending regulations and developments in the delivery of care are transforming the profession. Scott, his wife, Colleen and daughter Nicole live in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Speaker Bios