Staff Profiles
Denise McQuown-Hatter, NHA –President and CEO
Denise has more than 30 years of long-term care experience including financial consulting, nursing home administration, and corporate operations. She has worked at both the facility and corporate levels for large, publicly-held corporations as well as small, private companies.
In 1996, Denise was instrumental in forming Affinity Health Services, Inc. She currently serves as the President and CEO and is responsible for the operational, clinical, regulatory, financial, and marketing functions of both our managed and consulting clients. She has also acted as the labor relations’ manager for key union negotiations.
Denise is a co-founder of the Indiana County Career Consortium and a board member of the Tri-County Workforce Investment Board. She currently serves on the Healthcare Sector Ad Hoc Committee approved by the Pennsylvania Workforce Development Board and is a board member for the AB Nursing Home Group.
Bryan Hagerich, NHA – Executive Vice President of Operations
Bryan provides day-to-day leadership and oversight of Affinity’s managed and consulting clients. Prior to joining Affinity Health Services, Bryan served as the Executive Director for multiple senior living communities in both the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors of post-acute care. His responsibilities encompass all areas of business operations including strategic planning, business development and fiscal performance.
In a previous role, he successfully led his community through the initial accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities – Continuing Care Accreditation Commission (CARF-CCAC). Bryan is a graduate of the Leading Age Pennsylvania Fellows in Leadership Program, a distinguished honor within the not-for-profit senior living industry. He has been licensed as a Nursing Home Administrator in the state of Pennsylvania since 2011.
Bryan received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Delaware, where he was a four-year scholar athlete and a member of the Athletics Governing Board.
Candace McMullen – Executive Vice President of Consulting and Business Development
Candace oversees sales and marketing for Affinity Health Services as well as expansion of the consulting services line of business. She has experience in operations, consulting, clinical and regulatory management of continuing care retirement communities (CCRC), skilled nursing facilities, personal care homes, assisted living, independent living and home health.
She most recently served as VP of Operations for a non-profit organization and oversaw five CCRCs located in Pennsylvania and Maryland, caring for more than 2,000 residents with an annual operating budget in excess of $130M.
Candace’s degrees from Pennsylvania State University include a BS in Nursing and a Master of Health Administration. She holds certifications as a Registered Nurse, Nursing Home Administrator, Certified Legal Nurse Consultant and Certified Nursing Director Long Term Care.
She currently serves as Executive Director/Board Chair of the Pennsylvania Directors of Nursing Association and recently finished tenure as Secretary of the LeadingAge MD board. She is also a member of the Pennsylvania State Nurses Association, American Nurses Association and National Association of Certified Legal Nurse Consultants. Candace had served as Affinity’s VP of Operations from 2008-2014 and was a Nursing Consultant from 2004-2007.
Tammy Leister — Regional Operational Manager
Tammy has built a career on a varied nursing background. She has 34 years as a registered nurse, 30 years of experience in long-term care, 11 years as a licensed nursing home administrator, and five years as the Regional Vice President of Operations for a long-term care management company.
Tammy began her career as a nursing assistant at the former Somerset County Nursing Home and worked there as an RN supervisor, nurse aide trainer, ADON, Director of Nursing, and Nursing Home Administrator. She advanced within the company and became Regional Vice President of Operations, where she was responsible for the oversight of clinical operations, regulatory compliance, and financial functions of skilled nursing, personal care, and independent living facilities. She is well-versed in Continuing Care Retirement Communities and was instrumental in obtaining that status for facilities.
Garet Weston – Vice President of Operational Finance
Garet began his career in long-term care in 2013. Prior to starting in the healthcare industry, Garet worked in public accounting with both corporate financial statement preparation and tax accounting. After his public accounting experience, he successfully served as the finance director at a skilled nursing facility becoming experienced in all aspects of the business and finance office including billing, financial statement preparation and analysis, resident trust, payroll, budgeting and variance reporting. Garet also became proficient in PointClickCare.
Garet was promoted to a financial consultant position with Affinity Health Services in 2016. Garet provided client services in standalone personal care homes, skilled nursing facilities and continuing care retirement communities. Garet gained experience with all ownership types including non-profit, for-profit, hospital-based and government-owned facilities. Garet’s expertise includes knowledge and hands-on experience in multiple customized accounting and healthcare software packages, financial statement oversight and review, audit management, third-party billing and collections, reimbursement, internal auditing, and heading up Affinity’s training services for both managed and consulting clients.
Garet has a master’s in business workforce and development from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Clarion University of Pennsylvania. Garet is a certified swim coach and currently serves as a local high school head swim coach. Additionally, Garet is very active in Relay for Life, Make-A-Wish Foundation and is a volunteer football coach.
Jack Nelson — Director of Financial Planning and Project Management
With more than 30 years of experience as a finance professional in healthcare, Jack brings valuable knowledge regarding budgeting, financial planning, and reimbursement to the Affinity team. In his previous roles, he has served as the Vice President of Finance and Director of Financial Planning and Analysis in a community hospital setting, among other critical roles in healthcare finance.
As the Director of Financial Planning, he plays an important role in the overall financial management of Affinity, including budgeting, forecasting, and strategic planning tasks. Jack holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Waynesburg University.
Daniel McCullough — Financial Consultant
Dan has nearly 20 years of experience in healthcare, more than half in long-term care. He began working as a residential program supervisor, where he held a Personal Care Home Administrator Certification. Additionally, he has served as a social services director and business office manager in long-term care facilities. Dan utilizes his diverse skills set to support the Affinity finance team by performing bookkeeping, financial statement preparation, and benchmarking compilation tasks.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Philosophy from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and he is currently pursuing an MBA from his alma mater.
Denise Gooden — Billing Specialist
Denise has more than 20 years of long-term care experience as a billing specialist. Prior to her tenure in long-term care, Denise worked in a contracted billing environment, primarily with physician services. She is responsible for aging reviews, credit and collection processes, and training and maintaining statistical data for various reports, including cost reporting. She has also served as both a HIPAA Compliance Officer and Corporate Compliance Officer.
Denise consults in regulatory compliance and trains new billing personnel in Medicare, Medicaid, HMOs, and other third-party billing.
Karen Hartung — Accounts Receivable Specialist
Karen began her career in healthcare more than 20 years ago by serving as a practice administrator for a network of healthcare facilities in Pittsburgh. She has held both managerial and financial roles with several organizations, previously serving as Area Financial Analyst, Director of Business Office Services, and Office Manager.
She brings her diverse background in office management and financial support to the Affinity Health Services, Inc. team as our Accounts Receivable Specialist. In this role, Karen supervises billing staff and supports the development and maintenance of billing systems.
Karen earned her degree in Business Finance and Accounting from Westmoreland College.
Angela Huffman, RN – Vice President of Clinical Services
Angela brings more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare and long-term care fields. She began her career as a Quality Assurance State Surveyor for the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Subsequent to the State Survey position, Angela served as both an Assistant Director and Director of Nursing for two skilled nursing facilities. After a short stint in a primary care center, Angela returned to long-term care and gained over 17 years of experience as a Clinical Services Consultant and Compliance Field Investigator for a large for-profit chain. As the Compliance Investigator she served a region of 68 long-term care facilities spanning 8 states. Prior to joining Affinity, Angela’s most recent position was as a specialized paralegal, conducting comprehensive medical record reviews and analysis.
Angela has earned a Certificate of Training in Infection Prevention in the long-term care setting.
Tammy Coleman, RN, CNDLTC, RAC-CT – Vice President of Clinical Reimbursement
Tammy began her healthcare career in long-term care in 2004 as an RN, a Nursing Supervisor, Assistant Director of Nursing and in 2009 evolved as a Director of Nursing for a skilled nursing facility. By blending her clinical experience and managerial roles, she has achieved expertise in nursing department operations such as budgets, staffing and human resources. In addition, Tammy has experience with development and implementation of quality assurance initiatives focused on improving residents’ quality of care and life in a long term care environment and has achieved a Certificate of Training in Infection Prevention in the Long-Term Care Setting. Tammy is a member of PADONA and a member of the Lycoming County Elder Abuse Task Force. She is also on the advisory committee for the Pennsylvania College of Technology nursing department.
In addition, Tammy is a member of the American Association of Nurse Assessment Coordination (AANAC) Tammy has been with Affinity Health Services, Inc. for 9 years.
Deborah C. Alabran-Blair, RN, WCC, RAC-CT, CDP, PCHA— Clinical Consultant
Deb began her career in long-term care in 1994. She has successfully served as a Clinical Consultant, Director of Nursing, Quality Assurance Director, Admissions and Marketing Director, Assistant Director of Nursing and Infection Control/Staff Development Coordinator, RNAC and Wound Care Nurse. Deb has worked for several major nursing home corporations and has working knowledge and proven ability in developing, teaching, and implementing strategies to promote positive outcomes. As a clinical liaison, she developed a clinical assessment/admission screening tool that was effective in her combined role in marketing and referral development, having a positive impact on staff, resident and family satisfaction.
Her areas of expertise include nursing department operations such as budgets, staffing and human resources. Regulatory expertise includes providing regulatory compliance services to Personal Care Homes and Skilled Nursing Facilities as well as providing Directed Inservice educator as approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Deb is an on-site trainer for the Department of Human Services Medication Administration course. She is a member of the Association of Infection Control Practitioners (APIC) and is a Certified Wound Care Nurse (WCC).
Cheryl Metrick, RN, NHA, WCC, LNC – Clinical Consultant
Cheryl brings 30 years of experience in senior community management to Affinity Health Services, Inc. She was a Director of Nursing and Nursing Home Administrator for a large not-for-profit Continuing Care Retirement Community early in her career. After achieving many successes in facility-based management, Cheryl joined a large, nationwide for-profit provider as a Clinical Services Consultant. In this position, she oversaw multiple post-acute living centers in PA, OH, WV, TN, and CA. After seven years as a Clinical Consultant, Cheryl was asked to serve as the Area Vice President for the same organization in which she had operational oversight of financial, clinical, budget development, compliance, HR and environment of care functions.
Most recently, she had briefly relocated and had the experience of serving as an interim Director of Nursing and subsequently training her replacement. In addition to Cheryl being an RN and NHA, Cheryl is a certified Wound Care Nurse and has achieved her certification as a Legal Nurse Consultant from the American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants.
Michele Conner, RN, BSN, RAC-CT – Clinical Consultant
Michele brings more than 20 years of experience across the spectrum in long-term care, home care and post-acute care. In 1998, she began serving as an Assistant Director of Nursing, then as a Director of Nursing. Over the course of her skilled nursing positions, she also served as a Lead Registered Nurse Assessment Coordinator (RNAC). With her vast experience with facility based management, Michele assumed the position for a for-profit provider as a Clinical Reimbursement Specialist/Clinical Service Specialist with oversight of multiple skilled nursing facilities and personal care homes in western Pennsylvania.
She has extensive hands-on experience in regulatory compliance and survey management, clinical programming, comprehensions, and analysis to develop interventions to reduce high risk areas to enhance quality outcomes, Minimum Data Set (MDS) and Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM) processes with completion of assessments and reimbursement factors.
She holds a Bachelor of Science in nursing and is a certified dementia practitioner and infection preventionist.
Kimberly Kelly – Director of Marketing & Business Development
Kim began her career in healthcare in 1989 working in an acute care hospital setting and, in 1999, entered the long-term care arena as Community Relations Liaison for a for-profit multi-chain organization. Since her initial exposure to long-term care, Kim has held positions as Director of Marketing for a non-profit CCRC and Director of Marketing and Business Development for a nine-facility, privately-owned corporation and a long term care pharmacy.
Her experience includes development and implementation of marketing action plans for skilled nursing facilities, personal care homes, and independent living communities, supervision of a clinical liaison program and development and implementation of a comprehensive customer and family satisfaction program. Kim also has supervised multiple social service departments and has served as the HIPAA compliance officer in her most recent position.
Mike Morlacci — Digital Media Marketing Specialist
Mike is an experienced communications professional whose skills encompass website management, social media and digital marketing, writing, editing and publishing.
A varied background in healthcare, higher education and media has prepared him for his role with Affinity Health Services. Mike has managed web content for a national healthcare organization, a hospital system and a university He has also served as managing editor for print and broadcast media websites.
Mike has led social media and digital marketing campaigns that have significantly exceeded prior results. He holds certifications in web analytics, marketing, search engine optimization and project management.
In addition to web and social media content, his writing experience spans the disciplines of corporate communications, press releases, magazine articles, newsletters and reporting.
He worked in newspapers for many years as an editor and reporter. Mike began his career as a sports writer and continues to dabble in that area as a freelancer.