Opening Keynote Speaker

Join us for our opening keynote session, “Chronic Pain and Addiction: A Complex Co-occurring Disorder,” featuring nationally known public speaker and author Mel Pohl, MD, DFASAM, is a Family Practitioner. He is the Senior Medical Consultant of the Pain Recovery Program at The Pointe Malibu Recovery Center. He is certified by the American Board of Addiction Medicine (ABAM) and is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Nevada School of Medicine.

He is the author of A Day without Pain, revised edition (Central Recovery Press, 2011) and The Pain Antidote - Stop Suffering from Chronic Pain, Avoid Addiction to Painkillers, and Reclaim Your Life (DaCapo, 2015). Dr. Pohl filmed a show for PBS on chronic pain which aired around the country in 2016.

Join us Wednesday, March 9, 2022, with keynote presenter, Thomas (Tom) J Jeffers, MBA, as he reviews efforts to collaborate with various organizations to incorporate mobility language into healthcare quality metrics and directives such as the recent Appropriations Bill passed by the House of Representatives in Washington, DC. Tom currently serves as Vice President of Government Affairs for the medical device manufacturer Hillrom in Washington, DC. In this capacity, he is responsible for regulatory and legislative advocacy at the local, state, and federal levels.

Additionally, Tom represents or has represented Hillrom in a variety of healthcare trade organizations, including the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed), the National Association for the Support of Long-Term Care (NASL), and the Indiana Medical Device Manufacturers Council (IMDMC). His previous responsibilities with the company included Director of Regulatory Affairs and Compliance for the Home Care and Long-Term Care divisions (based in Charleston, SC) from July 1996 – December 1999. Prior to coming to Hillrom, Jeffers served as an aide to Indiana Governor Evan Bayh from 1991-1996, with primary responsibility for healthcare and transportation policy. He was appointed to serve on the CMS Competitive Bidding Program Advisory and Oversight Committee in January of 2009 and was subsequently named its co-chair. He earned a BA from Wabash College and an MBA from Butler University.

We are extremely excited to announce our keynote speaker for the event, Ruth Francis, MPH, MCHES. Ruth has over 30 years of international, corporate, association, government, and community health education and promotion experience and is a Senior Policy Advisor for the American Nurses Association (ANA) in the Nursing Practice & Work Environment Department. She currently leads ANA’s occupational health initiatives: Safe Patient Handling and Mobility; #End Nurse Abuse and Bullying Prevention; Opioids Prevention; Precision Health; and Gun Violence Prevention; representing ANA at national and federal stakeholder meetings. For the past two years, she has represented ANA on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) related to the COVID-19 vaccine.

In January 2022, Francis started her 3-year term on the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Board of Scientific Counselors, providing guidance to the NIOSH executive staff. She has authored or co-authored over 100 articles, positions, briefs, and papers, and has presented locally, nationally, and internationally on occupational health, immunizations, workplace violence prevention, and health and wellness promotion. She received her master’s degree from Loma Linda University in California and is certified as a Master Health Education Specialist. She is currently completing her dissertation for her Doctor of Public Health degree.

Timothy (Tim) Buchanan, MSN, RN, NPD-BC, CSPHP

Tim Buchanan is a master’s level prepared Registered Nurse with over 28 years of patient care experience and is a retired United States Air Force (USAF) critical care and flight/CCAT nurse. He moved from his previous roles as a Safe Patient Handling and Mobility Facility Coordinator and adjunct nurse faculty into his current role as a Patient Safety Officer for the Veterans Affairs Health Care System, where he works to promote patient safety and still oversees the SPHM program for all of Florida and southern Georgia.

Buchanan has a passion for education and has served as an adjunct nurse clinical faculty for the past 10 years, has presented at numerous SPHM conferences, and recently served as collaborating author for SPHM chapters in a Nursing Fundamentals text. He collaborates with a diverse multidisciplinary team of patient safety and SPHM professionals to deliver care to over three million veterans. He maintains an interest in clinical excellence and continues to consult as a SPHM and patient safety professional.

Timothy Lee, PT, DPT, CEAS II

Timothy Lee is a Doctor of Physical Therapy with a clinical background working with patients in settings ranging from outpatient orthopedic and balance to acute care and rehabilitation. He moved from direct patient care into his current role as a Workforce Safety Specialist for Northwell Health, where he is the liaison for 10 acute care hospitals and works to promote musculoskeletal injury reduction through development of SPHM and ergonomics program initiatives.

Lee has a passion for education and has served as an adjunct professor at his alma mater, Stony Brook University, and as a guest lecturer at physical therapy programs, raising awareness of SPHM concepts to optimize patient outcomes while reducing injury risk in future healthcare professionals. He collaborates with a diverse multidisciplinary team to develop profession-specific SPHM education that addresses emergent and rapidly evolving issues in present-day healthcare, including proning and decedent handling. He maintains an interest in clinical excellence and continues to treat patients primarily using MDT principles through telehealth.