A Brief Life
History and CV…
I am a native of Winnfield, Louisiana. I started my health care career in 1972 during high school as a respiratory therapy technician. Over the next 14 years, I worked as a respiratory therapist and attained credentials as a Registered Respiratory Therapist in 1983. My respiratory career was divided between stints as a department manager and clinician specializing in adult and neonatal critical care.
In 1985, I was tasked with the development of a hyperbaric
program at St. Patrick Hospital, Lake Charles, LA. I lead the development of the program and served as its
director from 1986 – 7. This
facility was the first hyperbaric program in Louisiana outside of metropolitan
New Orleans.
Reneau, Inc., a manufacturer of hyperbaric chambers, hired
me in 1987. Originally, my title
was Hyperbaric Applications Specialist, with responsibilities directed towards
supporting customers before and after sale – I helped prospective clients
determine program feasibility, design units, coordinate equipment installation,
and train staff. In 1988, I assumed
responsibility for sales – directing advertising and trade shows, prospecting
and qualifying leads, performing sales presentations and closing sales.
In 1989, I was promoted to Vice President.
In 1990, I assumed the role of General Manager and directed the entire
corporate organization, reporting directly to the company owner.
During my tenure at Reneau, I was also involved in assisting the company
owner in reducing operating costs and preparing the company for its eventual
sale.
One of my early career mentors, who had been involved in
the respiratory contracting industry, became interested in the prospects for
contracting hyperbaric services after discussing the industry with me.
In 1992, he and an investor formed Hyperbaric Oxygen, Inc. and hired me
to start up the company. I served
as Vice President, Operations until 1995, then as Vice President, Business
Development until my departure from the company in 2000.
During my employment with HOI, I was originally responsible for all
corporate operations, except Finance, and essentially served as COO during the
first two years of the company’s existence. I was responsible for directing
the marketing program, all sales presentations, coordinating new program
implementation (from design to personnel to startup), chamber installations,
preventive maintenance, repair, technical training and serving as a hyperbaric
resource to our units and affiliated physicians.
I was part of the team that developed the TotalWound Treatment Center
concept, which expanded our corporate focus from hyperbarics only to a
comprehensive provider of wound care services.
I have been active in professional organizations, recently
completing a two-year term as Chairman of the Associates of the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical
Society (the primary international hyperbaric organization), and additional
two-year term as Associate representative to the UHMS Hyperbaric Facility
Accreditation Council. Currently, I serve as a surveyor for the Facility
Accreditation Program and chair a committee that developed design guidelines for
hyperbaric facilities. In 1998, when the industry was facing extinction from changes
in Medicare reimbursement, I organized the original meeting that resulted in
the formation of the Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Association and served as Vice
President and Treasurer. HOTA was
successful in convincing the Medicare program to revise the reimbursement for
HBO and helped assure the survival of many hyperbaric programs across the U.S.
I have always had an interest in technical issues related
to hyperbarics. In 1996, I began to
study fire safety in oxygen pressurized chambers, with a particular interest in
the behavior and ignition characteristics of static electrical discharges in
these environments. I have
presented this data at hyperbaric conferences in the U.S. and Australia, and
contributed a chapter to the definitive hyperbaric safety text, published in
1999. As a result of my fire safety
work, I was asked to serve on the NFPA Hyperbaric Technical Committee.
In 1997, I co-founded Advanced Baromedical Systems.
ABS’ business plan was to develop a new monoplace hyperbaric chamber
that would successfully compete with the industry leaders.
By mid-1998, we had a working prototype of a 37 inch diameter chamber
with an innovative design. Unfortunately,
in late 1998, the market for new chambers collapsed with the uncertainty over
reimbursement and we reluctantly made the decision not to go forward with
production.
As the hyperbaric field evolved in the aftermath of the Medicare reimbursement issues, I felt that there were multiple opportunities in the industry that my employer was not interested in exploiting. Therefore, I founded HSC and went on my own in August 2000, providing a full range of technical and managerial services to the hyperbaric industry.
Five minutes after announcing the formation of HSC, I received a call from the President of Medical Multiplex, who offered me a position in the company. Since I wanted to run my own shop for a while, I declined the offer, but did provide consulting to the company over the next year. In the summer of 2001, I joined Medical Multiplex, Inc. as Vice President/Senior Consultant and partner in the company. Over the next 6 years, we grew MMI from 5 clinics to 22, and in 2007 accepted a buyout offer from National Healing Corporation, which was completed in early that year.
I remained with National Healing until June 2008, serving as Director of Facilities and Safety, when I accepted a position as Senior Vice President of Hyperbaric America, LLC, which is producing a new line of hyperbaric chambers. I assisted Hyperbaric America in the development of their chambers until May 2009, when I left to re-establish my consulting firm, which will focus on hyperbaric operational and safety management.
I live in San Antonio, Texas with my wife Jayne, two cats, and a dog.