Advanced Practice Clinician Advisory Board

 

Jason Astrin,
DMSc, MBA, PA-C, DFAAPA, FAPO

Jason Astrin leads the cardiology and advanced imaging National Provider Engagement Team at Evolent, where he develops strategic relationships with clinicians and practice leadership to drive quality, guideline-driven care. He is a consultant at ModusOne Health, a privately held boutique clinical documentation improvement firm positioned to provide provider-facing education and support to improve patient care and quality metrics for better visualization of total cost of care. He also provides scope of practice and standard of care reviews for the Texas Medical Board regarding PA practice, and he is an Assistant Professor of PA Studies at both West Coast University—Dallas/California and South University, Austin. Dr. Astrin is a strong operations professional with a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Army Academy of Health Sciences, a master of Business Administration from Frostburg State University, and a Doctor of Medical Science degree from the University of Lynchburg.

An experienced service provider with a demonstrated history of working in the hospital and healthcare industry, Dr. Astrin is skilled in performance improvement, customer support, operational excellence, executive management, and data analytics.

 

Ginger Biesbrock,
DSc, PA-C, MPH, MPAS, FACC

Ginger Biesbrock serves as National Heart and Vascular Service Line Administrative Leader at Advocate Health. Dr. Biesbrock formerly served as Executive Vice President of Care Transformation at MedAxiom. With extensive experience in both inpatient and ambulatory settings, Dr. Biesbrock combines over 25 years of clinical and operational experience with the most recent scholarship in delivery science.

Prior to joining MedAxiom, Dr. Biesbrock served as Chief Operating Officer of The Cardiovascular Group at Centra Health (22 physicians and 10 APCs) in Lynchburg, Virginia, followed by directing operations at West Michigan Heart (39 physicians and 24 APCs) in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Her objective is to combine proven organizational performance improvement techniques with an innovation overlay—optimizing the present state while continuously looking to author original solutions.

 

Ginger Breedlove,
PhD, CNM, FACNM, FAAN

Ginger Breedlove is the Founder and Principal Consultant of Grow Midwives LLC, which she formed in 2017 to assist physicians and health systems and to support midwives in the design and scaling up of best practices in team-based care models. Dr. Breedlove is a Past President of the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) and has led many national initiatives to address and improve maternal and child health in the United States. Dr. Breedlove was on faculty a combined 17 years as Professor of Nursing and Midwifery at Shenandoah University and the University of Kansas School of Nursing.

Over a career spanning 40-plus years, Dr. Breedlove cofounded the first freestanding birthing center in Topeka, Kansas, in 1979, cofounded the first hospital-based midwife service at St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1994, and established the University of Kansas graduate Nurse-Midwifery program in 1999. She is a widely published author in numerous journals and publications and a nationally known speaker.

 

Pamela J. Chambers,
DNP, EJD, MSN, CRNA, CPPS, FAANA

Pamela Chambers is an Associate Professor and Course Director for the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, Nurse Anesthesia quality and outcomes courses and the legal matters in professional practice courses. Dr. Chambers has been a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) since 2000, and she brings her wealth of experience as a professional negligence expert consultant to her posts.

She received her master’s degree in nurse anesthesia while on active duty in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps. After leaving the military as a Major in the Army, she attended law school, earning an executive juris doctor degree with a concentration in health law and her DNP in nursing practice. Her capstone project was measuring quality metrics in a private practice anesthesia workgroup.

Dr. Chambers has been an expert consultant in health law, perioperative nursing, and anesthesia matters since 2008. She has practiced anesthesia solo and in group practices nationwide and overseas, both in the military and as a volunteer.

 

Patricia (Patti) Anaya Gurney,
MSN, PPCNP-BC

Patti Gurney is a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner at Sutter Medical Group. Ms. Gurney has held clinical faculty appointments at the University of California, San Francisco, and the Medical College of Virginia—Virginia Commonwealth University. Ms. Gurney is also a dedicated preceptor for physician assistant and nurse practitioner students. She has worked in a variety of healthcare settings, including school health, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), and newborn nurseries. She was also a Pediatric Sexual Abuse Response Team Examiner and expert witness. She currently works in a busy suburban primary care pediatric practice.

Ms. Gurney completed her undergraduate nursing training at Baylor University and her nurse practitioner training at UCSF.

Throughout her career, Ms. Gurney has held many leadership positions, including Sutter Medical Group’s Advanced Practice Clinician (APRNs and PAs) Co-Lead. She has also been active in the California Association for Nurse Practitioners (CANP), recently completing her two-year term as CANP President, as well as her term as Immediate Past President.

 

Surani Hayre-Kwan,
DNP, MBA, FNP-BC, FAANP, FACHE

Surani Hayre-Kwan serves as a Nurse Practitioner for the West County Health Centers and is the President-Elect of the California Association for Nurse Practitioners (CANP). Dr. Hayre-Kwan has been a family NP for more than 20 years at the Russian River Health Clinic in Guerneville, California. She is also the system director of the Advanced Practice Providers at Providence Health. She has 30 years of healthcare experience in ambulatory and acute settings.

She completed a doctor of nursing practice degree at Samuel Merritt University. She also completed a master of science in nursing and a family nurse practitioner certificate at Sonoma State University and is a nationally certified NP in family practice.

Dr. Hayre-Kwan has been recognized as a Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and of the American College of Healthcare Executives. She serves on several community-based nonprofit boards focused on health and wellness.

 

Bridget O. Howard,
DNP, CNM, MSN

As a certified nurse midwife, Bridget Howard is the Manager for Advanced Practice Providers in Women’s Health at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP), Co-Chair of the Women’s Health Patient and Family Advisory Council, and active in hospital quality and safety initiatives.

Since 1990, Dr. Howard has cared for families in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and helped educate a generation of midwives, nurses, advanced practice clinicians, and physicians to support strong collaborative working environments for her colleagues. She is committed to health equity, patient education, and helping women and families find their voices.

Dr. Howard has dedicated over 25 years of service to her professional national organization, the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) and the ACNM Foundation, advocating for funding in awards and scholarships to aid students to complete their basic midwifery education and for midwives to further research in doctoral studies.

 

Christopher Reed,
DNP, MBA, MPH, MSN, CRNA

Christopher Reed is the Founder, Owner, and Chief Executive Officer of Reed Anesthesiology Solutions, LLC. Previously, Dr. Reed served as Vice President of Business Operations for the Southeast Region of North American Partners in Anesthesia (NAPA), where he brought clinical and business acumen to support business operations for NAPA’s clinicians and partners in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina. Earlier, Dr. Reed was NAPA’s Regional Director for the Mid-Atlantic Region .

He obtained his bachelor of science degree from Randolph-Macon College in business/economics and environmental studies, then attended Johns Hopkins University and earned bachelor of science in nursing, master of science in nursing, and master of public health degrees. He also attended Duke University, where he earned a master of science in nursing degree in nursing anesthesiology. Dr. Reed completed his master of business administration degree at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business and the doctorate program in Executive Healthcare Leadership at the University of Pennsylvania.

 

Wendy L. Wright,
DNP, ANP-BC, FNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN, FNAP

Dr. Wright is an adult and family nurse practitioner and the owner of an NP-owned and NP-operated clinic within New Hampshire. In addition, she is the owner of Partners in Healthcare Education, a medical education company. Dr. Wright is the Chief Clinical Officer of Duet Technologies, a startup company designed to assist NP-owned clinics in the United States. She is a Past President of NPACE and the Senior Lecturer for Fitzgerald Health Education Associates.

In 2019, she completed her doctor of nursing practice from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. Dr. Wright’s family practice has won numerous awards, including Top Providers in New Hampshire 2020, Top 20 Fastest Growing Family Business, and Top 20 Women-Owned Business in New Hampshire. She was inducted in 2005 as a Fellow into the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners; in October 2014 as a Fellow into the American Academy of Nursing; and in March 2017 as a Fellow into the National Academies of Practice.