Meet the Panel

Panelist: Rick Simpson has been a dedicated member of East Tennessee Children’s Hospital (ETCH) for over 15 years. In his role as Director of Information Technology – Technology Services, he is responsible for overseeing information management, technology infrastructure, cybersecurity, and the alignment of information systems with the organization’s operational and strategic goals.

Mr. Simpson brings more than 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry, along with a professional background that spans the technology sector, civil construction, and disaster recovery. He provides strategic vision and leadership in the development and implementation of information technology initiatives, ensuring they support and advance clinical and operational excellence.

Throughout his career, he has led the successful implementation of multiple Electronic Medical Record (EMR), Electronic Health Record (EHR), and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, as well as numerous best-of-breed technology solutions.

Mr. Simpson holds a Master’s degree in Health Administration with a concentration in Health Informatics. He is also a licensed Pharmacy Technician and holds several professional certifications, including CHCIO (Certified Healthcare Chief Information Officer), CDH-E (Certified Digital Health Executive), and is a graduate of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) program.

Panelist: Kim Jeffries is a seasoned leader in revenue cycle and organizational analytics with over 12 years of experience in the healthcare industry. Her expertise spans a wide range of care environments, including academic and community health systems, retail pharmacy, home health, pediatric hospitals, and behavioral health.

As a Senior Manager in Management Consulting at BDO, Ms. Jeffries specializes in developing data-driven solutions that support strategic decision-making and drive operational excellence. Her background in revenue cycle includes leadership in analytics, patient access, scheduling, financial counseling, pricing strategies, and denial prevention and management. She has successfully led initiatives such as centralized scheduling, point-of-service collection programs, shared business office (SBO) transformations, and denial mitigation efforts.

In addition to her revenue cycle expertise, Ms. Jeffries is proficient in decision support and operational functions across hospital and physician billing, financial planning, budgeting, productivity, patient throughput, surgical services, case management, and cardiovascular services. She is known for translating complex data into actionable insights that guide executive teams, boards of directors, and clinical leaders, consistently delivering measurable return on investment.

Ms. Jeffries brings a unique blend of operational knowledge and analytical acumen, leading cross-functional teams through all phases of project development—from concept to implementation. Her experience includes supporting Epic system implementations with a focus on operations and analytics. She is also highly skilled with business intelligence platforms such as Power BI, Tableau, and Qlik.

Her areas of specialization include data governance, data maturity assessment, and integration of disparate system data to enable holistic and sustainable improvements. Her ability to bridge analytics with operational strategy ensures meaningful and lasting outcomes for her clients.

Education

• M.A., Business Administration, University of the Cumberlands
• B.A., Business Administration, American Public University

Professional Affiliations

• Member, Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA)

Certifications

• Epic Revenue Data Model (Cogito, Clarity, Caboodle, Revenue – HB, PB, SBO)
• Certified Revenue Cycle Representative (CRCR) – HFMA
• Certified Specialist Business Intelligence (CSBI) – HFMA

Panelist: Wesley Combs is a visionary healthcare IT executive and artificial intelligence innovator with over 25 years of experience driving transformative change at the intersection of technology and medicine. His work is guided by a singular mission: to create a healthcare environment where physicians are free to focus on patient care while AI efficiently manages administrative and cognitive burdens.

Mr. Combs specializes in the development and deployment of cutting-edge AI solutions, with a particular emphasis on generative AI (GPT-based) technologies designed to reduce provider cognitive load and improve patient outcomes. His current research explores Model Augmented Generation (MAG), Model Context Protocol (MCP), and Agent-to-Agent (A2A) communication—key components in establishing a comprehensive agentic infrastructure for healthcare. This forward-looking work aims to create systems where AI operates seamlessly alongside clinicians, reducing the need for manual computer interaction and elevating the practice of medicine.

As the founder of Phiniti AI, Mr. Combs is leading the development of ambient scribe technology that leverages real-time transcription and generative AI to revolutionize clinical documentation. His entrepreneurial vision builds on a strong foundation of leadership in healthcare IT, including past roles as Chief Information Officer for State of Franklin Healthcare Associates and Holston Medical Group/Emergent ACO/OnePartner. In these roles, he directed strategic IT and machine learning initiatives to support clinical innovation and organizational growth.

Previously, he served as Vice President of Clinical Solutions at NextGen Healthcare, where he managed a substantial clinical product portfolio and played a key role in driving the adoption of AI-enabled platforms.

With deep expertise in healthcare IT strategy, clinical informatics, and AI implementation, Mr. Combs is uniquely positioned to lead the next generation of AI advancements in healthcare—advancing a vision of care that is both technologically sophisticated and profoundly human-centered.

Panelist: Dr. Kent Wright is a proven healthcare leader and widely recognized expert in emergency department operations across the Appalachian region. With extensive experience teaching and guiding improvement efforts in diverse clinical settings, Dr. Wright has consistently driven innovation and enhanced patient care in both emergency and outpatient environments.

He currently serves as a physician and the Medical Director of the SOFHA Walk-In Clinic. In addition, he holds the role of Chief Clinical Integration Officer at SOFHA, where he leads the development and execution of clinic business plans. In this capacity, Dr. Wright works closely with both clinical and operational leadership to streamline care delivery, reduce clinical variation, and champion forward-thinking innovations that improve outcomes and efficiency.

Dr. Wright is also the founder of Maximum Performance Medicine, an organization dedicated to helping individuals optimize their health and fully engage in their personal wellness journey. His work reflects a commitment to high-performance medicine, blending clinical excellence with a holistic approach to health improvement.

With a passion for both systems-level transformation and individual well-being, Dr. Wright continues to shape the future of healthcare in the region and beyond.

Moderator: Isaac Mitchell is an experienced strategy deployment executive with a career focus on driving change utilizing Lean methodologies. He is the Vice President of Project Management and Operational Excellence at Ballad Health and a guest lecturer at the University of Tennessee’s Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. He served as Vice President on the Technical Operations Board for the Institute of Industrial and System Engineers and is the Past President of the Society for Health Systems. He enjoys building learning collaboratives with Lean professionals through his www.leanbook.club and www.leancoffee.club. For more information, please visit www.IsaacBMitchell.com.

This program has been developed and is presented locally by ACHE of East Tennessee. The American College of Healthcare Executives has awarded 1.5 ACHE In-Person Education hours to this program. To receive credit for this program, your name MUST appear on the sign-in sheet.

For any questions regarding this event, please contact Jessica Sanford at [email protected]