Speaker Info

Susan Rudd Bailey, M.D. - Texas Medical Association
President-Elect

Susan Rudd Bailey, M.D., received her Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A&M University in 1979 and her Doctor of Medicine degree in 1981.  She was the first woman to be admitted to the Texas A&M University College of Medicine.  Dr. Bailey completed her postgraduate education in General Pediatrics, Allergy/Immunology and Allergy Research at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota.  She received her Board Certification from the American Board of Pediatrics in 1986 and the American Board of Allergy & Immunology in 1987.  Dr. Bailey is a practicing Allergist in Fort Worth, Texas.

Dr. Bailey provides service and volunteer work for numerous local, state and national organizations.  In her local community, she served as a medical advisor for the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, North Texas Chapter, the Physicians Advisory Board for the Child Study Center, and the Executive Committee of Casa Mañana Theatre.  She is an active member of the Tarrant County Medical Society, where she has previously served as President and Chair of the Board of Trustees.  Dr. Bailey is also active in the Mayo Alumni Association, American Lung Association and University Christian Church.  She serves as a delegate and speaker for the House of Delegates and as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Texas Medical Association.  Dr. Bailey currently serves on the Board of Visitors for Scott & White Clinic and has served on the Board of Trustees for the Minnesota Medical Association.  Nationally, Dr. Bailey is active in the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics (Fellow), American College of Allergy, American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (Distinguished Fellow), Alpha Zeta and Alpha Omega Alpha.

Dr. Bailey received the Distinguished Student Award, Outstanding Pediatrics Student and Honor Graduate Award while attending Texas A&M and the Texas A&M College of Medicine.  Some of her other awards and honors include: World Who's Who of Women, Outstanding Young Women of America, Who's Who in Science and Engineering, International Who's Who in Medicine, Who's Who in the World, The Best Doctors in America, Tarrant County's Most Influential Women and Distinguished Fellow of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.  She has performed extensive research work, produced numerous informational videos and is the author of twenty-two scientific articles and one book chapter.  She serves on the Editorial Board of the Annals of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology and has been an Assistant Editor for Allergy Watch.

Dr. Bailey was appointed to the Board of Regents by Governor George W. Bush in 1999.  She serves as a member on the Committee on Audit and the Committee on Academic and Student Affairs.  Dr. Bailey is chair of the Committee on Health Affairs and is a member of the Policy Review Committee, the Committee on Educational Access and the Health Science Center Review Committee.  She has served on the Committee on Buildings and Physical Plant and the Committee on Biotechnology.

Travis E. Baugh - HEALTHPOINT(R), Ltd.
President and Chief Operating Officer

Travis has a distinguished career as a global operations and financial executive in a variety of industries, including medical devices, oil and gas services, industrial retail and international publishing. Over the years, he has served on the boards of several companies and brings to Healthpoint a deep expertise in running successful organizations.

A seasoned executive and a member of the DFB Pharmaceuticals board of directors since 2004, Mr. Baugh bdrings to Healthpoint almost three decades of public and private company leadership experience. Mr. Baugh was most recently president and CEO of LifeCap Resources, LLC, a consulting firm for venture capital groups and early-stage science companies. Prior to founding LifeCap in 2007, Mr. Baugh was CEO of MicroMed Cardiovascular, Inc., a medical device manufacturing company that developed the DeBakey VAD(R), a miniaturized ventricular assist device (heart pump) developed in collaboration with NASA and Dr. Michael DeBakey and his team at the Baylor College of Medicine. In the company's early stages, Mr. Baugh raised venture capital and bank financing and led the company through the process of becoming a public company in 2005. In the early 1990's, Mr. Baugh was senior vice president of finance and operations and CFO for Grasso Corporation, an oil service company.

Mr. Baugh also serves on the board of Biophan Technologies (OTC Bulletin Board: BIPH.OB). He is a Certified Public Accountant and is currently licensed in New York and Texas.

Since its inception in 1992, Fort Worth, Texas-based Healthpoint has established a U.S. presence in the research, development, and marketing of branded pharmaceuticals, over the counter drugs, and medical devices for tissue management and surgical indications. An aggressive research and development effort has brought Healthpoint's unique technologies to the market, setting the pace for its highly trained field sales organization of direct sales representatives. Healthpoint, with 270 employees, is a DFB Pharmaceuticals, Inc. affiliate.

 

Barclay E. Berdan, FACHE - Texas Health Resources
Senior Executive Vice President of System Alignment and Performance

Barclay E. Berdan, FACHE, senior executive vice president of system alignment and performance for Texas Health Resources, is an industry veteran with more than 30 years of health care leadership experience. He oversees the development of business and strategic plans for Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital, Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Stephenville, Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth, Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford, Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Azle, Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest For  Worth and Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Cleburne. Other areas of expertise include advocacy and community health, pastoral care, system nurse executive leadership, marketing, communication and public relations.

Berdan joined Texas Health in 1986 as vice president/administrator for Harris Methodist Southwest, overseeing the construction and opening of the hospital. He served as the chief operating officer of Texas Health Fort Worth from 1993 to 1999 and then served as its president from 1999 to 2007. He also served as executive vice president for Texas Health from 2005 to 2007. Before joining Texas Health Harris Methodist hospitals, Berdan worked for American Medical International for nine years and held several hospital leadership positions in Florida, Arkansas and Texas.

Under his leadership, Texas Health Fort Worth received many prestigious honors and national recognitions. In addition, the campus developed and expanded to include a new neonatal ICU, expansions in Women's Services and the Emergency Department, a new Blood Bank, the Klabzuba Tower housing a comprehensive cancer center, the Ben Hogan Sports Therapy Institute, the Clearfork Surgery Center and physician offices, the David E. Bloxom Sr. Tower for critical care patients and more. 

Berdan's leadership team, in conjunction with the medical director for cardiovascular services, completed the new Texas Health Harris Methodist Heart Center, a 150,000 square-foot building dedicated to cardiovascular services which houses 100 patient beds, four surgery suites and four cath labs. The $62 million project opened in December 2005.

Berdan’s past experiences also included serving in administrative positions at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Jackson Park Hospital, both in Chicago.

Berdan earned a bachelor of science degree in biology from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth and a master's degree in business administration with a specialization in hospital administration from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.

Active in his community, Berdan currently serves as chairman of the Texas Hospital Association for the 2008-09 year. He also has served in leadership positions on the board of directors for LifeGift Organ Procurement Organization, the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council, Healthy Tarrant County Collaboration, Fort Worth Sister Cities International and Fort Worth South, Inc. He has been actively involved with the American Heart Association, the Boy Scouts, the American Hospital Association, and the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, just to name a few.

Berdan was named Harris Methodist's Enlightened Leader of the Year in 1999, an Outstanding American Heart Association Heart Walk Chair in 2001 and Co-Chair in 2002.

U.S. Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D.

After spending nearly three decades practicing medicine in North Texas, Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D., was first elected to Congress in 2002, and re-elected in 2004, 2006, and most recently in 2008.  During his time on Capitol Hill he has earned a reputation as a problem-solver who seeks sensible solutions to the challenges Americans face. 

Dr. Burgess serves on the prestigious House Energy and Commerce Committee and three of its subcommittees: Health Care, Energy & Environment, and Oversight & Investigations.  He is also a member of the bicameral Joint Economic Committee, and Dr. Burgess recently founded and is Chairman of the Congressional Health Care Caucus.  During his six years in Congress, Dr. Burgess has been a strong advocate for health care legislation aimed at reducing health care costs, improving choices, reforming liability laws to put the needs of patients first, and ensuring there are enough doctors in the public and private sector to care for America’s patients, and played an important role in bipartisan efforts to ensure the safety of food, drugs, and consumer products.

As a Member of Congress representing one of the fastest growing areas of the country, transportation is also a top priority for Dr. Burgess. He successfully amended the 2005 Highway Bill to include toll credits, design-build, and environmental streamlining. During his time on Capitol Hill, he also has worked to build, maintain, and improve the safety of our roads, bridges, air service and transit in the North Texas region.

While in the House of Representatives, Dr. Burgess has received several awards, including the 2008 House Legislator of the Year from the Multiple Sclerosis Society; 2005 Legislator of the Year by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners; Guardian of Small Business by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB); and the Spirit of Enterprise award by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, among others.

Today Dr. Burgess represents parts of suburban Dallas and Fort Worth.  He was raised in Denton, Texas and attended The Selwyn School, graduating in 1968 as valedictorian.  He graduated with both an undergraduate and a Masters degree from North Texas State University, now the University of North Texas. He received his M.D. from the University of Texas Medical School in Houston and completed his residency programs at Parkland Hospital in Dallas.  Dr. Burgess also received a Masters degree in Medical Management from the University of Texas at Dallas, and in May of 2009 was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Public Service from the University of North Texas Health Sciences Center.  Dr. Burgess has been married to his wife, Laura, for 35 years, and they have three children and a grandson.

Rob Early - JPS Health Network
President and CEO

Robert Earley attended and graduated from The University of North Texas. After graduation he promptly went to Washington D.C. to serve on the staff of United States Congressman Tom Vandergriff.

Earley moved back to South Texas to seek a seat in the Texas House of Representatives. When Earley announced his candidacy he was only 23 years old, making him the youngest candidate in the state seeking an office in the Texas Legislature that year. Earley was elected to serve in the Texas House of Representatives in May of 1984. 

While serving in the Texas House of Representatives for 10 years, Earley was chairman of the Energy committee. 

After leaving the legislature in 1995, Earley accepted a teaching position at Texas A&M University where he taught for three years.

After leaving Texas A&M University, Earley was President and CEO of a Public Affairs firm as well as the political analyst for KXAN television, the Austin NBC affiliate. He also taught at St. Edward’s University in Austin for 12 years. 

Earley was named as a Sr. Vice President for JPS Health Network in October 2005. In this role, he oversaw the departments of Government Affairs, Strategic Planning, Volunteer Services, Public Relations, Health Promotions, Guest Services and Language Services. 

In May 2008, Earley was appointed Interim President and CEO for JPS Health Network.   On Feb. 4, 2009 he was appointed as the President and CEO by the Tarrant County Hospital District Board of Managers.

Earley is married and he and his wife Tricia, a veterinarian, have a 8-year old daughter. 

 

Clay Franklin - Plaza Medical Center of Fort Worth
President and Chief Executive Officer

Clay Franklin has been in an executive level position with HCA (Healthcare Corporation of America) for nine years.  He spent five years as chief operating officer at one of HCA’s largest hospitals, CJW Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia, a 784-bed facility.  Clay also served as chief executive officer at East Houston Medical Center in Houston, Texas.  In August 2008, he joined the team at Plaza Medical Center of Fort Worth as president and chief executive officer. 

Clay and his wife, Brooke are the parents of Jack (13), Olivia (6) and Charlie (3).  He enjoys attending and coaching his kid’s soccer games and is an avid writer.

Clay received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Oklahoma and his master’s in health administration from the University of Oklahoma Health Science Center.

 

John C. Goodman, PhD. - National Center for Policy Analysis 
President and CEO

John C. Goodman is NCPA president and CEO of the National Center for Policy Analysis.  The Wall Street Journal and the National Journal, among other publications, have called him the "Father of Health Savings Accounts," and the Media Research Center credits him, along with former Sen. Phil Gramm and columnist Bill Kristol with playing the pivotal role in the defeat of the Clinton Administration's plan to overhaul the U.S. health care system. 

Dr. Goodman's health policy blog is the only right-of-center health care blog on the Internet.  It is the only place where pro-free enterprise, private sector solutions to health care problems are routinely examined and debated by top health policy experts throughout the country-conservative, moderate and liberal.

Goodman regularly appears on television and radio news and talk programs and authors editorials on economic policy issues.  He regularly appears on the Fox News Channel, CNN and CNBC.  He's also appeared on the Lehrer News Hour (PBS) and was a debater on many of William F. Buckley's Firing Line programs.  Goodman also regularly contributes columns to The Wall Street Journal and other national publications.

He is frequently invited to testify before Congress on health care reform and retirement topics and is the author of more than 50 published studies on topics such as health policy, retirement reform and tax issues and nine books, including Lives at Risk: Single Payer National Health Insurance Around the World; Leaving Women Behind: Modern Families, Outdated Laws; and the trailblazing Patient Power: Solving America's Health Care Crisis, the condensed version of which sold more than 300,000 copies.

A native of Waco, Texas, Goodman became interested in economics and classical liberal ideas while an undergraduate at the University of Texas at Austin, where he became vice president of the student body.  He is a crossword puzzle aficionado, and most days he is able to conquer the puzzles in The New York Times in ink.

Goodman received his Ph.D. in economics from Columbia University, and has taught and done research at Columbia, Stanford University, Dartmouth University, Southern Methodist University and the University of Dallas.

 

John R. Graham - Pacific Research Institute
Director of Health Care Studies

John R. Graham is Director of Health Care Studies at the Pacific Research Institute. He is the author of the U.S. Index of Health Ownership, the only project to rank all 50 states’ health laws and regulations according to free-market principles; and the editor of a book addressing What States Can Do to Reform Health Care: A Free Market Primer, to which he contributed a chapter on pharmaceutical cost containment.

He is also the primary author of the monthly Health Policy Prescriptions series, which addresses national health reform, and contributes to PRI's Capital Ideas series of short articles on public policy in California.  He has written numerous articles covering diverse topics within health policy for periodicals including the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post.  He blogs frequently at Free American Health Care and State House Call.

Mr. Graham speaks frequently on health care reform on radio and television, and at conferences in the United States, Canada, and Europe. He has also worked as a management consultant and investment banker in Canada and Europe and has previously served as an infantry officer in the Canadian Army in Canada, Germany, and Cyprus.

He received his M.B.A. from the London Business School (England) and his B.A. (with Honors) in economics and commerce from the Royal Military College of Canada.

 

Ken Finch - Huguley Medical Center
President and CEO

Huguley welcomes Ken Finch as President/CEO in May 2009. As President/CEO of the Adventist Health System Southwest Region, Ken Finch will serve as Board Chairman for both Metroplex Health System in Killeen, Texas and Central Texas Medical Center in San Marcos, Texas. 

Finch has served as President/CEO of Metroplex Health System since 1997 and has worked 30 years in Seventh-day Adventist Healthcare. Prior to this position, he served at Castle Medical Center in Oahu, Hawaii for 12 years as Vice President of Finance/CFO and then President/CEO. From 1980 – 1986, Finch served as Assistant Vice President and Controller for the Adventist Health System Eastern and Middle America Regional office. His hospital career began in 1978 as an accountant for Shawnee Mission Medical Center in Shawnee Mission, Kansas. 

Ken attended Southwestern Adventist College where he received his Bachelor of Business Administration Degree with an emphasis in Healthcare Administration. He then attended Avila College in Kansas City where he received a Masters of Business Administration Degree. 

 

Rick W. Merrill - Cook Children’s
CEO and President

Merrill has an unparalleled background in health care administration. He most recently served as CEO and president of Driscoll Health System. In this role, he orchestrated the development of the fully integrated pediatric health system, which included Driscoll Children's Hospital, physician organizations and the Driscoll Children's Health Plan. He oversaw the opening of two Driscoll Children's Specialty Centers in Brownsville and McAllen, Texas. Throughout his time at Driscoll, Merrill remained involved in the community, working with numerous organizations including the United Way of the Coastal Bend, where he served as board president to the organization's Board of Governors.

Prior to joining Driscoll, Merrill was the administrator/chief operating officer at Medical City Dallas Hospital. A native of south Texas, Merrill graduated with a bachelor of science from Texas Tech University in 1982 and received a master of science in Health Care Administration in 1984 from Trinity University in San Antonio.

"The quality and commitment of the physicians and professionals who comprise Cook Children's is one of the most important reasons for my choosing to join this organization," said Merrill. "Cook Children's has given me an opportunity to lead one of the nation's foremost integrated pediatric delivery systems at a very exciting time in its history. We are in a position to make our community the healthiest and best place for a family to raise children. I cannot think of anything more rewarding to my family or me than to make this a reality." Merrill is married to Evelyn Merrill, M.D., a practicing physician. They have two daughters, Genevieve and Renee.

Steven R. Newton - Baylor All Saints Medical Center
President

The son of a doctor and a nurse, Steve grew up in New Haven, Connecticut.

Steve is a cum laude graduate of Williams College. He took 5 years off after his freshman year to provide direct patient care by working for a large urban ambulance service. He received a Masters Degree in Public Health from Yale University School of Medicine.

In 1989, Steve was appointed assistant administrator of Research Psychiatric Center, a 100-bed psychiatric hospital in Kansas City then owned by HCA.  He was promoted to Chief Executive Officer of that facility after 18 months, a position he held for 5 years.

In January 1996 he was named Chief Operating Officer of Health Midwest’s 545-bed not-for-profit tertiary flagship, Research Medical Center. After serving as COO for 16 months he was appointed interim CEO and subsequently promoted to President and Chief Executive Officer. In 2001, Steve was named President of the 6 hospital Health Midwest Central Region.

Steve joined the Baylor Health Care System as in June 2004 as President of Baylor All Saints Medical Centers, which includes the 530 bed Baylor All Saints Medical Center at Fort Worth, and the 70 bed Baylor Medical Center at Southwest Fort Worth.

Currently, Steve serves as chair elect of the Dallas/Fort Worth Hospital Council, as a board member of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, Carter Bloodcare, Fort Worth South, Healing Shepard Clinic, Healthy Tarrant County Collaborative American Cancer Society, and the American Heart Association, where he was the chairman of the 2009 Heart Walk. He also serves on advisory boards for TCU Leadership Center, where he is chair elect, Texas Hospital Association, and Resource Recovery Council.

Steve is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, is married with three children, an avid long distance runner and veteran of thirteen marathons.

 

Tim D. Lee - Milliman
Principal and Consulting Actuary

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Tim is a principal and consulting actuary with the Houston office of Milliman, where he manages the healthcare practice. He joined the firm in 1977.

Tim’s area of expertise is health insurance. He has advised clients on the design and pricing of insurance programs, the projection and monitoring of financial results, risk management, strategic planning, and mergers and acquisitions. Clients served include insurance companies, HMOs, PPOs, hospitals, physician groups, employee benefit plan sponsors, and governmental entities. He has broad experience in working with indemnity and managed care programs and for both purchasers and insurers of healthcare in the commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid markets.

Tim has assisted health insurers and healthcare providers in managed care contracting and has guided new ventures and start-up organizations in the health insurance market. In recent years, Tim has worked with several state and local governments to develop solutions for the uninsured population. He also has experience with health insurance systems in Latin America.

Tim is a contributing author of two books, Calculated Risk and Managing Risk, published by the American Hospital Association.