Fran Kirley – President & CEO
Fran Kirley is a healthcare executive with 35 years of experience in acute and post-acute healthcare management and is actively involved in all levels of the profession. As CEO, Chairman, and Founder of Nexion, he has overseen the growth and operations into a dynamic post-acute care company with 54 skilled nursing, and two assisted living facilities in three states. Nexion Health has developed into a nationally recognized post-acute care company with an outstanding reputation for quality and culture.
Currently, he is on the Board of Directors of the Louisiana Nursing Home Association. He was previously on the board and executive committee of the American Health Care Association (AHCA) and the Chairman of AHCA’s Political Action Committee. Fran was also on the board of Warfield at Historic Sykesville in Sykesville, MD. Presently, he serves as the Chairman of the USA Bobsled and Skeleton Foundation.
Fran completed an eight-year board position at the College of Our Lady of the Elms in Chicopee, MA. In May 2022, Fran was awarded an Honorary Degree in Human Letters, Honoris Causa, by the Trustees of College of Our Lady of the Elms for his humanitarian and philanthropic contributions.
Fran earned his Bachelor’s in Pharmacy from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences in 1973 and his Master’s in Business Administration from Western New England University in 1980.
Meera Riner – Chief Operating Officer
Meera Riner holds a bachelor’s degree in occupational therapy and completed her studies at G.S. Medical College in Bombay, India. She also has a master’s in healthcare administration. Meera has served Nexion Health since its inception and currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer.
With more than 25 years of long-term care (LTC) experience as an executive and clinician, Meera is well known among her peers as a devoted patient advocate and a leader for culture change in long-term care. Her leadership style of example and empowerment, found in her P.U.R.P.O.S.E. Driven Mentoring program, is reflected in the talent and performance of her operations team and facility performances. She has established Nexion as a leader in LTC innovation, diversity and inclusion.
Meera is actively involved in the state nursing home associations and other leadership collaborations where Nexion Health operates. She lends her expertise on evacuation and emergency planning for LDH and LNHA, and frequently testifies before the Texas legislature, advocating for strong reimbursement reform for our industry. She is a guest speaker and sought-after expert nationally, and most recently co-presented at the virtual NAHQnext conference alongside our VP of Quality on “The new PTSD: Post Traumatic Strategic Disorder.”
Meera is the only Malcolm Baldrige Fellowship Program graduate in long-term care. She has successfully embedded the Baldrige Excellence Framework into our operations model. She is a past AHCA Silver Examiner and a consistent member of many AHCA committees, including Quality and Workforce. These efforts have resulted in multi-facility recognition with the McKnight’s Technology awards and an abundance of Bronze and Silver AHCA Quality Award wins.
Meera was awarded the prestigious McKnight’s Women of Distinction honor in 2020 and received the 2022 AHCA/NCAL Mary K. Ousley Champion of Quality Award.
Dan Pierce – Chief Financial Officer
Dan Pierce has been working in long-term healthcare since 2001. Dan came to Nexion fresh from college with an eagerness to learn the long-term healthcare business. Over the years, he has honed his skill set, forging a strong background in accounting, finance, mergers/acquisitions and customer service. Throughout his tenure at Nexion, he has developed into a leader who is continually looking to expand his knowledge in the industry.
Dan currently is responsible for managing the treasury, accounts payable, revenue cycle, accounting, mergers/acquisitions, reimbursement and IT departments.
To this day, Dan lives by a motto his parents instilled in him: “No matter what you choose to do in life, always strive to be the best at what you do and simply be kind!”
Dan earned his bachelor of science in accounting from the Pennsylvania State University in December 2000.
Martha Royal – Vice President of Human Resources
Martha Royal joined Nexion’s leadership team in October 2018 as the Vice President of Human Resources. Martha’s more than 20-year career as an HR executive in long-term care began at Integrated Health Services, where she served as divisional vice president of human resources, and continued her HR career with Maryland-based Perennial Consulting Services. Most recently, she worked at PCPMG Consulting, LLC, in Plano, Texas, where she served in their top HR role. Prior to long-term care, she was a human resources leader and practitioner in managed care, acute care, and long-term acute care environments, working for such prominent healthcare companies as Kaiser Permanente, Select Medical Corporation and Children’s Medical Center (Dallas).
Martha is active in the HR Long-Term Care Roundtable, a forum for senior HR executives in long-term care to exchange information on strategies, trends and best practices in areas such as benefits, compensation, employee engagement and labor relations. She also served on American Health Care Association’s (AHCA) Payroll Based Journal Focus Group, responsible for trialing CMS’ PBJ Guidelines, reporting issues and recommending solutions to AHCA Quality Cabinet Co-Chairs and AHCA’s SVP of quality, prior to nation-wide implementation.
Martha completed her academic studies in business administration at East Texas State University, Commerce, Texas.
Tracy Connor – Vice President of Compliance
Tracy Connor is the VP of Compliance and also serves as our Privacy/Security officer. She holds an MA in speech pathology and a Certificate of Clinical Competency in Speech-Language Pathology, and holds a Competency in Healthcare Compliance.
Tracy is a certified member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and a member of the Healthcare Compliance Association. She has served as a senior examiner for the National Quality Award Program. Tracy has worked in healthcare management for the past 20 years and rejoined Nexion in 2018.
Andrea Smith – Vice President & Controller
Andrea Smith assumed the role of Controller for Nexion in 2016. She and her staff handle the financial, reimbursement and tax-related issues for the company, including annual audits and cost reporting. She is a 1993 graduate of University of Baltimore.
Andrea has more than 21 years of experience in healthcare, beginning at Integrated Health Services, with 12 years at Nexion as the accounting manager. Prior to assuming the role as Controller, she was the director of finance for a skilled nursing facility operated by Ascension Health, Inc. Andrea’s accomplishments include significant reduction in total accounts receivable and accounts payable, and the creation of working financial statements appropriate for skilled nursing facility use. Additionally, she developed financial procedures and a benchmarking system which dramatically improved financial performance.
Tara Roberts – Vice President of Rehabilitation & Wound Care Services
Tara Roberts is a 1995 graduate of Georgia State University with a BS in physical therapy. She joined Nexion Health in 2004 and currently serves as Sr. Vice President of Quality.
Professionally, she is involved nationally and locally for the advancement and betterment of our industry, the protection of the aged and the relevance of rehabilitation services. She is a 2016 graduate of the AHCA Future Leader program and a long-time member of many AHCA committees, including Quality and PAIC. She has been instrumental in the development of the AHCA IPCO program, CMS 5 Star PrU QM refinement as a CMS TEP member and is a fervent advocate on the Hill.
Tara is a past board secretary and board member for NASL. She is a current LNHA-appointed board member to the Louisiana Medicaid Quality Committee, run by LDH. She is the past treasurer and board member of LAHQ. She co-led the pressure injury and fall prevention improvement programs involving LDH, LNHA and LSUHSC. She is a QAPI and RAC-CT certified professional. She is a member of NAHQ, AANAC, APTA, LPTA and LAHQ. She is IPCO certified. Tara has served as a Team TSI IntelliLogix Advisory Inaugural Board Member.
Tara is also a writer and has been a frequent contributor to McKnight’s Long-Term Care news, covering notable topics like her #unboxme mentorship and leadership concepts, SNFs as a triple threat, and the 3C’s of skin and wound care. She was a guest panelist expert for McKnight’s round table in conjunction with a recent AHCA convention. Most recently she co-presented with Meera Riner, COO, at the virtual NAHQnext convention on “The New PTSD: Post-Traumatic Strategic Disorder.”
Madhu Tewary – Vice President of Clinical Services
Madhu Tewary has worked in long-term care for more than 30 years, 15 of which have been with Nexion Health. She received her bachelor of science in dietetics from State University of New York at Buffalo and completed her dietetic internship with Louisiana Tech University.
Madhu’s responsibilities include the management of all aspects of resident clinical care and engagement in purchasing and compliance for Nexion Health and its affiliates.
In addition to her role with Nexion Health, Madhu is involved in a number of organizations, including Sewa International, Aspire, Stop Diabetes Movement, the Louisiana and Texas Dietetic Association and Pratham USA. She frequently participates in immunization drives and health fairs, and she volunteers with local food drives and the Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo. She is a member of the RD council for long-term care facilities.
Cindi Phillips – Vice President of Marketing & Business Development
Cindi Phillips has over 29 years’ experience in the long-term care industry. She is responsible for overseeing the Business Development and Central Intake teams and pursuing relationships that allow Nexion affiliates to expand within their markets. Her primary duties include securing managed care contracts, guiding the facilities in developing accountable care organization/preferred partner relationships and overseeing Political Action Committee contributions. Cindi has been instrumental in developing and initiating paper-free admission documentation and central intake to allow for a smoother admission process.
Cindi received her bachelor of science in 1989 and master of arts in 1991 from Oklahoma State University. She holds a Certificate of Clinical Competency in Speech-Language Pathology and is a member of the American Speech Hearing Association. Cindi is also a member of the Nexion Compliance Committee and has served as a senior examiner for the National Quality Award Program. Cindi began working for Nexion in 2001 and has been a Director of Rehabilitation Services, Area Director of Rehab, and Corporate Rehabilitation Director prior to her current role.
Janet Johnston – Vice President of Casemix & Reimbursement
Janet Johnston has been with Nexion Health for 20 years, overseeing casemix, Medicare, Medicaid, insurance, and managed care reimbursement for affiliates in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Colorado.
Her nursing expertise has been invaluable to Nexion Health, as she managed the training and implementation for electronic health records (EHR) and respiratory services as they pertain to the MDS 3.0 requirement and the Restorative Nursing Program. Currently she is working with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission as the Vice-Chair for the Nursing Facility Payment Methodology Advisory Committee (NF-PMAC), and previously she was a Texas Health Care Association committee member for the Data Reimbursement Committee, as well as having participated as a presenter on casemix and MDS 3.0 for the Louisiana Nursing Home Association.
A licensed vocational nurse as of 1992, Janet received her bachelor of science in nursing in 2012 from the University of Texas at Tyler. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in nursing from the University of Texas at Tyler. Prior to Nexion Health, Janet served in the U.S. Army, as well as having worked as the wound care specialist at Northline Manor Nursing Home and as an ADON/MDS for Cantex Healthcare.
Shannon Lucas – Vice President of Revenue Cycle Management
Shannon Lucas has more than 20 years of long-term healthcare revenue cycle management experience. Before joining the Nexion team, Shannon directed and developed processes for a team responsible for annual collections of $650 million for 110 buildings in eleven states. Shannon developed revenue cycle training for new administrator orientation and has served as a subject matter expert on compliance committees and enhancement councils for multiple software vendors in the development and enhancement of products to meet the rapidly changing needs of long-term care providers.
Shannon has consulted with new operators to develop standards of practice necessary to meet post-acquisition revenue and cash collection goals. She collaborated with a multidisciplinary team to develop training resources and tools necessary for a seamless transition to Managed Medicaid, ICD10 and later to the PDPM payment rule. Shannon developed a 365-day cash projection process improving organization efficiency through real time cash management. She has been a guest speaker at trade conventions on subjects related to improving outcomes through efficient revenue cycle processes and effective employee engagement programs.
Shannon is known among her peers as a strong leader, passionate about empowering people to identify opportunities for improvement and be fully engaged in developing solutions.