Editorial Advisory Board
Respiratory & Sleep Management's Editorial Advisory Board members provide strategic guidance so that the magazine may continue to report the most relevant, accurate and vital information to the respiratory HME industry. The board consists of 12 volunteer members who have various backgrounds in the respiratory home care field. Members of the board provide input on overall direction, goals and priorities for the magazine in addition to serving as a sounding board for the editor on magazine content and advising on industry trends. Membership rotates each year.
Dick Fields, RRT, CPFT
Currently the respiratory manager of BayCare HomeCare, a hospital-based health care system in Florida with 25 respiratory therapists, Fields began his respiratory career in 1973 as an inhalation therapy technician. He has worked as a hospital respiratory manager, in intensive care units with ventilators, and in home care as a branch manager for Apria and a general manger of a home care company. Fields is an active member of the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) and Florida Society of Respiratory Care, a clinical affiliate advisory board member of St. Petersburg College of Respiratory Care and a member of The MED Group’s Respiratory and Sleep Advisory Board.
Tim Gordon
Gordon joined Philips Respironics in 2004 after more than 20 years with Becton Dickinson Consumer Products. He currently serves as director of marketing for Respiratory Drug Delivery. Gordon’s experience ranges across engineering, marketing and business development, and he has worked on a variety of brands and categories such as SideStream nebulizers, Elite compressors, ACE brand elastic bandages, BD thermometers, home diagnostic test kits, insulin delivery, blood glucose monitoring, telemedicine and disease management. He holds a marketing MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University, a BA from C. W. Post College of Long Island University and has also attended executive education at NYU Medical School and the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Bob Hoffman, RRT
Hoffman is the current director of the VGM Group’s Nationwide Respiratory. He has worked in the home medical equipment field for 25 years as an independent and hospital-based provider. Hoffman graduated from the Mayo Clinic School of Respiratory Therapy and has a bachelor’s degree in business management.
Joe Lewarski, RRT
Currently the vice president of the Respiratory Products Group, Invacare, Lewarski has worked in health care for more than 20 years. He is a fellow of the AARC and 2001 recipient of the American Respiratory Care Foundation Award for Excellence in Home Respiratory Care. He formerly was the partner and president/CEO of an independent HME/RT and pharmacy operation in Ohio. In addition to publishing more than 20 scientific and research papers in peer review, primarily in oxygen technology and home ventilation, Lewarski has served as a clinical and home care expert for numerous consensus conferences, advisory boards and industry programs. He has co-developed a number of medical devices, including a nasal CPAP humidifier and oxygen-conserving device, and has served as a consultant on respiratory product development and marketing to a number of medical device manufacturers. Lewarski also chairs the American Association for Homecare HME/RT Council.
Gary Miller
Currently the director of Mt. Carmel Medical Equipment, Pittsburg, Kan., Miller has served on the board of the Midwest Association for Medical Equipment Suppliers for more than six years and as president for two terms. He completed the University of Pittsburgh assistive technology training program and obtained his master’s in Health Services Administration from the Kansas University Medical Center. Miller is also a part-time site visitor for the Community Health Accreditation Program (CHAP) and consults privately to HME companies seeking accreditation.
Ike Odum
Odum, the president and owner of Ypsilanti, Mich.-based Regional Medical Supplies, has been involved in the HME industry for more than five years. He is a member of the National Sleep Foundation, the Michigan Minority Business Development Council and AWAKE. Odum, who has a sleep disorder, is passionate in serving respiratory patients. Prior to opening his own company, he worked in several equipment repair positions and has 18 years of experience as an electrical engineer with analysis of technical problems associated with medical equipment selection.
Kelly Riley, CRT, RCP
Riley is the national director of the Respiratory Network for The MED Group. She has more than 25 years of experience in the respiratory arena, in the institutional and home care settings. Riley previously served as COO for an Oklahoma-based HME operation. Her background includes working as an area coordinator for Primedica, a national company that provided home respiratory care to hospitals through contractual agreements, where her responsibilities included regulatory compliance, inventory control, expense management and revenue enhancement. She also has had staff and management responsibilities within a hospital respiratory therapy department and has worked in hospital administration. Riley is a graduate respiratory therapist and received her Certification from the National Board of Respiratory Care in 1981. She is a member of the AARC, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) and AAHomecare, serving on the HME/RT council.
Theresa Shumard
A longtime sleep technician, Shumard is a sleep advocate and manager of Education and Clinical Services for DeVilbiss Healthcare. She has been a medical journalist and news reporter for nearly 30 years, and is an Associated Press Award recipient in the area of medical journalism and photography. Shumard also hosts a radio program, “Let’s Talk Sleep with Theresa Shumard.” She is an international lecturer of drowsy driving prevention, health literacy and sleep education, social issues associated with CPAP therapy, sleep apnea patient aftercare, disease state management programs, sleep technologist professional development measures, trends and applications of sleep technology, generational gaps and issues in the sleep environment, and issues related to allied health care workforce shortages. With more than 20 years of experience in the sleep field, she is currently writing a book on sleep disorders. Shumard is the 2006 recipient of the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) Humanitarian Award and the Peter McGregor Award. She was a longtime board member for the Association of Polysomnographic Technologists (APT), has served as APT Communications Chair and is a delegate to the Allied Health Professions Network.
Donna Smith, BA, CRT
A respiratory therapist since 1975, Smith has experience in home care and acute care, including 11 years at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Milwaukee where she worked in the pulmonary rehab and ICU departments. She joined Home Care Medical in 1986 as manager of Infant Monitoring and is now the director of Respiratory Care Services, in which she manages the day-to-day operations of the department and its Joint Commission compliance. Smith is an active member of the AARC, the Wisconsin Society of Respiratory Care, Fight Asthma Milwaukee and the C.O.P.D. statewide coalition committee. She also sits on the Respiratory Care Advisory Board for the Milwaukee Area Technical College and participates on the Respiratory Product Council for The MED Group.
Jason Smith, CRT, RCP
Smith is currently the regional manager at Petersen Medical in St. George, Utah. Prior to joining Petersen Medical, Smith was a staff therapist at Dixie Regional Medical Center and a member of the Utah Air National Guard. He is a graduate of Weber State University’s respiratory program.
Ann Tisthammer, BS, RRT
As ResMed vice president of Clinical Education & Training, Americas, Tisthammer is responsible for developing and implementing educational training programs and clinical initiatives. She also identifies market needs, develops clinical programs — driving clinical awareness of sleep-disordered breathing and concomitant diseases — institutes best practices in patient care and implements clinical protocols. Tisthammer has dedicated 23 years to the respiratory therapy and sleep sector and is an active member of the AARC, AAHomecare and the American Association of Sleep Technologists.
Kim Wiles, BS, RRT
Wiles, vice president of Respiratory Services at Klingensmith Healthcare, Pittsburgh, has a bachelor’s degree in respiratory therapy from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She has held a registered respiratory therapist credential for 23 years and a CPFT credential for 20 years. In addition, Wiles has served in the home care arena for 16 years, has been an adjunct faculty member for five years at Indiana University/West Penn Hospital School of Respiratory Care and has been an active member in the AARC and Pennsylvania Society for Respiratory Care for 23 years and The MED Group Respiratory Network for four years. In her current role, she implements and develops marketing plans to promote growth and explore additional revenue opportunities, keeps on top of regulatory compliance, selects respiratory care equipment and oversees the overall operations of the respiratory care department.