Our consulting group, the Avanti Division of Patient Flow Services, features the most experienced team of nurses and nurse executives in the industry. That means they bring with them the ability to empathize with the client or prospect regarding the cultural and inter-departmental hurdles which must be overcome.

All bring client-side experience as early adopters and problem-solvers. Each has a history of successfully combining process re-design with automation technology. And, because no two hospitals are exactly alike, each understands the need for custom solutions. Collectively, their breadth of experience creates an ideal resource for designing and implementing enhanced patient flow processes.

Lisa Romano, RN, MSN, is a vice president and chief nursing officer of TeleTracking Technologies. As founding director of Avanti, she brought nearly 20 years of clinical nursing and hospital administrative experience to the job. She has published extensively on the subject of patient throughput and is a frequent speaker on the subject at professional conferences. Before joining TeleTracking, she was administrator of patient logistics at Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network.

Joy Avery, RN, MSN, CEN, managing director of Avanti, brings two decades of clinical nursing and healthcare leadership experience to the position. She joined TeleTracking from North Mississippi Medical Center, Tupelo, MS, which was a 2006 Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award winner. While there she served as director of specialized clinical services, responsible for the transfer center, patient flow, bariatric and nursing leadership programs. She planned, developed, implemented and led the NMMC’s Trauma Program, Transfer Center, Rapid Admit Unit, and Bariatric Program. She also served as chief flight nurse and trauma program manager and has clinical experience in flight nursing, emergency nursing, dialysis, medical-surgical nursing and was a trauma center surveyor for the State of Mississippi.

Michele (Micki) Lerch, RN, CCRN, FACHE, has 34 years of clinical and management experience and expertise in the areas of critical care, emergency departments, observation medicine, term care and rehab, as well as healthcare executive management. Recently awarded the prestigious FACHE credential by the American College of Healthcare Executives, Micki also holds an RN, BS, and Master’s Degree in Health Services Administration. Her most recent clinical position was as a Transfer Center nurse where she coordinated the transfer of acutely-ill critical care patients. She has also recently served as an off-shift Nursing Supervisor providing clinical and administrative oversight for a Level I trauma center. Other positions Micki has held include Director of Emergency & Critical Care Services, Operations Coordinator for Emergency Physicians Medical Group (EPMG, PC), and as an owner/independent practitioner of a chronic disease management company. Micki specializes in consultation around transfer center program development and change management at an executive level.

Marty Carlton, RN, MBA, brings over thirty years of nursing, administrative, business and IT experience to her role with Avanti. A creative, energetic professional whose ideas have increased hospital profitability, she is particularly skilled at helping hospital personnel from all levels of employment and cultural backgrounds to understand how new technology can help them perform their jobs more efficiently. As patient placement manager at Providence Hospital, in Southfield, MI, she gained hands-on, hospital-side knowledge of TeleTracking’s solutions when she implemented and managed an effective patient flow process there. This experience makes her particularly adept at understanding the obstacles to streamlining flow which are inherent in the hospital setting. She joined TeleTracking in 2003 to assist clients in implementing PreAdmitTracking® with the electronic bedboard® application and to train hospital personnel on their use. In 2007, she became a founding member of the newly formed Avanti Patient Flow Services Division, collaborating with hospital administrators in the design of technologically integrated patient throughput systems which maximize hospital capacity. In that role, she analyzed current practices, made detailed written recommendations and presented her findings to senior hospital executives. As demand for TeleTracking solutions increased, she undertook a special role as a client manager and sales support specialist, working with a team to provide timely and high quality workflow analysis, clinical proof of concept and ROI to hospital administration. Again, she was able to leverage her hospital experience to drive change at client sites which resulted in improving effective use of TeleTracking products. Her prior hospital experience includes critical care, OR nursing and ambulatory case management roles at Providence Hospital and call-center triage/transfer center nursing at Detroit Medical Center. She holds BA and MBA degrees from Spring Arbor University.

Donna Butz, RN, MS, has 32 years of clinical nursing and healthcare leadership experience to bring to the Avanti Patient Flow Consulting Team. Donna most recently held the position of Transfer Center Coordinator where she facilitated the transfer of acutely ill patients for a Level 1 Trauma Center. Additionally, she was responsible for triage and placement of all adult and pediatric critical care patients within a three hospital system. Prior positions include Director of Nursing of a 680 bed long term care facility with two sites that required consolidation of nursing services, policies, and procedures. Donna also served as a Director of Clinical Services, and Vice President Patient Care Services at two acute care facilities responsible for all aspects of patient care services including the development of a cardiothoracic service line. She has also been a member of an executive steering team that led her organization through a merger with a tertiary care facility. Her clinical experience is in the areas of Med/Surg, Step Down Telemetry, OR nursing, OR management and has been a Legal Nurse Consultant (with an OR emphasis).

Mark Sanders, RN, BSN, brings to Avanti his experience with building and leading an award-winning Patient Transport and Logistics Department, as well as a Patient Placement and Transfer Center Department at Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia, Washington. He has developed and implemented patient flow solutions for numerous hospitals throughout the Pacific Northwest, including Alaska. He is nationally recognized as a "subject matter expert" in the field of patient flow and transport management and tracking solutions. A decorated Air Force veteran, Mark also served as a flight nurse and has clinical expertise in the areas of emergency room and critical care nursing.

Cheryl Pereira, RN, BSN, MSN, MBA, brings extensive patient flow experience to her position with Avanti, having most recently served as an Administrative Supervisor in Nursing Administration at Montgomery General Hospital. Her ability to analyze workflow and develop effective performance improvement strategies was evident in her role at Montgomery General, where she coordinated the clinical and administrative operations of the hospital and participated in continuing efforts to streamline care delivery. She also has experience in physician practice management.

Gary D. Shaw, RN, was clinical manager of bed management at 900-bed Washington Hospital Center, District of Columbia, before joining TeleTracking. He provided innovative leadership in patient throughput initiatives at the Washington Hospital Center, where he also implemented standardized objective measurements for accountability across departmental service lines. Earlier in his career, he was clinical administrator at the 700-bed VCU Medical Center, a Level One trauma center in Richmond, VA.