- Meet our team
Your practice is my passion.
Because I believe that people connect with people, here is a little bit about me. I am a third generation native Floridian from a blue collar family. Having grown up on a working farm, I learned the value of hard work, strong worth ethic, kindness and compassion. With this upbringing, a career in healthcare became an obvious fit for me, even at an early age. For sure, a career in healthcare requires long and hard work hours while not losing sight of the end result, which is to provide compassionate care to patients.
Following more than 20 years of executive level leadership for physician practices and a short career as a civil litigation attorney, I followed my entrepreneurial spirit and founded Physicians First Practice Solutions, LLC. Through the C-Suite on Demand business model, my team and I are available to work with multiple physician groups simultaneously. With us on board, physicians are able to successfully navigate the complicated and complex business of operating in healthcare today, often without having to expand their payroll.
Although my work with clients keeps me extremely busy, I still make time to serve as a volunteer, court-appointed Guardian ad Litem for abused and neglected children in the Jacksonville community. I also operate a non-profit organization designed to help support young widows who are navigating through grief. For me, there is nothing more rewarding than helping others.
Credentials:
After working for a few years after high school, I obtained a bachelor’s degree in Legal Studies with a minor in Business Administration from the University of Central Florida. From that point forward, I recognized the value of education and have been somewhat of a perpetual student ever sense. During the course of my career, I have obtained a law degree from Mercer University School of Law, a Masters in Health Administration from Ohio University and a Green Belt Certification in Six Sigma Statistical Process Improvement from Villanova University. In addition to formal education, I have also obtained various professional achievements such as becoming a Certified Professional Healthcare Risk Manager (CPHRM), Certified Administrator of Ambulatory Surgery (CASC), Certified Medical Practice Executive (CMPE), Florida Licensed Healthcare Risk Manager (HCRM) and a Patient Centered Medical Home Certified Content Expert (PCMH-CCE). Some have said, I am an information seeker, to which I would have to agree. The accomplishment for which I am the most proud however is authoring my first non-fiction book, For the Love of Cancer which I wrote in honor of my late husband.
Physician clients include:
Ophthalmology and Retina, Plastic Surgeons, Radiology, ENT Groups, Primary Care, Pain Management, Medical device companies, MSOs, technology solutions companies, orthopedics, multi-specialty groups, physician owned ambulatory surgery centers, and Wellness Medicine.
Professional Affiliations include:
- American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE)
- American College of Medical Practice Executives (ACMPE)
- American Hospital Association (AHA)
- American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS)
- Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA)
- Florida Society of Ambulatory Surgery Centers (FSASC)
- Medical Group Management Association (MGMA)
- National Committee of Quality Assurance (NCQA)
- Ophthalmic Women Leaders (OWL)
- American Society of Ophthalmic Administrators (ASOA)
- Agency for Healthcare Administration (ACHA)
- Georgia Bar Association
- American Bar Association
- Florida Writers Association
- Association for Corporate Growth (ACG)
I am also a member of the Health Care Transformation Task Force, learn more about their mission here.
In addition to providing consulting services for Physicians First Practice Solutions, Shannon is also the practice administrator for Southeastern Retina Specialists located in Jacksonville, Florida. Shannon takes great pride in ensuring that she delivers high quality and timely deliverables to every client she serves.
Over the past 11 years, Shannon has worked in most every position within the physician medical practice, which provides her with a unique ability to empathize with the staff and better diagnose issues. While she has a broad range of experience, her expertise is in practice and revenue cycle management. Part of Shannon’s success is due to her passion for mentoring others. She is constantly seeking opportunities to help others grow and develop professionally by personally investing in them. With this approach, Shannon builds strong teams around her which directly benefits the practices that she works with.
When not working, Shannon and her husband, daughter, and sons enjoy boating, swimming, fishing and sports activities together.
As the Social Media Manager at Physicians First Practice Solutions, Audra provides physician clients with highly effective and relevant social media campaigns, along with assisting on various marketing projects. She truly enjoys working with every member of the physicians’ staff and views herself as an extension of their team. Though marketing is challenging and keeps her on her toes, the results delivered by the Physician First Practice Solutions team makes her work incredibly rewarding.
When not busy with social media, Audra enjoys spending time at the beach, playing with her Great Dane, Achilles, spending time with her family or exploring nearby areas via land and kayak. She lives in the Atlantic Beach area of North Florida which allows her to frequently enjoy one of her favorite places on earth - the beach.
Physicians First Practice Solutions is thrilled to announce that Jessica Churchwell has joined our team of experts. Jessica brings to us more than eight years of experience in medical practice marketing. She takes great pride in producing collateral marketing pieces including brochures, service menus, practice portfolios and much more. Jessica also provides assistance to the PFPS team with developing marketing strategies for our physician and ASC clients.
Jessica has also participated in implementing NCQA Patient Centered Medical Home concepts for practices and assisted them with achieving this highly coveted recognition. The patient centered recognition program for primary care and specialty physicians is designed to improve quality and reduce waste and poor patient experiences that result from poorly coordinated care. The program focuses on coordinating and sharing information among primary care clinicians and specialists. It requires physicians to organize care around patients—across all clinicians seen by a patient—and to include patients and their families or other caregivers in planning care and as partners in managing conditions.
In addition to providing consulting services for our team, Jessica is the Director of Public Relations at Southeastern Retina Specialists in Jacksonville, FL. While very busy with her career, Jessica puts family first and enjoys spending time with her Husband, Byron and her children, Chloe and Caden. Jessica never misses her childrens’ activities and as a family they enjoy the beach, boating, and sports.
Amanda Farrell, MHA has eight years of experience working within various physician specialties. Much of her career has involved working with and providing support to the Baptist Healthcare System physicians. Understanding the challenges that physicians face in healthcare today and the unique challenges of working within a hospital system, Amanda brings empathy and insight when dealing with our clients and the practice staff. Amanda, being a Certified MACRA-MIPS Healthcare Professional (CMHP), is dedicated to tackling this latest CMS rule which advances us closer to a full, value-based payment system and farther away from the fee-for-service payment system. Prior to MACRA, she was an integral part of the success her physicians’ realized in the Meaningful Use (MU) and the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) programs. While this area of work is challenging, it gives her the opportunity to problem solve and use her critical thinking skills to ensure that physicians are not only complying with CMS requirements but more importantly that they are positioned for maximum reimbursements.
A native Floridian, Amanda received her Bachelor's in Science degree in Psychology as well as a Master's in Health Administration from the University of North Florida. When she is not working for Physicians First Practice Solutions, you can find her teaching at Pure Barre Fleming Island or enjoying downtime with her husband and family, traveling, and enjoying the various activities that Jacksonville has to offer.