Management Team

Denice Soyring Higman, RN, BSN, MSN

President

Denice is the founder of Soyring Consulting and has been president of operations since March 2003. Prior to Soyring Consulting, Denice established Higman Healthcare and held the position of President from its inception in 1986 until its sale in 1998. She then assumed the role of Vice President/General Manager of Consulting for Cardinal Health until 2001.

Prior to 1986, Denice was employed by PwC and was responsible for clinical consulting services for its central region. She has held positions at various levels of Hospital management, including Vice President, Assistant Administrator, Director and Supervisor. She has served as a consultant for hospital administration since 1983 and has been the Project Manager/Director for hundreds of consultant engagements in all areas of the Hospital as well as outpatient facilities. In addition to her clinical and consulting experience, Denice has served as Assistant Professor and Instructor at various colleges and universities.

David Higman, BS, MA, MS

Executive Vice President

David Higman has been with Soyring Consulting since its inception in 2003 and is the Executive Vice President. He has more than 30 years of experience conducting consultations for clients throughout the United States in all areas of the Hospital as well as outpatient facilities. He also has extensive experience in strategic planning, revenue enhancement, cost savings initiatives and information systems. Prior to joining Soyring Consulting, Dave was Executive Vice President of Higman Healthcare and Vice President/General Manager for Cardinal Health. He has held managerial positions in a variety of companies including retail, manufacturing, and distribution. David holds Masters' degrees in Management and in Information Systems.

Joyce Converse RNC, BSN, MS

Senior Vice President

Joyce has more than 25 years of Healthcare experience from staff to administrative levels. Her more than 10 years of consulting experience throughout the United States and Puerto Rico include project and personnel management of specialty-focused consulting engagements in all areas of the Hospital. Examples of her consulting engagements include operational and productivity assessments, management services, implementation assistance, strategic planning, revenue enhancement, and cost savings initiatives for clients in facilities ranging from large metropolitan academic centers to rural community hospitals in all regions nationally. Joyce holds a Master of Science degree in Nursing from the University of Wisconsin in Madison with a major in Nursing.

Brenda Stalnaker RN, MS

Project Director

Brenda has more than 35 years of clinical, administrative, consulting, and education experience in healthcare organizations, including positions as Vice President Ambulatory Services and Nurse Administrator. Her experience covers all areas of the Hospital including productivity, operational, and management assessments implementation assistance, strategic planning, revenue enhancement, and cost savings initiatives. In addition to her clinical expertise, she possesses a wide range of experiences that include facility design/redesign, strategic planning, budgeting, position control, staff development, recruitment and retention, leadership, and regulatory review preparation. Brenda has also spearheaded the construction of multiple facilities and departments. Her clinical and consulting expertise includes Surgical Services, Emergency Departments, Case Management and other clinical services areas.

Joan Estes, RN, BSN, MS

Project Director

Joan has more than 25 years of management and administrative experience in Patient Care and Perioperative Services. She has over 15 years of consulting and interim management experience at over 200 hospitals throughout the United States. Joan has served as a consulting Project Director/Vice President for Soyring Consulting, Higman Healthcare and Cardinal Health. Her primary expertise is Surgical Services and supply chain management. Joan has conducted many operational and productivity reviews for clients in facilities ranging from large metropolitan academic centers to rural community hospitals in all regions nationally. Joan also has experience in strategic planning, revenue enhancement, and cost savings initiatives. She also aides and oversees interim management and consulting projects for Soyring Consulting with a focus on all aspects of Perioperative Services.

Carol Reeder, BSN, MHA

Project Director

Carol has more than 30 years of administrative, clinical, and consulting healthcare experience. She has held positions ranging in responsibility from front-line management up to Assistant Vice President. As a consultant, Carol has preformed operational and productivity assessments, served in interim management roles, and assisted in implementing multiple projects. Carol's strength is in leadership mentoring and staff development. She is very skilled in patient throughput, capacity management, budget development, cost containment and/or reduction, staffing effectiveness, cross-training and education.

Dragana Gough, BS, MSCP

Project Director

Dragana has worked with Soyring Consulting for more than 6 years. She is a Project Director who specializes in data analysis and information technology. She has a Master's degree in Computer Engineering and has greater than 10 years experience in the information technology field. Dragana has held the positions of Developer and Lead Developer in the Telecommunications industry, and prior to her consulting experience, she developed computer equipment and applications based on customer requirements. Dragana has designed tools to predict volumes and utilization used in our analyses. She has worked with over 50 healthcare facilities conducting data analysis, observations, and interviews. She has analyzed information at various size facilities ranging from 25 to over 1,000 beds. These locations have been in multiple geographical and university settings.

Lucas Higman, BABA, MBA

Project Director

Lucas has been with Soyring Consulting for more than 4 years and has worked on-site at over 40 facilities ranging from large metropolitan academic centers to rural community hospitals in all regions nationally. He holds a Bachelor's degree and a Master’s degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Healthcare. Lucas's expertise is in marketing, financial and data analysis, patient flow, staff work flow studies and information systems. Examples of his consulting experiences include assessments and implementation of productivity, operational, and management services in most areas of the healthcare organization.

Jerzy Kaczor, BSBA, MBA

Project Support Manager

Jerzy has worked as a Consultant with Soyring Consulting for more than 4 years. Jerzy's areas of expertise include data and financial analysis, marketing, materials flow, and information systems. His consulting experiences in Central Services include a variety of process improvement projects including returned items, missing instruments, case carts, management reports and staff scheduling. Jerzy has also analyzed department reprocessing throughput capacity. He has assisted in multiple projects conducting data analysis, observations, and interviews for assessments and implementation of productivity, operational, and management services in most areas of the healthcare organization. He holds a Bachelor's Degree of Business Administration with a concentration in Finance and a Master's degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Healthcare.

Adam Higman, BS, MS

Communications Manager

Adam has been working within the healthcare industry for over 4 years. He has developed strategic marketing plans, public relations campaigns, and branding initiatives for large multi-national healthcare firms. He specializes in targeted marketing for healthcare professionals and end-users. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Telecommunications and a Master’s degree in Media Management from the SI Newhouse School of Public Communications. Examples of his consulting experiences include assessments and implementation of marketing and brand management campaigns as well as market analysis and research initiatives, spokesperson recruitment and training.

Brian Mullahey

Consultant/Business Development Manager

Brian has more than 7 years of management and consulting experience. He has a background in organizational design, premium labor management, staffing, scheduling, inventory management, material flow, and process improvement. He has assisted in multiple projects conducting data analysis, observations, and interviews for assessments and implementation of productivity, operational, and management services in most areas of the healthcare organization. Brian is proficient in fiscal management and labor productivity benchmarking. His management experience includes consolidation and streamlining of organizational structures as well as process improvement and redesign.

Paige Martin BSA, MBA

Accounting Manager

Paige has worked in accounting positions for over 10 years. She specializes in AP, AR, bookkeeping, tax preparation, payroll, and capital asset management. She received her Master's of Business Administration from Indiana University.

Dorairaju Thavaseelan, MD

Anesthesia Consultant

Dr Dorairaju Thavaseelan has more than 15 years providing consulting in anesthesia and operative services. He has practiced anesthesia for 30 years, originally starting his career as an Instructor of Anesthesia at Harvard Medical School. He has also been Chief of Anesthesia at St Joseph's Hospital for 10 years and at Holy family hospital for 17 years. During this time he grew the Anesthesia practice taking a particular interest in operational efficiency, high quality clinical care, in-house billing, and promoting anesthesia leadership. He has created client centered reports on Anesthesia financials and services for hospitals around the country with Higman Healthcare and Soyring Consulting. He completed medical training at Bangalore Medical College and residency in England. He has served as Vice President of Caristas Christi Healthcare System and is a member of American and Massachusetts Societies of Anesthesia.