Experienced Professionals.
Creating Opportunities. Achieving Results.

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.

Lucas is a Vice President for Soyring Consulting and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a Master’s degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Healthcare. Lucas earned his DSc in Administrative Health Services at the University of Alabama Birmingham. He has worked at over 60 healthcare facilities ranging from large academic centers to small rural hospitals in all regions nationally. He has assisted with Assessments and Implementation Assistance in most areas of a healthcare facility. His consulting experience includes operational analysis, strategy development, short-term and long-term planning, equipment capacity analysis, volume analytics and projections, patient throughput analysis, data analysis and staff work flow studies in Perioperative Services, Sterile Processing, Emergency Departments, Rehabilitative Services, Revenue Cycle and Business Office, Clinics and Women’s and Children’s Services among others. He has also assisted with projects at the department level, hospital level, and system level. Lucas has overseen assessments, implementation, and interim management engagements with successful outcomes. His expertise is in operations, strategic development, financial and data analysis, patient flow, and information systems.

Adam has management and consulting experience working with more than 50 healthcare organizations throughout the United States ranging from critical access hospitals to large academic facilities. His expertise includes system analysis and planning, assessments and implementation related to operational communications and work structure, and intradepartmental relations. He has analyzed staffing functions, redesigned space and staff utilization, and coordinated implementation efforts with medical, clinical, and support staff members. Adam has developed and implemented both labor and materials cost-reduction strategies from departmental to system-wide initiatives. He has also worked with health systems for a variety of growth-focused projects including volume projection analysis, short-/long-term strategic planning, and new service/facility planning and operationalization. His planning experience includes capital and equipment review, analysis of utilization, project management for new service/facility operationalization, and budgeting for new and expanding services/facilities. Adam also has experience working with a variety of multi-national medical device and pharmaceutical companies on marketing and pricing strategies.

Charles Hagood has overseen the introduction and implementation of Lean Healthcare systems, process improvement initiatives, and system design activities in numerous healthcare organizations including some of the largest non-profit hospitals, national systems, small critical access hospitals, clinics, physician practices, and large for-profit systems. Additionally, Charles has led organizations and teams in the design and implementation of new and efficient service lines in various hospital, outpatient, and healthcare organizations. Charles is a co-author of the Shingo Prize winning book for Research and Publication, Lean-Led Hospital Design: Creating the Efficient Hospital of the Future. He has overseen the application of Lean methodologies into the planning, design, and construction phases of a wide range of clinical and hospital renovation and construction projects. Charles was the founder and former CEO of Healthcare Performance Partners (HPP), which is one of the largest healthcare focused process design and Lean consulting firms in the U.S. Charles is nearing completion of his Doctorate in Health Services and Administration degree at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. He received his MBA from Belmont University’s Massey School of Business and completed the University of Tennessee’s Maintenance and Reliability engineering Graduate program to supplement his degrees in Industrial and Mechanical Engineering Technology. He earned his DSc in Administrative Health Services at the University of Alabama Birmingham. Charles is the founding faculty member of the Belmont University Lean Healthcare Certificate Program in Nashville and founding editor of the LeanHealthcareExchange.com newsletter.

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.

Dragana has consulted with more than 75 healthcare facilities. She has extensive experience in the adoption and application of throughput management models aimed at generating innovative and meaningful advances in workflow and process productivity through people, processes, and technology. As a Soyring Vice President, she has led process improvement initiatives and facilitated change management in a wide variety of inpatient and outpatient environments. Dragana has developed interactive workflow process maps to demonstrate resource utilization in Emergency, Surgical Services, and Inpatient Departments among others. In addition, she has conducted data modeling based on observations and interaction with hospital clinical staff and leadership for all areas of the hospital. Dragana has extensive experience in data analytics and information technology. She has a Master's degree in Computer Engineering and greater than 15 years’ experience in the information technology field. Dragana also holds expertise and certification in Lean Six Sigma.

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.

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.

Hannah Shipton, CPHQ and Six-Sigma Master Black Belt, has more than a decade of health care experience focused on Lean, patient engagement, quality, process improvement, and performance improvement. Her career has included roles leading performance improvement initiatives at large health systems, community hospitals and ambulatory health care settings. She has also developed and facilitated training in health care organizations on the use and practice of Lean and Six Sigma to improve clinical outcomes, operational efficiency and effectiveness. Prior to joining our team in 2016, Hannah consulted with health care organizations across the country to achieve process, clinical and financial goals, encompassing all aspects of an acute care setting as well as the care coordination continuum.  Previously, Hannah served as the Director of Performance Improvement of an academic medical center in an integrated system that operates 1,004 acute care, rehabilitation and psychiatric care beds, outpatient services, and community health and information centers. There, she was responsible for more than fifty clinical quality and operational improvement projects across the health system encompassing all aspects of the organization. Hannah holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wake Forest University, a Master of Healthcare Administration degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Master of Education degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She completed her Six Sigma Master Black Belt coursework and certification through North Carolina State University and received her Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) certificate from the Healthcare Quality Certification Committee. 

Charles is a Project Director for Soyring who has over 20 years of successful consulting in healthcare organizations and leadership. He has held positions as Director of Imaging Services, Administrative Director of Support Services, Account Manager, Clinical Engineering, and Supervisor of Biomedical Services. Charles’s management skills include Joint Commission readiness, improving employee satisfaction, creating a quality and patient safety culture, and keeping within departmental budgets. His consulting experience includes Radiology, food and environmental services, information system utilization, documentation functions, and human and asset resource management. Charles’s operational skills include facility operations and facility design (including construction management), strategic planning, equipment planning, logistics and distribution, standardization, contract negotiations, in-house management, budgeting, procurement processes, and process improvement. Charles is goal oriented and works well with staff to achieve objectives for each engagement. He has been responsible for up to 200 employees with assistance from local managers/supervisors. Charles has experience with the implementation and reporting of Joint Commission Environment of Care standards. He is a Certified Radiology Administrator (CRA).

Shelly has over 25 years of healthcare experience, providing consulting and leadership expertise. She has worked in senior leadership as a Chief Nursing Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Associate Vice President, as well as Director-level roles in ICU, Perioperative Services, Respiratory, and Obstetrics. Her expertise is in budgeting, process improvement, data management, and regulatory issues. Her experience covers various areas including Surgical Services, Emergency Room, Pharmacy, survey preparedness, human resources, risk management, patient safety, employee health, worker’s compensation, education, and public relations. She has drawn from her years of management experience to provide results-oriented project management, consulting, and interim management at healthcare organizations throughout the United States. Shelly has a broad and diverse skill set derived from multiple healthcare settings including hospitals, critical access hospitals, and independent diagnostic testing facilities (IDTFs). Shelly has a strong track record of successes including significant improvement of patient satisfaction scores, navigating surveys, new product line implementation, revised staffing model development and implementation, and turnaround of financial as well as efficiency metrics.

Dr. Thavaseelan has more than 25 years of medical experience in both Great Britain and the United States, having provided consulting assistance to healthcare clients in the area of Medical Staff affairs at dozens of clients for Soyring Consulting, Higman Healthcare, and Cardinal Health. He served as a Health System Vice President and a VP of Medical Affairs for a large NE based Healthcare System, as well as serving as a member of OR, ED, and Critical Care Committees, Executive Committees, and Strategic Planning and Long-Range Planning Committees for several hospitals. He specializes in Medical Staff assessments, staffing models, and financial analysis of Medical Services, as well as in the creation, establishment, and redesign of Departments and programs and the remodeling of operating services. His experience includes determining appropriate organizational/leadership structures, workloads, and medical staffing levels, reviewing market compensation factors, and contracts and service costs. Dr. Thavaseelan has also served as an Instructor at Harvard Medical School.