About

Steve brings more than 30 years of healthcare experience to Avanza, with the past 23 years directly related to system operations, practice administration, hospital management, payer reimbursement and contracting. As president of Avanza, he oversees all company operations.  

In addition to this role, Steve serves as executive vice president for advisory and practice management services for MedHQ, Avanza’s parent company. In this role, Steve has profit and loss (P&L) responsibilities for all consulting services, oversees practice management functionality and participates in executive level strategies for the business. 

Mason’s healthcare experience includes anesthesia operations, revenue cycle management, payer audits, healthcare data analytics, hospital and practice administration, healthcare consulting, physician contracting and hospital professional services contracting. Prior to joining Avanza and MedHQ, Steve held leadership positions with PhyMed Healthcare Group, Managed Care Advisory Group (MCAG), Anesthesiology Consultants of Toledo, King Systems Corp., and the Toledo Hospital and ProMedica Health System. He also spent more than a decade overseeing practice administration for more than 150 healthcare providers located in multiple Midwest states and has served in several administrative roles in complex, multi-specialty physician practices 

Steve has extensive experience as a consultant to physician practices, teaching hospitals, multi-hospital systems and community hospitals in more than 15 states, and nearly a decade of experience working closely with healthcare counsel on legal matters related to professional services agreements. 

Steve holds a master’s degree in business administration, with a concentration in healthcare, from the University of Dallas. 

Julie brings her impressive 24 years of healthcare experience to Avanza. She has worked as an ASC clinical director, surgical trauma/orthopedic coordinator, director of surgical services and most recently associate vice president of surgery/ambulatory services at a seven-hospital, 460-bed health system. Her areas of oversight included inpatient surgery, outpatient surgery, ambulatory surgery, pain management, anesthesia and endoscopy, with responsibilities in operations, financial management and performance improvement for surgical services.

Julie serves as an Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) accreditation mentor for ASC leaders. She is certified by Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) and holds both her CNOR and CSSM credentials. She has taken the intermediate Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) surveyor course and performs mock surveys for ASCs seeking accreditation with AAAHC, CMS and The Joint Commission.

Julie is an active member in AORN, for which she serves on its ASC Advisory Committee. She’s also an active member with the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association and the South Carolina Ambulatory Surgery Center Association and is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society for nursing. She holds her MBA, MHA, and BSN from Capella University.

Lisa has been an RN for almost 40 years and in ambulatory care for the majority of those years. Lisa’s extensive operational development, management and consulting experience provides clients with expertise in facility administration, budget development, regulatory compliance, staff recruitment and retention, equipment procurement, policy and procedure development and implementation, and organizational interfacing. Lisa’s national ASC and hospital department development and management expertise affords clients, who are opening new Facilities, unparalleled success.

Lisa has developed numerous surgery centers working in concert with investors, corporations, hospitals, architects, builders and equipment manufactures/distributors through all phases of surgery center development and management.

Lisa has achieved CASC, the credential that connotes expertise in ASC administration. She is a current board officer of the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association, (ASCA) and past board member of the Colorado Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (CASCA), where she also served as president. Lisa also served multiple state and national committees to further the advancement of the ASC industry.

Lisa is involved in several non-profit organizations in her community and enjoys volunteering when possible.

John L. Crowder Jr., PG, CHFM, CFPS, is involved in all phases of architectural consulting, plan development and compliance matters for healthcare organizations across the country. His extensive background in construction and facility management of healthcare facilities for over 20 years provides a solid understanding of design methods, code requirements and various regulations required by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for facilities seeking deemed status.

As an active life safety surveyor for the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC), John maintains a thorough knowledge of the most current and updated code requirements through continual education and site surveys of various healthcare facilities. He brings expertise in translating operational requirements into optimal facility solutions and preparing facilities for upcoming deemed status surveys by accrediting agencies.

His history of successful projects includes ambulatory surgery centers, medical office buildings, orthopedic centers, outpatient surgery centers, hospitals, and retrofit of existing facilities and installation of various medical equipment and new technologies.

Vicki Dekker brings more than 25 years of healthcare management experience to assisting Avanza’s clients with business office operations process. Her background includes extensive work with ambulatory surgery centers, outpatient academic facilities, private practices and other facility types.

Vicki has worked as a director of business office operations for an ASC management company; billing manager for neurosurgery, neurology, and ENT departments at an outpatient academic facility; and as a business office manager in a large neurology private practice.

She has demonstrated success in building and retaining high performance teams by hiring, developing and motivating skilled professionals. Vicki’s focus is on business office process improvements, with an emphasis on maximizing revenue cycle reimbursement with efficient processes.

Vicki has been named a great woman leader in the ASC industry by Becker’s ASC Review multiple times. She is an avid volunteer, donating her time to help a local soup kitchen and baking skills to help her church.

Trevin Hunt brings more than 30 years of clinical and operational experience to the Avanza team. This includes 25 years in the surgical services industry, including working in hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs), main operating rooms and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs).

Prior to joining Avanza, Trevin served as CEO/administrator of multiple health system/physician joint ventures. He has assisted with the development, design, construction and Medicare certification of multiple centers. In his surgery center roles, he was responsible for achieving and maintaining Medicare certification and AAAHC accreditation, along with coordinating activities with health system partners. Trevin has also worked with Epic (EHR), completing the build and implementation of Epic OpTime in the ASC setting.

In 2017, Trevin completed Rona Consulting Group’s Lean Operations Program and is a certified workshop leader. He has participated in workshops in hospital, clinic and ASC settings, helping incorporate lean concepts to improve workflow, reduce waste and improve patient satisfaction.

In addition to his healthcare experience, Trevin has worked as a consultant, with a focus on marketing and business development. He holds an MBA from the University of Phoenix and a nursing degree from Pacific Union College.