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. 

Tyla (“Teela”) Blom brings more than 25 years of clinical and operational experience to the Avanza team. Over the course of her career, Tyla has been recognized for her operational acumen, collaboration skills, and strategic thinking. In an environment of declining reimbursement and increasing costs, Tyla works with each individual client to craft a plan that allows for the provision of excellent care while improving the bottom line.

Prior to joining Avanza, Tyla served as a regional ASC operations director for a large hospital corporation and has held several management and executive level positions for both physician owned and corporately managed ambulatory surgery facilities.

Tyla enjoys working with physician partners and staff members to identify areas for operational improvement and has been successful in reducing operational expenses through education, scheduling efficiencies, streamlining processes, and contract negotiations at all of her facilities.

Tyla earned her nursing degree from Clayton State College in Morrow, Georgia and her Masters in Business Administration from Western Governors University Texas. Tyla is also a Certified Administrator Surgery Center (CASC).

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.

Sarah Gamerman has worked closely with hospitals and free-standing, outpatient facilities, taking them from ground breaking through licensing, Medicare certification and accreditation. She helps clients develop policies and procedures to meet state and federal regulations. All of Sarah’s clients have passed initial surveys without issue.

Sarah is expert in hiring and mentoring administrators and center staff through the development and certification processes. Sarah also conducts operational audits and feasibility studies for hospitals and surgery centers.

Sarah regularly works alongside project architects and designers to ensure facility designs are compliant, cost effective, efficient and maximize patient care opportunities.

In addition to her work with clients, as a registered nurse, Sarah continues to provide clinical care to patients in both hospital and freestanding settings. Doing so continually reinforces her understanding of the challenges providers face today.

Sarah is a member of the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses.

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.

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.

Victoria Cunniff has nearly 20 years of healthcare and outpatient experience. She specializes in ambulatory surgery center (ASC) operations management and clinical administration. Her expertise includes directing financial and clinical operations, patient safety, physician relations, health information management, clinical outcomes and reporting, and human resources management.

Vickie most recently served as administrator and director of nursing at a California ambulatory surgery center, where she was responsible for managing all financial and clinical operations. During her impressive tenure, she presided over substantial revenue and volume growth. She was also responsible for hiring, training and supervision of staff; patient relations; workflow coordination; physician recruitment; budget planning and administration; and other responsibilities.

Vickie is an active participant in the ASC industry and holds the Certified Administrator Surgery Center credential. She earned her BSN in nursing and MBA in business administration and management for the University of Phoenix.