President Elect
Lindsay Searing is the current President Elect (and 2020 Immediate Past President). She has been a KAMSS member since 2014. She is currently a remote Provider Enrollment Analyst at Community Health Systems in Franklin, TN. Lindsay is a transplant to Northern Kentucky from Cincinnati, and currently lives in the Florence/Union area. She began her career in the acute care hospital setting, as a credentialing clerk for The Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati, and then through the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. She has credentialing and provider enrollment experience in behavioral health and addiction treatment, helping to build a credentialing and provider enrollment department at Brightview Health, a rapidly growing addiction treatment group. She has also worked within military contractor healthcare settings, providing medical staff services and credentialing support for several dozen military bases and hospital facilities worldwide. She is preparing to take her Certified Provider Credentialing Specialist certification exam in 2021. When not working, she enjoys spending time with her husband and young son, and reading anything she can get her hands on.
Treasurer
Veronica Shepherd is the current interim KAMSS Treasurer. She has been a KAMSS member since 2004. She has worked at Baptist Health Lexington in Lexington, Kentucky since November 2004 where she previously held the position of Credentialing Coordinator and is currently the Peer Review Coordinator. Veronica has held the Certified Provider Credentialing Specialist (CPCS) certification since 2004, she is a certified Change Agent, and recently completed her Green Belt certification in Process Excellence Methodology. She is a native of Lexington. Outside of work, Veronica enjoys spending time with family, crafts and reading.
Secretary
Mercedez Varble, CPCS is the current Secretary of KAMSS and has been a member since 2018. She is currently the Credentialing Specialist for RiverValley Behavioral Health in Owensboro, KY and has been in the credentialing field since 2013. Mercedez began her medical staff support career in the Provider Hospital Organization setting as an office clerk for Owensboro Community Health Network, moving to Administrative Assistant at the same organization, then Medical Staff Specialist for Owensboro Health Regional Hospital. She has experience in hospital credentialing, behavioral health credentialing, privileging, and payer enrollment. She is also knowledgeable in payer enrollment and privileging requirements for Texas, North Carolina, and New Mexico. She is currently working on building the credentialing department and streamlining multi-state credentialing functions for her fast-expanding employer, RiverValley Behavioral Health.
Mercedez has been a Certified Provider Credentialing Specialist since October 2020 and plans to sit for her Certified Professional Medical Services Management exam in April 2021. When not working, she enjoys spending time with her son and cheering him on or coaching his sports teams (preferably the latter). She also enjoys singing, dancing, and acting, and has been a volunteer for Theatre Workshop of Owensboro since 2012.
Webmaster
Melissa Neal, MSOM is a 2019 graduate from Indiana Wesleyan University with a Master’s degree in Organizational Management. She is from Owensboro, KY and lives in Philpot with her husband, new baby girl, and dog named Nola. She has been employed with Owensboro Health Regional Hospital since 2011 where she started out as a CNA in Critical Care. While working full time and obtaining her Bachelor’s degree in Science full time, she quickly discovered her interest in the business side of healthcare. After receiving her Bachelor’s degree, she accepted a credentialing specialist position in 2015 with Owensboro Health. That is when she found her passion for payer enrollment and credentialing. She then went on to pursue her Master’s degree.