Samantha Bonds, Senior Manager – RCM, Patient Engagement at US Anesthesia Partners, was chosen in the builder category because of her growth mindset and consistent drive to improve the patient experience.

Samantha’s work has greatly impacted and advanced US Anesthesia Partners. Her focus on improving the bad debt collections workflow optimized the process and reduced duplicate payments by the patient, which reduced refunds.

Shanna Wagner, Treasury Analyst at an Academic Health System in Pennsylvania, played a pivotal role in developing and executing a new automated device deployment strategy, showcasing both innovation and hands-on leadership.

She spearheaded the successful rollout of over 700 pre-configured POS devices, ensuring a seamless experience for end users. Thanks to her dedication and countless hours of preparation, devices were fully staged ahead of go-live, allowing users to simply power them on with no manual setup required.

Anna Harvey, BI Data Modeler Senior at an Academic Health System in Pennsylvania, was instrumental in mapping Cedar data requirements to current business workflows to generate the data files with data quality.

Her foresight in building flexibility into the system allowed for quick adjustments—most notably enabling the exclusion of a legally restricted entity without delaying the Go-Live timeline. Thanks to Anna’s technical expertise, the team was able to implement the change within a day, ensuring compliance and seamless execution.

Jen Jones, IS Applications Analyst, Sr. Epic Resolute Professional Billing & Claims at Providence, has been a persistent and valuable partner in resolving a complex billing discrepancies between Cedar and Swedish PB related to how collections statuses are tracked.

Jen’s played a key role in supporting the collaboration between Cedar and Providence to address the root cause, align data across systems, and reinstate affected balances. Her dedication has been instrumental in driving this issue toward full resolution and long-term fixes.

Ashley Summerfield, Senior Revenue Services Manager at Sonora Quest Laboratories, plays a vital leadership role overseeing both the Customer Service and Patient Financial Advocate teams, driving initiatives that enhance patient support and operational performance.

Ashley has been instrumental in improving self-service tools on the SQL website, revamping online insurance update functionality, and leading efforts to expand training and scripting for patient-facing staff. Thanks to her patient-first mindset and focus on quality, on-site collection of past-due balances has increased by over 50% since Q1 2025.

Trena Staley, Insurance Verification Specialist at Novant Health, is a standout member of the Pre-Service collections team, combining deep empathy with clear communication to help patients understand their insurance benefits and feel confident about upcoming care.

She recently guided a patient through an estimate without focusing on the cost, instead using plain language to build trust and end the call with a heartfelt message of reassurance. Since January 2025, Trena has collected over $1 million over the phone, all while earning consistent praise for her exceptional service and compassionate approach.

Donna Tilley, Director Financial Applications – Revenue Cycle, has been a vital IT leader, leveraging her deep expertise in system configurations and revenue cycle operations to improve the patient financial experience.

She was instrumental in implementing Cedar’s post-service collections platform for both acute and ambulatory operations, ensuring seamless execution across disparate systems. Her leadership has driven a 25–30% increase in collections, strong patient satisfaction scores, and ongoing platform enhancements that benefit both patients and the organization.

Chirag Shah and Amie Garisto have demonstrated exceptional leadership and innovation in transforming the patient financial experience through smarter, more compassionate revenue cycle strategies.

They partnered with Cedar to extend the dunning cycle, giving patients more time to pay or enroll in payment plans—resulting in a 4% increase in collections, fewer agency fees, and a notable drop in patient complaints. Their commitment to patient-centric care and operational excellence has meaningfully improved both outcomes and experience, setting a new standard in the healthcare revenue cycle space.

Virginia Burkett and Anthony Bustos have demonstrated exceptional leadership and collaboration in transforming the patient financial experience. Together, they led parallel rollouts for ambulatory and acute operations, working closely with Cedar, IT, and internal stakeholders to ensure accurate data transmission, team readiness, and a seamless experience for patients.

Their efforts not only resulted in a 20–25% increase in post-service collections and consistently strong patient satisfaction (84–86%), but also reduced payment posting delays, call wait times, and collection agency placements. United by a shared commitment to operational excellence and patient-centered care, they co-designed a new telephone tree and workflow that bridge disparate systems to deliver a more unified, supportive experience.