Senior Consultant, with 20+ years health care experience in a variety of areas including, operational and clinical quality, IT, health plan operations, and finance. Delivering successful results in complex and matrix organizations by skillful application of workflow, data, business process improvement, voice of the customer, Lean and Six Sigma theory and tools to creatively achieve organizational goals, improve productivity, and positively impact the bottom line.

Experience in Provider/Payer operational functions that directly contribute to improved HEDIS scores, Star ratings, higher CAHPS scores, and improved patient outcomes. Background in engaging patient families, improving patient experience, training delivery, preparation for accreditation reviews, market conduct exams and state quality audits with a focus on institutionalizing success. Advocate for patient and family engagement with experience in presenting at local, national and international events. Chair local PFAC and member of NE PFAC.

History of consulting and executing projects within commercial health plans, property and casualty, manufacturing, and business startups.

Layne S. Gakos is the General Counsel for the Connecticut State Medical Society. Layne brings almost 15 years experience in the field of healthcare law. Layne received her BA from Tufts University and her JD, with a concentration in Health Law, from Quinnipiac University School of Law. Prior to joining the Connecticut State Medical Society, Layne worked at both UnitedHealthcare and Oxford Health Plans in Trumbull, Connecticut. Layne has also worked as an attorney in the Health Law and Corporate Law Departments of a large, regional law firm based in Connecticut. Layne sits on the Physician Advocacy Liaison Committee for the national Physician’s Advocacy Institute and, of late, has been a frequent speaker on MIPS/MACRA and the impact on physician practices. Layne is mom to two active boys who are reptile fanatics and can often be seen covering her eyes from the snakes, lizards and other animals that her boys like to find around the yard.

Ellen C. Skinner is an experienced, innovative health care executive and consultant providing strategic, business development and operational effectiveness services to health companies and a proven record of developing and managing collaborative projects across the sector in a time of revolutionary change in healthcare.

Her practical experience and qualitative and quantitative skills are particularly valuable as healthcare moves more rapidly to fee for value from fee for service, and as the regulatory climate at the federal and state levels seem to change daily. She is intimately familiar with private- and public-sector healthcare organizations, and the inter-actions between those sectors, especially regarding the Affordable Care Act, Health Insurance Exchanges, insurance and provider matters.

Ms. Skinner is currently principal consultant for Connected Health Strategies, which provides planning and business-development services to healthcare organizations to help solve quality, access and cost problems. In addition, she sits on multiple boards.

She previously served as executive director of the nationally recognized program “MBA for Executives: Leadership in Healthcare,’’ at the Yale University School of Management, where she also lectured on the economics of healthcare and on creating value in healthcare delivery, and advised students.

Ms. Skinner has also led development and oversight of Health Net of the Northeast’s strategy and business plan and directed a portfolio for commercial and government initiatives.

She has served as assistant vice president for national contracting and provider networks at CIGNA HealthCare, where her work included improving provider satisfaction through increased communications and implementing process upgrades to increase claim accuracy and otherwise improve service.

As an executive at the Yale Medical School, she led the development of a physician-governed organization of more than 500 doctors to facilitate contracting and standards of care and helped develop and implement a start-up provider-sponsored Medicaid managed-care organization.

Ellen Skinner has a master’s degree in public and private management from the Yale University School of Management and a bachelor of arts degree, with a major in sociology, from Southern Connecticut State University. She resides in North Haven with her husband and enjoys kayaking, bicycling, hiking and gardening.

Pajor is President of Pajor Consulting, and past President of Beechwood Post-Acute, Transitional and Long Term Care (“Beechwood”), a sixty bed skilled nursing facility in New London, Connecticut.

Kathy is an active leader in the profession of long term care. She holds Fellow status in both ACHCA and HFMA. Since 2008, she has served as a Board Member on the Board of Directors for the Connecticut Association of Health Care Facilities (CAHCF), ACHA’s state affiliate in Connecticut. She is a Past-President of the Connecticut Chapter of the American College of Health Care Administrators (ACHCA). She is a Past President of the Connecticut Chapter of the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) and was the New England Region 1 Executive for the National HFMA. She also served on several National Committees.

Her facility, Beechwood, has received the CMS 5 STAR award each year since 2010, AHCA (American Health Care Association) 4-Tier Award and the US News and World Report’s BEST NURSING HOMES IN USA Achievement since 2010.

Kathy received the distinguished “20 to Watch in 2014” from Provider Magazine in January, 2014, the Distinguished Member Award in 2015 and most recently received the first annual AIT Preceptor/Mentor Award, both from the American College of Health Care Administrators at its Annual Convocation.