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Trustees/Management Staff

A brief description of the Trustees and Management follows:

H. Keith Johnson, MD, Chairman of the Board, a native of New York City, is a Board Certified Nephrologist retired from the Division of Nephrology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, and formerly Medical Director of the renal transplant service at Vanderbilt Hospital and Veterans Administration.  He is the founder of DCI and currently serves as the Chairman of its Board of Trustees.  He was the founding President of SEOPF during 1980 and President of UNOS from 1988 to 1989.  

James Perry, President, is a Certified Public Accountant, and a member of the Tennessee and American Institute of CPA's.  He is a graduate of David Lipscomb University and has served in both public and private practice.  He has been with DCI since 1978, serving in the positions of Controller, Treasurer, Secretary/Treasurer, and currently, President.  He has served as a Board member for the Middle Tennessee Chapter of the National Kidney Foundation.

Nancy N. Johnson, who has served on the Board since the inception of the company, is a graduate of Mt. Holyoke College with a Bachelor of Science and completed her Masters in Education at Harvard University.  She has taught science and math since 1960 and specifically at Franklin Road Academy in Nashville since 1971.  In 1993 she was one of three recipients of the President's Award for Excellence for outstanding science teaching in the state of Tennessee.  She has also been the recipient of three HCA Foundation awards for independent study.

Douglas S. Johnson, MD, is a graduate of Haverford College, Temple University School of Law and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.  He served from 1995 to 2004 in the capacity of Staff Attorney and Associate Corporate Counsel at the Corporate Office in Nashville.  He is currently completing his internal medicine residency training at Baptist Hospital/University of Tennessee in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Corporate Office of DCI is comprised of 100 people.  This includes the Chairman, President, Secretary/Treasurer, Director of Operations, Controller, Director of Internal Audit, Director of Budgeting, Director of Human Resources, Director of Risk Management, Director of Quality Management, Director of Managed Care, Director of Research, the Data Processing Organization, Legal, and the required staff to support each function.

Even though DCI operates in a decentralized management system, there are still a number of areas, which must be handled centrally.  These include centralized processing of accounting and medical information, tax and audit work, cash management, employee benefits, insurance, legal matters, new applications for clinics, approval of research projects, and other general policies relative to all locations.  Key individuals in the Corporate Office include:

Ed Attrill, Secretary/Treasurer, is a Certified Public Accountant and a graduate of Tennessee Technological University.  Formerly an employee of the CPA firm of Touche Ross & Co., he has been employed by DCI since 1979 in the positions of General Corporate Accountant, Assistant Controller, Controller, Assistant Treasurer, and finally, Secretary/Treasurer. He also currently serves as a Board Member of the Middle Tennessee Chapter of the National Kidney Foundation.

Hal Whetstone, Director of Corporate Contracts/Sales and Marketing, has been with DCI since 1988.  Hal received his BS in Business Administration from Middle Tennessee State University and has worked in the dialysis field since 1973, coming to DCI after spending 15 years with Abbott Laboratories in sales and marketing.  In addition, Hal serves in the capacity of Director of Sales and Marketing for the DCI Laboratory.  Hal has served as a board member for the Middle Tennessee Chapter of the National Kidney Foundation.

William E. Wood, Assistant Treasurer/Director of Operations, has been with DCI since 1988 initially in the capacity of Director of Internal Audit.  Bill was named Director of Operations in 1995.  Bill is a Certified Public Accountant with membership in both the AICPA and TSCPA.  Formerly serving as a Senior Accountant with Touche, Ross & Co., he holds a BS in Accounting from Western Kentucky University.

Gina Zylstra, Corporate Counsel, has been with DCI since 2000.  Gina earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, and the degree of Juris Doctor from Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama.  Before coming to DCI, Gina had been a civil defense attorney for ten years practicing in the middle Tennessee area. 

Dan Watson, Director of Human Resources, began his career with DCI as the Associate Director of Human Resources in 2001. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Bethel College and a master’s degree from Middle Tennessee State University. He is currently a member of the Human Resources Association of Middle Tennessee and the Society for Human Resource Management. Prior to joining DCI, Dan was employed by Whirlpool Corporation for fourteen years as a Quality Engineer, Buyer, and Human Resources Supervisor.

Joe Swearingen, Director of Reimbursement & Managed Care, has been with the company since 1998.  Joe is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a BS in Accounting from the University of Tennessee at Martin.  Prior to joining DCI he worked in Washington, DC as an Audit Manager for the Federal Election Commission.

Gigi Abston, Corporate Director of Budgeting, has been with DCI since 1990.  Before being named Director of Budgeting, she was Director of Internal Audit.  She holds a BBA in Accounting from Middle Tennessee State University.  She also is a Certified Public Accountant.  Prior to her service with DCI, she served with Harschman, Lewis, and Associates as a Staff Accountant.

Mark Penick, Corporate Controller, has been with DCI since 1984. He holds a BBA in Accounting from Belmont University. Prior to his service with DCI, he was Senior Accountant with the CPA firm of Touche, Ross & Co.

LaVerne Pope, Assistant Controller, joined DCI in 1993.  LaVerne is an alumnus of David Lipscomb University, where she received a BS in Accounting.  She is also a Certified Public Accountant and member of both the Tennessee and American Institute of CPA's.  Prior to joining DCI, LaVerne was with the tax accounting firm of Lattimore, Black, Morgan & Cain, and from 1984 to 1993 served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial officer of Christie Cookie Company.

Andy Parker, Director of Internal Audit, has been with DCI since 1999.  He holds a BS in Accounting from David Lipscomb University.  Andy is also a Certified Public Accountant and a member of both the Tennessee and American Institute of CPA’s.

H. Edward Creamer, Director of Risk Management, came to DCI in 2007 after serving as Director of Risk Management for Baptist Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. Ed was formerly the Deputy Assistant Director, U.S. Secret Service, Washington, D.C. and retired from the Secret Service after a 23 year career. He received his BS from the University of Louisville and a law degree from the Nashville School of Law.  

Pam Havermann, Director of Quality Management and Education, joined DCI in 1990 as a staff nurse and later served as Nurse Manager for the Paris, Tennessee facility.  Pam moved to the Corporate office in 1998 as a Corporate Nurse Consultant, and was named to her current position in 2004.  She holds a nursing degree from the University of Tennessee at Martin, and a BS in Organizational Management from Bethel College.

Karen Majchrzak, Director of Clinical Research, joined DCI in 2007. Karen earned a bachelor’s degree from East Tennessee State University and a master’s degree from University of Tennessee at Knoxville. She is also a Certified Clinical Research Professional. Before coming to DCI, Karen worked at the General Clinical Research Center and Department of Nephrology at Vanderbilt University.

Doug Reinhard, Corporate Administrator, has been with DCI since 1981.  Initially, Doug was a clinic Administrator for DCI in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  Later, he became the Corporate Administrator. Doug holds a BBA in Accounting from the University of New Mexico.  He was formerly with the University of New Mexico Medical Center as a financial analyst and budget director.

Chris Keen, Corporate Administrator, has been with DCI since 1994.  He holds a BA in Business Administration and Finance from Furman University.  Chris joined DCI as an Operations Analyst and in 1995 was named a Corporate Administrator.  Before joining DCI Chris was with REN Corporation - USA where he served as Assistant Vice President.

Paul G. Passman, Corporate Administrator, initially joined DCI in 1994 as an Operations Analyst.  Paul has been in the dialysis industry since 1983, and has held positions in the technical, clinical, and administrative fields.  He holds a BA in Management and Human Relations from Trevecca Nazarene University, a MBA from the University of Phoenix; and is a member of the Middle Tennessee Healthcare Executives Association, and the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Keith Gothard, Corporate Administrator, joined DCI in 1998.  Previously with Columbia HCA and REN Corporation, Keith has a number of years experience in the dialysis field.  He received his Masters in Social Work from the University of Tennessee Knoxville and his MBA from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Rose Smith, Corporate Administrator, joined DCI in 1992 as Nurse Manager for the Crawford Long facility in Atlanta, Georgia. Prior to joining DCI, Rose was with American Outpatient Services and FMC. Rose has been in the renal field since 1985. She holds a nursing degree from Georgia College and State University and a BA from Trevecca Nazarene University. Rose is also a Certified Nephrology Nurse.

Stuart Redpath, Corporate Administrator, joined DCI in 1999 as Administrator in New Orleans, Louisiana, and served in that capacity until his move to the Corporate office in 2004.  Previously with Fresenius Medical Care, Stuart has been in the dialysis industry since 1995.  He holds a Bachelors degree in Psychology from Plymouth University in the United Kingdom, and a Masters degree in business from Webster University in St. Louis, MO.

Peggy Williams, Corporate Compliance / HIPAA Officer, joined DCI in 2005.  Her early career was with DCI Corporate serving in various roles; one of which was working in clinic settings as an interim administrator.  Prior to rejoining DCI, Peggy worked for CIGNA Healthcare for 14 years.  Her experience included project leadership for corporate strategic initiatives in the areas of provider information, contracting, electronic data, and claims.  She also worked for Deloitte-Touche 4 years in the Audit, Tax, and Related Services firm.  Peggy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.