dakotAMSS Board Members
President
KRISTA CRONIN
Fresh out of college, I never would have imagined that working with medical professionals would have been my career path. It started with working at Huron Regional Medical Center as a pharmacy technician and then transferring into the business office where I started learning about the importance of watching for details when it came to payer enrollment. In total, I worked there for 14 years before looking for a more challenging career. I didn’t even fully understand what locums were when I signed on with Wapiti Medical Staffing as a credentialing specialist in 2015. Attention to detail and collaborating with others are strengths of mine that have been greatly enhanced with my position. I have greatly enjoyed working with dozens of facilities all across North Dakota and South Dakota and look forward to connecting people all across our states with the help of dakotAMSS.
P (605) 438-6992
E KristaCronin@wapitimedical.com
President Elect
JODI SCHAAN
I’ve been in Medical Staff Services for over ten years. I fell into medical staff services when a friend encouraged me to apply for the Credentialing Specialist position but quickly fell in love with all the nuances and the opportunities. These opportunities made it possible to develop the position further according to my strengths and the position evolved into Medical Staff Coordinator. In August of 2022, my dream of working remotely was realized when I took a position with MultiCare working with a great team!
Originally, I joined NAMSS for their educational offerings since there were none available in ND. I've attended numerous NAMSS conferences and continue to find them very valuable for education and networking. In the spring of 2019, I took and passed my CPCS exam and decided to go for the CPMSM and passed that exam in the summer of 2019. NAMSS has given me many opportunities for professional growth.
The creation of dakotAMSS has been very exciting and beneficial for our ND & SD Medical Staff Professionals as it gives us a 'closer to home' opportunity for education and networking while also being more affordable. I made the decision to become more involved with dakotAMSS because continuing education has always been a passion of mine, along with mentoring, and I wanted to be a part of creating CE’s and a network of resources that will benefit all of our members. The friendships I have gained are priceless.
P (701) 771-9796
Treasurer
HEATHER LUNSTRA
Hello, I’m Heather Lunstra. I have been a Credentialing Specialist for the past four years. My background consists of a variety of administrative roles, all of which have contributed to my success in the credentialing field. I have recently taken a position with Credentialing USA, Inc., and have found the “perfect fit” with my extensive job knowledge and experience. One of my primary goals is to assist clients/providers with the credentialing process – to educate and make the process as simple and easy as possible, all while providing accurate and timely information at all stages. I have several hobbies, but most of all I enjoy reading, traveling, and spending time with family and my dogs.
P (605) 409-8479
E heather.lunstra@credentialingusa.com
Secretary
LAVONNE MCKEE
I am thrilled to be back as the secretary of dakotAMSS. Being an MSP and the dakotAMSS secretary gives me purpose and a voice. I enjoy watching people grow in their role and gain confidence in what they do and themselves. I have been in the credentialing realm for many years. I started at the SD Board of Medical and Osteopathic Examiners where I found enjoyment in licensing and working with the healthcare professionals. I then worked as the main Credentialing Specialist for 10+years. During that time, I studied as a non-traditional student to find out the why’s and purposes of credentialing, hospital privileging, etc. And graduated with my MSSM Degree in 2013.
In 2015, I started Credentialing USA, Inc and have been there since. Running a Credentialing Company is different than I thought, and a lot more difficult. But I enjoy every day and learn something new every day.
As if there was not enough going on in my working world, a few of us got together and decided that we would benefit from a local educational source, but we needed more people with our demographic area being so rural. That is when South Dakota and North Dakota formed dakotAMSS. This created a stronger bond of people to carry on the growth of the dakotAMSS network.
P (605) 214-1401
E lavonne@credentialingusa.com
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Past President
PENNY WATKINS
I have worked for Trinity Health for 11 years. The first 4 years I worked in Facilities Management as a Safety Compliance Coordinator. My career path pivoted in 2014 when our CEO asked me if I was interested in working in the Medical Staff Services office. Prior to working at Trinity Health, I worked for the Henry County Board of Commissioners in McDonough, GA in the Planning & Zoning Department. When I started in the MSS office, I realized I needed to join NAMSS to network with other MSPs as this was a “new field” to me. I learned quick how important our role is as we are the “Gatekeepers of Patient Safety” and that I needed mentoring and educational opportunities to learn best-practices in credentialing/privileging, while maximizing service, quality and productivity. Looking back, the first year was a blur!! I have a strong commitment to the medical staff professional and was thrilled when SD invited ND to join to form one territory, dakotAMSS in 2019. It is important to network, stay abreast of healthcare regulatory standards and to grow, learn and advance professionally as MSPs.
P (701)418-8302