Who We Are
Meet some of the key people at ACU-Serve.
Office: 800.887.8965
Fax: 866.823.2583
jknight@acuservecorp.com
Jim Knight
Partner and C.E.O.
Jim has an accounting background and has performed implementation, consulting and training on home medical equipment software, as well as manufacturing and distribution accounting software. He has been in the home health care field for over 25 years and currently manages over 100 people. As the C.E.O., Jim has incorporated policies, procedures and technology to motivate and manage hundreds of people. He has also conducted several courses at software user conferences and state association meetings.
Jim attended the University of Akron for Accounting.
Office: 800.887.8965, ext. 203
Fax: 866.823.2583
amieb@acuservecorp.com
Amie Barone
Chief Operating Officer
Amie joined the ACU-Serve team in 2006. In her current role, she provides direction to the A/R, quality assurance, documentation retrieval, order confirmation/transmitting, and cash posting departments, as well as our satellite offices. In addition to operations, Amie leads the client services team in finding new ways to support our clients to collect more, faster.
Amie is a graduate of the University of Akron.
Office: 800.887.8965, ext. 288
Fax: 866.823.2583
jstalnaker@acuservecorp.com
John Stalnaker
Vice President of Sales
John joined the ACU-Serve team in 2010. He is responsible for all sales and marketing activity including participation in various industry trade shows.
Office: 800.887.8965, ext. 571
nneil@acuservecorp.com
Noel Neil
Vice President of Auditing and Corporate Compliance
Noel joined the ACU-Serve team in 2021. He has over 16 years’ experience in the DME industry working in Intake, Billing and Compliance Departments. He brings to the team years of experience in audit defense. He represents multiple suppliers in practically all types of Medicare audits from initial request all the way to the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) and in some cases the Depart of Appeals Board (DAB). In his current role, Noel is responsible for implementing and monitoring of the company’s corporate compliance program. He also oversees our Internal Audit Department.
Noel serves on the Medicare Provider Outreach and Education Advisory Groups for Jurisdictions A, C and D, the MYCGS Advisory Group and the Medicare Jurisdictions B and D Councils. He speaks at Medtrade and various state associations on topic related to Medicare reimbursement and audit and appeal strategies
Noel received a Juris Masters (JM) Law Degree, from Florida State University College of Law, with concentration in Health Care Regulation. Noel is also a Board of Certification/Accreditation (BOC), Certified Durable Medical Equipment Specialist (CDME) and a subject matter expert (SME) for the 2021 – 2022 revision of the CDME exam.
Noel enjoys interacting with suppliers and breaking down seemingly complex policies in simpler terms most suppliers can relate to.
Office: 419-448-5332, ext. 102
shanna@acuservecorp.com
Sarah Hanna
Vice President of Consulting Services
With the acquisition of ECS North in August 2022, Sarah Hanna came on board with ACU-Serve as the VP of Consulting Services and is responsible for building ACU-Serve’s consulting division.
She is a nationally recognized speaker and consultant on revenue cycle management, business operations and strategy as well as corporate culture and leadership. In September 2020, Sarah was selected to be a member of the Forbes Finance Council. As a member of this esteemed group, she provides insight, articles and commentary on current business and finance topics.
She is a member of HomeCare Magazine’s Editorial Advisory Board and is a VGM Consultant. Sarah is a contributing writer for HME News and HomeCare Magazine on reimbursement and operational efficiencies. Her experience gives her the opportunity to conduct webinars and present live for various state and regional healthcare associations and conferences including VGM’s Heartland Conference and Medtrade.
Office: 800.887-8965
dschwerdt@acuservecorp.com
Dena Schwerdt
Vice President of Payer Relations
Dena utilizes technology and analyzes data to maximize reimbursement for providers. Performs contract analysis to identify short payments and erroneous denials from insurance carriers. She communicates with Commercial, Medicaid and Managed Care Plans on code editing issues. She works with billing, posting and A/R team to identify payer trends and prevent errors at root cause. She proactively identifies issues surrounding reimbursement of CRT claims and provides education to payers on appropriate billing guidelines. Dena monitors and evaluates current reimbursement policies and ensures that legislative and regulatory changes impacting medical billing are anticipated and communicated to clients and A/R Teams. With over 20 years in DME billing and collections; she excels in her work with payers regarding reimbursement to the provider and settlement of patient accounts.
Office: 800.887-8965
jsylvester@acuservecorp.com
Jennifer Sylvester
Vice President of Ancillary Services
Jennifer joined ACU-Serve in 2020. She has over 20 years’ experience in the DME industry creating shareholder value, improving operations, and driving businesses towards success. Jennifer leverages cross functional management experience and industry knowledge to optimize healthcare functions including fiscal management and operational efficiency. As the Director of Revenue Recovery, Jennifer works directly with clients to reduce their held AR by providing proactive solutions and system optimization.
Office: 800.887.8965, ext. 263
Fax: 866.823.2583
hdesimone@acuservecorp.com
Heather DeSimone
Director of Human Resources
Heather joined the ACU-Serve team in 2012. She has over 11 years of experience working in the Medical Billing field, gaining experience as a Medicaid AR worker before moving into her current position managing the Medicare, Medicaid, and Commercial insurance AR staff.
Heather received her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from DeVry University.
Office: 330.754.1972, ext. 424
mdixon@acuservecorp.com
Megan Dixon
Director of Intake Services
Megan joined the ACU-Serve team in 2019. In her current role with ACU-Serve, she provides direction and oversight of our Intake Services Department.
With over 15 years of experience in the DME industry, Megan brings with her a wealth of knowledge that was gained by working in all aspects of the DME field, from filing records to managing the overall operations. Her hands on experience gives her the advantage of knowing the inner-workings in each department and with this knowledge she has been able to streamline workflow efficiency, making ACU-Serve Intake the best in the industry.
As Director of Intake, Megan also works directly with our clients to ensure constant communication and support to meet their evolving growth and needs. Since joining ACU-Serve Megan, along with her remarkable team, continue to grow the Intake division.
Cell: 267.229.1650
ynugent@acuservecorp.com
Yvette Nugent
Client Service Executive/Director of Compliance
Yvette joined the ACU-Serve team in 2014. She has over 28 years experience in the DME industry, providing a comprehensive knowledge of healthcare reimbursement operations, data quality, process management, and compliance and she is one who demonstrates an expertise in problem solving. Yvette has a proven track record in successful development and implementation of efficient and effective business processes, which resulted in positive overall operational objectives and quality control.
Yvette received her Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and Management with a minor in Accounting from Shippensburg State University.
She is a member of the POA advisory committee for Region A and also a long-standing member of the Pennsylvania Medical Suppliers Association.