Our Team
Vital Signs Physician Resources | (817) 371-7336
item imageJim Edwardson, CMPEOwner, Healthcare Consultant
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Jim is a Certified Medical Practice Executive through the Medical Group Management Association. He attended college at Emporia State University in Kansas and later earned certification in healthcare administration from Trinity University in San Antonio, TX. He has been certified by MGMA since 1992.

With more than 38 years of experience in group practice management and healthcare administration, within a variety of various specialties, Jim provides consultation in several areas of the medical field. Over time Jim has broadened his expertise, helping elevate business across the nation. His skillset includes accounts receivable management and cleanup, identifying ancillary revenue opportunities, credentialing, managed care contracting, practice management, medical billing, crisis management (pandemic, hurricanes), interim high-level management, and practice analysis.

item imageLonnie Faulkner, CPAChief Financial Officer
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Lonnie is the Chief Financial Officer for VSPR and oversees financial consulting and accounting services for VSPR clients. He has been employed at VSPR since 2008. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington where he earned a BBA in accounting and an MBA in finance.

He has over 35 years of accounting experience ranging from public accounting "Big 4" to serving as a CFO or Controller for small to mid-sized, $15M - $50M, companies in the healthcare, service, and manufacturing industries. Lonnie also served as a Lecturer at the University of Texas at Arlington where he taught principal, intermediate, and managerial accounting. He is a Certified Public Accountant and is licensed to practice in the state of Texas.

item imageGarry W. BrightMBA, CMPE
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Garry is a skillful operation and financial executive with 28+ years of healthcare administration experience in organizations with annual revenues from $2 million to $30 million. His healthcare specialty experience includes nephrology, internal medicine, ophthalmology, cardiology, infectious diseases, urology, neonatology, pain management, chronic dialysis centers, and more.

He obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees with a concentration in hospital/healthcare administration from the University of Louisiana Monroe. He also received his certifications as a Certified Home Care and Hospice Executive from the National Association for Home Care and his Certified Medical Practice Executive from the Medical Group Management Association.

Garry has the ability to analyze data, interpret it, and effectively communicate the results to all levels of staff and principals in the organization.


Garry's Specialty Experience:

  • Nephrology - 11 years
  • Internal Medicine - 11 years
  • Ophthalmology - 5 years
  • Cardiology - 3 years
  • Infectious Disease - 2 years
  • Urology - 1 year
  • Neonatology - 3 years
  • Pain Management - 1 year
  • Chronic Dialysis Centers - 5 years
  • Ambulatory Surgery Centers - 6 years
item imageTheresa Ward, CPCBilling Manager
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Theresa is a professional coder, certified by the American Academy of Professional Coders. With more than 28 years of experience in the medical field as a medical practice manager, she has a special focus on coding and billing. Theresa began her medical career as a receptionist in a large, multi-specialty clinic and then moved on to manage a dermatology office for 10 years.

Theresa has vast experience in these specialties: Urology, pain management, Ophthalmology, Internal Medicine, Physical Therapy, Occupational Health, Primary Care, General Surgery, Endocrinology, Neurology, Oncology, Home Visits, Infectious Disease, Infusion Therapy, Assisted Living, General and Cosmetic Dermatology (10 years), and OBGYN (11 years). She has been a member of the VSPR team since 2015, furthering her experience and knowledge in the complete medical revenue cycle.

item imageNhu N. HaController
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Nhu has more than 22 years of combined accounting and healthcare experience at the staff and management accounting levels as well as over six years as a pharmacy technician. Her career has been focused on small- to mid-size medical practices with revenues in the $1M - $20M range.

Nhu is a graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington and has a bachelor’s degree in accounting. She began her healthcare accounting career as a staff accountant and progressed quickly to the senior accountant level at a large single-specialty group practice in DFW. She joined VSPR in April 2016 as our controller. Nhu has been a full-cycle healthcare accountant for over 10 years along with serving as VSPR’s controller. She also provides accounting and financial consulting to new and current VSPR clients as needed.

item imageNina LinehanController
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Nina has over 26 years of experience in healthcare accounting as well as seven years in the Air Freight Industry. Nina is a graduate of the University of Phoenix and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting. She began her healthcare career working as the Administrative Assistant for a Radiology Group while finishing up her bachelor’s degree at night. She quickly moved up to the AP Payroll/HR Manager and, moved into the Staff Accountants position. She joined Vital Signs Physician Resources (VSPR) in November 2017 as the Assistant Controller.

Her VSPR clients range from providing full financial accounting in entering payables, invoicing clients, bank reconciling, and producing P&L’s. She also does monthly reporting and payroll processing for another client. Nina’s software experience includes Microsoft Office, ADP, Paychex, and Rippling payroll systems, Peachtree, QuickBooks, Great Plains Wolfe Pack, and Cyma Accounting software.

item imageJill De Franceschi
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Jill has been in the medical field for 26 years. She learned administrative duties of the medical office while attending nursing school and working as front office manager for an ENT group practice. As a nurse, Jill worked in several specialties, including gastroenterology, dermatology, and neurology.

She graduated from American Intercontinental University in 2016 and has a degree in healthcare management. Jill joined the VSPR team in 2017 as a project manager. With 26 years of experience under her belt, she has worked closely with several clients to train staff members and improve efficiency by implementing new processes.

item imageDarla ShelleyDirector of Credentialing
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Darla has over 25 years of experience in the healthcare field, including experience in the clinical practice setting as an office manager as well as support, implementation, training, and software resource development with a healthcare practice management software company.

Darla has credentialing experiences with carriers on both the practice side and the software side in multiple states for Medicaid, Medicare, CAQH, and major carriers as well as large and small hospital affiliations.

item imageSusanne VaughanProject Manager
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Susanne is a valued project coordinator at VSPR, with over 28 years of medical experience and industry knowledge. As a first stepping stone into the industry, Susanne worked as a phlebotomist and medical assistant, and then transitioned into medical management. Our team values her expertise and her ample ability to collaborate, find solutions, and manage all facets of billing and revenue cycle management. For the last 22 years, Susanne’s primary background was in one of the most effective techniques for Skin Cancer, Mohs Dermatology. With specialties in Internal medicine, ENT, Family Practice, Orthopedic Surgery, General Surgery, and more, we are confident in Susanne’s ability to catapult your practice into the future of medicine!”

Outside the office, Susanne is family-focused. Her passions include baseball and kayak fishing. Best of all, she is an animal lover through and through. With 4 fur babies, a few goats, and we can’t forget the chickens!

item imageKellye Taylor, CPC
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Kellye Taylor is a valued member of our team. As a professional coder, certified by the American Academy of Professional Coders, she brings over twenty years of experience to our team. In 2020, Kellye was crucial in growing the practice of a new mental health physician with her assistance in setting up electronic claims, EFT’s, ERAs, and training their billing staff. Kellye empowers us with the value she adds to VSPR. Her vast experience includes GI, Pediatrics, Behavioral Health, and Internal Medicine. She has extensive experience with Athena, ECW, R2, EPIC, Healthpac, and ICA Notes.

Outside of VSPR, Kellye is passionate about the creative development of children and teaches dance to 4 & 5-year-olds!

item imageCarolyn MillerCredentialing Team Lead
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Carolyn grew up in Emporia, Kansas. She attended Emporia State University and has been with VSPR since May of 2020.

Carolyn has over 30 years of experience in the medical field, 20 years of experience as a practice manager, and an owner of a medical billing company that bills for Surgical Assistants. Her experience spans several specialties including Family Practice, Orthopedics, Neurosurgery, and Urology.

As a practice manager Carolyn has had extensive experience with revenue cycle, accounts payable; human resources; EEOC compliance; OSHA, HIPAA, Medicare compliance, and managed care contracts. As a consultant, she performed medical practice assessments to provide optimal efficiency, productivity, and cost savings by review of managed care and vendor contracts, evaluation of staffing needs, internal controls, policies & procedures, as well as providing interim management services for various practices.

item imageKaren NeillCredentialing Team Lead
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Karen has over 13 years of experience in the healthcare field, including billing, accounts receivable, and credentialing, which includes 6 years of hospice billing and 8 years in orthopedic billing and accounts receivable. It was at the orthopedic practice where she started credentialing and found that she really enjoyed that side of the practice.

When she is not working, Karen enjoys spending time with her family, camping, fishing, and kayaking. Her three granddaughters are her pride and joy.

item imageKathy Lane
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Kathy is a valued member of our billing department. She has over 27 years of medical billing experience including coding and accounts receivable. She has worked with many specialties including cardiology, surgery, dermatology, gastroenterology, endocrinology, neurology, and rheumatology, just to name a few. Kathy has experience with various medical software programs such as eClinicalWorks, Allscripts, Athena, Healthpac, MDConnect, MacPractice, and AdvancedMD.

item imageBarbara Taylor
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Barbara has been in the healthcare field for over eight years. She began with VSPR in 2022 as a credentialing specialist. Her experience consists of medical billing and coding, verification of insurance, scheduling, and credentialing.

item imageGail Allmon
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Gail earned her associate's degree at Cisco Junior College. She joined VSPR in 2023 as a credentialing specialist. She has over 25 years of experience working with insurance and medical groups. That experience includes 16 years of credentialing for Medicare, Medicaid, and several commercial insurance groups and maintaining current CAQH, HCHG, NPPES, and PECOS databases for over 200 providers.

When she is not in the office, she enjoys outdoor activities, gathering with family and friends, and volunteering with the March of Dimes as a team captain for four years and United Way as a co-captain for two years.

item imageJulie MountsOwner
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Julie has over 29 years of experience in the healthcare field, including 18 years of experience as an office manager in a small practice setting. As the office manager, she has had experience with bookkeeping, scheduling, medical billing, AR, and patient care. Her knowledge also extends to credentialing with the use of CAQH and payor credentialing with insurance carriers.

She is a very dedicated mom to two children, a boyfriend, and four animals, and is a homeowner and caretaker for her mom. All of that keeps her very busy in her spare time. Her favorite hobbies are flower arranging and making wreaths, traveling, cooking, and trying new recipes.

item imageSabrina SutherlandOwner
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Sabrina has been in the healthcare field for over 25 years. Her experience expands from patient relations, medical billing, and coding to keeping records up to date for a large family practice. She also has experience in credentialing with Medicare, Medicaid, and several commercial insurance groups and maintaining current CAQH, and PECOS databases. She joined VSPR in 2021 as a credentialing specialist.

In her free time, she likes to watch sports, especially football and soccer, spend time with her grandkids, and go fishing. She loves her animals as well -- Mac and Spike are large labs, Bo Jangles is her kitty.

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