Core Synthesis | June 5-6, 2026

Barbara Tommasulo, MD, CMD, LNHA, CWSP, has devoted her career to caring for older adults, particularly in PALTC. She is certified in internal medicine and geriatric medicine, is a certified wound specialist physician, and is a licensed nursing home administrator in NY. Medical education has been a mainstay throughout Dr. Tommasulo’s career. Her many years of experience in medical direction have included a variety of settings with various medical staff models. Currently, she is the medical director of Northwell Orzac Center for Rehabilitation and assistant professor of medicine at Hofstra North Shore – LIJ School of Medicine.

John Heath MD, CMD, completed his geriatric medicine fellowship at the University of Cincinnati in 1988 and has since been medical director for various PALTC facilities, including experience as a multi-facility corporate medical director. Currently medical director at the Hunterdon Care Center in Flemington, NJ, Dr. Heath joined the Hackensack Meridian Health System in 2021. Previously, Dr. Heath was a professor and geriatric medicine fellowship director at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and then established the Geriatric Services department for the Summit Medical Group. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American Geriatric Society, and a past board member of the New Jersey Geriatric Society. 

Meenakshi Patel, MD, MMM, CMD, is a clinical associate professor at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and Ohio Heritage University of Osteopathic Medicine in Athens, OH. She is also a practicing physician at Valley Medical Primary Care, a principal investigator at Valley Medical Research, and a medical director at several nursing homes. She teaches internal medicine and geriatrics to medical students, internal medicine and family medicine residents, and geriatric fellows. She has been very active with AMDA-The Society in several roles, including as a board member, member of multiple committees, and writing clinical practice guidelines on the management of diabetes in the long-term care setting. Dr. Patel has served as president of the Ohio Medical Directors Association.

Matthew Wayne, MD, CMD, is an experienced chief medical officer with a demonstrated history of working in the hospital and health care industry. He is currently chief medical officer for CommuniCare Family of Companies and CEO of Personalized Health Partners. He has skills in population health, disease management, Medicare and Medicaid, and physician relations. He is a long-time active AMDA member and served as president in 2012-2103.

Cynthia Kuttner, MD, CMD, is the medical director of the Community Living Center at the Wilmington VA Medical Center in Wilmington, Delaware. She is also an adjunct assistant professor of Geriatrics and Gerontology at the Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine. She is a graduate of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City and completed a primary care Internal Medicine residency at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx, New York. She is fellowship-trained in Geriatrics at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland. Prior to joining the Veterans Administration, she served as the medical director at several community nursing homes in Ohio.

Rebecca Ferrini, MD, MPH, CMD, is a full-time medical director for the County of San Diego 192-bed distinct part skilled nursing facility serving a younger, safety net population for 18 years. Her facility is five stars (CMS 20/20), has been named a top nursing home in U.S. News and World Report for six years, and received the American Health Care Association / National Center for Assisted Living 2017 Gold -- Excellence in Quality Award. Dr. Ferrini received the 2009 AMDA Medical Director of the Year Award and was honored for her leadership in the AMDA monograph on younger adults. Dr. Ferrini received the California Association of Long-Term Care Medicine Leadership Award in 2019. She has a specialty in hospice and palliative medicine and general preventive medicine.

Nancy Istenes, DO, CMD, FACP, has over 25 years of experience working in geriatric medicine and long-term care. Currently, she is the Chief Medical Officer for Saber Healthcare Group. She prides herself on working with all levels of the company and bridging the gaps between executive leadership, facility, and regional teams, providers, vendors, pharmacy, and other key industry participants. Her teamwork and approachability have helped lead the company to improve resident care and clinical outcomes. She has been a certified medical director for more than 20 years and an active member of PALTmed for her entire career, where she has provided leadership at both the state and national levels.

Michael Nash, MD, CMD, is a board-certified family medicine practicing primarily in the post-acute and long-term care setting since 2011. He has served as medical director at many skilled nursing and assisted living facilities, mostly in the St. Louis, Missouri area, and has served as a physician leader for post-acute provider groups. Dr. Nash has been the president of the Missouri Association of Long-Term Care Physicians (now PALTMed Midwest) since 2022, and is an active member of the Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medical Association since 2017. He has served on the PALTMed Assisted Living Subcomittee, the Clinical Practice Committee, and given presentations at two PALTMed national meetings. Dr. Nash has given numerous lectures on medical direction in nursing homes and clinical practice in post-acute and long-term care throughout the midwest.

Ronald Rosen, MD, CMD, is a board-certified family physician with over forty years of clinical and leadership experience in geriatrics, hospice, and palliative medicine. He holds certificates of added qualification in both Geriatrics and Hospice and Palliative Medicine and has expertise in post-acute and long-term care, advanced illness management, and interdisciplinary team leadership. He maintains a special interest in medical legal issues and skin failure, with recent scholarly and clinical work focused on diagnostic precision and diabetes management. Dr. Rosen is committed to improving care for aging populations through innovation, collaboration, and education, and has contributed to professional associations, publications, and national conferences.

Glen Xiong, MD, CMD, earned his medical degree (MD) from the University of California at Davis and completed his residency training in Internal Medicine and Psychiatry at Duke. He practices in subacute settings (SNFs) and chronic psychosis (Mental Health Rehabilitation and Special Treatment Programs [STPs]). He teaches students, residents, and fellows as part of their geriatric medicine rotations in skilled nursing facilities.  He has published in the areas of medication safety, dementia care, and telemedicine.          

Rebecca Elon, MD, MPH, CMD, serves as senior medical consultant and chief medical officer emeritus for FutureCare Health and Management, a privately held Maryland company managing 15 high medical acuity nursing facilities in Maryland. She is an associate professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, currently serving on the voluntary part-time faculty, teaching Hopkins Geriatric Medicine Fellows about nursing facility medical care and medical direction. She is a board member on the American Board of Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine (ABPLM). In 2007, she was recognized by the American Geriatrics Society as the Geriatrician of the Year. In 2016, she received a Hopkins Geriatrics Fellows Teaching Award. In 2018, she received the Berman Life Time Achievement Award from the MMDA – The Mid-Atlantic Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.

Michael Burke, MD, MBA, CMD, earned his Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Le Moyne College in Syracuse, his Doctor of Medicine degree from SUNY Health Science Center at Stony Brook, and his MBA at University of Massachusetts, Boston. He completed his Internal Medicine residency at the Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, New York, and his Geriatric fellowship from the Harvard Division on Aging at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Dr. Burke is certified in Geriatric Medicine, Hospice and Palliative Medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine. He is also a member of the American Geriatric Society, American Medical Directors Association, and the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Dr. Burke will be joining the Continuing Care Division with the goal of continuing to improve the health of our communities and the older adults we serve.