Staff Biographies

A. Michael La Penna
Principal

Mike La Penna established the firm in 1987 after a long career serving numerous healthcare entities.  He has executive experience with both profit and not for profit healthcare systems, as well as a wide variety of ancillary organizations.

Mike is a graduate of the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business and holds an MBA and Certificate in Health Care Administration.  He has held numerous faculty positions in both undergraduate and graduate business programs and is a frequent lecturer at national industry conferences.

Mike has authored many articles on topics relevant to the management and financial field and is frequently interviewed for industry publications.  He regularly provides expert witness testimony in relevant healthcare disputes and litigation cases.

Mike's experience includes strategic planning, payer negotiation, real estate ventures, merger, acquisition and divestiture strategies, product branding, IPA/PHO development and management, equity and risk arrangements, technology applications and faculty group practice plans.

Dorothea A. Taylor

Senior Associate

Dorothea Taylor has been the senior associate for the firm since 1990.  Prior to joining The La Penna Group, Dorothea held management positions at several large surgical specialty practices and spent more than ten years as an administrator at a large Midwest based healthcare system.  She has completed interim management engagements for some of the premier specialty practices in the country.

Dorothea earned a business degree from Western Michigan University with emphasis in marketing and management.   She has written extensively on matters related to physician practice management and the development and accreditation of ambulatory surgery centers.

In addition to her other professional contributions, Dorothea has also served on numerous boards and committees related to the healthcare industry.

Dorothea's expertise includes group practice management, ambulatory surgery center accreditation, CON preparation, product line marketing, practice mergers, performance audits, management assessment and income distribution.

Jeff Beird

Senior Associate

Jeff Beird joined The La Penna Group in 1998 following numerous management and administrative positions with a large primary care medical group, a staff model HMO, a free-standing imaging center, a 400-member PHO and several large hospital systems.

Jeff earned a master's degree in Healthcare Administration from the University of Michigan and an undergraduate degree in English from Hope College.  He is actively involved in several healthcare business associations and has developed numerous new venture business models.

Jeff's operational expertise includes medical staff development, group practice assessment, planning and implementation, business plan development, market research, data analysis, space planning, practice valuation and transition, recruitment, provider credentialing, HIPAA, CON preparation and performance benchmarking.  Jeff is also involved in the analysis of employer benefits programs and in direct contracting efforts for clients.

Support Staff

Our consultative activity is supported by an administrative and technical team which is directly involved with client support, scheduling, follow-up, production, research, etc.

Mary Duff, Amber Berndt and Sara Dubinsky are responsible for direct technical/clerical support of all projects. They handle scheduling, background research, project coordination, clerical support and any aspect of service that a client might require.  In addition, Mary manages the business functions of the firm, while Amber provides marketing and design assistance to both clients and consultants.

John Dubinsky handles computer hardware and software support for the firm. John is in charge of the applied resources within the office including the office network and communications systems. Patrick La Penna is in charge of graphic design and web page development, and the maintenance of the lapenna.com site.