The MDS Consultants Story
It all started with Gloria
Meet Gloria
Gloria has been in the health care field for over 30 years. Her roles in the long-term care sector have included MDS Coordinator, Assistant Director of Nursing, Nursing Supervisor, Nursing Educator, Nurse Manager, Inservice Director, Employee Health Nurse, OSHA Regulation Coordinator, and QA Coordinator. As a nurse, consultant, and educator, she has extensive knowledge and experience in helping customers with Minimum Data Set (MDS) and PDPM. Gloria is the author of three books and has developed software to better capture patient care measures in skilled nursing facilities.
Gloria Brent, RN
President and CEO
Meet MDS Consultants
Our Beginning
As the solo MDS Coordinator in a 229-bed facility, I quickly realized: (1) I couldn’t keep up with the quantity of MDS assessments and workload of the MDS office; (2) I couldn’t follow and stay up-to-date with the constantly changing MDS rules and regulations; (3) I had no one to answer MDS questions or validate decisions related to MDS services, MDS scheduling, or unique MDS circumstances; and (4) nobody in the facility understood my unique challenges.
Wagering that I wasn’t alone in my frustration, I wrote a letter to facilities in my area offering to share the knowledge I gained through my struggles as an MDS Coordinator. The first training I provided was Medicare Reimbursement Strategies and the MDS, and the first facility that hired me for the training actually extended my stay to further educate their entire team.
As a result of this one facility, which validated the knowledge I had to offer as well as an industry need, MDS Consultants was born.
Our Values
A typical nurse saves lives every day (either literally or figuratively) when working in a healthcare setting.
Our ability to save a life (or tell a family member that we couldn’t save the life of their loved one) and move on with our day as though nothing happened is an expectation that comes with our job.
This mindset often makes us undervalue what we have to offer our profession, our peers, and our patients.
Sometimes it only takes one person on the outside looking in to see the value that you may not see in yourself.
Our Approach
We focus on education, teamwork, quality services, and accuracy.
- Promote a collaborative learning environment for staff that nurtures their growth and development
- Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each team member and assess their educational needs
- Use our tools and expertise to promote quality care and ensure regulatory compliance and fiscal responsibility
Coming together is a beginning.
Keeping together is progress.
Working together is success.
– Henry Ford
Meet Our Expert Trainers and Master Teachers
Our team of over 50 RAC-CT professionals include our skilled expert trainers and master teachers.
Jessica Stucin
RN, BSN, LNHA, RAC-MT, RAC-CT, RAC-CTA, QCP
Jessica has extensive experience as an MDS Coordinator and is a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator. She has been a Registered Nurse for over 20 years, including the roles of clinical staff nurse, charge nurse, Assistant Director of Nursing and Director of Nursing.
Jessica’s expertise is in MDS, care planning, survey process, quality measures, risk management, utilization review, clinical reimbursement and case mix.
Linda Winston
RN, MSN, BS, DNS-MT, QCP-MT, RAC-CT, RAC-CTA
Linda has been a nurse for over 30 years, with almost 15 years as a Director of Nursing. Linda has filled many roles in the long-term care setting, including staff nurse, supervising nurse, nurse educator and administration.
Linda’s focus on improving resident care has driven her to a leadership role in the areas of the survey and certification processes, resident assessment, and clinical approaches to the improvement and prevention of skin alterations.
Barbara Bates
RN, MSN, DNS-MT, QCP-MT
Barbara’s 35 year nursing career included 10 years as a Director of Nursing in an upstate NY veterans home and a specialty in psychiatric nursing for psychogeriatrics, plus extensive experience in nursing administration and facility management.
As a nursing educator and consultant, Barbara is a Gold STAMP facilitator and coach in MDS 3.0 and resident assessment, care area assessments and care planning, survey preparation, survey deficiency correction, exceptional care planning, restorative nursing, pressure ulcer program assessment and safe patient handling.
Kristine Martinez
RN, BSN, RAC-CTA
Kristine started her registered nursing career in acute care, where she spent 20 years in various settings – including oncology, orthopedics, and ICU. She eventually moved into skilled nursing, where she worked as both MDS Coordinator and Director of Nursing. Her time teaching CNA classes at a community college allowed her to incorporate culture change into CNA training.
Kristine’s expertise centers on quality measures, case mix and reimbursement, resident-centered care planning, and survey processes.