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MANAGEMENT Team
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James P. Mason
President and Chief Operating Officer
James Mason assumed the role of President and Chief Operating Officer of SynerMed in January 2002. With more than 15 years of broad health
care experience, Mason is responsible for the management and strategic direction of the company. During his tenure, SynerMed has grown from one
client and a few hundred members to more than 350,000 members through its customer base. Prior to SynerMed, Mason served as Vice President of
Operations for Comprehensive Healthcare Management which became SynerMed after a successful turnaround. Before that, Mason was involved with the
development of Medicare and Medicaid managed care initiatives including Primary Care Case Management (PCCM), Multi-purpose Senior Services
Programs (MSSP), Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) and County Operated Health Systems (COHS). Mason received his bachelor's
degree from the University of Redlands and a master's of business administration (MBA) from Pepperdine University.
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Alicia C. Camacho, RN
Director of Medical Services
Alicia Camacho has more than 20 years of experience in managed health care and
eight years of experience in the intensive care unit (ICU) and ambulatory care setting.
As Director of Medical Services for SynerMed, Camacho oversees provider education,
DHS/Health Plan audit preparation, the development and update of policies, and
administers management activities to ensure compliance with health plans. Prior to
joining SynerMed, Camacho was involved in managed health care through PractiCare,
Inc. and then served as Director of Quality Management and Utilization Management
at Crown City Medical Group/IPA. Camacho earned a Registered Nurse (RN) degree
from St. Rita's Hospital School of Nursing in Manila, Philippines.
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Marilyn Diaz, RN
Director of Health Services
Marilyn Diaz, RN, BSN, CPHQ - Director, Health Services
Marilyn Diaz has assumed the responsibility of director of health
services for SynerMed. In this role, she brings a wealth of experience
that includes more than 17 years as a health care administrator in the
managed healthcare industry. Prior to joining SynerMed, Diaz spent more
than 15 years with Employee Health Systems (EHS) as the director of
utilization and quality management, where she was instrumental in
developing the organization's utilization and quality management
programs. During her tenure, she was operationally involved in
regulatory and health plan compliance, authorization and claims
management. She also supervised the credentialing of physicians and
providers in the EHS network. Diaz received a Bachelor of Science in
Nursing from the University of Southern California in 1987 and is a
Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ).
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Dan Gomez
Director of Provider Services
With more than 25 years of experience in HMO/managed care administration and
operations, Dan Gomez brings a diverse level of knowledge and expertise to
SynerMed. Since joining the team in 2001, Gomez has successfully developed a
comprehensive, full-service Provider Services and Customer Relations department.
Gomez also works within the Provider Credentialing Department and directs multiple
field marketing and network development staff. Gomez’s past experience includes
Claims Auditor and Provider Services Liaison for Pacific Physician Services. Gomez
also worked as Provider Services Manager at Inland Empire Health Plan, Director of
Medi-Cal programs at Tower Health, and Program Manager for L.A. Care Health Plan.
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Paul Hernandez
Regional Director, San Diego
With more than 10 years of health care experience, Paul Hernandez joined SynerMed
in 2003. As Regional Director, Hernandez is responsible for health plan and provider
contracting, network development, financial management and analysis, and marketing.
Before SynerMed, he worked as IPA Manager for UCSD Healthcare. He also served
as Contracts Manager for University of California, Irvine (UCI) Medical Center, and
early in his career, as Provider Services Representative for the Cambria Group, where
his responsibilities included provider contracting and communication, network
development, and member education. Hernandez graduated with honors from
California State San Bernardino with a bachelor’s degree in health services
administration.
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Gina Magana-Zwick
Director of Provider Development
Gina Magana-Zwick re-joined the SynerMed team in 2005 as Director of Provider Development. In this role, her responsibilities include
provider development, physician recruitment, health plan co-marketing, health plan relationships and membership growth and retention.
Magana-Zwick is an accomplished professional with more than 18 years of experience in health care management. Her career commenced as a
hands-on medical assistant and has developed into a successful tenure in IPA/medical group utilization, medical management and IPA and
health plan provider services. Over the past five years, Magana-Zwick has excelled in IPA and physician business development strategies and
was primarily responsible for growing two IPAs by more than 35,000 members.
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Darren McLachlan
Director of Finance and Information Technology
Darren McLachlan joined the SynerMed team in 1997. As Director of Finance and
Information Technology, McLachlan oversees the Accounting and Information
Systems departments and has implemented new financial and information systems in
order to improve efficiency and management capabilities for SynerMed’s customers.
Early in his career, McLachlan spent several years with Merrill Lynch. Here, he worked
on developing an administrative tracking program while assisting in operational duties.
After that, McLachlan worked at a food distributor as an accounting analyst.
McLachlan graduated from the University of Southern California with a bachelor’s
degree in finance.
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Sheryl Reese
Director of Claims
Sheryl Reese joined the SynerMed team in April 2005 with more than 18 years of
experience in managed care and medical billing. She was promoted to Director of
Claims in October 2006. Prior to joining SynerMed, Sheryl was the Claims
Supervisor for Chino Medical Group, where she was responsible for all functions of the
claims department and staff. Other experience includes Quality Management Team
Leader and Claims Examiner Trainer for MedPartners/PPSI. She was also employed
with Loma Linda University Medical Center as a unit secretary and LLUMC Faculty
Medical Group as a biller. She graduated from Skadron College of Business in San
Bernardino, CA and resides in Redlands.
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Peter Winston
Executive Director
With more than 24 years of health care management experience, Winston joined
SynerMed as executive director in 2006. Since 1994, Winston was Administrator of
Employee Health Systems Medical Group (EHS). Winston has served or serves on
the boards of several professional organizations, including Health Care Executives of
Southern California (HCE), California Medical Group Management Association (CMGMA),
and is past president of the Los Angeles Medical Group Management
Association (LA-MGMA). Winston is also the founding chairperson for the California
Association of Physician Groups (CAPG) Medi-Cal Managed Care Committee.
Winston earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from the State University of New York
at Stony Brook and a master’s degree in health administration from Duke University.
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