Cardiac device techs are in hot demand, but gaps in staffing and education are causing difficulties for this role. On MedAxiom HeartTalk, host Melanie Lawson talks with Kelli Shifflett, MHA, FACMPE, AVP of Revenue Growth and Business Development, HCA Physician Services, Sirena Bridges, MSPH, MSN, FNP-BC, CCDS, Clinical Director, Melissa Hauck Center for Device Therapy at Centennial Heart, and Nicole Knight, LPN, CPC, CCS-P, SVP of Revenue Cycle Solutions and Care Transformation, Medaxiom. Together, they discuss innovative strategies that your organization can use to help address this growing issue.

Guest Bios
Kelli Shifflett, MHA, FACMPE, AVP of Revenue Growth and Business Development, HCA Physician Services – Kelli has been with HCA Physician Services for 20 years in a variety of practice operation roles from Practice Manager to Division Vice President. She resides in Austin with her family and is passionate about process improvement and finding practice efficiencies in a constantly changing healthcare environment. She enjoys her current role of partnering with companies whose products improve the daily workflows and needs patients, providers and healthcare teams.


Sirena Bridges, MSPH, MSN, FNP-BC, CCDS, Clinical Director, Melissa Hauck Center for Device Therapy at Centennial Heart – Sirena has worked in the healthcare field for over 20 years; with the last 10 years working as a Nurse Practitioner in Cardiac Electrophysiology with a focus on device management of Cardiac implantable electronic devices at Centennial Heart. She became the inaugural Clinical Director of the Melissa Hauck Center for Device Therapy at Centennial Heart in Nashville in November 2021. In her role as the Clinical Director, she brings a wealth of clinical and technical expertise on interpretations, programming and troubleshooting of cardiac implantable electronic devices and remote transmissions. She also serves as a clinical resource for patients, peers and colleagues. Sirena has a Bachelor’s Degree in Cardio-respiratory Care Sciences from Tennessee State University and a Master’s Degree in Public Health from Meharry Medical College in addition to a Master’s Degree in Nursing from Vanderbilt University. She is also a Certified Cardiac Device Specialist (CCDS) through the IBHRE (International Board of Heart Rhythm Examiners).


Nicole Knight, LPN, CPC, CCS-P, EVP of Revenue Cycle Solutions and Care Transformation, Medaxiom - Nicole’s decades of healthcare experience include cardiovascular and neurology practice operations, clinical management, business office management and consulting. The most recent years have been devoted to cardiovascular consulting in operations, LEAN process improvement and the revenue cycle. Prior to joining MedAxiom, Nicole served as Practice Administrator for Baptist Neurology and Northeast Florida Cardiology and Director of Operations for Jacksonville Heart Center and Louisiana Cardiology Associates. She has extensive expertise in coding, compliance and education for various specialties including cardiology, neurology, radiology, hematology/oncology, orthopedic, ENT, gastroenterology and internal medicine. Nicole has provided physician and staff coding and compliance education sessions nationally. Nicole has completed numerous education hours towards a B.S. in Health Care Administration. In addition, she maintains her LPN licensure in Louisiana and Florida. She is a member of the American Academy of Professional Coders and the American Health Information Management Association. She received her Advanced Cardiovascular Coding Certification with the Board of Medical Specialty Coding and completed the AAPC inpatient coding and reimbursement course. Nicole is a certified AHIMA ICD-10-CM Trainer and completed a LEAN Healthcare training course at Johns Hopkins University. She also serves on the Physician Practice Council for AHIMA.

This episode is supported by an independent educational grant from Medtronic.