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Say hello to our team

Nicole Burns, MBA-HM, M. Ed, CPOA

Chief Executive Officer

Nicole entered the Orthotics & Prosthetics field working with her grandfather at a young age and has over 20 years of experience in O&P billing and administration. Over the years she has worked in both the private and public sectors as an Administrator, Office Manager & Biller in multiple large-volume O&P offices and has been consistently recognized for superior billing, collections and team-building achievements. For the past 11 years she has worked independently as a consultant providing O&P billing and training services. She supports all of the operational activities of the business specializing in complex appeals. Our clients appreciate having her expertise at hand when a difficult case presents.

Nicole holds an Associates in Business Administration, a Bachelor's in General Studies, an MBA in Healthcare Management, and a dual Master's in Mild/Intense Special Education. Additionally she has her Certification as an Orthotic and Prosthetic Assistant. She prides herself on staying up-to-date with the ever-changing billing and compliance standards through continuous involvement in educational opportunities and constant review of insurance regulation changes.

At home, Nicole is a wife to a supportive husband and a mother/step-mother to three wonderful teenagers. Her family includes a cat named Tiger Lilly and a two dogs Penny & Sheldon. They reside in the small town of Bluffton, Indiana and when her family is not working, attending school or involved in school related activities or sports, they enjoy traveling to warm places and spending a great amount of time outdoors together!

Logan Burns, BS

Business Manager

Logan Burns is responsible for managing the daily business activities for Prudential Billing & Consulting. He reviews employee time sheets, submits payroll, helps in the hiring process, manages accounts payable/receivable, does banking for the business, and sends out client invoices. Our staff appreciate that he makes sure they get paid accurately and timely each week!

As his family continues to grow at home, he realizes his wife, the kids, and the family dog's needs must come first. Occasionally Logan's needs of golfing, attending a concert, or catching a football game are met from time to time. Logan is also the brother-in-law of the owner Nicole and he just welcomed a brand new, beautiful baby girl.

Shannon Winchester, CPB, AA

Billing Manager
Certified Professional Biller

Shannon leads our billing services team both actively as the biller on selected accounts and supervising other billing staff. She comes to Prudential with more than 20 years experience in medical billing specifically in the Orthotics and Prosthetics sector. She worked previously with multi-million dollar, multi-location practices where she managed the administrative and billing responsibilities. Shannon strives for excellence in client satisfaction through her hard work and dedication.

Shannon is a proud mom of two and wife of a US Navy Submariner.

Lacey Pastore

Billing Associate

Lacey began with the company as a Benefits Specialist working with some of our larger volume clients performing benefit roles of verifications, benefits, and authorizations. Her knowledge base, determination, attention to detail and willingness to accept challenges promoted her ability to transition into and learn the Orthotics & Prosthetics billing and coding roles. Lacey now works as a Billing Associate amongst our billing team where she is dedicated to the service she provides the clients she works with. She shares how much she enjoys working with all of our clients and the wonderful co-workers here at Prudential Billing and Consulting.

She resides in Bluffton Indiana with her husband and son who is very active in sports which keeps them busy. They enjoy traveling, spending time with friends and family, and trying new places to eat. They also have a Yorkie named Yogi who enjoys sleeping on the floor in Lacey's home office.

Holly Rathel

Benefits Specialist

Holly is a caring and compassionate person who loves to help others, learn new things and be a team player. Holly works as a benefits specialist as part of our Benefits Team where she is responsible for performing insurance verifications and authorizations. She also has completed a medical billing program which provides her with a global perspective of the revenue cycle process and allows her to support the clients that she works with in a more foundational manner.

Holly is married with two awesome boys. She grew up in a military family and is proud to be married to Veteran. She was born in North Carolina, growing up in Virginia and Maryland and now resides in Georgia with her family. When she is not working she loves spending time with active an family and exploring her Photography hobby.

Skyler Howard

Benefits Specialist

Skyler works as a Benefits Specialist peforming insurance verifications and obtaining authorizations. She enjoys this line of work as it helps prepare her for an understanding of the administrative side of the medical field. Working in the medical sector of O&P is just the beginning of her medical career since she is currently working towards her Bachelors degree and her work here will help her have a global understanding of the work she will do in the future. She appreciates the remote structure and freedom to work hours which best suit both her school needs and those of the accounts that she works on. She really enjoys working with such a wonderful group of people that we have here at Prudential Billing & Consulting.


Prior to her work in medical administration she worked in a childcare setting for 6 years and she loved every minute of having the impact to change and shape young minds into mini superstars. Her goal is to pursue advanced degrees in nursing and or child psychology that will allow her to work with and impact children as she once did early on in her childcare experiences. She looks forward to what her future brings.

At home she is a new mom to a beautiful baby boy who is the center of her world and wife-to-be to a wonderful husband and father. She loves spending time with her growing family including a two-year-old pup. In her free time, which is rare due to the abundant tasks of motherhood, she enjoys spending time with family, traveling, photography, and exploring new local spots here in Florida.

Valerie Pula

Claims Representative
Valerie works with the company on the billing team as a Claims Representative where her primary responsibilities are claim follow-up calls and communicating between the insurance companies and our Billing Specialists to resolve claim matters.  She previously worked in customer service dealing with home and auto insurance.
 
Valerie enjoys spending her free time with her 15 year old daughter Olivia, traveling and spending time with family and friends.

Gina Harrison

Benefits Manager

Gina leads our Benefits team here at Prudential Billing & Consulting. Her primary responsibilities include overseeing the operations of our verification and authorization services and staff. She also actively services some of our clients directly helping with their verification and authorization needs. Gina consistently demonstrates a willingness to please and provide excellent service and communication to the clients and staff that she supports. Our clients always appreciate the interactions they have with her and the support that she provides their office. She often says that she has the "best" clients.

She and her husband have three daughters and one son between them (side note-she is the step mom to Nicole, owner). They also have 5 amazing grandchildren and two dogs named Betty and Gracie. They live in the small town of Bainbridge, GA and in their spare time they enjoying spending time with their children, grandkids and pets, as well as, traveling. They especially love cruising.

Jenny Elliott

Benefits Specialist

Jenny started with the company working as a Claims Representative investigating difficult claim matters and learning the billing happenings of the industry. She now works as a Benefits Specialist where she performs insurance verifications and obtains authorizations for our clients. Prior to working in the Orthotics & Prosthetics field, her prior career was more than 30 years as a Cosmetologist where she owned and operated Creative Edge Salon. Our clients appreciate her drive to provide good service and her positive attitude that she brings to every interaction.

She and her "amazing husband of 35 years" (her quote) have 3 beautiful adult girls, 4 grandchildren and one incredibly smart and lovable 2-year-old Miniature Schnauzer named Max. They recently sold their family home of 22 years and purchased their dream home on beautiful Lake Wawasee in Northern Indiana. Jenny and her husband spend most of their free time on the lake in the summer, with their family and friends. They love to travel to the Caribbean and Mexico during the winter months. Some of Jenny's hobbies include working out and tending to her flowers and plants at her home. She loves spending time attending and cheering on her grandchildren in all their activities.

Josie Yager, AS

Benefits Specialist

Josie works as a Benefits Specialist where her primary roles are performing insurance verifications and obtaining authorizations for clients. Our clients appreciate her attention to detail, bubbly personality and dedication to customer service. Josie holds an Associates Degree in Business Administration. Before her work in medical administration she worked for the Fort Wayne Children Zoo's partner (Service Systems Associates -- SSA) as a Human Resources Controller and later was promoted and worked as the Group Sales Manager where she focused on group sales, service and organizing group events. She also owns her own retail & sales business named after her sons and she helps her husband with his business operations.

Josie enjoys her flexible work schedule and remote setup as it allows her to maximize her family time with her active family. She is the proud mom of three active boys and they are an outdoorsy family that enjoys camping, boating, swimming in their pond, taking family trips, riding bikes, four wheelers and dirt bikes, and going to dirt track races. They have one dog, a fox red lab named Jake. They also have two mom cats named Fluffy & Chloe and currently 12 kittens! She loves all animals, love to have fun, try new things, and have a positive outlook on life which is very apparent in her bubbly and energetic interactions that she provides to our clients. They enjoy the energy that her personality brings to their interactions.

Jessica Sliger, RN

Nurse Reviewer

Jessica is a nurse reviewer, and her primary responsibilities involve collecting and reviewing clinical documentation for medical necessity and policy standards and communicating clinical needs with referral sources.

She began her career working in a local retirement home as a CNA while she worked on obtaining her RN license. Following receipt of her RN she worked in a long-term care facility for 12 years, while some of those years she also worked at a local hospital where she has now worked for 7 years. She currently still works PRN at the hospital alongside of her job with Prudential Billing & Consulting. She loves her nursing degree as it has opened up so many opportunities for her to learn new skills and grow in her career. She loves to care for others and to show her love and compassion for others. Our clients and their referral sources also appreciate Jessica's compassionate and sweet demeanor and her delicate manner in which she communicates with their staff and referrals about the clinical needs. Although they cannot see it over the phone, her beautiful smile and laugh come through very clearly with all people she encounters.

Jessica is married to her high school sweetheart, and they have two beautiful girls. The girls are very involved with 4-H where they show pigs. They travel all over the United States attending pig shows all year around. She shares how much fun this is for their family as they have met so many people and made many friends all over the States. When not traveling to a pig show, they love to take family trips to their favorite places, one of which is Ft. Myers, FL. They are also very involved in our church and community.

Michele Howard, CPB

Billing Specialist
Certified Professional Biller

Michele has worked in the medical field for the past 30 years. She has experience in medical sectors of Primary Care, Dermatology and Prosthetics and Orthotics. Over the years she has worked in all aspects of the billing and administrative responsibilities including roles in patient relations, benefits, coding and billing.

Her & her husband are the parents of 7 children combined along with 5 beautiful granddaughters. They enjoy outdoor activities that include riding 4 wheelers, watching the grandchildren ride dirt bikes and hanging out with family and friends. Their family is completed by their two pups, Remi and Gunner, who make life interesting and fun.

Olimpia Gerber

Clinical Support

Olimpia has 10 years of experience working in accounts receivables and customer service. She has an infectious personality and loves the opportunity to provide excellent service to our clients. She enjoys working as part of a team that works so well together. She is excited to learn and grow professionally with the company where her responsibilities include customer service and supporting our clinical support team.

When she is not working, she enjoys spending time with her husband, two sons and their Boston Terrier. One of their favorite pastimes is watching Philadelphia Eagles football as a family.

Mary Beth Hill, BS

Claims Representative
Mary Beth works with the company as a Claims Representative where she is responsible for providing direct assistance with claim resolution to support our Billing Associates and Billing Specialists. She has BS in Animal Agribusiness from Purdue University. She comes to our team re-entering the workforce after being a stay at home mother for many years. Prior to having children, she worked as a veterinary assistant. She has a wonderful family, her husband is a maintenance electrictian and they share four amazing kids. They also have three dogs, Jake, Buster and Violet, as well as three horses, Tracy, Gorgeous and Mick. When not attending high school sports and 4H activities for the kids, we enjoy camping and showing horses.

She enjoys the flexibility and friendly environment working at Prudential while knowing that her work helps people.

Lorrie Manera

Claims Representative

Lorri works with the company as a Claims Representative providing support to our Billing Specialists with claim resolution matters.  She completed her medical coding and billing program and has worked for the past 15 years in the medical field doing billing and coding, authorizations and benefit verifications until her retirement in 2017.  Following her retirement she re-entered the workforce part-time as a substitute teacher until she had an opportunity to join our team.  She feels that this is the perfect job for her as she can enjoy her part-time retirement while having the flexibility to work remotely from home.  

She lives in Auburn, Indiana with her significant other of 15 years John.  Her and her husband belong to the Shifters Car Club where they volunteer their time to the club to raise money for different charitable organizations including programs like Shop With a Cop at Christmas.  She is the proud mother of 4, grandmother of 10 and great-grandmother of 12 children.  In their spare time they enjoy visiting car shows, spending time with family often watching sports activities of their granchildren and Lorri enjoys reading books.

Angela Sheets, M.Ed

Account Manager & Appeals Coordinator
Angie works with the company in many capacities, one helping us stay organized and implementing efficiencies in our workflows, but officially she holds titles of Account Manager and Appeals Coordinator.  In her roles she is the point of contact and support for our clients and she also coordinates and manages the preparation and timely submission of the appeals for our clients.  
 
Angie holds a Master’s degree in Instructional Design and Bachelors in Intense Special Education with 20 year’s of teaching experience at the elementary level and 2 years at the university level. 
 
She is very active in her community where she teaches special needs Sunday School, vounteers as a court appointed special advocate, and serves on the local school board of directors. Angie and her husband Troy have been married for 19 years and are parents to two teenagers, Owen and Alayna.

Cindy Rountree, A.S.

Claims Representative

Cindy works as a Claims Representative where she assists our Billing Specialists with claims resolution. Her primary role is investigating claim status and assisting with claim resolution calls as directed by the Billing Associates and Specialists.  Cindy has an Associates Degree’s in Behavioral Science and Business Administration and has experience working as a Financial Aid Clerk, Property Manager, and successful Small Business Owner. 

She and her husband Don have four grown children, three grandchildren and one lap Pitbull named Zoey. She is proudly an active member at Harvest Church and enjoys gardening, sunshine, lazy days at the pool and spending time with her kids and grandkids.

Chelsea Elliott, CNA

Clinical Support

Chelsea worked in special education for 7 years in the public schools.  In that role she was consistently recognized for many achievements and her contributions towards to the development of the students that she worked with.  She is currently attending college at Western Governor's University where she is seeking her Bachelor's in Special Education and Early Elementary Education.  It is her goal to one day teach in her own special education classroom.  Additionally Chelsea comes to Prudential with 11+ years of work as CNA where she worked in long term care facilities and providing home based care.  She joins the Prudential team bringing her clinical knowledge and supports our clinical review team by requesting clinical documentation from referral sources and communicating follow up needs.

Chelsea grew up in Bluffton, IN and has lived there her entire childhood and adult life and now she has made a big move to Columbia City, IN to be closer to family.  She has a 9 year old son who is in the 3rd grade and during her spare time she enjoys any time that she can spend with him.  She enjoys watching him play the sports he is active in and attending his sporting events.  They both also enjoy spending time on the lake at her parent's house during the warm summers.  She appreciates that her job with Prudential allows her the flexibility and remote work so that she can be an involved parent while still pursuing her academic endeavors.  She hopes to continue to grow with the company and help people where there is a need.

Libby Dilley, AS

Billing Associate

Libby came to Prudential Billing & Consulting with eight years of experience working in the billing department of an OBGYN office. She is thrilled to be part of this amazing team. Her enthusiasm to learn is contagious and she looks forward to providing our clients with excellent customer service. The details of her work responsibilities include billing clean claims to the insurance company, following up on the payment process, and posting the payments once received.

Libby and her husband are the proud parents of a rambunctious 3 year old son and a crazy but lovable Boston Terrier.

Jenny Leas, LPN

Clinical Manager

Jenny serves as Clinical Manager where her responsibilities include requesting clinical documentation, clinical review, communications with clients and referral sources, and overseeing and directing our clinical team. She has worked in the medical field as a nurse for the past 24 years where she has experience in Geriatric Care, Primary Care, In Home Health Care and as a Liaison for a prominent hospital.

She loves spending time with her husband Brandon, her daughter Emily who is a college student in nursing school, son Drew who loves playing baseball and her stepdaughter Hannah who will be entering college this fall. Her family loves to travel, root on IU college basketball, spend time on their boat on the lake and spend time with friends and family. They also have 2 beloved fur babies, Gizzy a Jack Russell Terrier and Oakley a Mini-Goldendoodle.

Allona McCook, BA

Billing Associate

Allona obtained her Bachelor’s in Psychology and a minor degree in Criminal Profiling but started working in the medical field after graduating high school and never left. She has worked in the medical field for the past 20 years. She has experience in the medical sectors of Primary Care, Orthopedics and Physical Therapy, Cardiology, and Prosthetics and Orthotics, with ½ of that time spent working in Orthotics and Prosthetics. She managed her own office for 6 years and turned it around from an office that was about to close its doors to making over a million dollars annually with just herself and one clinician. Over the years she has worked all positions of the various billing and administrative roles including patient relations, benefits, authorizations, and billing and coding.

Her & her husband of 20 years are the parents to 5 fur babies who always keep them entertained and on their toes. When she’s not working she enjoys hanging out with her husband and puppies around the house and visiting family out of state.

Bev Balash, BS, M. Ed

Clinical Support

Bev is a retired science teacher who is now returning to college to complete her RN nursing program that she began prior to her teaching career. As a past science teacher with a nursing background she has developed a strong clinical knowledge. Her clinical knowledge coupled with a strong policy understanding makes her a skilled part of our clinical review team. She uses her knowledge base and skills to provide valued clinical reviews and guidance to our clients. She also supports our appeal team with clinically based/medical necessity related appeals.

When not working or attending school she most enjoys spending her time visiting and traveling with her son, daughter and grandson, as well as, loving on Sandy, her beautiful golden retriever. She also enjoys baking tasty treats.