Mary Ellen has lived and worked in the Portland Metropolitan area for 20 years. In 1977 she graduated cum laude from the University of Alaska with a baccalaureate degree in nursing. Her health care experience includes hospital nursing, EMT and volunteer ambulance work, long-term care (skilled nursing facilities), rehabilitation nursing, legal nurse and health care consulting, teaching, and case/care management. As one of the partners of Skoog, Pierce, Veeder and Associates, LLC she provides assessment, consultation, planning and implementation of home care, collaborative problem-solving of health care issues with clients and their service providers, supervision and instruction of caregivers, client advocacy, and other key services. Mary Ellen has been a case/care manager and consultant for over 10 years. The topics she is offering are reflective of her observations of the health care system and the experiences she has had in assisting patients and clients successfully access the services they need. Indeed, she and her partners established their company after working for others in the field and recognizing their desire to create their own model based on a holistic approach to health care, wellness, and quality of life.

Mary Ellen’s 2004 case management study ‘The Enforcer and the Advocate’ was a featured offering for nurse case managers as part of an on-line continuing education program offered by Professional Resources in Management Education, Inc. She has moderated professional panel discussions and taught classes for community colleges.

Prior speaking engagements

Oregon Medical Case Managers Association, many community groups at senior centers and churches, local health care conferences, financial planners’ associations, Wenatchee Valley College and Portland Community College. Specific offerings have included: “Liability Issues in the Practice of Nursing,” “Pills and Possibilities – the Hidden Hazards of Multiple Medications,” and “Taking Care of the Caregiver.”