CTS Trainers & Consultants

Joann Wilcox, RN

Joann C. Wilcox, RN, MSN, LNC is a Legal Nurse Consultant, author and Healthcare Educator who has held positions of Vice-President of Patient Care Services, Clinical Risk Manager, Patient Safety Officer, Patient Privacy Officer and Joint Commission Survey Coordinator in various acute care organizations. In addition to consulting, she is currently a faculty member at the University of Phoenix-Online.

Ms. Wilcox is a member of the American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants, the American Nurses Association and the American Association of Nurse Executives as well as a member of several organizations focused on improvement of patient safety in our healthcare systems. She has authored books and provided multiple educational seminars at sites across the United States on issues related to Patient Safety, the Reduction of Medical Errors, Preparing for a Joint Commission Survey and Implementation of the HIPAA Privacy Regulations.

Jacqueline Keddie-Holt

Jacqueline Keddie-Holt, Trainer and Consultant, has developed and delivered organization-wide education programs to healthcare professionals for over 16 years. With extensive management experience leading hospital professionals in Regulatory Compliance, Preparing for JCAHO Surveys, Performance/Process Analysis and Improvement, Risk Management and Quality Improvement, she is qualified to Re-design organization wide performance to meet JCAHO standards and improve patient outcomes.

acqueline is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) and has completed the Healthcare Risk Management Certification through the American Society for healthcare Risk Management (ASHRM). She acquired her Master of Arts-Human Services from St. Edwards University in Austin Texas. She has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business from St. Edwards University of Business, Austin, Texas, and attended the Dallas Methodist Hospital School of Nursing to become a Registered Nurse.

Currently Jackie is in charge of Quality Improvement and Risk Management for the Kansas Rehabilitation Hospital.

Laura Northcutt

Laura Northcutt, Senior Consultant for Creative Training Solutions, has been helping individuals and groups work more effectively for over twenty years. Her multidisciplinary background – which includes over ten years’ experience coaching leaders to higher levels of effectiveness and more than thirteen years developing and delivering interactive, experiential training – contributes to her innovative approach to consulting and training, delivered with a high level of energy to CTS clients.

Laura’s undergraduate work in Music Therapy/Music Education at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, led her to pursue a graduate degree in counseling. During this time she worked with Project refocus, a Presidential Award-winning program at UMKC for dislocated workers. Promoted to Coordinator of Counseling, Laura led her group of counselors in redesigning services in order to provide increasing levels of service to the wide range of clients. In the early 1990s, Laura was invited to speak about her innovative and holistic approach at numerous conferences including the Canadian Association for Guidance and Counseling National Conference and the JIST National conference. This led to further contracts developing and delivering customized training and consulting services for clients including the Maryland Institute for Employment Professionals, numerous Sprint groups, several FAA teams, and Deloitte and Touche. In addition, Laura co-founded StrategicPaths, Inc., a ropes course offering custom-designed services to corporate and non-profit businesses.

Recruited to the Saturn Consulting Services team in 1993, Laura joined the groundbreaking team-based organization as a consultant and facilitator. After just three months with that team, she was invited to become a member of the team selected to coach the over one-hundred-member group of consultants and facilitators leading General Motors’ efforts to increase employee involvement and develop effective leaders at all levels throughout its North American organization which included GM Canada.

Laura has led the redesign of materials based upon customer input and needs. Her ability to communicate with individuals at all levels of the organization leads to increased levels of involvement and enthusiasm among participants. Because implementing even small changes in the way an organization does business often results in resistance and/or reluctance to change, having a credible yet personable consultant aboard facilitates the process. Laura is frequently requested by CTS clients for these reasons.

Candy Whirley

From the Hawaiian Islands to London, England, Candy Whirley has motivated and inspired thousands of individuals for over 10 years, to achieve higher levels of excellence than they ever dreamed possible.

She is a co-author of “Magnetic Leadership,” and co-author of a book, by women, for women, called “Ordinary Women…Extraordinary Success.” Candy’s newest release is a guided meditation CD called “My Secret Island Oasis.”

You may recognize Candy, she is a former Kansas City Chiefs, Chiefette, performed at Starlight Theater in Kansas City, and modeled for the Kansas City Star Magazine, among others.

Famous for her boundless enthusiasm, high energy, and contagious sense of humor, Candy is a dynamic speaker truly dedicated to sharing her professional expertise and business talents to help fellow professionals improve their job performance and achieve their personal goals. Her stories and activities not only make learning fun, but bring meaning to the topic, and help the participants retain and apply what they have learned. Her main goal is what she calls ‘edu-tainment,’ learning while having fun.

Candy prides herself in teaching lessons that not only help people to grow professionally, but personally. “My theme of ‘paying it forward’ is all about sharing my gifts to help others discover and develop their own gifts with the idea that they will in turn share them with others they encounter. ” Her down to-earth-style has won over audiences both nationally and internationally.

“Never settle for less than what your heart is calling you to become.”

Susan Meyer, B.A.

Speaker, Author, and Management Consultant, Susan Meyer, B.A., is a favorite at hospitals, medical conferences, radiology society meetings and with nursing groups across the country. She been conducting CE training in healthcare since 1995 and is a recognized expert on customer service and patient loyalty. Additionally, Ms. Meyer regularly is invited to consult directly with many healthcare teams to improve patient satisfaction. She has provided training for hospital leadership teams, radiology departments, long-term care facilities, state hospital associations, ASRT groups and diagnostic imaging centers. Ms. Meyer facilitates strategic planning sessions to improve patient care with the leaders of radiology departments nationwide by focusing on the unique location and set of circumstances faced by the group.

Some of her accomplishments include:

• Developed and delivered “Management Skills for Nurse Leaders” and “Leadership skills in Healthcare” for the Kansas Hospital Association. Conducted educational programs at 7 locations statewide with over 400 total participants.
• Consulted with Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City from 2002 thru 2007 to develop and deliver a customized patient-focused motivational in-service training session for the Radiology Department. Each program was designed to include the Joint Commission’s initiatives and the hospital’s training objectives and was delivered to each of the IH locations in Salt Lake City. Ms. Meyer also facilitates with the management team each year to help implement a performance improvement project and enhance team communications.
• Facilitated a strategic planning session with the Radiology Leadership Team at Skyline Medical Center in Nashville to create a Patient Loyalty program which included customer service standards and an incentive program for the team. She has worked with their management team periodically since 1995 and conducted continuing education programs for Skyline’s radiologic technologists.
• Conducted annual in-service training during Tech Week for the Radiology Support Services Department at Mass General Hospital in Boston for the past 5 years. Topics included ‘Working with Difficult Patients, Therapeutic Humor in Healthcare, and the Insight Inventory® profile.

Lloyd Arnsmeyer

Lloyd Arnsmeyer is a management consultant, trainer and keynote speaker with over thirty years of experience in developing educational curriculums that target the needs of management and personnel issues. His focus, while addressing each situation, is to provide a personal, interactive and pragmatic communication style.

Lloyd’s educational foundation, with a BA in Psychology and a Masters degree in Educational Psychology and Administrative Management provide him with the resources to focus on the behavioral issues confronting productivity, departmental relationships and interactive communication styles. His expertise includes Leadership and Management, Organizational Change, Communications, Team Building, Stress Management, and Conflict Resolution.

Mr. Arnsmeyer consulted with the Kansas City Royals and helped them plan and implement their re-organization, and has trained with such organizations as Washington Regional Medical Center, NCR, USDA Forrest Service, Mayo Clinic, HE Johnson Companies, Joint Readiness Training Center, American Express and Twin Cities Mac Truck. His international clients include 3M, HJ Heinz and SmithKline Beecham.

Lloyd’s training and communication style is personal, high energy, humorous and emphasizes solutions through customized curriculum content.

Patrick Handley, Ph.D.

Dr. Patrick Handley is a licensed psychologist and personality assessment expert. He specializes in researching and developing customized personality tests, behavioral feedback questionnaires, and leadership assessments.

While getting his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology, Dr. Handley's primary area of study was personality assessment and organizational development. After graduating, Dr. Handley was on the faculty at Virginia Polytechnic, State University, and the University of Missouri at Kansas City where he taught graduate level courses in personality assessment and personality theory. Prior to creating his own company, he was a training director and leadership coach at First National Bank of Kansas City. This position allowed him the opportunity to apply his graduate studies in a business setting.

In his over 32 years of organizational consulting, Dr. Handley has helped numerous companies use personality assessments to identify leadership potential, build teams, and develop employee talent and potential.

Matt Pleskovic, MS, CHC, CSCS

Matt Pleskovic is originally from Cleveland, Ohio and has been in the field of nutrition, health, and wellness for 14 years. He holds degrees in exercise science, education, and health and wellness coaching. He is also certified as both a Holistic Health Counselor and personal trainer. Matt’s diverse training and background includes working as a collegiate strength and conditioning coach, health coaching in medical and non-medical settings, and corporate group trainings.

Matt has presented at numerous companies, universities, and community events.Matt’s education and experience has equipped him with a deep knowledge in holistic nutrition, health coaching, and the importance of preventive care. He achieves success with clients by utilizing a step-by-step approach with an emphasis on making the process fun and rewarding. What sets Matt apart is his ability to teach in a way that eliminates willpower from the equation by using a practical and evidence based approach. The topics he covers with clients range from nutrition, fitness, weight loss, goal setting, stress reduction, spirituality, self-improvement, and motivation.