Clark Hill PLC Attorneys Terese Farhat, Steven K. Girard, Grant T. Pecor and Nicole M. Paterson Presented at the Michigan County Medical Care Facility's Council Spring Management Conference

GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.

– On June 5, Clark Hill Attorneys Terese Farhat, Steven Girard, Grant Pecor and Nicole Paterson presented at the Michigan County Medical Care Facility’s Council (MCMCFC) Spring Management Conference in Harbor Springs, Mich. Each attorney presented on a separate key factor affecting employers, legal changes, long term care facilities and the use of social media, to representatives of the 35 public entities within the Council.

Farhat, who is director of Health Care Compliance at Clark Hill, presented on the critical issues impacting long term care facilities, particularly relating to the new statutory mandate that nursing home providers have effective compliance programs in place by next year. Farhat is senior counsel in the firm’s Health Care Practice Group at Clark Hill’s Birmingham office. Her expertise involves numerous aspects of healthcare law, including litigation, transactional matters, regulatory compliance, employment and medical investigational research involving human participants. Before joining Clark Hill, Farhat was Director of Legal Affairs for Beaumont Hospital in Grosse Pointe, Mich.

Girard’s conference presentation, “Public Act 152 of 2011” focused on the practical considerations of implementing health care premium sharing for municipal employers, bargaining obligations for union groups and options regarding individual employment agreements. Girard is a member in the firm’s Labor and Employment Practice Group. His practice includes representation of health care employers and municipal entities, including counties, cities, townships, community mental health agencies and central dispatch authorities. Girard currently serves as the General Counsel for the Michigan County Medical Care Facility Council. He also serves as labor counsel to a number of Michigan private and public sector employers and spends the majority of his time engaged in collective bargaining on behalf of employers. Girard has served as chief spokesperson on hundreds of collective bargaining agreements. He is resident of Clark Hill’s Grand Rapids office.

Pecor, also a member of Clark Hill’s Labor and Employment Practice Group, presented “Private v. Public Sector Employment,” which addressed the differences and distinctions of laws, regulations and bargaining practices in the public and private sector. Pecor is well-versed in areas unique to healthcare, such as licensure requirements, Drug Free Workplace and the special rules applicable to employers in the industry. He is resident of the firm’s Grand Rapids office and limits his practice exclusively to the representation of employers. Pecor frequently acts as chief spokesperson for the negotiation of changes to healthcare plans, including adding employee contributions, modifying plan benefits and selecting third party administrators.

Paterson’s presentation at the spring conference focused on best practices and employer policies surrounding social media in the work place – addressing the need for effective social media management in the workplace as more people become active on the numerous outlets. She is an associate in the Clark Hill’s Labor and Employment Practice Group in the firm’s Grand Rapids office and focuses her practice on defending employers and advising them on disciplinary matters, handbook and policy reviews, ADA, FMLA, FLSA and unemployment issues. Before joining Clark Hill, Paterson worked for more than six years in human resources, including as a generalist in a hospital setting.

The MCMCFC consists of 35 county-owned medical care facilities located throughout the State of Michigan. County medical care facilities are dedicated to providing long term care and other services to the aged and infirm. Under its statutory mission, county medical care facilities give preference for services to the indigent of the counties served.