Cherilyn G. Murer, J.D., C.R.A., President and CEO of the Murer Group, has long
been an active voice in the advancement of quality, cost-effective health
care. Ms. Murer received a Juris Doctor
degree with honors from Northern Illinois University and has coupled her
background in law with her previous operational experience as the Director of
Rehabilitation Medicine at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Illinois. Ms. Murer is a sought after lecturer and
educator whose focus is on assisting her clients navigate through the complex
regulatory, strategic and financial issues facing healthcare today.
In May 2005 Ms. Murer received
a gubernatorial appointment, with Senate confirmation, to a six-year term on
the Northern Illinois University Board of Trustees. In 2007 Ms. Murer was
elected Chairman of the Board. In
addition to the Executive Committee, Ms. Murer serves on the Finance and
Academic Affairs Committees of this State University with over 26,000 students. Ms. Murer and her husband, Michael, have
provided a philanthropic gift to NIU to establish the Murer Initiative to
develop and establish a forum for scholarly discussion, policy analysis and
cross disciplinary integration of medicine, law, technology and finance. In September 2007, Ms Murer was selected by
the University to present the first in NIU’s 2007-2008 Annual Executive Speaker
Series Presentations. Her presentation, “Conversation
with a CEO”, was part of the Executive Speaker Series which is co-sponsored by
the NIU College of Engineering and the College of Business. In January 2002, Ms. Murer was appointed to
the Northern Illinois University Law School’s prestigious Board of Visitors and
was honored with its 2003 College of Law Distinguished Alumni Award. Ms. Murer also holds an appointment to the
faculty of the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine as a
Clinical Assistant Professor of Law in the Department of Family Medicine.
Ms. Murer was pleased to
accept, in October 2004, an invitation from CARF to participate in an
International Advisory Committee on the development of the first set of
International Stroke Rehabilitation Standards.
Ms. Murer has presented the keynote address at the Annual Case Management Society of America Convention in Anaheim,
California. As a featured speaker, she highlighted the critical role of case
management in a reformed health care environment. In recognition of her expertise, Oregon
Health Sciences University appointed Ms. Murer to its National Advisory Board
on Population Base Case Management. Ms.
Murer has been appointed by CARF to its International Advisory Committee to
promote globalization of accreditation standards.
Ms. Murer has co-authored
with Lyndean Lenhoff Brick and Michael A. Murer four books published by
McGraw-Hill. The Case Management Sourcebook is a 300-page text that
serves as a guide to designing and implementing a centralized case management
system. A second book, published by
McGraw Hill and co-published by HFMA, entitled Post Acute Care Reimbursement Manual-A Financial and Legal Guide,
addressed the financial impact to post acute venues pre and post BBA. A third book, Compliance Audits and Plans for Healthcare, was one
of the first books to address complex heath care compliance issues. A fourth book, Medical Records Management is an 800 page complete guide to
disclosure, retention and technology. A
fifth book was published in April of 2003 by Commerce Clearing House, Inc.
(CCH), entitled Understanding
Provider-Based Status.
As commencement speaker at her
alma mater, Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia, Ms. Murer was awarded
the Mother Gerard Phelan Gold Medal; previous recipients have included Nancy
Reagan, the Honorable Clare Boothe Luce, Elinor Guggenheimer, and past U.S.
Surgeon General, Dr. Antonia Novello. In
January of 1994, Ms. Murer was honored by American Express and was recognized
for her leadership and outstanding accomplishments. American Express described Ms. Murer as “a health care pioneer who has been a leader
in helping health care providers find cost effective procedures without
reducing the quality of care.” She
was also featured in the College of Law Magazine, Northern Lawyer, cited as "Graduate at the Forefront of
Today's Healthcare Industry".
From April 2004 to June
2008, Ms. Murer was President of the Board of Managers of Oak Tree Hospital at
Baptist Regional Medical Center in Corbin, Kentucky. She was Vice President of the Corbin Long
Term Acute Care Venture, LLC Board, for the same period of time. She also served on like Boards in the same
positions for Oak Tree Hospital at Baptist Northeast in LaGrange, Kentucky, and
on the Northeast Joint Venture, LLC Board, from June 2006 to September 2009.
In March of 2005, Ms. Murer
was featured on the cover of Modern Healthcare Magazine with a lead story
on the need for national standardization of Medicare regulations. Ms. Murer has been a columnist for Rehab Management Magazine since
1993. Her column “Issues and Trends”
focuses on timely and sometimes controversial subjects impacting the delivery
of health care. Ms. Murer has authored
over 160 articles published in journals and magazines on healthcare finance,
regulatory compliance, new business development and globalization.
Ms. Murer has developed
specialized expertise in proton therapy serving as Chair of the NIU
subcommittee and Vice Chair of the Northern Illinois Proton Therapy and
Research Center; a project in conjunction with Fermilab and Argonne National Laboratory.
Her
concern for the future direction of health care within our country prompted her
to accept an appointment by Vice President George Bush to serve as National
Co-Chair, Disability Coalition. She was subsequently appointed in 1988 as
President Bush’s National Co-Chair “Access
to Opportunity Committee” and served as a member of the U.S. International
Cultural and Trade Center Commission Advisory Committee on Foreign Language
Needs of Business. She also serves on
the national finance committee for Congressman Bill Foster (D 14th
District IL).