Our Consultants

All of the Clay & Associate senior consultants have numerous years of experience as Director of Nurses and as Regional Clinical Consultants. Allow our consultants the opportunity to transform your long term care center.

Karen Clay, RN, BSN

Karen has 35+ years of experience in healthcare, with 25 years of dedicated leadership and consulting in long-term care settings. With experiences as a Director of Nurses, regional nurse, legal consultant, risk management, long-term care consulting, and now as a partner in the ownership of skilled nursing facilities, she provides general guidance and support to Clay & Associates. Karen provides a high level of expertise (and sense of humor) to long-term care providers who seek to excel in an environment of complex and ever-changing regulations. Karen is currently the Director of Clinical Operations for Clay & Associates parent company. Karen’s professional background includes being a national speaker on wound management topics and has worked with numerous Quality Improvement Organizations and healthcare associations. Karen is the author of three books: “The Long-Term Care Survey Preparation Handbook”, “Risk Management: Pressure Ulcers – A prevention, assessment, and treatment training manual” and “Evidence-Based Pressure Ulcer Prevention” (HCPro).

Kathy Lemire, RN

Kathy has 30+ years of experience in acute and long-term care settings. Kathy has successfully fulfilled a wide variety of roles – IV nurse, Staff Development, Director of Nurses, Regional Nurse, and consulting. Kathy has been a long-term care consultant for 10+ years and was the previous Director of Clinical Consulting for Clay & Associates until venturing into a partnership/ownership role for several years. Kathy has returned to a full-time Director of Clinical Consulting role and brings particular expertise in clinical systems development, medical record review, JCAHO accreditation, risk management, and survey preparation and/or response. With strong clinical and organizational skills, Kathy has assisted contracted facilities in developing systems to assure “survey readiness” on a daily basis.

Kim Clay, BA

Kim has a BA with a concentration in marketing is the Clinical Project Coordinator. Kim provides support to the clinical team, manages human resources, prepares contracts, and participates in billing services. Kim’s professional experience includes human resources management & accounts payable in LTC, school credentialing, and marketing disaster recovery services. In addition, Kim is a small business owner.

Carol Dumas, RN, RAC-CT

Carol is a Clinical Reimbursement Specialist with Clay and Associates. Carol, a Registered Nurse and a certified AANAC Resident Assessment Coordinator, is currently pursuing her BSN at UMASS Amherst. Carol has worked in the long-term care industry for over 25 years and has held positions including MDS/PPS Coordinator, Unit Manager, Staff Development Coordinator, Director of Nursing, and Regional Reimbursement Coordinator. In addition, Carol had provided consulting services through Clay & Associates for several years before rejoining the team full-time a year ago. Carol has assisted several facilities with their PDPM transition and is skilled with reimbursement management and working with teams to improve quality measures. She is well-versed in regulatory requirements and standards of care and conducts detailed medical record reviews and participates in pre-survey audits. Carol is committed to her professional growth and applying her skills to strengthen clinical teams and improve the quality of life for those we serve.

Rob Tupper, RN

Rob has 20 years of licensed nursing experience including long term care, hospice, and home care. Rob worked his way through the ranks serving as staff nurse, charge nurse, supervisor, Unit Manager, MDS Coordinator, Director of Nursing Services, long term care consultant, and ultimately as a partner in the ownership of a nursing facility. Rob returned to clinical consulting, his most fulfilling role. Rob enjoys collaborating with provider teams to enhance their overall effectiveness. Rob specializes in conducting medical record reviews, clinical audits, pre-survey assessments, post-survey recovery, and overall evaluation of clinical systems.

Debra Forss, RN

Debra Forss has over 30 years of experience in the Nursing field and has had success in a variety of positions within the long-term care setting. Deb is Board Certified in Gerontology, is a Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse and is a Certified Dementia Practitioner. In her last position as Director of Nurses, Deb was able to lead her team through 6 deficiency-free surveys in her 6 ½ years in that role. Deb excels in survey preparation, medical records reviews, regulatory reviews, Quality Assurance/Performance Improvement activities, and mock surveys. Deb has the overall ability to identify areas where improvement is indicated and put strong systems in place.

Tara Dias, RN

Tara is a Registered Nurse with over 24 years in Long Term Care, with the past 14 years in Management/Leadership Positions. Tara has experience as a Regional Nurse Consultant, with multiple facility oversight across several States. Prior to her Regional Nurse positions, Tara worked with another a consulting company in which she worked with Long Term Care Facilities, Assisted Living Facilities, LTAC’s, Adult Day Health and Adult Foster Care. In earlier years Tara has held various positions – Director of Nursing, Assistant Director of Nursing, Unit Manager, and Nursing Supervisor and understands the daily demands of these roles. Tara’s expertise in survey preparation/management, regulatory compliance, medical records reviews, plan of corrections, Quality Assurance/Performance Improvement plans, and mock surveys. Tara is committed to working collaboratively with teams and being a part of the very best care provided!

Katlyn Brown, LPN

Katlyn is a nursing consultant that assists Senior Consultants in project management, clinical audits, clinical skill fairs, and pre-survey audits. Katlyn has served in numerous SNF roles including staff nurse, Unit Manager, MMQ Coordinator, and Interim Assistant Director of Nurses. Katlyn is experienced in implementing clinical systems and educating/supporting the teams through changes. Katlyn’s easy-going manner, knowledge, and professionalism enables her to collaborate successfully with the interdisciplinary team. Katlyn is continuing her professional growth with the goal of becoming an R.N.