Paul Copeland

Hi, I’m Paul.

I connect the bedside with the systems behind it.

I’m a registered nurse of 34 years — surgery, ER, ICU, care management and revenue cycle — with a degree in business management. I help hospitals put clinical technology to work: designing and teaching EHR workflows, training the trainers, and finding the money a process is quietly losing.

Download my résumé (PDF, opens in a new tab) paul@pauldcopeland.com (opens in a new tab)

Paul Copeland in a dark blazer and white shirt, outdoors on a winter day
Paul D. Copeland, RN, BSBM · Grand Haven, MI

What I bring

  • Clinical depth

    Surgery, ER, ICU, vascular, heart failure and primary care. I know how the work actually happens on the floor.

  • EHR adoption

    Led design, testing and go-live of a Cerner SurgiNet module, trained the trainers on PowerChart, and supported Epic.

  • Revenue & operations

    DRG and medical-necessity appeals, RAC audits, CMS guidelines, charge capture and cost containment.

My path

  1. Feb 2025 – now

    Care Manager

    Corewell Health Family Practice Clinics

    Expanded Corewell’s care management program into two family practice clinics, working as an independent provider. Educate patients on managing hypertension, diabetes, COPD, heart failure and chronic renal failure.

    95–98% patient success rate after 6–8 weeks, sustained after one year

  2. Oct 2023 – Aug 2024

    Peri-Operative Service Line Lead, da Vinci Robot & General Surgery

    Trinity Health Muskegon

    Hired to expand the da Vinci robotic surgery program from one robot to four, and doubled it to two robots during my tenure. Set practice limits, education and supply plans, ran the physician steering committee, and trained physicians and staff on the robot.

  3. Feb 2021 – Oct 2023

    Clinical Payment Resolution Specialist

    Trinity Health Patient Billing Services · Remote

    Reviewed payor DRG and medical-necessity denials and wrote the appeals. Built the role’s process, orientation manual, appeal templates and RN RAC audit process, and escalated improperly denied Medicaid sepsis claims with contracting and legal.

    $300,000 recovered across current and retroactive cases

  4. Dec 2017 – Nov 2020

    Care Manager

    Spectrum Health · Butterworth Hospital, Heart Failure Clinic, Priority Health

    Discharge planning, patient education and care coordination for heart failure patients. Helped build the processes that decreased missed clinic visits, and served as an Epic educational resource for staff.

    Fewer 30-day readmissions for heart failure patients

  5. Jun 1997 – Dec 2017

    Staff RN, Charge Nurse & Vascular Surgery Team Lead

    Mercy Health Muskegon

    Charge nurse in ICU, ER and surgery. Led design, testing and go-live of the Cerner SurgiNet anesthesia module, then built the charge-tracking model it turned out to need. Cerner PowerChart master trainer, and wrote the surgical unit’s own training program. Standardized surgical and environmental safety practices and oriented 40 staff to them, prepared staff for shared governance and Joint Commission and CMS surveys, and tested anesthesia-machine data transfer into SurgiNet.

    $145,000 saved in the first year · $30,000 + $12,000/yr saved on IV tubing

What I’m good at

  • EHR implementation
  • Cerner & Epic
  • Staff & physician education
  • Revenue cycle
  • DRG & denial appeals
  • Care management
  • Peri-operative services
  • Quality & patient safety
  • Device integration testing
  • Program development
  • Process improvement

Recognition

  • Corporate Recognition for Excellence Trinity Health · SurgiNet anesthesia module implementation
  • Recognition for program development Trinity Health · education and payor relations
  • Led the department in patient satisfaction comments Surgery

Education & credentials

  • Bachelor of Business Management (BSBM) Cornerstone University · 2014 · GPA 3.97
  • Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) Grand Rapids Community College · 1992
  • Registered Nurse State of Michigan
  • da Vinci Certified Robot Coordinator 2024
  • Basic Life Support (BLS) CPR

Let’s talk.

I’m always glad to hear from people. Send me an email, connect on LinkedIn, or grab a copy of my résumé.

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