Understanding Implicit Bias and Its Impact on Healthcare Leadership

East TX, North TX & TX Midwest ACHE Chapters

This panel has been approved for 1.50 ACHE Virtual Interactive Education Credits.

Note: If you are a registrant of the in-person (May 14) portion of the 2026 ACHE East-North-Midwest Texas Multi-Chapter Education Symposium, you are eligible to purchase your ticket for the below referenced virtual panel at a 25% discount. The promo code for that discount is provided to you in your confirmation email from Eventbrite for the May 14 event. The communities for which healthcare organizations operate are rapidly diversifying. Not only do they provide care for a diverse community of patients and families, but their workforce is also growing more diverse. It is incumbent on healthcare organizations and their leaders to both understand and embrace the needs of diverse populations. Their ability to respond to the needs and preferences of a broader customer base will be critical to their financial and operational survival, but they first must understand what their implicit biases are to do that. The goal of the session is for leaders to understand and recognize internal biases both conscious and unconscious. This program will focus on the healthcare leader’s personal recognition of internal bias and its impact on decisions in the organization. The impact of the healthcare leaders’ ability to recognize biases in areas such as employment and policy decision making will lead to increased diversity in individuals holding leadership positions and will help us better serve our patients and communities. Moderator: Beth Guyton, Principal, The Momentum LeaderPanelists:Lucky Denenga, CEO, ClearSky Rehabilitation Hospital at MansfieldChristina Fleeman, Nurse Manager -ED and Ambulance Services, Amarillo VAHCSDr. Keisha Downes, Vice President, Middle Revenue Cycle, Beth Israel Lahey Health System Speakers' Bios: Lucky Denenga Fischer, PT, DPT, MBA is a healthcare executive and service line leader with extensive experience across acute care, rehabilitation, and ambulatory settings. A physical therapist by training, she has served the DFW healthcare community for over 12 years and is recognized for leading operational and culture transformation, building inclusive high‑performance teams, and advancing equitable, high‑quality patient care. Keisha Downes, DMSc, MBA, BSN, RN, CCDS, CCS, is a healthcare executive with over 20 years of nursing experience and more than a decade in revenue cycle leadership. She serves as Vice President of Mid-Revenue Cycle at Beth Israel Lahey Health, where she oversees CDI, coding, HIM, and utilization management across 14 hospitals and leads a workforce of more than 500. A recognized thought leader and national speaker on healthcare leadership, AI governance, and revenue cycle innovation, Keisha sits on her health system's Responsible AI Use Committee and the ACDIS Advisory Board. She earned her Doctorate of Medical Science in Healthcare Leadership with a concentration in Artificial Intelligence from Northeastern University. With roots in neurosurgical ICU and trauma nursing, Keisha brings a bedside-to-boardroom perspective to leadership, grounding her work in the realities of patient care and the importance of building inclusive teams that reflect the diverse communities healthcare systems serve. Christina Fleeman, MBA, MSN, RN, is a compassionate nurse leader with more than a decade of experience spanning emergency and disaster management, ambulance services, trauma systems, inpatient and ambulatory operations, and integrated care coordination in High Reliability Organization environments. She currently serves as Emergency Department and Ambulance Services Nurse Manager at the Thomas E. Creek VA Medical Center in Amarillo, Texas, where she leads operational and clinical teams to deliver safe, efficient, highquality emergency care for Veterans across the medical center. Christina is also pursuing her Doctor of Nursing Practice in Leadership at Arkansas State University, building on dual master’s degrees in nursing and healthcare &amp; business administration from Liberty University.​ Across her VA leadership roles—including Acting Chief of Inpatient Nursing Services and VACC/IVC Nurse Manager—she has driven measurable improvements in access, quality, and safety through systems redesign and process improvement. Her earlier career includes service as Trauma Services Coordinator and Emergency Management lead for a statedesignated trauma center, and as a Clinical Manager/Flight Nurse providing rotorwing critical care in rural and disaster settings. Christina’s leadership portfolio includes transformational leadership, team building, shared governance, performance improvement, emergency management, and regulatory readiness, and she is actively engaged in professional organizations including the American College of Healthcare Executives and multiple national nursing and trauma societies.​ Outside of work, Christina is “Nonnie” to six grandchildren with two more on the way, and the proud mother of four adult children whose careers span military service, cardiovascular health advocacy, professional sports, and social media influence. She and her husband also own and operate a BBQ restaurant and music venue, where they bring people together around good food, live music, and community—values that mirror her passion for building resilient, peoplecentered healthcare teams. Beth Guyton is an accomplished healthcare leader and consultant with expertise in executive coaching, change management, performance management and patient experience. She is the principle of The Momentum Leader where she coaches leaders on reaching their maximum potential in order to thrive personally and professionally.Prior to her current role, Beth served as the VP of Patient Experience for the Mercy Springfield Communities and before joining Mercy, Beth led a healthcare consulting firm dedicated to helping hospital drive results through exceptional leadership, culture, and processes.Beth holds a Master’s in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from George Mason University and a BA in Advertising from the Manship School of Journalism at Louisiana State University. She is an ICF Associate Certified Coach (ACC), a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ), Six Sigma Green Belt, and has a Certification for Mediation and Negotiation from North Lake College in Irving Texas.

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Understanding Implicit Bias and Its Impact on Healthcare Leadership

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Understanding Implicit Bias and Its Impact on Healthcare Leadership

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