In October 2019, Kelly joined Starnes Davis Florie as a Partner in the firm’s Nashville office. Kelly was born and raised in Huntsville, Alabama. At Starnes, she provides counsel to health care providers in the areas of medical malpractice litigation, long term care and nursing home litigation, risk and claims management, early case assessment, regulatory and compliance issues affecting health care facilities, as well as other general areas of health care and long term care law. Kelly has a combined 16 years of outside and in-house legal and compliance experience with a focus on healthcare, and is experienced in business strategies and day-to-day operations of growing, innovative and complex organizations operating in highly regulated environments. Kelly’s in-house legal and compliance experience, as well as her health care litigation experience provides her with a unique perspective to provide clients with a comprehensive, full-service practice capable of handling the full array of legal issues for both acute care providers and post-acute care providers
After graduating from the University of Alabama School of Law in 2003, Kelly began her career as an associate at Gideon & Wiseman, PLC in Nashville, TN (Gideon, Cooper & Essary, PLC, and Wiseman Ashworth Law Group, PLC) where she practiced for 6 years, followed by 4 years as an associate at Levine, Orr & Geracioti. At both firms, Kelly practiced medical malpractice litigation serving hospitals, physicians, nursing homes and other post-acute care providers. After litigating for 10 years, she moved in-house in 2013 with American Health Partners, and its affiliates, which includes 29 skilled nursing facilities, 5 geriatric behavioral health hospitals, home health and hospice, long-term care pharmacy, therapy/rehabilitation, a nurse practitioner service provider, and an institutional special needs plan (I-SNP). During her tenure with American Health Partners, Kelly served as General Counsel, then as Chief Compliance and Ethics Officer.
Professional Recognition
•Certified in Healthcare Compliance, 2018
Experience
Presentations and Publications
•Future scheduled engagement: Compliance Investigations by Post-Acute Care Providers, Health Care Compliance Association Annual Convention, Panel speaker (scheduled for March 2020).
•Navigating the Financial and Compliance Guideposts of PDPM, LTC 100, Panel speaker (May 2019).
•Responding to Unusual Events in Your Facility, Tennessee Health Care Association Convention, Panel speaker (2015).
•News & Insights
DOJ’s National Nursing Home Initiative Targets “Grossly Substandard Care”
•Nursing Homes COVID-19 & CDC Reporting: Ensuring Compliance, Accuracy & Consistency
•COVID-19 Nursing Home Guidance - Compliance Recommendations & Checklists
•Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Update for Long-term Care Facilities and Assisted Living: Update on Monitoring Requirements
•COVID-19 Nursing Home Guidance - Compliance Recommendations
•Kelly Thomas Joins Starnes Davis Florie’s Nashville Office
Fun Facts
Outside of work, Kelly enjoys traveling and spending time with her husband and two kids, who are both very active in sports. Her family is her greatest joy!
