2026 Primary Care Conference

Ms. Howe has over 20 years of experience in healthcare revenue cycle management, billing, coding, credentialing, and privileging, and documentation auditing with 10 of those years being in the FQHC Community. Ms. Howe's academic background includes a Bachelors in Business Administration (BA), Certified Professional Medical Auditor (CPMA) through the National Alliance of Medical Accreditation Services (NAMAS), a certified Community Health Coding and Billing Specialist (CH-CBS) by the ARCHPRO Coding and Consulting.  Ms. Howe has successfully obtained NCQA CVO Certification for multiple organizations, scoring near perfect and perfect scores on these. 

Tom Ward is the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Farmingdale State College-State University of New York. A native of Annapolis, Maryland, Dr. Ward received his education at Hampden-Sydney College (B.A., 1991), Clemson University (M.A., 1993), and the University of Southern Mississippi (Ph.D., 1999). Before coming to Farmingdale, Dr. Ward was the chair of history department at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama. He has held previous teaching positions at Rockhurst University (Kansas City, Mo.) and University College Cork, in Ireland. Dr. Ward has written numerous articles on African-American history, the history of health care in the American South, and prisoners-of-war. His work has appeared in various outlets, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, Army History, The Journal of African American History, the Journal of Mississippi History, and Louisiana History. He is the author of two books, Black Physicians in the Jim Crow South (University of Arkansas Press, 2003), and Out in the Rural: A Mississippi Health Center and its War on Poverty (Oxford University Press, 2017), which received a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly and the 2018 Alpha Sigma Nu Book Award from the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. In 2018 he contributed a new foreword to the re-release of Robert Coles’ and Al Clayton’s classic work, Still Hungry in America (University of Georgia Press). Dr. Ward has received several awards for his work, including those from the Association of American Publishers, the Langum Charitable Trust, the Gulf South Historical Association, The Mississippi Historical Society, and the Virginia Military Institute. Dr. Ward is currently working on a book project on healthcare and the Civil Rights Movement, which is under contract with Columbia University Press. He and his wife Margaret have three sons, Patrick, Jack, and Teague. They live in Northport, NY.

Tess Stack Kuenning, CNS, MS, RN, has dedicated her 45-year career as a nurse, a trusted public health leader, and national health policy expert to serving and advocating for individuals and communities in need of quality, affordable, comprehensive primary care and preventive health services.   

Since 1995, Ms. Kuenning has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Bi-State Primary Care Association, a nonpartisan, nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization that provides advocacy, education, and training and technical assistance to its 27 member organizations across New Hampshire and Vermont, which include Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). Bi-State was founded in 1986 by a small group of committed individuals with a shared goal of enhancing access to primary care services to residents of New Hampshire and Vermont. Bi-State’s journey began with just one FQHC in each state, collectively serving 10,000. Under Ms. Kuenning’s leadership, Bi-State’s workforce has grown from 6 employees to over 20 and its membership has grown to encompass 21 FQHCs, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, and several affiliated organizations, serving over 330,000 patients across both states. 

Bi-State’s goal is to ensure the people of New Hampshire and Vermont have access to high-quality, affordable, comprehensive, and team-based medical, dental, mental and behavioral health, including MAT/SUD, and pharmacy services. Ms. Kuenning works with federal and state policymakers, health policy organizations, foundations, and payers to develop strategies and programs that promote, sustain, and build community based primary health care services and infrastructure.  

Prior to joining Bi-State, Ms. Kuenning worked for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as the principal public health advisor throughout New England, and as a nurse consultant for the Health Care Finance Administration.  

Ms. Kuenning holds a master’s degree in Nursing and Public/Community Health and is a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Maternal and Child Health. Her practice experience includes tertiary care in hospital cardiac specialty and ICU and serving as a Clinical Nurse Specialist primary care provider and educator, designing Maternal Child Health Programs for clinics in Kathmandu and rural Nepal.  

In November 2021, Ms. Kuenning was honored with the Marc Wetherhorn Advocate of the Year Award by the ACU. The awar