Individual
Attorney Biographies:
RENÉE
M. POPOVITS Founder of
Popovits & Robinson, P.C. Renée
M. Popovits founded the law firm of Popovits & Robinson
in 1997 and has been a practicing health care attorney since
1989. Ms. Popovits has represented behavioral healthcare
providers, physician practice clients, research organizations,
governmental entities and trade associations in corporate
transactions, mergers, affiliations, corporate compliance,
confidentiality, consent, licensure, reimbursement,
contracting, managed care, human resources, data-sharing,
HIPAA privacy issues and public policy matters. The law firm
represents some of the largest substance abuse treatment
providers in the State of Illinois as well as providers with a
national presence, including providers in Arizona, California,
Texas, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri,
Kansas, New Jersey, and Tennessee. Ms. Popovits was also
General Counsel of BHS Management Corp., a company serving
multi-state human services and behavioral health care
providers. Prior to this she was a healthcare attorney at the
Chicago firm of Coffield, Ungaretti & Harris.
She
has lectured extensively and published articles on
confidentiality issues, corporate compliance programs, HIPAA,
risk management issues, child abuse reporting, maternal versus
fetal rights, toxicology testing, legislation relating to the
treatment of pregnant substance abusers, and other health care
legal issues. Ms. Popovits has lectured at national
conferences sponsored by CSAT, NAATP, ASAM, NASADAD, ACYF and
APHSA, primarily focusing on substance abuse confidentiality,
HIPAA, child welfare issues, employee recruitment and
retention and corporate compliance. Ms. Popovits also has been
a featured speaker on HIPAA issues for the National Governors
Association. Ms. Popovits and renowned author William L. White
published in February, 2001 the second edition to Critical
Incidents, a book addressing ethical issues in substance
abuse prevention and treatment. In August, 2001, Ms. Popovits
also produced a comprehensive training video for front line
counselors on the federal confidentiality regulations
governing substance abuse treatment records. In 2002, all of
the attorneys at the firm, in conjunction with IADDA,
developed a three-volume set of HIPAA policies and procedures
and implementation tools for Behavioral Health Care Providers
across the country. Ms. Popovits has also published a Chapter
on Legal Issues in UCLA’s Addiction Counseling Review
and has published a Chapter on Adolescent
Substance Abuse: Psychiatric Comorbidity & High Risk
Behaviors.
Ms. Popovits has served on Governor
Edgar’s Forum on Substance Abuse, Governor Blagojevich’s Labor
Transition Subcommittee on Disability Issues and currently is
a member of the Women’s Committee of the Illinois Advisory
Council on Alcoholism and Other Drug Dependencey. While she
served as Chairperson of the Women’s Committee, the first two
legislative plans establishing a statewide blueprint for
women’s services in Illinois were developed for the Illinois
General Assembly pursuant to legislative mandate. She served
as Co-Chairperson of the DHS-DASA/DCFS Advisory Committee for
five years and is a current member of this interagency
committee and its Title IVE Waiver Subcommittee. She is a
member of the IADDA Legislative Taskforce and served on
the DASA Managed Care Committee. Ms. Popovits serves on the
Board of Advisors, and the Legal Advisory Committee of
Catholic Charities, served as a Board member to the National
Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (“NAATP”) for 9 years and
also served as an NAATP Managed Care Task Force Co-Chair and currently
serves on the NAATP Public Policy Committee. Ms. Popovits also
serves on the Governors State University Addiction Studies
Advisory Board. In 2002, Ms. Popovits received the
Compassion in Action Award from Francis Cardinal
George, Archbishop of Chicago. Ms. Popovits is a member of the
American Health Lawyers Association, the Illinois Association
of Health Care Attorneys and the Illinois State Bar
Association.
Ms. Popovits received her undergraduate
degree from Saint Xavier College, cum laude and her law degree
from DePaul University College of Law, with honors.
While in law school, she served on the DePaul Law
Review and was the Assistant Editor of the
Journal of Health and Hospital Law, a
publication of the American Academy of Hospital Attorneys. She
served as an adjunct professor at DePaul University where she
taught masters level students Introduction to Health Law. Ms. Popovits
serves as General Counsel to Chestnut Health Systems, Chestnut Global
Partners, LLC and Rosecrance Health Network.
Elizabeth Donohue
Managing Attorney Elizabeth
Donohue, Associate, has been with Popovits & Robinson
since 1997. She specializes in the areas of regulatory,
corporate, contract, employment, tax-exemption and
behavioral health care law and has furnished guidance to
clients on a variety of issues, including: confidentiality,
client rights, subpoenas and medical record requests and the
treatment of minors, risk management and
other corporate issues. She has lectured at conferences
sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA), NAATP, IADDA and the Haymarket Center
on substance abuse confidentiality issues and HIPAA privacy
and transactions/code sets issues and has conducted numerous
trainings on various issues relating to the substance abuse
treatment field. Ms. Donohue has drafted, negotiated and
finalized numerous contracts, including agreements in the
areas of research, joint ventures, managed care, physician and
allied health fields and employment.
Ms. Donohue also serves as
an Institutional Review Board (IRB) member and
additionally acts as the Board’s legal representative. In
that capacity she has provided guidance on a variety of
research-related issues, including human research subjects
rights and the interaction of state laws with IRB policies and
procedures and human subject research, as well as assisting in
the development of the IRB’s research policies and protocols.
She has also assisted the IRB with member education and recent
legal updates and trends affecting the IRB and its members.
Ms. Donohue is also well-versed in tax-exemption issues,
including formation of not-for-profit entities and related
tax-exempt transactions.
Ms. Donohue has been a
practicing health care attorney since her admission to the Bar
in 1998. She is a member of the Illinois Association of Health
Care Attorneys, the American Bar Association, the Illinois
State Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association, and the
Women’s Health Executive Network. Ms. Donohue received her
undergraduate degree from Loyola University and her law degree
from Loyola University College of Law. While in law school,
Ms. Donohue was a member of the school’s Health Law Society
and was also an Articles Editor for the Annals of Health Law,
a publication of Loyola University. Ms. Donohue
serves as Assistant General Counsel to Chestnut Health Systems and
as Special Counsel to A Safe Haven, LLC.
Kelly Whelan Senior Associate
Kelly T. Whelan, Senior Associate, joined Popovits & Robinson in December, 2009. Ms. Whelan’s practice
includes general representation of healthcare providers, including behavioral health facilities,
hospitals, and physician groups. In this capacity, Ms. Whelan regularly counsels providers regarding
licensing and accreditation issues, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, fraud and abuse, federal and
state privacy laws, medical staff matters, and the Stark Law. In addition, Ms. Whelan regularly advises
healthcare providers with respect to mergers and acquisitions, affiliation and joint venture relationships,
managed care agreements, employment relationships and service agreements. Ms. Whelan is well versed in
matters affecting tax-exempt entities at the state and federal levels and regularly assists her tax-exempt
clients with corporate governance matters.
Ms. Whelan’s practice further includes representation of business entities in a variety of other industries.
She has represented purchasers and sellers in a broad range of transactions and regularly counsels corporate
clients in connection with day-to-day contracting matters.
Before joining the firm, Ms. Whelan was an associate at Drinker Biddle & Reath, LLP in its Health Care Group.
Ms. Whelan received her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Michigan. While in law school,
Ms. Whelan was an Associate Editor for the Michigan Journal of Gender & Law and interned at the National Health
Law Program in Washington, D.C. She is a member of the American Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association,
the Illinois Association of Healthcare Attorneys, and the American Health Lawyers Association. Ms. Whelan serves as
Assistant General Counsel to Chestnut Global Partners, LLC and Assistant General Counsel to Rosecrance Health Network.
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