Elise Dunitz Brennan has practiced healthcare law for over 25 years, has been named to The Best Lawyers in America since 1991 and has been selected as one of the top 50 Super Lawyers in Oklahoma and one of the top 25 Women Lawyers by Oklahoma Magazine. She serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Health Law and Life Sciences. In 2006 she was elected as a Fellow of the American Health Lawyers Association ("AHLA"). She is a past member of the Board of Directors of the AHLA, having chaired its Public Interest Committee, Alternative Dispute Resolution Task Force and its Credentialing Practice Group. She is past-President of the Oklahoma Health Lawyers Association. Ms. Brennan is a AAA arbitrator on the commercial panel, AHLA arbitrator and mediator, and an arbitrator for the International Institute of Conflict Resolution. She has served as an arbitrator or mediator in health care provider disputes ranging in controversy from $50,000.00 to $23,000,000.00.
Ms. Brennan advises one of the state's largest managed care organizations, and the largest Oklahoma community behavioral health center. Her long term care expertise includes the acquisition of a certificate of need, bond financing and regulatory approval for the first life care community in Oklahoma . She has represented hospitals in over 20 physician peer review hearings and is retained regionally to assist with revisions to bylaws and other medical staff matters. Recently her practice has involved healthcare facility mergers and acquisitions, HIPAA, corporate compliance, and health care operational and billing issues including antikickback, Stark, EMTALA and Medicare & Medicaid appeals. She advises nursing homes, assisted living centers, hospices and home health agencies. She graduated in 1976 from Newcomb College of Tulane University, magna cum laude, and received a Master's degree in Social Work from the University of Michigan in 1978, and her law degree from Southern Methodist University in 1983. Ms. Brennan is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Order of the Barristers. Prior to attending law school, Ms. Brennan worked as a social worker in hospitals and related healthcare organizations.