Ken Burgess, a prominent health care attorney with the law firm of Baker Donelson, has been appointed by North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper to the Governor's Advisory Council on Aging (GAC).
The GAC advises the Governor and the Secretary of Health and Human Services on a range of matters, including recommendations aimed at improving human services to the elderly; promoting public understanding of the problems of the aging and the need for new state programs in the field of aging; and preparation of a plan describing the quality, extent, and scope of services being provided, or to be provided, to elderly people in North Carolina.
A shareholder in Baker Donelson's Raleigh/Research Triangle office, Mr. Burgess has more than 35 years of experience in advising health care clients on a wide range of regulatory, litigation, compliance, and operations issues. He advises providers on legal issues arising in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, assisted living communities, hospice, home health, and other spheres of health care. He also represents ancillary providers, including pharmacy, durable medical equipment (DME), and therapy. His practice includes advising clients on Certificate of Need, Medicare/Medicaid enrollment and licensure issues, acute care and long-term care operations issues, appeals of quality-of-care issues, and transactional matters.
Mr. Burgess is a frequent national lecturer and the author of industry manuals, national trade journal magazine articles, and similar training. He previously served as senior director of Legal Services and Facility Operations of the American Health Care Association and as general counsel of both the North Carolina Health Care Facilities Association (NCHCFA) and the Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA), the national assisted living trade association in Washington, D.C.
Mr. Burgess has been recognized in Chambers USA as a leading practitioner in health care law since 2014. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America® in Health Care Law and was named the Best Lawyers 2021 Health Law "Lawyer of the Year" in Raleigh. He has also been named a North Carolina Super Lawyer for many years. His other numerous recognitions include being named a National Law Journal "Health Care Trailblazer" and receiving the North Carolina Bar Association's Health Law Distinguished Service Award. Mr. Burgess serves as chair of the NCHCFA Associate Advisory Committee board of directors and as chair of the board of directors of FutureCare Foundation of North Carolina, administering a $2.4 million CMS civil money penalty grant to recruit long-term care staff. He is also vice chair of the board of directors of the Jessie F. Richardson Foundation (JFRF), a Portland, Oregon-based organization that works to improve conditions for vulnerable older adults in developing areas and the communities in which they live. The JFRF previously named Mr. Burgess national Volunteer of the Year for his work in serving indigent elders in Central America.
Mr. Burgess is a past president of the North Carolina Society of Healthcare Attorneys (twice) and of the North Carolina Bar Association Health Law Council. He is a member of the American Health Law Association, the National Legal Committee of the American Health Care Association, and the North Carolina Bar Association.