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Personal life inspires Pinkerton’s work

By: Jimmy Nesbitt//September 18, 2019//

Personal life inspires Pinkerton’s work

By: Jimmy Nesbitt//September 18, 2019//

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Karla Hutton Pinkerton - Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren
Karla Hutton Pinkerton – Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren

When Karla Hutton Pinkerton was a child, her parents often joked that she would make a great lawyer because of her analytical bent.

It turns out they were right.

Pinkerton is a lawyer in Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren’s health-care practice, where she mainly works with the Hospice and Palliative Care Group.

“We have worked closely together to solve problems that allow our clients to continue providing compassionate end-of-life care to patients and families that is greatly overlooked in our health care system,” she said.

Pinkerton works with clients involved in a wide range of hospice-related matters, from day-to-day regulatory and contracting issues to audit appeals. She also helps hospices weigh the likely benefits and drawbacks inherent in complex repayment and compliance matters.

The health-care industry is constantly changing at both the federal and state levels.

“Working with clients all over the U.S. means that we need to stay on top of these changes and be able to both react and be proactive,” Pinkerton said. “In addition, hospice is a heavily scrutinized realm of health care that is rapidly changing in terms of regulatory requirements. Staying on top of these changes is challenging, but also incredibly rewarding when we can assist our clients and take some of that burden from them.”

When Pinkerton first came to Reinhart, she only had a basic understanding of end-of-life care, said the firm CEO, Jerome Janzer. Since that time, she has gained a deep appreciation for the care that these providers give patients and their families, he said.

Part of that commitment has to do with her life outside the office. Pinkerton’s husband, Ben, died in April 2015 at the age of 37 after a 16-month battle with cancer.

“After her husband was diagnosed with colon cancer and her own family relied on hospice care, her commitment to helping providers only grew stronger,” Janzer said. “As a result, her legal advice is always practical and rooted in a comprehensive understanding of the hospice business with all its challenges and opportunities.”

Ben was an outdoor enthusiast and avid cyclist. He was also a big supporter of cancer research, well before his own diagnosis.

“Since his death, I’ve carried on our shared passions toward cycling events that raise money for the Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer Fund and the UW Carbone Cancer Center,” Pinkerton said.

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