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Meet Cathy Garrey, MA, CHC
Compliance and Quality Assurance Manager,
McHenry County Mental Health Board
Editor’s note: This interview with Cathy Garrey
was conducted in late summer by Gabriel L.
Imperato, Esq, CHC, Managing Partner of
the Fort Lauderdale office of Broad and Cassel,
where he is Chairman of the firm’s White-Collar
criminal and Civil Fraud Defense Practice
Group. He personally represents individuals
and organizations accused of criminal or civil
fraud in the areas of health care, securities,
and other corporate fraud and compliance and
governance matters. He is board certified as a
specialist in health care law by the Florida Bar;
is a member of the Illinois, Florida, and District
of Columbia bars. Mr. Imperato can be reached
at 954/745-5223 or by e-mail at gimperato@
broadandcassel.com.
Cathy Garrey may be reached at telephone at
815/455-2828 or by e-mail at cgarrey@mc708.org.
GI: Cathy, thank you for agreeing to this
interview for Compliance Today. Please tell
our readers a little about your background
and how you became Compliance and
Quality Assurance Manager for the McHenry
County Mental Health Board.
CG: Although I earned a degree in
education from Drake University in Iowa,
I found more job opportunities in case
management for individuals with severe
and persistent mental illness. My first job
as a case manager at a not-for-profit human
service agency in northern Illinois led me
into a Quality Assurance and Training
Manager position. Here I discovered that
conducting record reviews and preparing
for audits was something that I enjoyed.
This job centered on monitoring compliance
with government rules and laws and
program policies, and it included overseeing
the organization’s Training department to
ensure compliance for all the programs in
the agency. Coordinating the organization’s
CARF (Commission on Accreditation of
Rehabilitation Facilities) accreditation was
another part of the job. During this time, I
also worked toward an MA in Management.
After getting the degree, I moved into the
position of Director of Quality Assurance
and Training.
Shortly after this appointment, I changed
jobs. An opportunity to focus more on compliance
and less on training and development
opened in another agency, so I took the
position to expand on my interests. Over the
next year or so, as the Compliance Officer, I
developed the corporate compliance program
with the help of a consortium of compliance
professionals and a national consultant.
At about that time a position opened at
the McHenry County Mental Health Board
(MHB) that called for someone with my
qualifications. The position required a background
in mental health as well as significant
experience in compliance and accreditation
work. It was not only a perfect fit, but also
it offered an opportunity to return to the
county where I had developed wonderful collaborative
relationships. Since starting, about
a year and a half ago, I have been developing
a compliance program at MHB, preparing the
organization for its first CARF survey, and
working with county providers to make sure
that everyone meets the new Illinois Medicaid
Rehabilitation Option regulations.
GI: Please describe the McHenry County
Mental Health Board, and tell us about
your responsibilities as the Compliance and
Quality Assurance Manager.
CG: The McHenry County Mental Health
Board funds services for individuals who
have a mental illness, developmental disability,
and/or drug or alcohol dependence.
October 2008
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