Teresa Meinders Burkett
Overview
Teresa Meinders Burkett helps health care organizations and professionals navigate regulatory, operational, employment, and litigation challenges so they can focus on delivering quality patient care and advancing their organizational goals.
For decades, Teresa has counseled hospitals, physician groups, nursing homes, hospice organizations, pharmaceutical companies, federally qualified health centers, and individual practitioners on the legal and business issues affecting the health care industry. Her practice encompasses corporate compliance, licensure and accreditation matters, HIPAA compliance, patient rights concerns, EMTALA compliance, medical staff matters, and day-to-day operational needs.
When disputes arise, clients turn to Teresa for strategic guidance on employment and health care-related litigation. She works closely with organizations and professionals to manage risk, maintain compliance, and develop practical solutions aligned with their operational and business objectives.
Teresa’s perspective is informed by firsthand clinical experience as a registered nurse in an intensive care setting before and during law school. That background provides a unique understanding of the challenges facing health care organizations and the professionals who serve patients every day. A respected leader in the health care legal community, Teresa is a founding member and past president of the Oklahoma Health Lawyers Association and has served multiple terms as chair of the Health Law Section of the Oklahoma Bar Association.
Credentials
Education
- University of Oklahoma College of Law, 1985 (J.D.), with honors
- University of Oklahoma, 1982 (B.S.), with special distinction
- Represented the state’s largest health care system and the state’s hospital professional association to write the policy brief presented to the Oklahoma Supreme Court to allow Medicaid Expansion to be presented to a vote of the people. That vote was successful and, as a result, many rural hospitals remain open and over 300,000 Oklahomans have access to healthcare previously out of reach.
- Served as the outside general counsel for Oklahoma’s state health information exchange – a consortium of hospitals, medical schools, physician groups, Native Nations, and major insurance companies – since its founding, guiding in HIPAA compliance, contractual arrangements and grant compliance.
- Served on the Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act Committee for the Thomas Gilcrease Institute of American History and Art.
- Tulsa Community College Foundation, Board of Trustees, Chairman of Governance and Board Development
- The Nature Conservancy, Oklahoma chapter, Vice Chairman of Philanthropy
- Tulsa Parks Board of Trustees, Chairman, 2018-2025, Vice Chairman
- Gilcrease Museum Board of Trustees, Chairman, 2018-2025, Vice Chairman
- Tulsa Animal Welfare Commission, Commissioner
- Center for Housing Solutions of Tulsa, Inc., Secretary
- Tulsa Ballet, Advisory Board
- Leadership Oklahoma, Class XVIII
- Oklahoma Academy for State Goals, Board of Directors
- Tulsa Chamber of Commerce, Health Care Task Force, Chair, 2011-2012
- Best Lawyers in America, Health Law, 1992-2026
- Lawyer of the Year, Health Care Law
- Oklahoma Super Lawyers, Top 50 in Oklahoma; Top 25 Women Lawyers in Oklahoma
- Chambers USA, Health Care Law, 2019-present
- Journal Record, Oklahoma Women of the Year, 2011, 2012
- Journal Record, Leadership in Law Award, 2010
- Oklahoma Bar Association, Golden Quill Award, Best Journal Article, 2000
- Oklahoma Bar Association, Health Law Section, Past Chairman
- Oklahoma Health Lawyers Association, Founding Member; Former President
- Tulsa County Bar Association
- American Bar Association
- “Recent Change in the Law Alters Language of Written Consent to Disclose Medical Information,” Oklahoma Bar Journal 79 No. 33, December 2008
- “HIPAA Rules All Lawyers Should Know,” Oklahoma Bar Journal78 No. 21, August 4, 2007
- “Conservation Easements -New Opportunities for ‘Doing Well by Doing Good’,” Vol. 71 No. 14, May 5, 2000