Using the broadest definition of caregiver, this health forum will examine workforce challenges faced within our healthcare systems today.

For years we have been forewarned about a shortage of healthcare workers. Three years of working beyond capacity has left doctors, nurses, administrators, and all affiliated staff feeling increased levels of burnout and disengagement. Using a very broad definition of caregiver, this health forum will examine workforce challenges facing health systems.

Please join us in person for networking and a moderated panel of leaders talking about the challenges they are facing and the strategies they are using to combat them. This will be the last Paul Torrens Health Forum of the academic year.

Moderator:

Barbara Demman (she/her/hers), RN, MSN, ACNP, CNSUCLA

Lecturer, UCLA School of Nursing, Interim Assist Program Director, Prelicensure Program

Barbara Demman is a board-certified acute care nurse practitioner and clinical nurse specialist and faculty at UCLA School of Nursing.  Her twenty-two years of nursing clinical experience has ranged from large urban teaching hospitals in acute care specialties to public health community international centers.  She currently serves as a hospice and palliative care nurse practitioner and the interim assistant program director at UCLA School of Nursing.

Barbara has a strong interest in decreasing burnout symptoms among healthcare providers using mindfulness-based interventions.  After experiencing her own burnout in 2008, she greatly values health promotion and wellness in nursing.  Barbara completed a year-long fellowship at the UCLA Mindfulness Awareness Research Center.  She currently conducts research addressing mindfulness and resiliency within nurses who care for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Panelists:

Jennifer Baird (she/her/hers), PhD, MPH, MSW, RN, NEA-BC, NPD-BC, CPN

Director, Clinical Services Education and Research

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

Jennifer oversees centralized education and professional development teams, the organization’s nursing transition to practice programs, the Institute for Nursing and Interprofessional Research, the Las Madrinas Simulation Center, and the CHLA Center for Healthy Adolescent Transition. Dr. Baird has a PhD in nursing from the University of California, San Francisco, a master of public health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and a master of social work from Virginia Commonwealth University. In addition to her leadership responsibilities, Dr. Baird is a member of the CHLA Institutional Review Board and maintains an active program of research, serving as study co-lead on a PCORI-funded trial of a communication intervention for families who speak languages other than English, as site PI on an AHRQ-funded family safety reporting trial, and as program evaluator for a HRSA-funded healthcare worker resiliency training program. Dr. Baird is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Hospital Medicine and she will begin her term as President-Elect for the Society of Pediatric Nurses in April 2023. 

Andy Ortiz

Senior Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer

Cedars-Sinai

Andy Ortiz is senior vice president and chief human resources officer at Cedars-Sinai, where he is responsible for the strategy and implementation of human resources policies and programs. His work in developing a talent-driven culture helps balance growth initiatives and operational efficiencies to ensure that Cedars-Sinai remains a world-class healthcare organization. Reporting to the CEO, Andy serves as a trusted advisor to colleagues on the executive team, ensuring that initiatives align with Cedars-Sinai’s mission, vision and goals.

In his leadership capacity at Cedars-Sinai, Andy chairs the organization’s Retirement Committee and is a member of the Executive Diversity & Inclusion Council. He supports the Board of Directors by staffing the Executive Personnel (compensation) Committee and the Nominating & Governance Committee.

Andy joined Cedars-Sinai in 2016, after serving as senior vice president and chief people officer at Health Net, Inc. during its merger with Centene Corporation. At Health Net, Andy was responsible for strategy, policy development and administration of all aspects of human resources, including compensation, benefits, performance management and rewards, staffing, equal employment and diversity, leadership and talent development, organization effectiveness, and change management.

Hannah Reischl (she/her)

Director of Clinical Quality, Maven

Hannah Reischl, MPH is currently the Director of Clinical Quality at Maven, the largest virtual clinic for women's & family health offering continuous, holistic care on the path to parenthood. 

A public health business strategist and quality management leader with 15 years’ experience catalyzing complex business priorities into action to transform the role and capabilities of health systems.  Previous experience includes serving as Strategic Advisor to the Chief Quality Officer at University of Michigan Health, driving development of investment strategies for Kaiser Permanente’s National Office of Transformation, and managing operations for Federally Qualified Health Centers and community clinics. Hannah obtained her MPH at the Fielding School of Public Health in the Department of Health Policy and Management. 

In this session we will also remember the pioneering social justice legacy of the late Fielding School professor Ruth Roemer, who used the law to improve public health and advance health equity.