About the Paul Torrens Health Forum at UCLA FSPH
The UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and Center for Healthcare Management at UCLA are pleased to present the Paul Torrens Health Forum. Named in honor of Dr. Paul Torrens who devoted his career to bridging the academic and practice worlds, this free, public program provides a venue to debate and discuss critical issues in public health. Featuring a panel of experts and a robust question and answer session, the Paul Torrens Health Forum draws a knowledgeable and engaged audience who cares deeply about the future of public health.
To join the Paul Torrens Health Forum invitation list and receive information about upcoming sessions, please email lerskine@ucla.edu.
ABOUT PAUL TORRENS
Dr. Paul Torrens was Professor Emeritus of Health Policy and Management and founder of the Paul Torrens Health Forum at UCLA, a speaker series featuring healthcare leaders and professionals exploring critical issues in public health. For more than 40 years at the Fielding School, Dr. Torrens patiently guided, mentored, and advised generations of students, helping many shape distinguished careers in public health. A physician by training, he had a long career in both healthcare management and policy.
Throughout his career, Dr. Torrens was committed to bridging the academic and practice worlds and has helped create a community of people who care deeply about health. Thanks to his leadership, the Paul Torrens Health Forum is a premier source of discovery and conversation on the prevailing health issues of the day. Nowhere else on campus can you find such a critical venue for the Fielding School community to engage in dialogue on the present challenges in public health and to discuss the path ahead.
Past Sessions
Agendas of the Health Forums are available below.
Recordings of the Health Forums are available several days after the event on UCLA Fielding’s YouTube page.
IMPLICATIONS OF RECENT POLICY ON THE CALIFORNIA HEALTHCARE COMMUNITY
February 7, 2024
The initiatives and policies created in Sacramento directly impact healthcare providers and the patients they care for. Our panelists will address some of these issues including cost shifts from the public to the private system, increased access for Medi-Cal patients, expanded coverage for the undocumented, an increased minimum wage, and efforts to impact healthcare affordability.
Featured Speakers:
Dustin Corcoran, MBA
Dustin Corcoran is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the California Medical Association (CMA), a non-profit professional organization of nearly 50,000 physicians dedicated to protecting public health and promoting the science and art of medicine. As CEO, Mr. Corcoran has the responsibility for the overall supervision, direction, and control of the business and staff of CMA. Mr. Corcoran has advocated tirelessly for California physicians and the patients that they serve since 1998.
Louise McCarthy, MPP
Louise McCarthy is the President & CEO of the Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County (CCALAC), where she represents the interests of LA area community health centers and those they serve. Before joining CCALAC, Ms. McCarthy was the Assistant Director of Policy for the California Primary Care Association, where she worked on statewide legislative, regulatory and administrative issues impacting California’s community health centers. Ms. McCarthy is a board member of the California Primary Care Association (CPCA), California Health Plus Advocates, and Urban Voices Project. She holds a Masters in Public Policy and is a Senior Fellow at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs.
CCALAC has completed two related projects: Creating Jobs Amidst Workforce Shortage (brief, infographic) and Expanding Access to Care for All (brief, infographic).
Tom Priselac, MPH
Tom Priselac has served as President and CEO of Cedars-Sinai since 1994 and was also named President and CEO of the Cedars-Sinai Health System when it was formed in 2017. Throughout his career, Mr. Priselac has been a leader in the development of strategic and operational innovations to foster high-quality, safe and efficient healthcare. An author and invited speaker on policy issues regarding the delivery and financing of healthcare, Mr. Priselac has served the healthcare field in various roles during his career at Cedars-Sinai. He is a past Chair of the American Hospital Association Board of Trustees and past Chair of the Association of American Medical Colleges. The holder of the Warschaw/Law Endowed Chair in Healthcare Leadership at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Mr. Priselac also serves as an adjunct professor at the UCLA School of Public Health.
Tom’s recent Health Affairs article examines the cost shift from public to private payers.
Moderator:
Paul Viviano, MPA
Paul S. Viviano is a healthcare leader and a prominent advocate for the cause of child health regionally and nationally. He has led Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) as President and Chief Executive Officer since late 2015. Under his leadership, CHLA has been named a top children’s hospital nationally on U.S. News & World Report’s Best Children’s Hospitals Honor Rolle and globally by Newsweek magazine. The hospital is home to one of the largest pediatric residency and fellowship training programs in the country and advances care and research discoveries for children that are widely adopted as best practices in pediatric care.
AI IN HEALTHCARE: WHERE ARE WE AND WHERE ARE WE GOING NEXT?
December 6, 2023
Artificial Intelligence (AI) promises to dramatically shift how we develop medicine, treat patients, and manage the commercial side of healthcare.
Artificial intelligence holds great promise to help medical professionals gain key insights and improve health outcomes. AI holds the promise of addressing healthcare problems such as chronic illness, workforce engagement, and hospital readmissions. These factors are leading healthcare organizations, insurance companies, and pharma and life sciences organizations to think critically about their AI strategies. AI could change the mountain of unstructured healthcare data that goes unused by facilitating searches and queries.
Please join us in person for networking and a conversation. This event will not be livestreamed but will be available following the event on the FSPH YouTube channel.
Featured Speakers:
Sam King, MPH, MBA, CPHIMS, CPHQ, FHIMSS, FHFMA
Sam is currently the Chief Operating Officer for Medical Intelligence 10, a unique artificial intelligence in medicine startup, and serves as Chief AI Evangelist and Strategic Adviser for AI Med. Sam is a seasoned healthcare executive, faculty member, and consultant with 30 years of experience in health IT, healthcare finance, big data analytics, artificial intelligence and continuous quality improvement, serving as COO, CIO, VP of Analytics, Senior Director, Director of Medical/Healthcare Informatics, etc. for payers, hospitals, medical groups, and startups.
Susan Kum, MPH
Susan, MPH '14, is Vice President of Technology Enablement at Greater Good Health, a senior-focused value-based care organization. In this role, she oversees IT infrastructure, the clinical technology stack, the data warehouse, and IT security and compliance. Prior to her role at Greater Good Health, Susan worked in product management, innovation, strategy, and operations roles at past organizations such as Landmark Health, Alignment Health, and Kaiser Permanente.
Paul Lukac, MD, MBA, MS
Paul is Lead Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Ambulatory Physician Informatist at UCLA Health. He co-leads the Health AI Council, which is responsible for the governance of AI models deployed at UCLA Health. Additionally, Dr. Lukac has contributed to the development and use of multiple AI models at UCLA Health and has presented and spoken nationally on the governance and ethical use of AI in healthcare. As a physician informaticist, Dr. Lukac’s interests include clinical decision support and workflow optimization. He is proud to be a “Double Bruin” and a recent graduate of UCLA’s Clinical Informatics Fellowship.
Moderator:
Erin McInerney-Prichard, MBA, MA
Erin has spent 17 years within the healthcare ecosystem, including the pharmaceutical sector, health policy, and management consulting. She has partnered on AI-driven interventions for the past 9 years with health systems, pharmaceutical and biotech companies, and companies within the health technology, digital health, remote monitoring, and wearable drug delivery sectors. In her consulting capacity today, she works on public private partnerships (PPPs) that leverage AI and emerging technologies in pursuit of the quadruple aim. Additionally, Erin currently serves on the board of directors for a chronic disease management startup, Ayuda Health, and as the Executive Director of a 501(c)(19) organization dedicated to providing resources, research and advocacy for US veterans seeking access to both traditional and emerging mental health treatments.
