Tell us a bit about your background and the story of how you came to be connected to Kyruus Health?

I am Vice President of Regulatory at Kyruus Health, where I provide oversight and ownership for all regulatory matters and am responsible for developing, monitoring, and executing on overall corporate regulatory and compliance initiatives.

Prior to Kyruus Health, I was Vice President of Healthcare Policy Research at Capstone, advising private equity firms on the impact of regulation on healthcare organizations within their portfolio and related transactions. Previously, I served as an Attorney Advisor for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, investigating and auditing a comprehensive range of complex healthcare fraud, including Medicare, Medicaid, and other government and private payers.

I was also Assistant Counsel for the U.S. Senate Sergeant at Arms Office of the General Counsel, supporting regulatory compliance on Capitol grounds and all Senate buildings. I am a graduate of Texas Southern University School of Law and Hampton University.

What is something about you that you would want others to know more about?

I am a proud graduate of two Historically Black Colleges and Universities (“HBCUs”), Hampton University and Thurgood Marshall School of Law (Texas Southern University). 

Throughout their 150-year history, HBCUs have experienced a history of public underfunding compared to other colleges and universities. One result of this historical underfunding is vast inequities in endowments. Many HBCUs are at the mercy of annual federal appropriations funding through Title III, Part B of the Higher Education Act, which can engender an apprehension of potentially losing a vital source of financial support. Funding endowments would lift the financial burden off HBCUs and provide them with the support to offer scholarships to prospective students, improve and maintain facilities, pursue research initiatives, or expand and improve academic programs.

From your perspective, what does celebrating Black History Month mean to you?

Black History month means the celebration and amplification of Black Americans’ history, lives, and contributions. Black history month embraces the 400-year-long record of Black life in America and includes stories and activism against slavery and modern-day racism.

How do you perceive the role of care access in health for the Black community?

In the U.S., Black adults encounter a range of factors, including access to care barriers, environmental problems and less-advanced care from healthcare providers — contributing to worse health outcomes.

According to PEW data, a majority of Black adults say less access to quality medical care where they live is a major reason why Black people in the U.S. generally have worse health outcomes than other adults. With this data in mind, the role of care access in health for the Black community is integral to achieving better health outcomes overall and decreasing health disparities spurned by social determinants of health. Social determinants of health such as unequal access to healthcare, lack of education, stigma, and racism are linked to health disparities; these factors can be addressed in part by improving the quality of care access in the Black community.

 

What are the most significant gaps that must be addressed to achieve more equitable care?

Health equity, or equitable care, describes an ideal state where each individual has a fair and just opportunity to attain and maintain their highest level of health. Achieving this requires focused and ongoing societal and regulatory efforts to address historical and contemporary injustices; overcome economic, social, and other obstacles to health and healthcare; and eliminate preventable health disparities.

Tell us a bit about your background and the story of how you came to be connected to Kyruus Health?

I have over 18 years of experience as an operations leader, demonstrating proficiency in managing diverse business programs at all levels, encompassing planning, budgeting, development, and administration. My expertise includes strong operational and leadership skills, deep knowledge of strategic planning, and a proven track record of building high-performing teams dedicated to delivering customer value. I take pride in fostering trust-based relationships with staff, peers, and leaders at various levels.

Shortly after joining UAB Medicine 10 years ago, we established a connection with Kyruus Health and eagerly delved into the details of the product offering, with both organizations eager to explore innovative solutions in healthcare.

How would you identify yourself?
I identify as an American Female of African descent. My heritage and cultural background are important aspects of who I am, and I take pride in my identity.

From your perspective, what does celebrating Black History Month mean to you?

Celebrating Black History Month holds great significance to me as it provides an opportunity to honor and acknowledge the remarkable contributions, achievements, and resilience of Black individuals throughout history.

It is a time to reflect on the struggles and triumphs of the Black community, recognizing the leaders, activists, and everyday heroes who have shaped our world.

It is a call to celebrate diversity, promote understanding, and foster unity; reminding everyone that the narrative of Black history is an integral part of the broader human story, and by recognizing and appreciating this history, we contribute to building a more inclusive and equitable future for all.

How do you perceive the role of care access in health for the Black community?

Access to quality healthcare plays a pivotal role in addressing and mitigating health disparities that disproportionately affect Black individuals. Based on my experiences, here are a few key aspects of how care access influences health for the black community:

• Management of chronic conditions: access to ongoing healthcare is vital for managing chronic conditions prevalent in the Black community, such as hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease.
• Maternal and child health: access to prenatal care, family planning services, and maternal health support contributes to healthier pregnancies and better outcomes for both mothers and infants.
• Preventive care and early intervention: timely access to preventive care and early intervention services is crucial for maintaining overall health.

What are the most significant gaps that must be addressed to achieve more equitable care?

Achieving more equitable care requires addressing various gaps in the healthcare system. From my experience, some of the most significant gaps include:

• Access to healthcare services: Disparities in access to healthcare facilities and services contribute to unequal health outcomes. Addressing geographical, financial, and cultural barriers is crucial.
• Cultural competence and sensitivity: Inadequate cultural competence and sensitivity among healthcare providers can result in disparities in treatment and care. Training and education programs are needed to enhance understanding and communication.
• Socioeconomic determinants: Socioeconomic factors, such as income, education, and employment, significantly impact health outcomes. Addressing these determinants is essential for achieving health equity.

These are just a few gaps but addressing these gaps requires a comprehensive and collaborative effort involving healthcare providers, policymakers, community organizations, and individuals. It involves systemic changes, policy reforms, and a commitment to creating a healthcare system that is truly equitable and inclusive.

SUNDAY

CHIME Welcome Reception

5:30 PM — 7:00 PM PST at the Platinum Ballroom @ JW Marriott

We’re looking forward to kicking off the ViVE conference with other CHIME members.

Good Night @ ViVE’ Welcome Reception

7:00 PM — 9:00 PM PST at the Los Angeles Convention Center in the Petree Plaza, Hall A (North) Plaza

Let’s walk the purple carpet and feel like a star as we enjoy a taste of LA and a drink together.

MONDAY

Session: Head to Toe Health

10:00 – 10:45 AM PT at the Downtown LA Stage

Witness the industry shift towards holistic care by integrating behavioral health into standard settings, overcoming challenges in physicians’ training and strained environments. Envision a future where healthcare is proactive, nurturing both physical and behavioral well-being for a healthier society.

MODERATOR: Jenna Ciotti, Vice President | Transformation Capital

SPEAKERS

• David L. Holmberg, President and Chief Executive Officer |Highmark Health
• Eva Borden, President, Behavioral Health | Evernorth Health Services
• Manish Sapra, Executive Director, Behavioral Health Service Line | Northwell Health
• Tarun Kapoor MD, Chief Digital Transformation Office | Virtua Health

Session: High Quality that isn’t an Act

4:00 – 4:45 PM PT at the Sunset Strip Stage

Explore the challenges healthcare leaders face in delivering top-tier experiences within budget constraints, leveraging technology to drive safety, improve working conditions, and create person-centric care, all while proving ROI for new tech-driven approaches.

MODERATOR: Lindsey Dunn Burgstahler, Vice President, Center for Health Innovation | American Hospital Association

SPEAKERS

• Amy Lu MD, MPH, Chief Quality Officer | UCSF Health
• Jose Azar, MD, EVP and Chief Quality Officer – Hackensack Meridian Health Network | Hackensack Meridian Health
• Nancy Gin, The Permanente Federation
• Rasu Shrestha, MD, MBA, Executive Vice President & Chief Innovation and Commercialization Officer | Atrium Health

TUESDAY

Session: Addressing Data Bias through the Lens of Hidden Figures

3:00 – 3:45 PM PT at the Venice Beach Stage

Delve into the critical issue of data bias in healthcare, understanding its historical impact and exploring its implications. Discover how ethical programming, particularly in AI, can combat bias in clinical decision support systems, emphasizing the importance of data consistency, real-time reporting, and thoughtful vendor selection.

MODERATOR: Andrea Daugherty CISSP, CHCIO, CDH-E, Chief Digital Health Officer | SHI International

SPEAKERS

• Chani Cordero, CIO | San Antonio Military Medical Center
• Dr. Zafar Chaudry, MD, MS, MIS, MBA, CITP, Senior Vice President – Chief Digital Officer & Chief Information Officer | Seattle Children’s
• Mike Mosquito CHCIO, MBA, CDH-E, Emerging Technology and Innovation | Northeast Georgia Health System
• Stuart James, MBA, NACD.DC, Vice President, IS Chief Operations Officer and Deputy CIO | CHRISTUS Health

Session: Health Systems’ Big Bet on Innovation

4:00 – 4:45 PM PT at the Rodeo Drive Stage

Uncover the mysteries of innovation centers within health systems, exploring how they reshape healthcare from the inside out. Navigate the complexities of disrupting a deeply rooted industry, staying agile, and addressing the challenges of change management. Encouraging health systems to embrace innovation as patients now have diverse options from digital health startups and other entrants.

MODERATOR: Linda Finkel, CEO | AVIA

SPEAKERS

• Chris Waugh, Vice President, Chief Design & Innovation Officer  | Sutter Health
• Michelle Stansbury, Vice President, Innovation and IT Applications | Houston Methodist
• Rebecca Kaul, PhD, Sr. Vice President, Chief of Innovation & Transformation | Northwell Health
• Sara Vaezy, EVP, Chief Strategy & Digital Officer | Providence

On Monday and Tuesday, there will also be show floor networking receptions from 5:00 – 6:00 PM PT. Be sure to stop by our Kyruus Health booth #1330 to talk to our team about how we’re enabling hospitals, medical groups and health plans to improve access to care, inform vital care decisions, increase transparency, and streamline workflows. Let’s all come away from ViVE inspired with new ideas to transform healthcare for all.

Tell us a bit about your background and the story of how you came to be connected to Kyruus Health?

I have always enjoyed working with numbers. I started working as a data analyst in 2015. In 2017, I started working in the healthcare field as a consultant and in 2021 I joined Healthsparq, which was later acquired by Kyruus Health. I’m currently a Senior Data Analyst on the Data Operations & Quality team here at Kyruus Health.

How would you identify yourself?
I identify as a Ghanaian American.

How would you describe your experience with this identity?
My experience with my identity has been hard, but rewarding. I spent the first half of my life in Ghana before moving to the US. My family sacrificed a lot for me to have this opportunity so I use that as my motivation and strive to be the best version of myself daily.

What is something about you that you want others to know more about?
I’m a sports fanatic. I enjoy watching basketball but I love playing soccer. I’m a diehard Boston Celtics and FC Barcelona fan. Since moving to the US, I have lived in 4 states and 10 cities.

From your perspective, what does celebrating Black History Month mean to you?

Black History Month is a reminder to me that if it wasn’t for the hard work, dedication, courage, and resilience of the many black activists, innovators, civil rights leaders before me, I wouldn’t have the opportunities afforded to me today. It’s a month to honor the contributions and sacrifices of African Americans who have helped shape the nation.

How would you encourage your colleagues to honor and celebrate this month?

I would encourage them to support black-owned businesses, educate themselves on black history, read books from black authors, and donate to black organizations and charities.

Tell us a bit about your background and the story of how you came to be connected to Kyruus Health?

I’m a registered nurse by background. My expertise in leveraging facts and information to improve healthcare makes me passionate about what I do, because data doesn’t lie. It’s important to remember that healthcare has nuances though — it’s not just about hard data but about people.

I joined the Kyruus Health board via a search firm, but I also knew another board member, Gary Gottlieb, who helped me to secure the position. This shows why it is important to leave a positive legacy imprint with people.

How would you identify yourself?
Patricia Hill Collins has a book about intersectionality that describes how you can define yourself as ‘black, a woman, a wife.’ It’s kind of the matrix of that intersectionality. Obviously, I identify as a black woman, but I am so much more than that.

How would you describe your experience with this identity?
I love this question. You are often told how you should be. In high school, I was told I could be a teacher, social worker, or nurse and it really shaped my identity.

As an African American and a woman, I used to subconsciously apologize in situations that I shouldn’t because it was programmed into me, like when someone stepped on my foot. I don’t do those things anymore.

What is something about you that you want others to know more about?
I am tenacious and persistent to a fault — I mean that in a good and bad way. I will
keep pushing until they knock me down. It can be a very discouraging thing if you don’t know how to say, “we will reset our sights or go about it a different way.” So I always ask coworkers and people I work with to push back on me.

From your perspective, what does celebrating Black History Month mean to you?

It’s joyful. It means being proud. It makes you take a step back and think of other minorities and what they’re going through. Living in Florida has broadened my perspective on Spanish-Americans and what other minorities experience. You can love and embrace your history and be sensitive to other people’s history. I remember when Black History Month first became a thing, much like Juneteenth did recently, and everyone thought, “it’s not going to last,” but it has become celebratory.

How would you encourage your colleagues to honor and celebrate this month?

Every year I read another book. This year’s book is “Pregnant While Black: Advancing Justice for Maternal Health in America” by Monique Rainford. I chose this book because I am a neonatal nurse clinician by practice. In my field, you see the illnesses babies experience, as well as illnesses mother’s experience. Black women experience all of that and more — prenatal, postnatal, and challenges in having the medical community listen to them. I’ve seen first hand the lack of access issues African-Americans face in our country.

This year my daughter and I will also be going to the Boston Museum of Science’s new exhibit from ReRooted, an immersive experience of Black hair culture, part of the Museum’s Black History Month celebration.

How do you perceive the role of care access in health for the Black community?

Care access for the Black community is getting worse because of the challenges in the healthcare system itself. There are less practitioners, less appointment availability, and more illnesses being identified, but Kyruus Health is on the cusp of ensuring that everyone has access to quality care.

There is a stigma about mental health in the black community — there’s a “get over it” mindset. If a new mom going through postpartum depression has other kids with mental health illnesses, now you have a depressed mom taking care of a newborn and depressed teenager. If the teenager doesn’t receive the attention they need, it becomes an avalanche of cascading issues.

People also face challenges in obtaining adjunctive services. Exploring the possibility of co-locating services, which involves providing medical care along with child care, and advocating for legislation that supports individuals needing treatment without jeopardizing work commitments would have a positive impact on care access.

Lastly, emphasizing culturally appropriate care is crucial and fostering diversity should begin by incorporating culturally appropriate training in medical schools.

What are the most significant gaps that must be addressed to achieve more equitable care?

Basic public health is where we need to start, ensuring people have access to fresh fruit, transportation to medical appointments, and so on. Public health should focus on prevention and early diagnosis. In the simplest words, we can encourage folks by telling them to move and think good thoughts. Emphasizing that healthcare starts with you is important.

Some questions we should be asking are, how do you as a physician or school counselor help people feel more confident given their beliefs? How do you help people understand the basic diagnosis? The public health system needs to help the healthcare system better meet people where they are.

Tell us a bit about your background and the story of how you came to be connected to Kyruus Health?
I’ve been in healthcare all my life. I started volunteering at 13 years old with the Arthritis Foundation and Diabetes Association. At 16, I became a volunteer at the hospital where I was born and I presently serve on various committees and councils.

My introduction to health advocacy came from my grandmother, Mama Willie. As a child, I understood the importance of good health and learned quickly in Mama Willie’s journey that healthcare was not so caring to Black people. She taught me to make the world a better place, you must serve and to serve you must be well.

Professionally, I have over thirty years of experience as a medical social worker and patient advocate. My personal experience of navigating pediatric transplant for my son, DEI leadership with a national patient and family advisory council (PFAC) known as PFCCpartners, professional background, lived experience, and interest in health information technology led me to Kyruus Health. I call my connection to Kyruus Health professional kismet or destiny!

How would you identify yourself?
I am a brilliant, beautiful, black woman, rooted in human kindness with emphasis on kind. I am confident in my skin, culture, beliefs, and boundaries. The foundation of my identity is love.

How would you describe your experience with this identity?
There is a duality to my Black experience. One of pride and promise and one of sorrow and subjection.

My identity among family and peers is nurtured in honor and love for my skin, hair, lineage, spirituality, history, and community. My identity in some white spaces has been met with resistance and trepidation.

I often toggle between two worlds. My Black existence is openly accepted in Black spaces and in non-Black spaces having to shape shift. Imagine trying your hardest to fit in, blend in, shrink back, purposely strategize every word, meticulously plan every movement to make others comfortable. I’ve learned to read the room, walk gingerly, and wait for others to lean into my authentic voice.

What is something about you that you want others to know more about?
Storytelling is my superpower! I use the power of storytelling to connect, enlighten, empower, and move people to action.

Also, I find people-watching intriguing — reading emotions, gestures, and body language gives me a glimpse into who they really are behind closed doors. Oh, the things you see when people think you aren’t watching!

From your perspective, what does celebrating Black History Month mean to you?
Celebrating Black history month means intentionally sharing cultural stories, hymns, recipes, inventions, adversities, and triumphs of Black people. It gives way for inclusion of Black culture in spaces that aren’t so receptive. It ignites the fire in me to carry on the work of my ancestors.

How would you encourage your colleagues to honor and celebrate this month?
I invite my colleagues to create safe spaces for the Black community to share the past, honor the present, and celebrate the future.

To not just learn about Black culture but to hear Black voices — hear with your heart the tremble, the whisper, the crashing waves of emotions that come with living in Black skin.

Experience what Black joy looks like, let it soothe you, intoxicate you, envelop you, let it move you to change.

How do you perceive the role of care access in health for the Black community?
The role of care access in health for the Black community should be fluid, seamless with multiple intersections of care. The Black community needs better access to quality healthcare. It involves eliminating social determinants of health and improving health outcomes.

Opening more corporate spaces and engagement opportunities for Black voices to share what is truly needed in our communities. Care Access should include representation from Black patients and families to serve on boards, committees, and advisory councils.

What are the most significant gaps that must be addressed to achieve more equitable care?
Closing the gaping hole of health disparities is paramount. To achieve more equitable care, we must address all barriers. Health systems approach gaps, bottom up instead of top down. Healthcare has become more about business, less about the body. Overtime, it has minimized care and maximized cost. Equitable care looks inclusive and diverse with everyone having access to exceptional care.

Anything else you want to say?
Quality Healthcare is a right, not a privilege! Thank you Kyruus Health for making space for Black voices, for all voices.