Equity of Care

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This program has been developed and is presented locally by ACHE WFC. The American College of Healthcare Executives has awarded 1.5 ACHE In-Person Education Credits (previously called Face-to-Face Education Credits) to this program.

Event Description

We advocate for consistent care quality regardless of a patient’s background. Disparities in care persist, especially among uninsured individuals, low-income families, racial and ethnic minorities, and LGBTQ+ populations. The Affordable Care Act aimed to tackle access and equity issues by expanding health insurance coverage, but gaps remain. These gaps alter healthcare delivery and financing. Equity in care is fundamental to healthcare management, both ethically and commercially. Organizations must educate staff on disparities to address diverse patient needs effectively. Patient-centered care enhances clinical outcomes and satisfaction while reducing errors and costs. Addressing healthcare disparities is vital for organizational excellence and financial sustainability.

Agenda

5:00 pm – 6:00 pm – Networking

6:00 pm – 7:30 pm – Program

7:30 pm – 8:00 pm – Appetizers & Networking

(*Tickets inclues appetizers and non-alcoholic drinks. There will be a cash bar for those intersted).

Indra Sandal, Ph.D., M.B.A., Chief of Innovation, Tampa VA Medical Center, National Lead, VHA-Uber Health Connect Initiative – Moderator

Dr. Indra Sandal is the Chief of Innovation at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital & Clinics in Tampa, FL. She has a wide portfolio that includes collaborations with the VHA Innovation Ecosystem (VHAIE), academic and community partners, and national innovation leaders.

Dr. Sandal has 15+ years of experience leading transformational programs and innovation initiatives across academic, non-profit, and federal sectors. From 2019 – 2022, Dr. Sandal served as the Director of Innovation at the Memphis VA Medical Center and has held several prominent national and local facility innovation roles with VHAIE. From 2020-2022, Dr. Sandal was selected as the VHA Entrepreneur-in-Residence and Executive Management Fellow where she spearheaded the VHA-Uber Health Connect (VUHC) Initiative in 2022. The VUHC Initiative is a collaborative effort between the VHAIE, the Veteran Transportation Program, and Uber Health. The initiative offers rideshare as a supplemental transportation option for Veterans to get to and from their medical appointments and has offered over 145K rides to nearly 25,000 Veterans across 68 VA Medical Centers since January 2022. Since the beginning of the pilot, the VUHC Initiative has achieved over $111M in cost savings for VA from faster emergency and inpatient discharges and avoiding no-show/missed appointments.

Before joining VA, Dr. Sandal also held prominent research roles including Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Utah School of Medicine in Salt Lake City, UT from 2011-2014, and Research Assistant at Virginia Tech from 2005-2011. Her genetics and genomic research outcomes included 17 secured patents, 14 peer reviewed journal publications as lead author, 3 book chapters, and over 50 conference presentations worldwide.

Dr. Sandal currently serves as a faculty member for Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Catalyst program. Dr. Sandal has an M.B.A. from Northwestern University-Kellogg School of Management, a Ph.D. in Biotechnology from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Institute, India, and an M.S. in Life Sciences from Kanpur University, India.

Dr. Sandal is a recipient of the 2023 Service to the Citizen Award, an award that recognizes public servants who demonstration excellence in their delivery of services that impact the public’s lives. She is also the recipient of the 2023 Dr. Robert L. Jesse Award for Excellence in Innovation for her outstanding work with the VUHC Initiative. The Dr. Robert Jesse award is presented to VA employees who have demonstrated brilliance enabling the discovery and spread of healthcare innovation that exceeds expectations, restores hope, and builds trust within VA.

Alisha Stanton, MSW, LICSW, Chief, Social Work Service, Bay Pines, VA Healthcare System

Alisha Stanton serves as the Chief, Social Work Service at the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System in VISN 8 with a passion for serving Veterans, their families and her staff. She has 19 years of Federal Service, including service in the United States Army. She aspires to unleash the full potential of her team by creating a healthy work environment that allows team members to reach their full potential in service to Veterans Health Administration (VHA). She has oversight of multiple VHA programs that focus on social determinants of health to promote health care equity for Veterans.

Tricia Penniecook, MD, MPH, Vice Dean for Faculty and Global Affairs, University of South Florida, College of Public Health

Tricia Penniecook has over 25 years’ experience as an academic leader, educator, public health administrator, physician, executive coach and change strategist. She is an expert in accreditation, having served as site visit member and chair as well as national board member of the Council for Education in Public Health. Her experience as Interim Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Vice Dean for Education and Faculty Affairs at the University of South Florida, serve as a platform for her purpose: being a trusted advisor for women of color who are leaders in academia.

She graduated from Medicine and Public Health from Universidad de Montemorelos, Mexico. She has worked in Public Health Practice as County Health Director, State Health Director and Epidemiologist in the Ministry of Health in Costa Rica, as adviser to the President and CEO of Costa Rica’s National Health Care System and Director of the National Center for Strategic Development and Research. She became the first Afrolatina Dean of the School of Public Health at Loma Linda University, leading the school to be among the first to adopt the new Framework for Public Health Education, with emphasis on Health Equity, a global presence and a faith-based foundation. She also served as Vice-President of Academic Administration at Oakwood University, an HBCU in Alabama.

She has been the Vice-Dean for Education, Faculty and Global Affairs, University of South Florida, College of Public Health for six years. She provided strategic leadership for all academic, educational, student and faculty related matters within the College till January 2023. After serving as Interim Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the University of South Florida, she returned to the College of Public Health as Vice Dean for Faculty and Global Affairs and Chair of the CEPH reaccreditation process.

She is the President and CEO of BossStar Leadership Solutions, an organization created for Women of Color in Higher Education to prevent, manage and overcome burnout. It is in this role that she designs and leads workshops in health and higher education institutions. She is a Certified Executive Coach, providing group and individual coaching to women who are or aspire to be executive leaders.

She served as Co-host of Pink Room Live, the webcast arm of 4RealWomen International, an organization that works towards the empowerment of Girls and Women in North and Latin America and the Caribbean. She is no stranger to starting over and leading change, and believes that women need to be empowered with knowledge, skills and opportunities to step confidently into their life’s purpose.

Selynto R. Anderson, Ph.D., Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer, Lee Health

Selynto R. Anderson, Ph.D., joined Lee Health in September 2022 as Chief Equity & Inclusion Officer and is responsible for championing, developing, executing and overseeing Lee Health’s social inclusion and equity strategy and programs. Prior to joining Lee Health, Dr. Anderson served as VP Community Health & Health Equity/Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer at Self-Regional Healthcare in Greenwood, S.C., where he spent the first 15+ years of his career and held various positions. He started as a community health educator and grew into management and other key leadership roles, including manager of cardiopulmonary rehabilitation & transitional rehabilitation, director of occupational health services and director of community prevention and wellness services. Some of his career accomplishments include: leading an initiative to implement social determinants of health into the electronic health record to proactively monitor and track aspects of population health; grant writing that resulted in the implementation of a Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) substance abuse program; developed policies and procedures around population health management that included health outcomes and patterns of development; and designed a Community Health Needs Assessment and Implementation Strategy that addressed health disparities, health equity and the social determinants of health. Dr. Anderson earned his bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology and a master’s degree in Education from Anderson University in Anderson, S.C. He also earned a doctorate in public health from Walden University in Minneapolis, holds a certificate in diversity management in health care from the American Hospital Association and was a Thomas C. Dolan Career Accelerator Program Scholar through the American College of Healthcare Executives.