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Facing a pressing Oct. 6 deadline to comply with a federal rule on information sharing, ten leading healthcare organizations are asking the government for more time.

 to the Department of Health and Human Services asking to push the deadline back a year. The groups include the American Hospital Association, American Medical Association, America’s Essential Hospitals and the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME).

“Based upon feedback from our members that continues to build, it is evident that both healthcare providers, clinicians and vendors are not fully prepared for the October 6th deadline,” the letter stated.

“Therefore, we are respectfully requesting that HHS consider both postponing for a period of one-year the information blocking compliance deadlines – including October 6th, as well using corrective action warning communications to providers/clinicians prior to imposing any monetary disincentives or beginning a formal investigation.”

CHIME, which helped organize the letter, said the organization continues to be a supporter of information sharing. Russ Branzell, president and CEO of CHIME, said that organizations are doing their best to comply but many won’t be able to meet that deadline.

“CHIME members remain steadfast in their dedication to be a trusted partner for patients and safeguard their ability to access their healthcare records, but it’s clear that more time is needed to ensure that providers have a thorough understanding of these important policies,” Branzell said in a 

. “There has not been enough guidance on best practices and potential enforcement.”

The federal government defines information blocking as efforts to deny or impede the access, sharing, or use of electronic patient health information. The government is pushing for the easier exchange of information between health systems, insurers and patients to improve outcomes.

Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology

 reports it has received 452 claims of possible information blocking. Most of the complaints have come from patients. More than 80% of the complaints (371 of the 452) involve accusations of healthcare providers blocking access to health information.

U.S. Secretary for Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra said in March that 

most complaints have involved healthcare providers

. He warned the government is going to be taking a harder look at organizations that are blocking access to information.

In a video address to the HIMSS conference, Becerra recounted a complaint involving a patient waiting to hear about a biopsy and being told the results are available, but the patient couldn’t get the results yet, because the doctor was out of town.

In the letter to the health department, CHIME and the other healthcare groups said a major impediment to compliance is “the widespread inability to support access, exchange, and use of EHI (electronic health information). There is no clear definition of EHI and there is a lack of a technical infrastructure to support its secure exchange.”

Healthcare organizations have been taxed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and a recent AMA survey said 

. CHIME argued that sticking with the deadline will only add to the stress of many overworked healthcare teams.

Healthcare systems are interpreting what data has to be shared, and what qualifies for exceptions, in different ways, the letter stated. Some areas of confusion include information regarding substance use and mental health, the letter stated,

Even large health providers are perplexed, smaller providers are likely to be more confused, the health groups said in the letter.

Smaller health systems are also relying on electronic health records vendors to comply, but hundreds of smaller health information technology vendors aren’t ready to meet the deadline, CHIME said. Vendors have a deadline to deliver required upgrades of Dec. 31, 2022, about three months after the deadline for providers to comply, the groups said.

In addition to postponing the deadline, the health groups asked the government to set up more training and education efforts, including some aimed at medium-sized and smaller providers.

Articles

The federal government has set an Oct. 6 deadline to comply with a rule designed to improve the spread of health data. The American Hospital Association, America’s Essential Hospitals and others say they need more time.

Health groups ask feds to delay information blocking deadline for a year

The federal government is making it easier for the public to find out about the ownership of nursing homes.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Monday it was making more ownership available for consumers, researchers and state and local officials.

President Joe Biden’s administration has touted more transparency in its efforts to drive improvement of nursing homes.

For the first time, the public will be able to clearly identify the owners of Medicare-certified nursing homes that own facilities in multiple states, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

In addition, the ownership data will also be linked to information outlining the performance of facilities, including the owners who have a history of subpar performance, CMS said.

Five trends worth watching in the post-acute care industry

Consumers and watchdogs will be able to get more information on about 15,000 nursing homes certified by Medicare, according to CMS. The data file on nursing home ownership will be posted to 

. The agency said the information will be updated monthly.

The data also outlines if nursing homes are owned by holding companies or consulting firms, including facilities with common ownership or management.

“We’re taking another major step forward in improving transparency in health care,” CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure said in a 

“Researchers, states, regulators and others will be able to use this new data source to learn more about the impacts that nursing home ownership structures have on the care provided to residents,” she said.

CarePort CEO Lissy Hu talks about using data to ease staffing shortages

 at nursing homes. The Biden administration has pushed for tougher penalties for nursing homes that have consistently fallen short in protecting patients.

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said the release of ownership data is another step aimed at improving nursing homes.

“President Biden has made clear that we must improve the quality of care in our nation’s nursing homes – and we are taking unprecedented steps to deliver on his call to action,” Becerra said in a statement. “Every family deserves the peace of mind of knowing their loved ones living in nursing homes are receiving the best possible care. We are continuing to make more data publicly available than ever before to improve transparency for researchers, regulators, and loved ones.”

Lawmakers have criticized nursing home operators for the high number of COVID-19 deaths in long-term care facilities. More than 200,000 residents and staff of nursing homes have died in the pandemic.

changes in the funding and operation of nursing homes.

 The report concluded “the way in which the United States finances, delivers, and regulates care in nursing home settings is ineffective, inefficient, fragmented, and unsustainable.”

Nursing home industry leaders have said they need more funding and support from the federal government. Industry supporters have said many nursing homes are financially distressed, and many have faced staffing shortages in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nursing home industry projects workforce won’t rebound until 2026

Six in 10 nursing homes and assisted living centers are limiting admissions due to staffing issues, the 

Hospitals have been affected by the staffing issues of nursing homes. Hospital leaders have said they have had to keep patients that could be discharged to post-acute care facilities, because there are no available nursing home beds.

The Health and Human Services Department said it is acting to help the public learn more about the ownership of 15,000 nursing homes. 

Biden administration releases more information on nursing homes

Physicians and other healthcare advocates have lambasted the process of prior authorization for years, but some are seeing a chance for reform.

Lawmakers in Congress are pushing legislation to streamline the prior authorization process in Medicare Advantage plans, which are utilized by millions of seniors. In prior authorization, physicians and practices must get approval from insurers on certain medications and treatments.

U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., has sponsored a bill to revamp prior authorization in Medicare Advantage plans. The House passed the bill, and it's now in the Senate.

While insurers contend prior authorization is designed at reducing unnecessary treatments and wasteful spending, doctors say the process is too demanding and often results in patients denied medications or at least seeing delays in treatment. They also say it siphons time from healthcare workers who are already overworked and understaffed, adding it’s a leading contributor to burnout.

Although some say demands eased during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, some healthcare providers contend 

. Healthcare organizations such as the American Medical Association and the Medical Groups Management Association have been pressing Congress for relief.

The House of Representatives passed a bill this month

 that would change the authorization process for Medicare Advantage plans, which serve 28 million Americans and are gaining in popularity. U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., sponsored the House 

, dubbed the “Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care to Act.”

The bill also commands strong support in the Senate, with 42 co-sponsors.

“I think we have a good shot” at Senate passage, said Claire Ernst, director of government affairs for the MGMA.

Under the bill, Medicare Advantage plans would be required to tell the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services how often they are using prior authorization and the rate of approvals and denials. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services would have to set up a process for “real-time” decisions for services that are typically approved.

The legislation would also establish an electronic prior authorization process, something healthcare organizations have wanted for years.

Even with broad support, Senate passage isn’t a lock, simply because there isn’t much time before the Congressional session ends in January (a factor affecting other healthcare priorities, such as 

). Lawmakers will be devoting much of their attention to the mid-term elections in November. Ernst said the bill will likely be addressed after the fall elections.

“I’m hoping by the end of the year, we will have passed both chambers and get this signed into law so we don’t have to do this again,” Ernst said.

While prior authorization has been around for years, doctors said the demands are growing, with a significant amount of time being spent on requesting approvals for treatments, and then appealing if requests are denied.

Nearly 4 in 5 medical groups (79%) said prior authorization requirements increased over the past year, according to a 

Most doctors say the process interferes with patient care.

 released in February, 93% of doctors said the prior authorization process leads to delays in patient care. More than four of five doctors (82%) said prior authorization sometimes leads to patients abandoning a recommended course of treatment. Roughly a third of doctors surveyed (34%) said prior authorization delays have led to adverse events in patients they were treating.

Chris Phillips, a rheumatologist in Paducah, Kentucky, told 

 that he has seen patients give up after denial.

“It’s a massive burden in time for staff,” Phillips said of the prior authorization process. “It leads to delays in therapy for patients.”

Payers say the goal is to ensure patients get the appropriate treatment and curb unnecessary spending, but Phillips said the process is limiting care.

“That all sounds good at 30,000 feet,” he said. “When you’re in the room with the patient, the medical provider has their medical training for a reason. It’s hard for the payer to replace our medical decision making from afar.”

“They’re making the medical decision for us, which is unfortunate,” Phillips said.

Many of his patients suffer from rheumatoid arthritis and autoimmune diseases. While his practice usually doesn’t see life-threatening outcomes when treatment is delayed, patients who don’t get timely approval tend to miss work more often.

With rheumatoid arthritis, “the earlier you treat it … the better the long-term outcomes,” Phillips said.

Insurers eased prior authorization processes in the height of the pandemic, Phillips said, “and we were thankful for that.”

“That’s all gone away at this point,” he said. “It’s really been back to business as usual.”

Doctors also described frustrating hassles with the authorization process, such as being issued a denial on a Friday and given 72 hours to respond, including the weekend. In some circumstances, a payer’s response would arrive on a Friday, and the deadline would expire Monday, Phillips said.

In some cases, they would eventually get approval, but not before starting the authorization process over.

Ruth Williams, an ophthalmologist in Wheaton, Ill., recounted some of her headaches with prior authorization. In an interview this spring, Williams told 

 about requests for cataract surgery that were denied. Some patients had surgeries canceled, Williams said.

“They say they approve 90% of cases,” she said. “If they are going to approve 90% of patients, why do they make us go through such an onerous process?”

After pressure from healthcare groups, Aetna announced in July that 

it was dropping its prior authorization requirement for cataract surgeries

. When Aetna introduced the prior authorization policy in 2021, the 

 said it had an immediate impact. The academy estimated 10,000 to 20,000 patients had cataract surgeries delayed in July 2021 alone.

After Aetna rescinded the authorization requirement, Stephen D. McLeod, CEO of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, said in a statement that the policy “was very difficult to understand since the indications for surgery are well established and the benefits clear.”

“This is an incredibly common procedure with some 4 million Americans undergoing cataract surgery each year,” he said. “It has an extremely high success rate with regards to safety and vision improvement, and studies have consistently shown that cataract surgery improves quality of life, lowers the risk of falls and car accidents, and is associated with reduced cognitive decline amongst older adults.”

Even with her experiences, Williams said she understands the need for prior authorization in some circumstances.

“We’re not saying prior authorization needs to be eliminated,” Williams said. “It does have its role.”

“Prior authorization as a mechanism, when it’s used appropriately, has a place in healthcare,” she added. “If someone is using an expensive drug for cancer treatment, it can be an evaluation of a cheaper alternative that’s equally effective, and that’s fair.”

However, Williams said it’s clear prior authorization must be improved.

“The process is not respectful of the patients and the doctors and their schedules,” she said.

Healthcare leaders and physicians said the prior authorization demands contribute to burnout, or at minimum, add stress to doctors and healthcare workers who spend hours on approval requests and appeals.

“There’s a million other stab wounds that lead to burnout. This is not the biggest one, but it’s high on the list,” Phillips said.

 roundtable on mental health last week, panelists noted administrative tasks play a big role in physician burnout. Lawrence Casalino, professor of healthcare policy and research at Weill Cornell Medical College, said processes such as prior authorization take a lot of time “and drive physicians crazy.”

In May, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an advisory 

urging healthcare organizations to address burnout

, and it mentioned reducing demands of prior authorization. Among many recommendations in the 

, Murthy suggested “reviewing the volume of and requirements for prior authorizations together with health workers” and “streamlining fax-based work such as prior authorizations to electronic and automated systems.”

More doctors are suffering from burnout, and health systems must do more

Too many prior authorization requests aren’t handled electronically, health leaders say. The Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare (CAQH) compiles an annual report, the 

, which measures progress in handling administrative tasks electronically. 

Prior authorization is one administrative function that is lagging behind

The report found 26% of prior authorization requests are handled fully electronically, and  39% authorizations were partially electronic. More than a third of prior authorizations (35%) were fully manual, meaning they were submitted by phone, fax, email or mail. DelBene, sponsor of the prior authorization bill, said on the House floor, “It’s 2022, and even Congress has moved beyond faxing.”

While the prior authorization bill focuses on Medicare Advantage and not the whole healthcare industry, supporters nonetheless say it would represent a significant accomplishment.

Advocates are making it clear to Congress that they can help some of America’s most vulnerable patients avoid unnecessary delays in care, said Ernst, the MGMA’s government relations director.

“That appeals to lawmakers on both sides of the aisle,” Ernst said.

Health groups say requests for authorization are delaying patient care and adding stress to overworked staff. Advocates say a bill to revamp the process for Medicare Advantage plans would help millions.

Reform to prior authorization could be coming

Almost all maternal deaths are preventable, a federal study has found, and advocates say that should be sounding an alarm to help protect mothers.

Over 84% of pregnancy-related deaths could have been prevented, according to a 

 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study examined maternal deaths from 2017 through 2019 in 36 states.

The new report found a much higher percentage of maternal deaths than a similar CDC study in 2019, which found 60% of fatalities could have been avoided, said Iffath Abbasi Hoskins, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has pushed for extending Medicaid benefits for all postpartum patients from 60 days to one year. More than half of the states have done that, but Abbasi Hoskins said others should follow suit.

“The CDC data reinforce that extending postpartum Medicaid coverage is sound policy, and states that have not done so are missing an opportunity to save lives,” she said in a 

The new CDC report “demonstrates that we have much more work to do to effectively address the underlying causes of maternal mortality in order to save the lives of pregnant and postpartum patients,” she said.

 Pregnant women with disabilities face higher risk of health issues

More than half (53%) of pregnancy-related deaths took place from seven days to one year after giving birth, the CDC reported. About 22% of the deaths occurred during pregnancy, while 13% of deaths happened on the day of delivery, and 12% of the fatalities occurred within one to six days of giving birth.

For the first time, the CDC found that mental health was a leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths, which Abbasi Hoskins said was significant. Mental health causes contributed to the largest number of deaths among white, Hispanic, and American Indian or Alaska Native mothers.

“These results demonstrate the impact that mental health issues have on our patients’ lives and that mental illness can be deadly,” she said in the statement.

Among Black mothers, cardiac conditions and cardiomyopathy were found to be the leading cause of death, the CDC report found. Abbasi Hoskins said that’s critical to understand the risk factors for Black patients.

However, the CDC report doesn’t include the fact that Black patients are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white patients, she said.

Abbasi Hoskins said it is “necessary to evaluate data using a health equity and racial lens. This is how we will be able to inform focused solutions that will eliminate inequities in care and outcomes that exist for Black pregnant and postpartum people.”

Lethenia Baker, an obstetrician/gynecologist at Wellstar Health in Georgia, told 

 there need to be improvements in diagnosis and treatment of postpartum conditions. “These are things that need to happen systemically,” Baker told 

. “It can't just be a few practices here or there who are adopting best practices. It has to be a systemic change.”

Boston Medical Center launched a remote patient monitoring program

 to monitor the blood pressure of patients who have had babies. Christina Yarrington, director of labor and delivery at Boston Medical Center, said some patients are at higher risk of hypertension and stroke within days after giving birth, and the greatest risk can occur after patients have been discharged from the hospital.

“This is the rub with hypertension,” Yarrington told 

. “They feel fine. They feel fine. They measure their blood pressure and it comes up as 180 over 110 … That’s high enough to give you a stroke. That’s high enough to cause cardiac damage.”

Virtually all of the patients checked their blood pressure with simple cuffs that required just the touch of a button. Boston Medical managed to identify some patients that needed treatment before suffering a stroke or heart attack.

“I think we’ve had a lot of near-misses, quite honestly,” Yarrington said. Boston Medical is now remotely monitoring the blood pressure of some patients during pregnancy. 

(Christina Yarrington talks about the remote monitoring program in this video. The story continues below the video.)

While the CDC study examined patients in 2017 through 2019, a separate study suggests 

the COVID-19 pandemic could have contributed to more maternal deaths

, found “small but significant increases” in pregnancy-related complications and maternal death.

“The increase in maternal death during delivery hospitalization and pregnancy-related complications during the pandemic is alarming,” the researchers wrote. They speculated that disruptions in prenatal care in the pandemic could have led to the increase in complications and maternal deaths.

President Biden's administration has focused on reducing maternal mortality. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 

plans to identify “birthing friendly” hospitals

. With the new "birthing friendly" designation, consumers can look for hospitals that have shown their commitment to excellent maternity care, CMS says.

A recent CDC report says most maternal deaths are preventable. Advocates call for more research to examine the causes of maternal mortality.

More than 4 in 5 maternal deaths can be avoided: ‘We have much more work to do’

Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, part of RWJBarnabas Health, broke ground on a new $225 million cancer center. It's slated to open in 2025. This rendering was provided by RWJBarnabas Health.

RWJBarnabas Health in New Jersey says it wants to reimagine cancer care, and the health system is building a new $225 million facility with that goal in mind.

Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, part of RWJBarnabas Health, broke ground on a new cancer center on its Livingston Campus last week. The five-story, 137,000 square-foot building is expected to be finished in 2025.

When completed, the facility will operate as the northern hub for cancer services offered by RWJBarnabas Health and Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey.

Richard L. Davis, president and CEO of Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, hailed it as a milestone in the transformation of the campus.

“The new Cancer Center at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center will be a regional destination for cancer care, building on the medical center’s long-standing legacy of clinical expertise and compassionate, patient-centered diagnosis and treatment,” Davis said in a statement. “We are celebrating the dawn of a new era in world-class cancer care.”

The renovation of the medical center has been spurred by a $100 million gift by Loen and Toby Cooperman in 2021. The 597-bed facility, formerly known as Saint Barnabas Medical Center, was renamed Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in their honor.

The new cancer center will provide medical, surgical and radiation services. It will feature 52 exam rooms, 46 private infusion rooms, eight treatment spaces for short stays, and six treatment spaces for extended stays.

In addition, the new center will offer other services to help patients, such as a patient wellness center with exercise, yoga and music programs; a fitting studio for prosthetics and wigs; holistic medicine, including reiki and art therapy; and a teaching kitchen focused on nutrition. 

(Here's video on the project by RWJBarnabas Health; the story continues below.)

Michael Scoppetuolo, medical director of the Cancer Center at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, said the new facility is being designed with patients in mind. He said it offers “a great opportunity to expand cancer care in New Jersey.”

“A cancer diagnosis is life-changing, and for many patients and their families, it is the beginning of a long and sometimes daunting journey,” Scoppetuolo said in a statement. “To that end, I am excited about the research and the top-quality patient care that will take place at this new center. We have an extraordinary medical staff and access to clinical trials and research which sets us apart from other institutions in the state and puts us at the leading edge.”

Alison Grann, chair of the hospital’s department of radiation oncology, said  the new cancer center will be "a game changer."

The medical center already offers “some some of the most advanced and comprehensive care in the state," Gran said.

““This new building will provide the physical environment to match the clinical excellence,” Grann said in a statement. “This best-in-class, freestanding cancer center will provide the highest-quality science, treatment, and psychosocial services available, distinguishing it from other centers in the region.”

RWJBarnabas is one of New Jersey’s largest hospital organizations. The system operates 12 acute care hospitals, a pediatric rehabilitation hospital, and a host of other sites offering healthcare services. RWJBarnabas employs 37,000 workers and 9,000 physicians.

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The new facility will offer medical, surgical and radiation oncology. Other features include a fitness center, along with yoga, art therapy and reiki. 

Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center is building a $225M cancer center

Chris Luoma is senior vice president, product management at GHX, a software company that helps healthcare organizations automate supply chain processes.

Driven by external pressures and internal demands from the very highest levels of the organization, healthcare providers are moving enterprise systems to the cloud to improve care delivery, minimize the impact of staff vacancies and reduce costs.

In fact, 96% are expected to move to the cloud by 2024, according to 

. Yet there are critical factors that can impact the success of a cloud migration.

Based on more than two years’ worth of insights across more than 4,500 providers and suppliers, GHX has found there are five often overlooked areas when it comes to cloud ERP migrations. Unfortunately, they are usually discovered after the migration is already underway, affecting implementation timelines, costs and labor requirements.

In turn, this negatively impacts hospital operations and ultimately patient care. Healthcare executives – and ERP implementation teams – need to take note of these five overlooked areas and consider best practice recommendations for mitigating their risks to avoid unnecessary costs and frustration.

 Purchase order (PO) transaction failures lead to patient care risks and lost revenue.

 PO failures are often due to an inadvertent lack of diligence in the supplier setup process. This can result in multiple transaction failures that impede clinical supply inventory and invoice payments. Once a PO failure is identified, administrative staff must then step in to do manual PO processing, putting the provider at risk of lost time, human error and supplier credit holds until the issue is resolved.

 At the onset of the project, fully vet all suppliers, properly set up their profiles and automate processes whenever possible.

 A weak foundation for item data makes it difficult to load data into multiple systems. It also makes it difficult to properly maintain the information necessary for understanding the true cost of delivering care while protecting margins.

 Apply a strategy that prioritizes a reliable data foundation to ensure clean item data and price information across the organization. This will help improve order cycles, bolster contract compliance and support timely revenue capture.

Not fully automating the invoice-to-cash process across all invoices.

: The cloud migration process creates an opportunity to automate processes but skipping this important step can result in increased labor costs, delayed payments and an inability to maximize working capital.

 Use invoice process automation tools because they have proven to reduce work by up to 90%. Along with reducing labor costs, invoice process automation enables early payment rebates from suppliers, which also helps offset some of the cloud migration costs, which can frequently range between 50 to 200 million dollars for the first year.

 Clinicians are missing item information needed for patient documentation.

 A lack of deep clinical integration between operations and the supply chain creates unnecessary administrative burdens on clinicians, impacting their ability to spend as much time as possible focusing on patient care.

During the cloud migration design phase, take into consideration additional data attributes such as item dimensions and product classification that must be managed within the contract catalog and item master. This will reduce clinical supply variation and help improve patient outcomes.

Integration problems arise as new releases are issued by the cloud ERP provider.

The healthcare organization’s solution provider doesn’t have a strong relationship with the ERP vendor. This limits their ability to test integrations and APIs prior to new releases. Therefore, every time operations are disrupted by cloud updates, already-over-burdened hospital IT staff must quickly reassign resources to address the integration issues, impacting productivity and revenue.

 During the solution provider qualification process, ask about their relationship with the ERP provider as well as their experience with cloud ERP migrations and certifications. This will help protect against disruptions as new releases are issued.

Healthcare providers are eager to accelerate cloud ERP migrations and quickly realize ROI from their efforts. Yet the project’s success hinges upon the proper strategy, awareness of potential risks and how to resolve them and a qualified solution provider to support the migration and ensure its ongoing success.

Only then can the benefits be fully realized – from the C-Suite down and throughout the entire provider’s organization to its suppliers and, ultimately, the people and communities they serve.

Healthcare executives need to take note of these overlooked areas in order to avoid unnecessary costs and frustration.

Mitigating the top 5 risks of moving to a cloud ERP system | Chris Luoma

Nicole Mushonga has joined UNC Health as its system executive director for health equity.

Mushonga will lead UNC Health’s equity efforts across the system. She will lead efforts in identifying barriers preventing access to care and developing inclusive practices that create a better environment for patients.

“I am excited to join an organization such as UNC Health whose mission is to improve the health and well-being for all North Carolinians and who prioritizes health equity,” Mushonga said in a statement. “This is an amazing opportunity to impact the lives of so many of our residents and I am honored to lead this work.”

Mushonga comes to UNC Health from Wake County Health & Human Services, where she led their public health division as the Interim Medical Director of Public Health & Epidemiology Director. Under her leadership, the division was recognized by the White House and National Association of County and City Health Officials for their health equity programs addressing COVID-19.

Previously, Mushonga was an epidemiologist for the Kern County Public Health Services Department in Bakersfield, Calif.

Audrea Caesar, UNC Health’s chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer, said in a statement that Mushoga “brings a unique skillset to our organization with her previous community health work, and her experience as an epidemiologist. She will be a great partner to the leaders of the healthcare system and will help us chart our course to reducing health inequities.”

Keck Medicine of USC hires its first diversity officer, GHX will see new leadership in the new year, and Premier Health hires its first chief clinical officer.