Flora Asuncion

Chief Operating Officer | One Community Health | Sacramento, CA | October 2020 - Present Upon return to the USA, took the role as COO for an FQHC clinic dedicated to delivering primary and specialty care. The community is diverse with both gender and race, payor is mixed with commercial, medi-cal and uninsured including care and treatment for people living with HIV, infectious disease. The role includes oversight across all operational areas and funding received from the Health plans, HRSA, Ryan White and other government funding authorities and grants. • Operational oversight for all areas of patient access including referrals, call center and front office, patient and provider scheduling; drive operational improvements in these areas in order to improve patient experience and patient access by reducing abandoned calls, long wait times, timely referrals processing and improve provider productivity through enhanced scheduling policy changes and redesign of the call center workflow and IVR • Implemented improvement on referrals workflow reducing backlog from 90 days to 30 days within 3 months • Works closely with the medical leadership and CMO to ensure provider schedules are balanced to the needs of patients and implemented same day access • Participates in the review and refresh of the sliding fee schedule and ensure affordability for patients as a safety net provider in the community • Planned annual clinics' operating hours and any changes required • Review and analyses patient demographics and need of the community and directs strategic initiatives to ensure equitable access to care for the vulnerable population • Oversight of HIM ensuring compliance to regulatory, minimum necessary, patient privacy requirements and ROI • Revamped and restructured the Quality department to be more encompassing and inclusive of patient safety, environment of care, patient advocacy and support in addition to clinical quality; established a joint oversight quality committee to include medical, operations and risk/compliance. • Oversight of Behavioural Health services and ensures access to mental and behavioural health are integrated and connects patients to care through case management, ensuring warm hand-offs between primary and mental health needs; reorganized the case management department that supports pathways to resources for community needs for homeless patients and those needing food assistance and transportation • Oversight of Facility and Maintenance department, including space planning, service planning and plant maintenance • Developed patient access strategy including enhancement of access for newborn, pediatric, wellness/preventive health screenings, enhanced program for chronic conditions, connecting new members to care and addressing gap in care for patients with HIV and ensuring gender and racial equity is met • Fiscal responsibility for Operations including annual budget preparation and monthly financial and operational accountability ensuring resources are adequate to meet patient demands, maintaining quality and safety • Interfaces directly with 2 large IPAs in the region; interacts regularly with major healthplans and ensures that pay for performance programs are achieved • Organized COVID operational readiness in collaboration with medical and nursing teams, established incident command protocols. • Manage internal and external relationships including but not limited to IPAs, Healthplans, CVHN, CPCA, UCDavis provider network and other community providers and leaders • Participate in the completion of the annual UDS, Section 330 Non Compete and OSHPD regulatory reporting; led 2021 PCMH submission and received re-accreditation • Participate in providing operational content for grant applications and review, planning and execution of milestone requirements • Reports and participates at the Board of Directors meetings on a monthly basis; also an active member of the Board's Finance and Quality committees • Designated and assumes interim CEO role when necessary and during CEO's absence, as per board approved policy Assistant Managing Director / Chief Operations Officer | PHCC | Qatar | August 2012 to July 2020 Delighted to have successfully managed a wide portfolio for this national governmental organization, responsible for the delivery of all primary care facilities across the State serving 2.6 million people across 27 facilities. The remit included leading health center Operations for all 27 primary care clinics, Clinical Affairs, Governance, New Health Centre Mobilisation and Emergency Response. In addition, deputised for the MD where appropriate when representing primary care and Qatar on a national and international platform. Workforce circa 7,500 staff from more than 80 nationalities. ● Implemented the National Health Strategy transforming primary care as the first and continuous point of contact in the health system. The first of its kind in the history of the country ● Led the establishment of a widely successful national cancer screening program for the country with a "call/recall" provision for breast and colon, including a 48-hour pathway for suspected cancer; worked with secondary and tertiary care in the development of patient pathways for the program ● Oversight of clinical affairs governance for government health centres by establishing framework on clinical standards, audits and professional competency framework ● Established the mobilization planning for opening of new/replacement facilities opening 12 new health centres including 6 wellness centres and cancer services ● Established Regional Specialists Centres in the community for better access to Mental Health, Cardiology, Paediatrics, Physical Therapy, Ophthalmology and Cancer Screening services for breast and colon ● Established the organization's Emergency and Disaster Preparedness structure, framework, terms of reference and its Major Incident Command as a requirement for readiness for the coming FIFA World Cup 2022 international event. Established Major Incident Command during COVID-19 and ensured surge capacity planning and response at community-level. ● As the senior responsible officer, provided the leadership to transition from paper to electronic records (Cerner) as a national mandate to have 'one record' ● Contributed to the development of the national framework for an Integrated Care delivery in the country that encompasses needs assessment and care coordination pathways ● Led the company in the 2- times successful international survey and accreditation; Platinum and Diamond level achieved- granted by Accreditation Canada International Director, Patient Access Revenue Cycle International Operations | Cleveland Clinic | UAE | 2011 to 2012 Joined this internationally renowned international expansion of the US based Cleveland Clinic model of care. ● Responsible for the patient flow & pathway design of the EMR (Epic) for patient scheduling and access ● In a greenfield environment, developed the initial workforce requirement to set up the RCM department ● From Cleveland Clinic USA to United Arab Emirates, adopted best practices on patient experience with consideration to local regulatory and cultural requirements ● Created a global patient services financial strategy & patient flow pathway for international & VIP patients ● Responsible for all governance & financial elements that ensured maximum billing & charge capture Various Leadership Positions | Kaiser Permanente | CA, USA | 1998 to 2012 Joined KP in 1998 during its turnaround time as a Business Strategy & Finance consultant to support the Joint Operations Group and identified, monitored and drove financial and operational changes. Progressed to various roles including Manager of Financial Planning Regional Office, Director of Performance Improvement, KP Redwood City, Chief Financial Officer KP San Jose and Regional Director Patient Care Services Northern California, specialising in Financial Performance and Enterprise Operations over 23 hospitals. ● Partnered with CEOs, CNOs, CFOs and Administrative Directors of hospitals to ensure cost-effective and efficient operations were in place at all times while being legally compliant to staffing requirements as well as staff and patient safety ● Ensured well-informed Labor-Management Partnership negotiations are well supported with reliable strategic data and analysis ● Modernised lagging and leading indicators for staffing practices across 23 hospitals to enforce efficient and effective staffing at all shifts ● Innovated and implemented new approach to reporting, monitoring and prospective view of staffing needs which resulted in enhanced staffing efficiencies and labor costs - $40m+ saved in the first year ● As hospital CFO, led the business strategy team in the development of the hospital's annual budget, facilities planning and equipment replacement planning for the hospital. ● Led the Business Office in achieving point of care revenue collections; first to achieve a collection rate of >90% in co-pays. ● Developed performance improvement initiatives around patient day utilization, bed throughput from ED to bed, improved nursing productivity and reduced supply costs in collaboration with hospital leaders and managers. ● Improved supply chain processes to reduce stock-outs or over-stock for medical supplies. ● Identified drivers of length of stay and avoidable admissions with physicians' support and buy-in ● Scrutinized monthly financial reports and directed variance reporting process and analysis. ● Created the reporting framework to monitor performance of Northern California hospitals; supported the Office of the President during the monthly Joint Operations Group review of financial results. ● Reviewed budgets submitted by each hospital, developed targets and allocation of targets to medical centers. QUALIFICATIONS and CERTIFICATIONS