Betsy Chang Ha, Lean Healthcare

Instructor Profiles: Betsy Chang Ha, RN, MS, CPHQ

Betsy Chang Ha has over thirty years of public and private sector experience in the healthcare arena. She is a talented healthcare consultant specializing in developing integrated healthcare delivery systems focusing on improving patient experience, promoting optimal population health outcomes, and ensuring affordable care through Lean process design. She is currently the Director of Clinical Strategic Projects responsible for implementing an integrated care team model at Monarch Healthcare as part of the Accountable Care Organization (ACO) demonstration projects. Prior to joining Monarch Healthcare, she served as the Chief Quality Officer (CQO), Vice President of Performance Excellence and Patient Safety at AltaMed Health Services, one of the largest Federally Qualified Healthcare systems in the country. She was responsible for implementing a Patient-Centered Medical Home model integrating primary and senior care services through a team-based care. AltaMed received first –ever Primary Care Medical Home designation from the Joint Commission.

Prior to joining AltaMed, she served as the Statewide Chief Nurse Executive and Chief Clinical Turnaround Officer for the California Prison Healthcare Services under the Federal Receivership Corporation (CPR). She was responsible for building a patient-focused nursing services program from the ground up; creating the new Nurse Executive state classifications including a performance-based pay plan; and mentoring a cadre of civil services nurses as her successors at the headquarter, regional, and local levels. Concurrently, Ms. Ha was responsible for directing all clinical initiatives and programs including a quality improvement (QI) program, utilization/care management program and clinical information technology (IT) implementation, to achieve the Receiver’s Turnaround Plan of Action objectives within a tight timeframe in a fiscally responsive manner.

Prior to joining CPR, she was the Director of QI at the Center for Healthcare Strategies (CHCS). She was responsible for promoting the Chronic Care Model to improve healthcare quality for Medicaid beneficiaries. Her other areas of expertise include facilitating national and state quality improvement learning collaborative projects to improve chronic care management at the practice sites with health plans as leverage points; promoting county mental health system transformation through quality improvement approaches and organizational change management; and reducing disparity in healthcare related to race and ethnicity.

Prior to joining CHCS, Ms. Ha was the Director of Operational and QI at CalOptima, a county organized health system that provides managed health services to approximately 350,000 Medi-Cal (Medicaid) members. Prior to joining CalOptima, she was with MedPartners, a publically traded national provider management services organization, where she served as the Associate Director of Integrated Health Services, responsible for government programs, health plan compliance, care coordination/case management, and special projects in the Western Region. Ms. Ha has extensive clinical experience in improving care for the medically complex pediatric population. She developed the integrated continuity care and case management programs at the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. She provided national and international consultation to improving the healthcare delivery systems. Her clients included the State of California on the Pediatric Sub-acute Care Task Force, and Republic of China, Department of Health, Executive Yuan. She also served on the Board of Baldrige Examiners for California Awards for Performance Excellence. She was an Adjunct Professor at the American Sentinel University.

Ms. Ha has a master’s degree in Healthcare Management from California State University of Los Angeles and received a bachelor’s degree in nursing from University of Maryland, School of Nursing. She is a California Healthcare Foundation Healthcare Leadership Program Fellow, a Certified Lean Practitioner. In her free time, she promotes health, wellness, and vitality as a Certified Yoga Teacher.