About


Having been “around the block” in healthcare many times, I’ve learned that nothing in medical school prepares you for the real-world challenge of giving excellent care in a constantly changing environment. Moving up from private-practice Internal Medicine and Pediatrics physician to hospital Chief Medical Officer, I’ve gained the hands-on experience and practical wisdom to solve problems for healthcare professionals and organizations at every stage along their journey.
After years on the Primary Care frontlines, I wanted to look around corners into the future of healthcare. My leadership path began as Medical Director at ZOOM+Care, where I oversaw operations, quality, and hiring for 33 clinics across Oregon and Washington. I thrived in Zoom’s innovative, “patient-centric” environment and loved running the 3-hour monthly educational seminar “Zoom University.” I then joined Legacy GoHealth Urgent Care as Associate Medical Director, where I helped teach the Physician Assistant “Boot Camp” training program, managed 14 Portland Metro clinics through a measles outbreak, stabilized 70 providers through a difficult leadership transition, and brought our best practices to the GoHealth San Francisco market to improve their performance.
Moving from the world of start-ups back to traditional medicine, I joined Legacy Health as Medical Director of the “Medical Home” ambulatory quality program. This was a rich experience in Primary Care clinical metrics, incentives, and performance, where I developed a powerful “best practices” approach drawn from the winning techniques of 25 top-performing PCPs. My next move was Hospital Chief Medical Officer at Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center, where I tackled the complexities of the post-pandemic hospital landscape, ranging from high length of stay, financial headwinds, and service line gaps, to medical staff issues, clinical quality problems, and even severe weather impacts.
From facing these many challenges as a healthcare leader, I’ve learned that the best solutions spring from a blend of deep listening, powerful critical thinking, and good old common sense. But that’s just half the battle. Because getting teams to implement the right solutions requires more: nuanced emotional intelligence and the courage to name “the elephant in the room"... and then do something about it. I started Novella Insights to do my part to bring us into a better healthcare future. I promise to bring my hard-won, real-world expertise to tackle your healthcare challenge, and I hope you will work with me to help build that future.
I love to salsa dance! I learned salsa over many medical trips across Latin America, including rural surgery in Ecuador, infectious disease in Peru, medical Spanish in Guatemala, and some pre-med goofing around as a waitress in Chile. I am near fluent in Spanish and proficient in French, and experiencing other countries’ healthcare systems first-hand has given me an out-of-the-box perspective on our own system. Ask me about surgical assisting in a semi truck in the Ecuadorian rainforest!
A Personal Note


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Brought in $9 million annually during early pandemic through best practices approach to Legacy Health Medical Home program
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ZOOM+Care voted “Best Primary Care Doctor” in Willamette Week “Best of Portland” 2017 survey
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NW GoHealth market top financial performer nationally in 2019
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Slashed rates of hospital-acquired infections at Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center (urinary tract infection down 43%, C. diff abdominal infection down 64%, surgical site infection down 60% from Fiscal Year 2023 to FY24)
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Increased employee engagement score at LMHMC from 58 to 66 from 2023 to 2024
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Decreased inpatient length of stay at LMHMC from 6+ days to 4+ days, with significant positive financial impact
Key Accomplishments


How I Can Help You
Use Cases
You are a medical practice or organization facing any number of challenges in this new healthcare landscape: poor team dynamics, inefficiencies or unnecessary variation in clinical protocols, sagging quality numbers, a new metric or regulatory requirement that needs a workflow, advanced practice providers who could function better, new AI tools that might add value or headache, and so on. I can dig deep into the problem and work with you to create a practical solution.
Rx for your practice
Maybe you are a medical start-up with a blockbuster idea, but it needs grounding in clinical reality. As a still-practicing physician with decades of experience, I can help you bring it to life clinically. Or you are an AI or tech company needing medical expertise across settings: Primary Care, Urgent Care, hospital, leadership, regulatory. I speak “provider,” “administrator,” “regulator,” and “patient/customer” fluently, and can help you decode what the people around you are really saying. Bring me in as a consultant to refine your approach.
Your tech company needs a doctor
Perhaps you sense that "business as usual" is no longer working in healthcare. You are trying to see around corners into the future, but lack the bandwidth to do the research yourself. Hire me as a part-time CTO or CMO to propel your clinic or organization forward into what comes next.
“Fractional" Chief Transformation or Medical Officer
As a hospital or clinic leadership team, you believe that a certain initiative would add some black to your budget, but lack the time and energy to take the first steps. Let me do the legwork for you, and together we’ll figure out how to capture that return on investment.
Not enough bandwidth to explore your next big idea
You are a healthcare professional struggling with career direction, performance issues, or even meaning and purpose. You seek wise guidance and “real talk” from a trusted partner to help you take your next steps. Bring me onto your team as a coach to help you unlock the answers and potential you already have inside.
Rx for your career
A change that may be difficult or unpopular is coming down the pike, and you are the leader responsible for marshalling support and running the implementation. I can help you bring all hands on deck when they would rather sit on the sidelines, get real buy-in for your initiative, and plan out the practical next steps.
Rallying the troops for a big change

Ready to create change?
You don’t have to face the challenges of healthcare alone. Whether you are looking to improve your organization or navigate a new chapter in your career, I am here to help. Schedule a free call today to learn how we can work together to create a sustainable, fulfilling future in healthcare.

A Few "Lessons from the Road" in Healthcare
Trust is key - it is gained by drops but lost by buckets
Take care of your staff first, and they will take care of your patients
Healthcare is a team sport – no one can “healthcare” alone
Culture eats strategy for breakfast (I didn't invent this, but it's still true)
Better is the enemy of good – shoot for a minimum viable product
Healthcare isn't corporate, but it isn't cottage either (and physicians hate comparisons to the airline industry)