Despite the unexpected transitions caused by COVID-19, we are very excited to announce the on boarding of five new board members to NHF! This week’s spotlight features NHF board member, Jessica Sims! NHF Marketing & Communications Manager, Stephany, had the opportunity to chat with Jessica to learn more about what inspired her to join NHF.
Q: What is your current role, outside of NHF?
Jessica: “I am the Medical Director of Medical Management for Regal Medical Group. I work with patients and staff members to address public health in the private sector by focusing on triple aim and quadruple aim. [Triple aim focuses on patient experience and sustainable quality care while quadruple aim focuses on medical staff engagement and correlations staff retention and quality of care]. I am also a clinical instructor for the USC Keck School of Medicine where I teach introduction to clinical medicine. I teach new doctors the fundamentals of being a doctor, how to interact with patients and more.”
Q: What did you do prior to joining Regal?
Jessica: “I was practicing emergency medicine for 15 years. I got a first-hand glimpse of where things fall apart – besides the [general] health issues people are facing – but the social, administrative and economic factors that have an impact on how well [patients] are able to recover and reach their maximum health potential. That’s when it became clear to me that social and economic forces have a bigger impact on people than genetics or lifestyle. So, I went back for my Master’s in Public Health and went on to work for AltaMed as Medical Director and am now at Regal.”
Q: What are you looking forward to most as a board member?
Jessica: “I am looking forward to learning more about how California deals with sick people who are [experiencing] housing insecurity.”
Q: What about NHF drew your interest into the organization?
Jessica: “The focus on housing for health and other bold initiatives with down-to-earth approaches the team takes drew me in. You have to meet people where they are and give them [information] they can dissect and understand. For instance, the idea of no bunk beds at the recuperative care facilities shows how comfortable [NHF] wants their guests to feel. It’s about giving people [dignified experiences] regardless of their current situation or past circumstances.”
Q: What do you like to do in your free time?
Jessica: “Well, we have a little maltese named Freeway. Funny story, we found her on the freeway when she was seven months pregnant. We thought she was a scruffy boy dog but turns out she was a scruffy girl dog who gave birth a month before she was due. I am a BIG Dodgers fan and my son plays baseball, so we practically live on the baseball field.”