Shruti Kothari

Yesterday, Health Care Foundation for Ventura County (HCFVC) was named an awardee of Action for Women’s Health, a $250 million global open call funded by Pivotal, launched in 2024 to support organizations working to improve women’s mental and physical health around the world. Founded by Melinda French Gates in 2015, Pivotal Ventures works to advance social progress and expand women's power and influence in the U.S. and around the world. HCFVC received between $1 million and $5 million in funding in support of Ventura County Medical Center and Ventura County Health Care Agency. HCFVC is honored to be selected to help steward this impactful funding to Ventura County’s safety-net health and hospital system.

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Given how much #healthcare costs have been rising year-after-year, it's understandable that #plansponsors try to prioritize cost savings for their plans (and plan members). When we invited Susana Villegas Spillman into the #AstonishingHealthcare studio for our most recent episode we asked how she thinks about cost vs. quality, and she explained why the focus should be on quality: quality programs can help drive lower costs when implemented appropriately. 🎧 Listen to the full episode here: https://okt.to/twDSEo

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Is your digital health strategy strengthening rural systems—or quietly draining them? The Executive Quick Start Guide outlines how to build rural first regional digital health networks that: ✅ Expand specialty access without exporting patients ✅ Use telehealth, eConsults, and RPM with clear escalation rules ✅ Align multiple organizations around shared outcomes Designed for leaders responsible for regional alignment, not one-off pilots. 📘 Explore the guide https://lnkd.in/gNTPnxMn #RegionalHealth #HealthcareStrategy #RuralHospitals #Telehealth #PopulationHealth #DigitalHealth #RuralHealth #HealthcareLeadership #eConsults #RemotePatientMonitoring #SpecialtyCareAccess

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Introducing the Health Innovation Strategy Framework After two decades of building health startups, advising Fortune 500 life sciences firms, and designing care delivery programs at scale—I've distilled what works (and what fails) in transforming healthcare. 💡 That’s why I created the Health Innovation Strategy Framework—a blueprint to help healthcare leaders and organizations move beyond the buzzwords and into measurable outcomes. This framework is designed for: Health tech founders navigating go-to-market chaos Provider groups launching digital-first services Employers, payers & PBMs aiming to improve access, cost & experience Investors evaluating scalable models in a complex care ecosystem Organizations looking for the next best health innovation to partner, adopt or acquire 📊 Core pillars: •Innovation Culture and Infrastructure •Partnership Readiness •Product-Market Fit in Healthcare •Regulatory & Payer Navigation •Clinical Workflow Alignment •Patient Engagement •Sustainable Growth Strategy Here’s a quick look ⬇️ I’ll be diving into each of these in subsequent posts. 🔍 Want to see how this applies to your organization? 📬 DM me or contact me directly for a custom Innovation Readiness Assessment. Let’s build smarter, faster, and with real impact. #HealthcareInnovation #HealthTech #PartnershipStrategy #DigitalHealth #GoToMarket #ValueBasedCare #HealthEquity #LifeSciences #StrategicGrowth #HealthStrategy

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🔹 California’s future is Latino, but our health systems don’t reflect that reality. Despite being the backbone of the state’s economy and culture, Latino communities continue to face deep health disparities. 📊 The California Health Care Foundation recently released the California Latino Health Almanac, an insightful resource with data, a new dashboard, and policy solutions designed to promote a healthier California. 🔍 One finding stood out to us: Latinos are significantly underrepresented among physicians and behavioral health providers, especially specialists and psychologists. 🎓 One key recommendation? Invest in the next generation of Latino health professionals through expanded pathway programs, advising, scholarships, and post-bacc support. 💡 A healthier California starts with a health workforce that looks like the people it serves. 📖 Explore the Almanac: https://lnkd.in/gR9AsdWe

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"We'll go back to the future." That's how CHCF CEO Sandra Hernández describes California's path forward in healthcare. And after facilitating CalAIM implementation across six California counties this year, I think she's exactly right. Her new piece in CHCF this week lays out a clear-eyed assessment of where we are: •       H.R. 1 transformed the federal-state relationship from "partnership" to "punitive" •       California faces ~$28 billion in federal funding cuts over the next decade •       The number of uninsured Californians will rise after years of progress •       25% of every healthcare dollar is still wasted on administrative complexity But here's what struck me most: her strategy isn't despair. It's adaptation. "Back to the future" means returning to what worked before the ACA—focusing on access to care rather than formal coverage—but with tools we didn't have then: telehealth, AI, community health workers, and the hard lessons from COVID about meeting people where they are. We see this playing out in real time in our PATH CPI sessions with the Camden Coalition. In Yolo County, we're watching a small team navigate both federal uncertainty AND the daily challenge of connecting people experiencing homelessness to Enhanced Care Management. In Monterey and San Benito, providers are figuring out how to make Community Supports work in agricultural communities where "access" means something different than it does in Sacramento. These aren't policy abstractions. They're people solving problems in real time, under real constraints. Two other things Hernández said that deserve more attention: On AI: "AI holds tremendous potential to help eliminate disparities. Without leadership to drive how and where it gets deployed, it could also exacerbate them." This is the question I keep asking health tech founders: Are you building for the safety net, or just hoping it'll trickle down? The difference matters. On trust: "Trustworthy relationships require intentionality, listening, humility, time, and attention. Those things are lacking in virtually every health care setting." She's right. Technology enables. But relationships transform. The next 18 months will test whether California can do what Hernández describes: use our state's unparalleled innovative capabilities to make healthcare work better for everybody—not just those who can pay. I'm an extreme possibilist about this. Not because the challenges aren't real—they are. But because I've watched county teams, CBOs, and managed care plans find ways forward when the policy environment said there wasn't one. That's what "back to the future" actually looks like on the ground. Read Dr. Hernández's full piece—it's the clearest strategic overview of California healthcare I've seen this year. #CalAIM #MediCal #HealthcarePolicy #California #HealthEquity #SafetyNet #HealthcareInnovation

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New Mexico healthcare is getting a coordinated innovation infrastructure — and it's launching right here in ABQ. 🩺⚡ HealthInno NM is kicking off the NM Health ImpACT Challenge — a state-backed initiative to build the state's first statewide healthcare innovation pilot and learning network. The launch event brings together health system executives, clinical leaders, investors, payers, and ecosystem builders to shape what healthcare-led innovation looks like in New Mexico — in both rural and urban communities. What: Innovation & Investment in Healthcare — NM Health Tech Studio Launch When: Thursday, May 14 • 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM MDT Where: 600 1st St NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102 (Builders VC ABQ Office) Who: Health system execs, clinical leaders, investors, startups, payers & care delivery orgs RSVP (approval required): https://luma.com/2j4x7omd Hosted by Stefany Goradia , Angelica Maestas and Joseph Sapien Backed by New Mexico Economic Development Department , The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, and Builders VC. 👉 Browse more NM tech events — and submit yours for free — at nmtechtalks.com/events #NMTechTalks #ABQTech #NMHealth #HealthInno #HealthcareInnovation #NMEntrepreneurs #NewMexico #ABQ

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Read another NCPC study which is now available in the latest edition of JMR Formative Research. This study explores whether digital health tools present an accessible approach to expand cessation support among San Joaquin Valley’s residents, particularly among Hispanic or Latinos. The study was developed in collaboration with the UCSF Smoking Cessation Leadership Center, the UCSF Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, the UCSF Fontana Tobacco Treatment Center and our NCPC community partners at the California Health Collaborative (CHC). We also give special thanks to lead author Karla Llanes, PhD (UCSF), and Co-Authors, Maya Vijayaraghavan, MAS, MD (UCSF), Sara Schneider, PhD (UC Merced), Pamela Ling, MPH, MD (UCSF), Evi Hernandez, BA (CHC), Paul Brunetta, MD (UCSF), Prof. Anna Song (UC Merced), and Prof. Arturo Durazo (UC Merced). Learn more about this study here: https://zurl.co/nT2zI All NCPC studies are available on our website: https://zurl.co/BWgrb #publichealthresearch #NCPC #UCMerced #UCSF

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