Item 32 - Feasibility and Fiscal Evaluation for a Municipal Public Health Agency

Home Browse Search

Mr. Freedman has led many high-profile initiatives, including the public health response to the 1994 Northridge earthquake; Los Angeles County’s Master Tobacco Settlement negotiation; solutions to funding crises in the Los Angeles County safety net; and the 2010 H1N1 influenza response. He has also led many special projects on behalf of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and chief executive officer, including negotiating the County’s interests in California Medicaid Waivers; developing revenue and tax options for local government; drafting workers’ compensation and pension reform legislation; developing a successful partnership between the Los Angeles and the University of California to re-open the MLK Hospital in South Los Angeles; and negotiating state-county fiscal and program realignment. He has received outstanding leadership awards from the California State Association of Counties and Los Angeles County. He is a lecturer at the University of California, Los Angeles Fielding School of Public Health, and a contributor to three books on public health practice— Public Health Leadership (Routledge Press, 2017), Public Health Practice: What Works (Oxford Press, 2012), and Global Biosecurity: Threats and Responses (Routledge Press, 2010). Mr. Freedman earned degrees in political science and public health from the University of California, Los Angeles. Helen Duplessis, MD, MPH | HMA Principal Project role: Technical Advisor Helen DuPlessis is an accomplished physician executive who brings wide-ranging leadership experience and an array of knowledge about public sector health programs to HMA. Her expertise includes involvement in health care administration for a variety of organizations as well as in program and policy development, practice transformation, public health, maternal and child health policy, community systems development, performance improvement, and managed care. Prior to joining HMA, Dr. DuPlessis served as CMO of St. John’s Well Child and Family Center where she provided executive management for integrated medical, behavioral, dental, and pharmacy services in a large network of federally qualified health centers. She built and upgraded key elements of the organizational infrastructure and clinical services, including strategic business expansion; patient-centered medical home certification; electronic health records implementation; clinical workforce recruitment, training, and development; and performance improvement. Other notable professional experiences include her work as senior advisor to the University of California, Los Angeles Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities where she provided leadership, research, program development support, counsel, and representation to local, state, and national efforts, and community-level systems transformation. She trained and mentored students in various disciplines and educational levels. Dr. DuPlessis previously served as CMO at L.A. Care during the initial rollout of Medi-Cal managed care in California. She served as director of student medical services for the Los Angeles Unified School District. She has also served as an advocate of community capacity-building, staff, and professional development drawing on her understanding and implementation of innovative and effective health programs and performance improvement activities. Dr. DuPlessis earned her medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco, her master’s in public health from the University of California, Los Angeles, and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California. EXHIBIT 1