“There is a Projected Shortage of More than 3 Million Essential Low-Wage Health Workers in the Next Five Years and a Projected Shortage of Nearly 140,000 Physicians by 2033.” – Surgeon General.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, COVID-19 is impacting the mental health of the nation, especially health care workers. Meet the panelists who will shed some light on how this is leading to clinician staff shortages, burnout and other mental health concerns. Learn about mental health resources including how VR is being used for Nursing burnout and anxiety.

Speakers

Yael Swerdlow

CEO and Founder of Maestro Games, SPC 

Yael is co-founder of the Women's Empowerment Foundation, a board member of the International Visitors Council of Los Angeles and a board member of the humanitarian organization, Shelters for Israel. Yael also serves on the Advisory Boards of MILO Cognitive, First Amendment Voice, Solution Point+, and is a consultant at USC's award-winning Game Pipe Labs. Additionally, she serves on both the National Small Business Association's Leadership Council Advisory Board (NSBA) and the Small Business Technology Council (SBTC). Formerly, she was co-chair of the national leadership council of Games for Change, and a board member of the Hadassah Brandeis Gender Research Institute. Formerly, Yael held the position of Independent Visiting Scholar in the Gender Studies Department of the University of Southern California where she created and taught Spy Novel Diplomacy - a groundbreaking class that examines the role of gender in espionage, intelligence gathering and propaganda.

A native Angeleno, Yael was a freelance photojournalist based in Los Angeles for over twenty years, shooting for United Press International, the Associated Press, and the Los Angeles Times, where she was a part of the Pulitzer Prize winning teams for the Los Angeles Riots in 1992 and the Northridge Earthquake of 1994. In summer of 1994, Yael went to Somalia, Southern Sudan, and Rwanda for International Medical Corps, to document the reestablishing of the medical infrastructure in those war-torn countries. Yael also writes fiction, including the cinematic script for Activision’s best-selling video game, “True Crime: Streets of LA”.

Tania Tajirian MD, CCFP, FCFP, DTMPH

Chief Medical Information Officer and Chief of the Hospital Medicine Division and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Tania Tajirian MD, CCFP, FCFP, DTMPH is also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. Dr. Tajirian is a physician wellness liaison and her academic interests are quality improvement initiatives, including how to improve efficiencies of practice and reduce EHR/IT related burnout.

Gillian Strudwick RN, PhD, FAMIA

Chief Clinical Informatics Officer and Scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Gillian Strudwick RN, PhD, FAMIA is also an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. Dr. Strudwick was previously an AMS Phoenix Fellow and is currently a board member of AMS Healthcare and the Liberty Village Family Health Team.

Romina Elias

Clinical Field Director for Dell Healthcare Life Sciences team 

Romina Elias is a part of the Dell Healthcare Life Sciences team serving as a Clinical Field Director with over 15 years of healthcare experience. A nurse by trade, Romina’s passion for patient care and healthcare IT motivates her to help deliver technologies that would positively impact both clinicians and patients alike.

Prior to joining Dell, Romina was a Sr. Director of Nursing where she drove quality outcomes and patient experience results by developing efficient processes in healthcare delivery. Her team received the prestigious Beacon Gold award for clinical excellence as well as the Guardian of Excellence Award for outstanding patient experience 3 years in a row. Romina has led a diverse team of nurses and physicians through two successful Joint Commission surveys, DOH visits and most recently, the COVID pandemic. Utilizing limited resources and managing dynamic healthcare needs, she leveraged years of operational leadership experience to implement processes to safely care for patients throughout the pandemic.

Romina utilized her experience in health informatics to lead organizations through electronic medical record upgrades and implementations. In the spring of 2021, she served as the Nursing lead for the Epic EMR implementation, ensuring patient safety and clinician satisfaction while maintaining and improving key performance indicators.

Romina also has a passion for learning. She has a Master of Science in Nursing Informatics from Walden University and a Doctorate in Nursing Practice from Capella University. She holds both a Nursing Informatics and a Nurse Executive – Advance certificate from the American Credentialing Center. Romina is an advocate of furthering the nursing profession through education and has mentored several nurses through their pursuit of advanced degrees.

Dr. Kira Mauseth 

Clinical Psychologist, Snohomish Psychology Associates, Senor Instructor at Seattle University

Dr. Kira Mauseth is a practicing clinical psychologist who sees patients at Snohomish Psychology Associates in Everett and Edmonds, WA, teaches as a Senior Instructor at Seattle University and serves as a co-lead for the Behavioral Health Strike Team for the WA State Department of Health. She also owns Astrum Health, LLC, and consults with organizations and educational groups about disaster preparedness and resilience building within local communities.

Dr. Mauseth has provided training to community groups and professionals both regionally and abroad as the co-developer of the Health Support Team© program. Her work and research focus on disaster behavioral health, resilience, and recovery from trauma as well as small and large-scale critical incident response and preparation for organizations. She has worked abroad extensively with disaster survivors and refugees and has trained first responders and health care workers throughout Puget Sound the United States, and currently serves in the adult mental health clinical seat on Washington State’s Disaster Medical Advisory Committee (DMAC).