Olivia Ajja
Corcoran,USA
Summary
A results-oriented healthcare leader with extensive experience in hospital administration, strategic planning, and operational efficiency. Skilled in driving hospital performance, enhancing patient care, and ensuring financial sustainability, I excel at leading multidisciplinary teams and implementing innovative solutions. My leadership focuses on fostering a collaborative, patient-centered culture while navigating evolving healthcare trends and regulatory requirements. With a strong track record in improving patient satisfaction, staff engagement, and operational outcomes, I am committed to advancing organizational goals and ensuring long-term success and sustainability.
Overview
29
29
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
University of Minnesota Medical Center and Masonic Children's Hospital, M Health Fairview
Minneapolis
01.2023 - Current
- Company Overview: Academic healthcare facilities located on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis, offering 1,000 beds and providing comprehensive medical, pediatric, tertiary, and quaternary care services
- Gross annual operating revenue of over $2 billion
- Effectively led the organization from five consecutive years of operating losses to a positive net operating income in FY 2023
- Achieved an 8% favorable net operating income to prior year in FY 2024 (excluding grant revenue)
- Developed and led a taskforce focusing on Operations, Revenue Cycle, and Finance, resulting in significant improvements across various areas including inpatient and outpatient denials, clinical documentation, bad debt, and Medicare Cost Report reimbursement, leading to a $35 million improvement in financial performance
- Led health system length of stay initiative resulting in 19% improvement in net variance patient days from 2023 to 2024
- Implemented a structured review and approval process, along with an oversight committee for ultra-high-cost medications and to ensure alignment with patient and provider expectations, proper authorization, and appropriate payment, enhancing both financial sustainability and patient care experience
- Academic healthcare facilities located on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis, offering 1,000 beds and providing comprehensive medical, pediatric, tertiary, and quaternary care services
- Gross annual operating revenue of over $2 billion
Vice President of Hospital Operations, Dual Role Solid Organ Transplant Service Line Executive
University of Minnesota Medical Center and Masonic Children's Hospital
01.2022 - 01.2023
- Reopened pediatric heart transplant program after a two-year closure
- Developed a Donor Care Unit in collaboration with Life Source, Organ Procurement Organization, contributing $10 mil of additional Medicare Cost Report Reimbursement
- Increased surgical volume by 5% in year one and 9% in year two
- Spearhead recruitment strategies as a vital pipeline for nurse and ancillary staff acquisition, focusing on optimizing staffing levels to reduce reliance on agency resources, along with identifying opportunities to enhance throughput efficiency
- Improved overall hospital labor expense by 10% with 18 months
- 2023 Vizient rising Star Recipient
Administrative Director of Surgical Services
Michigan Medicine, Sparrow Health System
01.2020 - 01.2022
- Company Overview: Sparrow Hospital is 733-bed, Level 1 trauma center, rendering care for the greater Mid-Michigan region
- Accountability across three campuses, included: Lansing, St
- Lawrence, and Sparrow Health Center Campuses, Pediatric Surgery Department, Pediatric Outpatient Infusion and Special Procedures, Main Campus Endoscopy, Sparrow Health Center Campus, Outpatient Endoscopy, Main Campus Operating room, Anesthesiology, physician and CRNA practices across all locations, Perioperative Surgical Home Department
- Design and construction planning of an eight-room ambulatory surgery center based on lean principles
- Transitioned private practice anesthesiology group to hospital employment
- Leading a multidisciplinary group to mitigate surgical denials, hard denials reduced by 10%
- Increased surgical volume by 5% in year one
- Developed business cases for multiple new program development and capital projects, including an off-site ambulatory surgery center
- Developed and co-lead robotic surgery steering committee
- Led organization staff recruitment and retention committees
- Leveraging the Magnet Unit Based Counsel, developed a study group
- Sparrow Hospital is 733-bed, Level 1 trauma center, rendering care for the greater Mid-Michigan region
Vice President of Operations
Anesthesia Associates of Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, Mi
01.2018 - 01.2020
- Company Overview: Anesthesiology and interventional pain physician practice within the JW Child's Siromed private equity portfolio, operating across two states
- Oversaw operations in over 20 hospitals, 6 ambulatory surgery centers, 4 interventional pain clinics, and multiple office-based locations
- Integration of Multiple Practices: Successfully integrated multiple hospital-based anesthesiology and interventional pain practices into private practice entity
- Expansion and Contract Acquisition: Led the development of proposals, proformas, and negotiations that resulted in securing four new contracts through the establishment of new service locations
- Led an initiative to collaborate with hospital leadership and secure a partnership with BeneSys, a third-party payor, to refer members for opioid-free and opioid-sparing total joint surgeries at the hospital, based on demonstrated quality outcomes
- Anesthesiology and interventional pain physician practice within the JW Child's Siromed private equity portfolio, operating across two states
Administrative Director
St. Joseph Mercy Health System
Ann Arbor, MI
01.2014 - 01.2018
- Administrator for Anesthesiology and Surgery across four separate campuses
- Net revenue for combined areas exceeding $170 million/year
- Multiple examples improving operational key performance indicators
- Endoscopy Department first case of the day on time starts increased from 35% in 2015 to 85% in 2016
- Extensive experience negotiating vendor contracts resulting in significant cost savings
- Led planning and construction of expansion and multi-million-dollar renovation projects including: Center for Perioperative Care, completed 2016; Ann Arbor Endoscopy, completed 2016; and Michigan Pain Institute completed 2015
- Proven success leading initiatives to improve care coordination and transition of care management
- Collaborated with physician leadership to spearhead development of evidenced based Perioperative Surgical Home programs for Neurosurgery, Colorectal, Orthopedics, and Gyn/Onc
- Collaborated with Colorectal surgeons to develop an early discharge clinic, resulting in readmission reduction from 15% to 10% in 2016
- Press Ganey patient satisfaction consistently exceeding 95% 2014-2018
- Led multi-disciplinary team to develop hip fracture care pathways including pre-op administration of fascia iliaca block as part of multimodal analgesia regimen to reduce incidence of post-op delirium in geriatric patient population
- Successful development and implementation of patient centric smart phone application using Twistle technology
Director: Pain Management and Anesthesiology
Garden City Hospital
Garden City, Mi
01.2005 - 01.2014
- Administrator for the operations of clinical services, including Anesthesiology, Garden City Pain Institute, and the Acute Pain Service
CLINICAL COORDINATOR, CERTIFIED REGISTERED NURSE A
Crittenton Hospital Medical Center
Rochester Hills, MI
01.2003 - 11.2005
Staff Registered Nurse
VA Medical Center
Detroit , MI
05.1996 - 09.1998
Education
Master of Business Administration -
Oakland University
Rochester, MI01.2016
Master of Science - Nurse Anesthesia
Wayne State University
Detroit, MI01.2001
Bachelor of Science - Nursing
Wayne State University
Detroit, MI01.1998
Skills
- Strategic Planning
- Regulatory and Compliance
- New Programmatic Initiatives
- Service Line Leadership
- Community Engagement
- Financial Stewardship
Community Service
- MHealth Fairview Community Engagement
- Partner, Minneapolis Food is Medicine
- United Way of Washtenaw County- Coordinated Funding
Timeline
Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
University of Minnesota Medical Center and Masonic Children's Hospital, M Health Fairview
01.2023 - Current
Vice President of Hospital Operations, Dual Role Solid Organ Transplant Service Line Executive
University of Minnesota Medical Center and Masonic Children's Hospital
01.2022 - 01.2023
Administrative Director of Surgical Services
Michigan Medicine, Sparrow Health System
01.2020 - 01.2022
Vice President of Operations
Anesthesia Associates of Ann Arbor
01.2018 - 01.2020
Administrative Director
St. Joseph Mercy Health System
01.2014 - 01.2018
Director: Pain Management and Anesthesiology
Garden City Hospital
01.2005 - 01.2014
CLINICAL COORDINATOR, CERTIFIED REGISTERED NURSE A
Crittenton Hospital Medical Center
01.2003 - 11.2005
Staff Registered Nurse
VA Medical Center
05.1996 - 09.1998
Master of Business Administration -
Oakland University
Master of Science - Nurse Anesthesia
Wayne State University
Bachelor of Science - Nursing
Wayne State University