Newswise — LOS ANGELES (April 30, 2018) – In the field of health care, clinical innovation is often synonymous with saving lives. And in an age where disruptive technologies and big data analytics are changing the whole world, Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) has found an experienced thought leader to help drive clinical innovation at one of the nation's top pediatric institutions.
Omkar P. Kulkarni is joining CHLA as the hospital's first chief innovation officer. In his role, Kulkarni will be responsible for fostering innovation across CHLA's clinical and research enterprises – including finding successful new methods of care, incubating new medical tools and software, and rallying communities in and out of the hospital to solve problems in the field of pediatrics – all with the goal of enhancing the experience and outcomes for the children and families CHLA serves.
"In our never-ending pursuit to create hope and build healthier futures for our patients, it's crucial that we stay on the cutting edge of technology and new ideas that improve the quality care our patients receive," says Jim Stein, M.D., MSc, FACS, FAAP, senior vice president and chief medical officer. "Omkar Kulkarni has his eye on the constantly evolving arena of clinical health care and can help lead the innovation that makes CHLA the pediatric health system of choice."
Kulkarni also will work with the Consortium for Technology and Innovation in Pediatrics (CTIP), which CHLA established in 2011 with the University of Southern California, to support and accelerate development and commercialization of medical devices and technology geared specifically to help vulnerable pediatric populations.
"We are glad to have the depth of experience Omkar brings to the team," says Nancy Lee, RN, MSN, NEA-BC, senior vice president and chief clinical officer, "and we look forward to harnessing the creative potential of our staff and faculty to create a culture of innovation at Children's Hospital Los Angeles."
Prior to joining CHLA, Kulkarni served as executive director of the Cedars-Sinai Accelerator powered by Techstars, where he helped build and launch the accelerator program. In that role, he evaluated over 3,000 health care start-ups and provided extensive mentoring, serving as the main liaison between the start-up community and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Kulkarni also led the performance improvement department at Cedars-Sinai for many years and has experience in financial process redesign at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. Kulkarni has a master’s degree in public health and health care management from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from George Washington University.
His first day at CHLA will be Monday, May 7.
About Children's Hospital Los Angeles
Founded in 1901, Children's Hospital Los Angeles is ranked the top children’s hospital in California and sixth in the nation for clinical excellence with its selection to the prestigious U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll. Clinical care is led by physicians who are faculty members of the Keck School of Medicine of USC through an affiliation dating from 1932. CHLA is home to The Saban Research Institute, one of the largest and most productive pediatric research facilities in the United States. For more information, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram, and visit our child health blog (CHLA.org/blog) and our research blog (ResearCHLABlog.org).
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