Pamela A. McAfee Ed.D, MPA, OTR, CDE® has been a healthcare leader for over 25 years and worked within healthcare organizations and systems in eight states across the U.S. She has a clinical degree – BS in Occupational Therapy; a Masters’ in Public Administration; and an Ed.D in Interdisciplinary Leadership. She has led healthcare rehabilitation and acute/medical surgical departments in profit and non-profit organizations, and multi-site services and programs, with oversight of 300+ FTEs. As a leader, she has directed and guided departments with 10 to 28 cost centers that have fiduciary responsibilities (expenses and revenue) for more than $30M depending upon the organization and planned business growth or reduction of service. She has also achieved certifications in small business development and recently has become a certified diversity executive (CDE®).
While achieving her doctorate, she was selected as the inaugural president of the Alpha Iota Sigma Honor Society – Creighton University chapter and was inducted into the Alpha Nu Sigma – Jesuit Honor Society. At the time of graduation, she was selected as the Outstanding Graduate Woman Student for 2021 – Maurine Hamilton Award. This award is presented each May to the outstanding female graduate student and is based on the student’s outstanding academic record and leadership potential.
During her research for her doctorate degree, she was able to incorporate her passion for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) initiatives and implementation. Her interest in DE&I began long before it was a buzzword or when strategies became a part of an organization’s values and mission. DE&I became a more enhanced “way to do quality business in support of customers/patients and supporting diverse workforces” as her leadership experiences rolled into and through her doctoral journey and back within her full-time leadership scope.
Pamela has always been a lifelong learner and shares her leadership skills, and educational development talents to advocate for women in leadership – emerging and current leaders; to be a team builder that can bring the key people to the table for the best possible results; to mentor and guide professionals to perform confidently as an individual or as a team member who leads or follows. She became a leader builder and team builder as her own experiences in leading and following gained strength due to constant organizational changes and processes, which led to self-creating more effective resources and tools.
Over the years, Pamela has kept her faith that healthcare and other industries can be compassionate, competent, safe, sustainable, and quality driven to achieve the great goals of service to your customers and your workforce. Thus, she has developed specialized skills that range from:
– Service delivery in specialized facilities – behavioral health and long-term habilitation care of children and adults; inpatient and ambulatory care; rehabilitation, orthopedic/neurological services, and service line programs.
– New hospital design and renovation of healthcare spaces through new facility construction and planning, designing with architectural collaboration and teams, and established standards of care for optimal patient flow strategies.
– Clinical outcomes/programs, patient experience, and partner relationships by understanding and implementing CMS/QIO guidelines; creating partnerships with hospitals and physicians; and using past experiences in accrediting survey processes with TJC, CARF, DPH, etc.. to re-create and adjust services for better performance outcomes or to keep the great processes in place going forward with best-of-care outcomes.
– Leadership education curriculum development, and leadership facilitator, wherein she can incorporate leadership styles and theories of practice; diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging strategies; creating great mentors, sponsors, and allies; and assisting teams to focus on the goals ahead to achieve their accomplished strategies.
While healthcare leadership is her expertise, all of her experiences in healthcare can be well-utilized in other industries that have complex issues to address in order to perform their services for clients and their workforce. She is an inspiring leader of teams with expertise in empowering leaders at all levels and in providing education to novice leaders to achieve and exceed predefined performance targets and begin to grow their own leadership styles. Continuing to grow as a leader, leading/working/learning full-time in these past two years, in the middle of a pandemic has shown Pamela, she is resilient, agile, and has the fortitude to persevere during the most difficult of times and through complex challenges. However, Pamela knows this was accomplished not as a singular effort and is grateful that her strategies to achieve are through Faith, Family, Friends, and Love!