The Los Angeles Business Journal has honored several leaders from across Keck Medicine of USC, the Keck School of Medicine of USC and the USC School of Pharmacy in several categories at the 2021 Health Care Leadership Panel & Awards virtual event on Aug. 18.

Shawn Sheffield

Shawn Sheffield, MBA, MHSA, was named Hospital Executive of the Year. In her role as chief strategy officer for Keck Medicine, she is responsible for the health system’s clinical strategies and expansion efforts. During her tenure, Keck Medicine has expanded through affiliations, partnerships and acquisitions, resulting in impressive revenue growth.

In accepting her award, Sheffield thanked her colleagues at Keck Medicine, of whom she said, “are the smartest, most creative and fun people to work with in health care.”

Sue and Steven Wilder

Another notable award went Steven and Sue Wilder, who were named Outstanding Health Care Volunteers. The Wilders have dedicated their time, talent and financial support of USC Verdugo Hills Hospital (USC-VHH) for more than two decades to ensure the availability of caring and quality health care for members of the Foothills communities.

In their acceptance speech, Sue Wilder described how the excellent care her father received at USC-VHH motivated her to become a volunteer, while Steven Wilder took the opportunity to thank all health care workers for their efforts during the pandemic, saying “they are the real heroes.”

Richard Dang, PharmD, assistant professor of clinical pharmacy at the USC School of Pharmacy, was named Outstanding Health Care Innovator and also was named a finalist in the category of Outstanding Collaboration for the COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Program led by him and the city of Los Angeles.

Keck Medicine, along with Cedars-Sinai, Dignity Health, UCLA Health and Providence, also received the Outstanding Collaboration award for their BetterTogether.Health educational campaign to encourage the public to access health care when needed.

During the event, two Keck Medicine individuals were named award finalists. Felipe Osorno, executive administrator of continuum of care operations and value improvement with Keck Medicine, was named a finalist in the category of Health System Executive of the Year and Ali Gholamrezanezhad, MD, clinical emergency radiologist with Keck Medicine and an assistant professor of clinical radiology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, was named a finalist in the category of Outstanding Health Care Innovator.

Additionally, Keck Medical Center of USC was a finalist in the Top Hospital or Medical Center category; Keck Medicine was a finalist in the Exceptional COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout category; and the USC-VHH Community Resource Center for Aging was a finalist in the category of Best Product or Service.

Also, Neha Nanda, MD, medical director of infection prevention and antimicrobial stewardship with Keck Medicine, was nominated in the category of Hospital Executive of the Year. Armand Dorian, MD, MMM, and Keck Medicine colleagues were nominated in the category of Outstanding Community Outreach.

The Keck School also was honored during the event as a finalist in three categories: Outstanding Community Outreach for its COVID-19 Pandemic Research Center, Top Covid-19 Research Organization, and Outstanding Collaboration along with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, and the USC Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics.

The Los Angeles Business Journal Health Care Leadership awards is an annual event honoring outstanding individuals and organizations in the field of health care in Los Angeles. All total, the publication presented seven individual and nine organizational awards. Watch the event here.

— Alison Rainey