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by Healthworx
After recently joining the Healthworx team, O'Mara shared some of her background and areas of interest with us. O'Mara is loving the opportunity to connect with the healthcare innovation ecosystem through her role in the Healthworx Hub.
Q: Tell us about your career, and how you ended up working in healthcare?
A: I’ve spent my career doing strategic project management and business development at healthcare non-profits, social enterprises and startups. I was drawn to this work when I serendipitously wound-up teaching sex education in inner-city Buenos Aires between high school and college. I quickly saw the extent to which reproductive health—and health more broadly—is not only a basic human right, but also a mechanism of empowerment that has far-reaching social, political, economic, educational, and even environmental impacts. From then on, I’ve dedicated my career to helping health organizations tackle complicated health challenges more effectively and sustainably.
Q: What are you personally interested in? What drives you or energizes you?
A: I really enjoy learning. I’ve been lucky to live and work in places across the globe and with people from diverse personal and professional backgrounds. It is engaging and motivating to have the opportunity to listen, ask questions, and be exposed to new ideas. Whether it’s an introduction to the intricacies of insurance regulation or a deep dive into how octopuses change their color and texture, I try to make sure I don’t go too long without being the least knowledgeable person in a room.
Q: What inspires you in your work?
A: One of my favorite things about working on the Healthworx Hub team is connecting with people throughout the health innovation ecosystem. From working with startups like Live Chair Health on community health initiatives at barbershops, to actuaries who wield statistics to find new quality improvement opportunities, I am inspired by people thinking critically about how to make healthcare better and working to bring creative solutions to fruition.
Q: When it comes to the future of healthcare, what are you curious about?
A: I am curious about how we can move towards more nuanced prevention-oriented healthcare models. So much of health occurs and originates outside the doors of traditional healthcare facilities and I want to see how we can leverage social determinants of health and community-based health interventions to improve overall outcomes, and what role each stakeholder (payers, providers, start-ups, etc.) can best play to make this change.
Q: What are you working on that you’re excited about?
A: I am working on a project around better understanding how costs propagate through the healthcare landscape. I find this work exciting because it’s an opportunity to gain insight into system incentives and underlying structures that drive stakeholder behaviors and financial outcomes. These learnings can then be leveraged to develop effective innovation and investment strategies and identify startups with exciting and relevant solutions to improve healthcare.
Q: How can someone best connect with you?
A: Send me an email at o’mara.taylor@healthworx.com! I love connecting with and learning from new people.
Healthworx seeks, nurtures, and builds the solutions that are changing healthcare. We are a team of leaders who pursue their curiosity. We bravely embrace challenges and actively practice empathy. We drive forward with a bias for action and collaborate to unleash the power of collective thinking. Why are we committed to these values? To deliver the transformative results required to improve the way healthcare works for all. If you’re looking for your next career move and our values resonate with you, then connect with us. You can learn more about our open opportunities here. Please note, the link will take you to an external career website.
