Nasim Afsar, MD MBA is the Chief Operating Officer for UCI Health, with the vision of ensuring the health and delivering flawless care for the population of patients in Orange County and beyond while creating the best place to work in health care. Dr. Afsar oversees inpatient and ambulatory operations. This includes leading patient progression efforts, clinical support services, ancillary service, public safety, building and construction, and emergency management. The team is leading the construction and planning of a $1B campus in Irvine-Newport, with a full-service hospital and two ambulatory care centers. During COVID, Dr. Afsar worked on increasing inpatient capacity by over 35%, through creating a mobile field hospital and licensure of ambulatory spaces. Furthermore, she has led the creation of three drive-through COVID testing centers as well as the COVID vaccination program for health care workers and patients. In addition, she also oversees 70 clinics and the UCI Health Patient Access Center (call center, central authorization, and referral center). Under her leadership, UCI Health ambulatory care has grown by over 45% and opened several new strategic sites. She has spearheaded and co-led innovative programs, such as telehealth, hospital-at-home, and strategic partnerships, to help provide value for our patients and communities. Prior to this role, she served as the Associate Chief Medical Officer at UCLA Health where she led numerous health system efforts. She then served as the Chief Quality Officer for the Department of Medicine at UCLA Health, leading a large-scale population health initiative. She is the Past President of the Society of Hospital Medicine and has served on the Board of Directors for eight years.