Jacqueline Schaffer, MHA
Advancing The Minds of Healthcare Executive
About Jacqueline Schaffer, MHA
My healthcare journey began in the 1990s after three rewarding years as a social worker with The Children’s Home Society of Florida. During my mother’s third battle with cancer, I discovered the missing piece in my professional balance — healthcare management.
As an Executive Operations Director and consultant, I believe leadership is about more than delivering excellent care. It’s about guiding patients through the social economics of their lives and empowering teams to be exceptional stewards of healthcare. When we invest in our staff’s development, we elevate the care experience for every patient.
Medicine is an ever-changing current, not a static practice. Our duty extends beyond treating illness — it’s building wellness, prevention, and access around the people we serve.
My foundation was built as a Practice Manager in a psychiatric medical group in Boca Raton, Florida, where I learned to merge operations, technology, and communication to improve care delivery. From there, my career expanded across diverse specialties — from primary care and oncology to wound care, hospital medicine, and specialty surgery — each experience enriching my understanding of how to deliver the right care at the right time.
Over the years, I’ve held leadership roles ranging from Information Technologist Specialist to COO, National Resolution Manager, Executive Director, and Interim Consultant. Seven years ago, I embraced interim management and consulting — a calling that allowed me to strengthen healthcare organizations while mentoring teams to achieve operational excellence.
My leadership philosophy is simple: teach, involve, and inspire. As Ben Franklin said, “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” Those words define how I build teams and transform organizations.
Beyond my professional work, I am a suicide-loss survivor and advocate for mental-health awareness. That journey fuels my commitment to compassion and purpose in every role I serve.
Today, I’m running my second marathon — partnering with mission-driven teams to deliver innovative, state-of-the-art care that helps communities live healthier lives. I’m ready to run it with you.
Education
Creative Work & Projects
During my senior-level executive career, I coordinated and managed multiple projects directed toward strategic business and other organizational objectives. I also built credibility, established rapport, and maintained communication with stakeholders at various levels, including those external to the organization.
Define and initiate projects and manage the cost, schedule, and performance of component projects while working to ensure the program's ultimate success and acceptance. Explore many projects and initiatives that were led in my direction.
Let's Breath - Living in a community where snowbirds come in flocks, seasonal influxes are drastic, a daily census of 300 patients per day will jump to a daily count of 850 patients a day, stress levels and fatigue are high, finding time to decompress while looking forward to a manageable daily census.
Sometimes, it is the ability to be creative, present, and have fun. To be a team leader, you need to shake things up and engage with your team, physicians, and staff outside of your comfort zone. You look for ways to be innovative; sometimes, you have to be creative, so you hit the pause button, regroup, and paint.
National Healing Annual Conference 2010 - Lead Program Director presenter for Physician Recruitment. Responsible for leading a group of 8 presenters and the development of the PowerPoint presentation. The topic was to help junior program directors understand how to recruit physicians and then how to retain them. Physician Recruitment
The Christ Hospital Wound Center was a department of the Heart and Vascular Department. The hospital was known for its innovation in heart health. The hospital was a committed sponsor of the American Heart Association, specifically the Go Red Campaign. We were inspired to spread the Red to young females across Greater Cincinnati by teaching Heart Disease in Women. TCH partnered with the Girl Scouts of America and the American Heart Association; I chaired the development of a unique patch program to stop heart disease in women. The program was a day-long outing to the hospital that included a day filled with fun activities, such as visiting the Cathlab, ultrasound of the heart, listening to their hearts, heart-healthy exercise, and a heart-healthy tour of a grocery store. Our first event sold out with over 350 Daisies, Brownies, and Girl Scouts across Greater Cincinnati. Spread the Red
Skills & Assessments
Finely honed leadership, strategic & critical thinking, relationship building, negotiation, and communication, technical, analytical, and problem-solving skills. Core competencies:
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Hospital Medicine Service Line
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Group Practice Operations
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Multi-Site Management
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Business Development
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Budget Administration
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Program Leadership
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EMR & IT Systems
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Revenue Cycle Management
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Contract Negotiations
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Service Line Expansions
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Process Improvements
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Regulatory Compliance
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Credentialing/Onboarding,
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QA Initiatives
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Physician & Staff Recruiting & Hiring
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Team Leadership & Mentoring
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SOP & Workflow Development
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Financial Forecasting
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Project Management
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KPI Metrics Analysis
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Building Relationships
Assessments
Skills
Recommendations
Letter of Recommendations
Each hyperlink bridges you to various letters of recommendation from employees who have directly reported to me, managers, physicians, and peers. My career journey has been remarkable because of the individuals who have written letters on my behalf. They have groomed me to be the person I am today.
"A true artist is not one who is inspired, but one who inspires others" - Salvador Dali