LOCATION:
Hyatt Regency Sacramento
1209 L Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 443-1234
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. | Check-in (boxed lunches provided)
12:30 – 12:45 p.m. | Welcome and Opening Remarks
Erika Frank, Vice President Policy and Legal Counsel, California Hospital Association
12:45 – 1:45 p.m. | Keynote | Understanding Compliance Trends: Past Laws, Emerging Regulations, and DIR Enforcement Focus
Adam P. Romero, Chief Deputy Director, California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR)
Presentation not available.
This fireside chat session offers a practical discussion on the evolving compliance landscape, with a focus on Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) priorities, enforcement initiatives, and employer resources. Deputy Director will review key recent and upcoming laws, along with policy priorities from the Governor’s Office influencing regulatory direction.
Through an informal, interactive conversation, attendees will gain insight into DIR’s enforcement focus, compliance expectations, and tools available to support proactive compliance planning
1:45 – 2:45 p.m. | General Session | Navigating California Wage & Hour Laws: Breaks, Pay, and Compliance Challenges
Muira Mishra, Esq., Founder and Principal, MKM Law Group
California wage and hour rules are increasingly complex—especially in healthcare settings where staffing ratios, scheduling demands, and break requirements intersect. This session provides a practical overview of current state and federal wage and hour laws, recent case developments, and best practices for managing meal and rest breaks, on-call time, and overtime
Learning objectives:
- Overview of key California and federal wage & hour requirements
- Recent cases and compliance “war stories”
- Meal and rest break obligations and common pitfalls
- On-call and standby pay: when and what to pay
- Practical tips for healthcare and hospital environments
2:45 – 3:15 p.m. | Break and Sponsor Visits
3:15 – 4:15 p.m. | General Session | AI – 101: Artificial Intelligence in Health Care: Foundations for Clinical and Educational Practice
Scott MacDonald, M.D., Chief Medical Information Officer, Clinical Informatic, UC Davis Health
Gain a working knowledge of the fundamentals of artificial intelligence (AI) in health care. Learn about how AI is currently used in clinical decision support, diagnostics, population health, and administrative workflows, along with its benefits, limitations, and ethical considerations. The session emphasizes practical understanding, real-world examples, and how to critically evaluate AI tools to support safe, effective, and patient-centered care.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the key concepts of AI and common applications in health care practice and education.
- How to identify potential benefits, risks, and ethical considerations associated with using AI in hospitals
- How to assess AI-based tools for safety, effectiveness, and alignment with patient-centered care.
4:15 – 5:00 p.m. | General Session | Addressing Today’s Workplace Dynamics: Compliance, Leave Management, Investigations, and More
Jennifer Shaw, Esq., Founder, Shaw Law Group
In today’s fast-paced health care environment, HR professionals in hospitals must navigate the unique challenges of staffing, compliance, and employee engagement while ensuring patient care remains the top priority. This comprehensive session is designed to empower attendees with the knowledge and practical tools needed to confidently address the complex workforce dynamics in California hospitals.
Learning objectives:
- Understand employer obligations and employee rights under the Federal Family Leave Act and California Family Rights Act, including key differences and areas of overlap.
- Confidently evaluate and respond to leave-of-absence requests while maintaining compliance and consistency.
- Conduct lawful, impartial, and well-documented workplace investigations.
- Strengthen communication and documentation practices that support defensible HR actions and minimize organizational risk.
5:00 – 6:00 p.m. | Reception
7:30 – 8:30 a.m. | Continental Breakfast
8:30 – 8:45 a.m. | Welcome Back
Erika Frank, Vice President Policy and Legal Counsel, California Hospital Association
8:45 – 10:15 a.m. | General Session | Building a Resilient Hospital Workforce: Innovative Approaches to Staffing and Retention
Eric Cole, Corporate Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Scripps Health; Angeli Mancuso, Manager of Workforce Development, Cottage Health; Sylvia Pittman, MSHR, Chief Human Resources Officer, Chinese Hospital; and Cara Williams, Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, Cottage Health
California hospitals are facing unprecedented workforce pressures, including staff shortages, high turnover, and the ongoing challenge of recruiting and retaining skilled professionals. Through interactive discussions and a dynamic panel of hospital HR and operational leaders, participants will explore proven approaches to redesign workflows, optimize staffing, and implement recruitment and retention programs that work. Panelists will share firsthand insights and real-world examples from their hospitals, highlighting what initiatives have been most successful in attracting and retaining top talent.
Learning Objectives:
- Learning from peer hospitals: successful programs and lessons learned in recruitment and retention
- Rethinking workforce strategies to better align staffing with patient care needs
- Addressing workforce shortages through innovative recruitment, retention, and pipeline initiatives
- Partnering with educational institutions to create a sustainable workforce pipeline
10:15 – 10:45 a.m. | Break and Sponsor Visits
10:45 – 11:45 a.m. | General Session | HR at the Heart of Health Care Strategy: Becoming a Trusted Leadership Partner
Julie Reppas, Senior Vice President, Operations & Human Resources, California Hospital Association; Heather Candy, Esq., Vice President, Chief Risk Officer and Associate General Counsel, Adventist Health; Will Owens, Chief Human Resources Officer, Common Spirit
Presentation not available.
The health care industry faces unprecedented challenges, workforce shortages, rising patient expectations, regulatory complexities, and financial pressures. In this environment, hospital Human Resources leaders must go beyond administrative tasks to become strategic partners, shaping decisions that drive organizational success. Get ready to learn from a panel of experienced HR and hospital executives who will share real-world insights on securing a meaningful voice at the leadership table
Learning Objectives:
- This session is designed to equip HR leaders with tools, skills, and confidence to influence strategy, strengthen executive partnerships, and demonstrate measurable value.
- Learn how to communicate HR’s value effectively to executives, clinical leaders, and department directors.
11:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. | Hosted Lunch
12:30 – 1:30 p.m. | General Session | Navigating Employee Strikes in Health Care: Strategies for California Hospitals
John Henderson, People Results and Lindsey Ryan, Phd, RN, ACNS-BC, NEA-BC, FACHE, VP, Patient Care Services, Chief Nursing Officer, Sharp Metropolitan Medical Campus
Employee strikes present unique operational, legal, and ethical challenges—especially in California’s complex health care environment. This engaging panel discussion will provide hospital leaders and human resources professionals with actionable insights on preparing for and managing workforce strikes while ensuring patient care continuity.
Learning objectives:
- How to balance legal compliance under California labor laws with operational needs.
- Strategies for collaborating with staffing agencies to maintain safe patient-to-staff ratios.
- Effective communication with employees, union representatives, and patients during labor disruptions.
- Tips for preserving organizational culture and morale during challenging labor events.
1:30 – 2:45 p.m. | Closing Session | Effective Employee Discipline, Termination, and Layoff Management
Catherine Lee, Esq., Partner, Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo
This session will take a practical, real-world look at employee discipline and termination, with guidance grounded in current employment law. We’ll talk through how to address performance and conduct issues early — using clear communication and consistent documentation to support sound employment decisions and reduce risk.
Participants will also learn what to consider before moving forward with a termination and how to plan and carry out layoffs or reductions in force the right way. The discussion will cover California-specific notice and compliance requirements, how to develop defensible selection criteria, and best practices for communicating change thoughtfully and effectively in a health care setting.
Learning objectives:
- Address performance and behavioral issues early using clear communication, coaching, and proper documentation.
- Apply appropriate discipline and termination practices that comply with hospital policies and legal requirements.
- How to plan and execute layoffs or reductions in force.
- Tips on communicating workforce changes sensitively to maintain trust and minimize disruption.
- The importance of proper documentation when making discipline and termination decisions
2:45 – 3:00 p.m. | Closing Comments
Erika Frank, Vice President, Policy and Legal Counsel, California Hospital Association
Heather Candy, Esq.
Vice President, Chief Risk Officer and Associate General Counsel
Adventist Health
Heather Candy is Chief Counsel for Labor and Employment at Adventist Health, where she oversees all systemwide labor and employment matters for 20 hospitals, 270 clinics, and more than 30,000 employees across California, Oregon, and Hawaii. A Sacramento native with more than 20 years of legal experience, she is part of Adventist Health’s newly formed Office of General Counsel, providing legal support and regulatory compliance across the organization. As the system’s sole labor and employment attorney, Ms. Candy advises leaders, develops and updates policies, ensures compliance, and manages litigation. Prior to joining Adventist Health, she practiced labor and employment law at Sacramento firms and served as in-house counsel for Vision Service Plan. Known for her calm, solutions-oriented approach, Ms. Candy brings a holistic legal and business perspective to complex organizational challenges.
Eric Cole
Corporate Senior Vice President, Human Resources
Scripps Health
Eric Cole serves as the Corporate Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer for Scripps Health, a not for profit, integrated healthcare delivery system headquartered in San Diego, California. Scripps Health generates annual revenue exceeding $5.2 billion and is comprised of more than 22,000 employees, volunteers, and foundation and affiliated physicians.
Mr. Cole’s primary focus is advancing the organization’s people strategy. In his role, he provides the vision, leadership, and strategic planning necessary to optimize workforce performance and support the system’s mission and objectives. He is responsible for developing people focused strategies and resources that enhance organizational learning, expand leadership capability, and create a competitive advantage in support of improving community health.
Erika Frank, Esq.
Vice President, Legal Counsel
California Hospital Association
Erika Frank is Vice President and Legal Counsel for the California Hospital Association, specializing in labor and employment, workers’ compensation, workplace safety, workforce, community benefits, and seismic compliance. She leverages more than two decades of legal, regulatory, and legislative experience, offering a practical and insightful approach to helping employers, regulators and government leaders understand the impact workplace policies and mandates have on employers and employees alike.
John Henderson
Senior Consultant
People Results
Catherine Lee, Esq.
Partner, Atkinson
Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo
Catherine Lee specializes in employment, financial institution, and complex commercial litigation, with additional focus on data security and privacy matters. She counsels and represents employers of all sizes in state and federal courts, administrative proceedings, and arbitration, handling matters involving wage and hour claims, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, PAGA, trade secrets, and unfair competition. Ms. Lee also advises employers on hiring, discipline, terminations, and wage and hour compliance, and prepares employee handbooks, policies, and agreements.
In addition, Ms. Lee represents major financial institutions and community banks, having successfully defended clients such as JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, and PNC Bank in disputes involving fraud, privacy, internet banking, credit reporting, and foreclosure-related claims. She also advises businesses on CCPA compliance, data security issues, and corporate transactions.
Scott MacDonald, MD
Chief Medical Information Officer, Clinical Informatics
UC Davis Health
Scott MacDonald is a practicing primary care internal medicine and informatics physician with extensive experience implementing and improving an electronic health records system in a complex academic health system.
As the CMIO, he is the primary leader for optimizing the system to support high quality and high value clinical care, research, education, and community outreach across all venues of the Health System. Mr. MacDonald leads teams of informaticists and analysts from various specialties and venues to design and deploy solutions, and the strategies to support change.
Current key initiatives include a highly effective physician training and optimization program; optimizing clinical decision support, population health, and deploying and evaluating machine learning & large language models with a focus on fairness and accuracy. Mr. MacDonald works to improve the health of patients, health care workers, and the community with thoughtful change of processes, technology, and people’s skills.
Angeli Mancuso, RN
Manager, Workforce Development
Cottage Health
Angeli has been a nurse for 17 years and earned her Masters in Public Health from the University of North Carolina in 2018. She is known to be an out-of-the-box thinker, strategic planner, and get-stuff-done leader. As a nurse who has worked the majority of her career in Human Resources, her career path is not a typical one and she enjoys sharing her journey with employees and students to illustrate how life doesn’t always work out as planned.
Muira Mishra, Esq.
Founder and Principal
MKM Law Group
Muira Mishra is the founder and principal of MKM Law Group and brings more than 25 years of experience in labor and employment law. She advises employers across a wide range of industries, including healthcare, finance, retail, nonprofits, and emerging businesses, providing both legal guidance and practical business solutions. Her background includes serving as an employment attorney at a national law firm and as Vice President and Labor and Employment Counsel for a large integrated health care system with more than 25,000 employees.
A former litigator, Ms. Mishra understands the complexities of employment disputes and emphasizes proactive compliance and risk prevention, particularly in wage and hour matters. She regularly conducts audits, partners with clients on corrective strategies, and delivers training for executives, managers, and employees.
Will Owens
Chief Human Resources Officer
Common Spirit
Will Owens was appointed Chief Human Resources Officer for the expanded California Region in November 2023. In this role, he provides strategic HR leadership for human capital, clinical education, and occupational health across 31 hospitals statewide. Mr. Owens joined Dignity Health in 2014 and has held progressively senior leadership roles, including Human Resources Director for Mercy San Juan Medical Center, Methodist Hospital of Sacramento, Woodland Memorial Hospital, and Woodland Clinic. From 2019 to 2023, he served as Vice President of Human Resources for the Northern California Division, leading workforce transformation, labor relations, performance management, and employee engagement initiatives. He is actively engaged in the community, serving as Board Secretary for the Greater Sacramento Urban League and as Immediate Past President of the Northern California Chapter of NAHSE.
Sylvia Pittman, MSHR
Chief Human Resources Officer
Chinese Hospital
Sylvia Munguia Pittman is the Chief Human Resources Officer at San Francisco Chinese Hospital and Chinese Community Health Plan, bringing over 20 years of experience in HR within healthcare industry. Ms. Pittman has a deep understanding of regional, system and community hospitals, leveraging this expertise to foster robust employee engagement and well-being programs. With a strong passion for creating positive workplace cultures, Ms. Pittman has successfully led initiatives that improve employee engagement and performance aligning HR strategies with organizational goals to drive overall success.
Julie Reppas
Senior Vice President, Operations & Human Resources
California Hospital Association
Adam P. Romero
Chief Deputy Director
California Department of Industrial Relations
Adam P. Romero was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom in February 2025 to be the Chief Deputy Director of the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR).
DIR administers and enforces laws governing wages, hours, overtime, retaliation, workplace safety and health, apprenticeship training programs, and medical care and other benefits for injured workers. Mr. Romero helps direct all aspects of the department’s functions, goals, and strategies.
Previously, he served as a deputy director of the California Civil Rights Department, a position to which he was appointed by Governor Newsom in March 2020. Mr. Romero was a scholar and adjunct professor at UCLA School of Law and a senior associate at WilmerHale, where he specialized in appellate, Supreme Court, and intellectual property litigation. An attorney admitted to practice law in California and New York, Romero earned his J.D. from Yale Law School and A.B. from Cornell University (summa cum laude).
Lindsey Ryan, Phd, RN, ACNS-BC, NEA-BC, FACHE
VP, Patient Care Services, Chief Nursing Officer
Sharp Metropolitan Medical Campus
Jennifer Shaw, Esq.
Founder
Shaw Law Group
Jennifer Shaw is a nationally recognized employment law expert and the founder of Shaw Law Group, a leading California boutique specializing in proactive compliance, workplace investigations, training, and employment law advice.
With decades of experience, Ms. Shaw is the trusted advisor organizations call when navigating complex and high-stakes workplace challenges. She provides practical, real-world guidance in areas such as wage-hour compliance, anti-discrimination obligations, leave laws, hiring practices, and overall HR strategy.
A sought-after workplace investigator and longtime member of the Association of Workplace Investigators, Ms. Shaw regularly conducts sensitive, high-profile investigations for employers across the state. She also trains HR professionals to conduct defensible internal investigations and is known for her ability to translate legal requirements into clear, accessible, and actionable steps.
Cara Williams
Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer
Cottage Health
Cara Williams is Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Cottage Health, where she builds on the organization’s nationally recognized commitment to an exceptional workplace culture that supports outstanding patient care and experience. She succeeded long-time HR leader Patrice Ryan following her retirement after 16 years of service. Prior to joining Cottage Health, Ms. Williams spent nine years at Scripps Health in San Diego, most recently serving as Assistant Vice President of Patient and Staff Engagement and Human Resources. Her earlier career includes leadership roles as Regional Human Resources Director for ARAMARK’s Healthcare Division and district and regional HR management positions with Best Buy Stores Inc.
We would like to thank our corporate sponsors for their support of the
2026 HR Conference.
Diamond Sponsor:
Alliant Insurance Services provides insurance and consulting services engineered to mitigate risk, improve performance, and promote long-term growth. With offices across the U.S., Alliant’s diverse service profile encompasses property and casualty insurance, employee benefits, underwriting, surety, and financial products and services driven by industry experts who understand the unique market dynamics our clients face.
At Alliant Employee Benefits, our passion is delivering an exceptional experience for Healthcare employers, employees, and their families. We deliver specialized expertise with a personalized approach and find creative solutions that meet your unique needs, helping your organization stay agile and resilient.
Corporate Traditions helps healthcare organizations simplify employee recognition at scale. We provide digital gifting solutions that eliminate the manual work, wasted budget, and logistical complexity of traditional recognition programs. Trusted by health systems across the country, our platform delivers instant, flexible rewards that employees actually use, saving HR teams time while improving retention across multiple locations and shift schedules.
Medical Solutions is a leading healthcare staffing company specializing in travel nursing, allied health, and workforce solutions. As one of the nation’s largest healthcare staffing provides, it connects clinicians with hospitals and healthcare facilities across the U.S., offering contingent staffing, managed services, per diem, permanent placement, and international staffing. The company is known for its human-first approach, strong recruiter support and commitment ot quality patient care.
Springboard helps health systems solve their most pressing allied health talent shortages with homegrown talent. Employers get access to job-ready talent in just six months through Springboard’s mentor-led, hands-on training, replacing expensive travelers and long vacancy cycles. Our performance-based model means you only pay for employees who complete training and get certified. Providence, Ochsner, NewYork-Presbyterian and other similar systems rely on Springboard to fill critical roles including medical assistants, pharmacy technicians, and sterile processing technicians.
Gold Sponsor:
Concern: Elevating Workforce Well-Being
Fast, seamless, deeply personalized support—delivered with uncommon care. Concern goes beyond a traditional EAP. Known for our white glove service, we support employers in strengthening well being with customized benefits and compassionate support available anytime, anywhere. We offer specialized programs tailored to the unique challenges faced by hospitals and healthcare professionals.
Silver Sponsor:
Health Benefits Alliance was formed in 1993 in response to the first wave of healthcare reform conversations on Capitol Hill. As a result, hospital leaders came together to gain greater negotiating power and rate stability by collaborating on health and welfare benefits.
Today HBA includes hospitals, physician groups, colleges with medical schools or health sciences programs, and healthcare-related companies. HBA covers over 960 entities representing nearly 1 million covered lives. With a sole healthcare focus, HBA has six of the leading insurance carriers who guarantee participating hospitals the best savings possible.
Jellyvision
Hospitals and health systems turn to Jellyvision to help employees navigate complex plan designs like domestic and multi-tiered networks by providing personalized benefits education, decision support, and year-round help resources to increase high-value, in-network utilization.
CriticalArc is a global safety technology company transforming how organizations manage safety, security, and emergency response. Its flagship SaaS platform, SafeZone®, delivers real-time coordination, situational awareness, mass communication and incident management to protect people across higher education, healthcare, government, enterprise and critical infrastructure settings. Quick to deploy and easy to scale, SafeZone empowers teams to respond faster, optimize resources, and fulfil their duty of care wherever people work or study.
Bronze Sponsor:
Unitek Learning partners with health systems to embed nursing education inside the hospital, enabling employees to become licensed nurses without leaving the workforce. By removing barriers to access — seat availability, financing, and format — we help organizations convert internal talent into long-term workforce stability.
For additional assistance contact CHA’s Education Department at education@calhospital.org.