A group of professionals seated at a large conference table with laptops looking at a large display in the background showing an image of medical professionals in a clinical setting.

Staff highlights

Carroll Schreibman smiling, and wearing a black shirt with long red hair and a white background.

As Chief Administrative Officer, I am pleased to share an overview of the department’s progress over the past year. In a complex and evolving healthcare environment, our focus has remained on disciplined growth, operational excellence, and sustained investment in our people and academic mission. The following highlights reflect a coordinated effort across leadership, faculty, and staff to expand clinical capacity, strengthen the workforce, and position the department for continued success.

Carroll Schreibman (She, Her)
Associate Chair of Finance and Administration and CAO
Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care

 

 

Administrative Leadership: Scaling Impact Through Data, Innovation, and Integration

Over the past year, the Department of Anesthesia’s administrative leadership team has guided the organization through accelerated growth and rising operational complexity. Clinical activity expanded across multiple care sites and required new approaches to the workforce, financial management, and infrastructure. In response, the staff leadership team focused on building systems, processes, and organizational alignment needed to sustain performance at scale.

A central priority has been strengthening the department’s clinical and operational foundation, which has been supported by the hiring of Harnoor Jolly, Director of Clinical Operations. The clinical operations team introduced 12 new shifts and implemented 9 compensation model updates to better align with evolving care-delivery needs. Administrative innovation played a key role, including the deployment of automated scheduling tools and centralized reference systems that reduced manual workload while improving accuracy, transparency, and consistency. These efforts were supported by the development of standardized workflows, new analytics frameworks, and dashboard capabilities, enabling more informed, real-time operational decision-making.

At Zuckerberg San Francisco General, Polina Ward, Director of Clinical Staff, advanced a comprehensive group of initiatives for the Respiratory Care team focused on patient safety, staff development, and operational performance. The RCS team supports approximately 60,000 procedures annually, generates $78.2 million in charges, and achieves 89% of productivity targets. Significant progress was made in strengthening respiratory clinical care practice through complex ICU and neonatal case reviews, expanded use of extubation huddles, and ongoing improvements in the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia and ventilator-associated events. Education remained a central focus, with expanded interdisciplinary training programs, Skills Days, and access to up to 20 continuing education units annually, alongside leadership in UCSF’s first NIH Mechanical Ventilation course for fellows. Operational and quality infrastructure included implementing compliance monitoring tools and transitioning to PolicyStat, which streamlined approximately 180 policies into a more accessible, sustainable framework.  

Under the leadership of Yvonne Stanek, the Anesthesia Technician team played a vital role in supporting safe, high-quality perioperative care through consistent, high-reliability clinical practice. The team supported more than 18,000 operating room setups and turnovers, ensuring anesthesia equipment, supplies, and workstations were prepared, calibrated, and maintained to support complex surgical cases. In high-acuity settings, the team provided critical support during more than 2,200 trauma activations, demonstrating rapid response, technical expertise, and strong coordination with anesthesia providers during time-sensitive emergencies. The team also continued to strengthen its workforce through recruitment, onboarding new technicians to support the growing clinical demand while maintaining high performance standards.  

Investments in integrated scheduling, timekeeping, and simulation technologies—including a state-of-the-art simulation lab and expanded IT infrastructure—enhanced coordination across clinical, educational, and administrative domains. Adam Jacobson, Director of IT, scaled his team and operations to support this growth, including deploying more than 180 faculty devices and expanding clinical systems to new sites.  

As the organization grew, Sarah Cortez, Director of HR, and her team focused on developing administrative systems to support a larger, more complex workforce. Over the past year, the HR team processed more than 1,000 HR cases and supported the hiring and onboarding of 55 physicians, 18 staff, and 4 research personnel. Complementary efforts—including new recruitment incentive structures, expanded roles such as Pain Psychologists, and improved policy and workflow infrastructure—have enhanced the department’s ability to attract talent while improving consistency, transparency, and efficiency across workforce operations.

Under the leadership of Jannot Ross, Staff Director of Education, the Education Team drove key innovations to support the growing scale and complexity of the department’s education programs. These included expanding simulation-based training and implementing a Same-Day evaluation model for resident assessments, resulting in a 50% increase in completion rates and more timely feedback. The team also led the transition to a new centralized UCSF CME platform, improving efficiency and compliance for faculty education while expanding undergraduate pipeline programming from one to four annual sessions to strengthen recruitment.

Nancy Ha, Director of Research Administration, and her team supported a portfolio of approximately $87.5 million in active extramural funding, while strengthening financial oversight through standardized reporting and portfolio management tools. The Clinical Research Core, with oversight from Kate Alfieri, PhD, Director of Research Development and Training, and her team, supported 31 active studies, including participation in major national trials, and continued to expand its infrastructure and staffing to meet growing demand. Investments in training and development further sustained a strong pipeline of investigators, trainees, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Financial stewardship, led by Steven Otsuki, Director of Finance, remained a cornerstone of administrative leadership. Despite external pressures, the department improved its financial position, increasing net margin by $1.87 million and growing total funds flow revenue by $15.76 million. Enhanced financial systems, including new tracking and governance tools, improved accountability, and enabled more strategic, data-driven resource allocation.

Leah Pimentel, Director of Opportunity and Impact, prioritized opportunity, engagement, and community as drivers of organizational performance. The Opportunity and Impact team hosted important Grand Rounds with visiting professors, the SCORE program for 40+ students, many cultural programs, and trainings. These initiatives advanced health equity, workforce development, and community engagement, while internal programs strengthened recognition and team cohesion.

Under the leadership of Joanna Times, Admin and Operations strengthened the department’s workplace infrastructure, employee experience, and community engagement. The team supported day-to-day operations across five campus sites, resolving 100+ service requests, and expanded its scope to assume stewardship and care of an additional 1,000+ square feet of shared space. The group also advanced key facilities initiatives, including securing approval for a major renovation project and coordinating cross-campus PI relocations to ensure operational continuity and improved space utilization. Complementary space and asset optimization efforts reclaimed usable space, reduced costs, and aligned resources with long-term departmental priorities.

Efforts to enhance the onsite experience included hosting return-to-work informational sessions and implementing a refreshed workspace hoteling system that improved accessibility and utilization at Parnassus Heights. In parallel, the Events team delivered 42 events engaging nearly 2,000 participants, with over 90% of attendees reporting highly positive experiences and more than 95% achieving key outcomes such as connection, learning, and engagement.  

Dani Cambier, Director of Communications, led strategic and data-driven communications approaches that further enhanced visibility and alignment within the department and externally. Digital platforms supported over 437,000 annual website views and more than 200 content updates, while social media audiences grew by 46–56% across platforms. Internal communications also improved significantly, with higher engagement rates and a 50% reduction in unsubscribe rates, reflecting stronger connections and greater clarity across the department.

Taken together, these efforts reflect a deliberate evolution toward integrated, data-informed administrative leadership. By aligning operational systems, digital infrastructure, workforce support, and financial management, the leadership team has not only supported the department’s rapid growth but has positioned it to adapt, innovate, and lead within an increasingly complex healthcare environment.