Her Story
About Mirna
Mirna Orihuela, MBA, is a regional healthcare leader based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area with more than a decade of experience driving enterprise strategy, operational transformation, and care continuum innovation. She currently serves in a leadership role at a large Healthcare system, where she oversees post-acute care strategy and regional operations, focusing on improving access, strengthening partnerships, and aligning system-wide performance across complex healthcare networks. Her expertise spans enterprise growth strategy, network optimization, and the design of scalable operating models that reduce variation and improve patient outcomes across post-acute, home-based care, and population health environments. Throughout her career, Mirna has built a strong record of leading large-scale restructuring and operational improvement initiatives across healthcare systems. She has directed regional centralization efforts, developed standardized workflows, and implemented infrastructure solutions such as centralized communication systems and SharePoint-based operational tools to support multi-market coordination. Her earlier leadership roles in post-acute and transitional care included expanding provider networks, improving referral efficiency, and developing cross-functional care coordination models that significantly increased access and continuity of care. She is widely recognized for her ability to translate complex system challenges into actionable strategies that deliver measurable organizational impact. In addition to her executive leadership, Mirna is deeply committed to mentorship, education, and professional service. She serves in leadership and advisory capacities within organizations such as the American College of Healthcare Executives and contributes to healthcare leadership development initiatives through teaching at the university level and volunteer work. She is an alumna of California State University, San Bernardino and has received multiple honors recognizing her influence in healthcare leadership, including emerging leader awards and industry recognition for her impact on care delivery systems. Passionate about developing future healthcare leaders, she continues to focus on advancing into senior executive level roles where she can shape enterprise care models and strengthen how health systems evolve to meet growing demands in healthcare delivery.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Mirna
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to relationship-building, curiosity, resilience, and consistently showing up for opportunities. Throughout my career, networking, mentorship, and a genuine willingness to learn from others have played a significant role in my professional growth and leadership journey. I believe that staying open to new experiences and building meaningful connections have been key drivers of both my personal and professional development.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I’ve received has come from the many mentors who have guided me throughout my healthcare journey. Their guidance reinforced the importance of staying adaptable, leading with integrity, and continuously learning. They also taught me that success is built through strong relationships, collaboration, and the willingness to embrace new challenges with confidence and humility.
Sometimes we overthink opportunities because we feel unprepared, intimidated, or afraid of failing. But I’ve learned that many doors open simply because you were willing to be present, participate, and take the first step. Which it has led me to leadership opportunities, mentorships, professional organizations, speaking engagements, and experiences that helped shape who I am today.
You do not need to have everything figured out before taking action.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I encourage young women entering healthcare leadership to focus on building strong relationships, networking intentionally, and showing up for opportunities even when they feel uncertain. Confidence and growth develop through consistent participation, visibility, and a willingness to learn. I also believe it’s important to stay curious, seek out mentors, and trust that every experience — even the challenging ones — contributes to your growth as a leader.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges in healthcare today is fragmentation across different levels of care, departments, and operational structures, which can create communication barriers and impact continuity of patient care. One of my passions has been helping bridge those gaps by understanding how each part of the healthcare continuum works together. When leaders understand the full patient journey, they can create more coordinated, patient-centered solutions.
At the same time, I see tremendous opportunities to improve collaboration, streamline care continuum strategies, and build stronger integrated healthcare systems that better support both patients and providers. By strengthening communication and alignment across teams, the industry has the potential to redesign more efficient, patient-centered care experiences.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
In my work and personal life, I value integrity, leadership, mentorship, curiosity, and community impact. Integrity is the foundation of everything I do. I believe leadership is not just about results — it’s about how you achieve those results and how you treat people along the way. No title or accomplishment means much if you lose your values in the process.
I am committed to supporting others in their professional growth while contributing to systems and relationships that strengthen healthcare delivery and organizational culture. I believe these values guide how I lead, how I work with others, and how I create meaningful impact in my field.
Education, leadership development, and empowering individuals from underrepresented communities to pursue leadership opportunities are especially important to me, and they continue to shape both my personal fulfillment and professional purpose.
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