Influential Woman · Healthcare
Shanga Jordan
CNA
Director, --
Woodland Hills, CA
Her Story
About Shanga
I've been in healthcare for approximately 35 years, and it's been my passion from the very beginning. I started as a CNA and worked my way up into my director role currently. My journey actually began in high school when I helped with the BCCCP unit at Alameda County General Hospital, doing philanthropic work with low-income individuals, and I've stayed in the field either directly or indirectly ever since. I've had the privilege of working at Los Alamitos Medical Center under the mentorship of Director Samantha Dunlow, and at St. Francis Medical Center where I worked in trauma and neonatal NICU. Currently, I work for a health plan processing prior authorizations for Medi-Cal and Medicare members, ensuring they receive their medical services and authorizations timely so they get the medical attention they deserve based on their current diagnosis, conditions, or treatments. My day-to-day involves a lot of communication and making sure we're closing gaps, trying our best to make sure members don't fall through the cracks. I also served as an emergency responder during COVID. Throughout my career, I've been guided by doctors, surgeons, and even nuns who were still at St. Francis Medical Center when I worked there, all of whom helped keep me focused on our purpose as nurses in this field.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Shanga
01What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would definitely say that you need to have the empathy in this role, and you really need to go into this role with the goal that you want to make sure that people are getting the best healthcare available to them and the services that we can provide. People think that going into healthcare is a good field to go into financially, but ultimately, we have to remember that our goal is to get our members, our patients, and people in our community the treatment and the care that they desire. As long as that focus stays there, that at the end of the day, we're trying to get someone's care, whether it's someone that is a grandmother, a mother, a father, that has to remain our focus, is ensuring that they get the care that they need so they can have the best quality of life.
02What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenges in my field right now include governmental changes with legislation for Medi-Cal and Medicare programs, which directly impact our ability to serve members. There are also significant challenges for our lower-income members based on housing and their living situations. Finding providers that can adequately treat members for whatever services they need is another major challenge, as is getting members to those appointments. We can provide services, but ensuring that they're able to follow through on the services is always a struggle. We work to overcome these challenges through a lot of communication and making sure we're closing gaps, trying to do our best to make sure members don't fall through the cracks. We have teams that follow up with members, ensure they have access to transportation, connect them with community providers, and sometimes we will literally go through setting up the appointment and ensuring that the physician has everything they need and the member has all the information they need. It's really a team effort across different departments and different areas.
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