_________________________________________________________________________________ Akron
Children’ s Hospital consent for care for children are an everyday occurrence in a pediatric hospital. It’ s all day, every day.”
Each situation is unique. Sometimes it involves divorce, foster care, or informal caregiving arrangements that need legal interpretation before non-emergent care moves forward. In the instance of emergency care, Kim says,“ I’ d rather defend caring for the patient than not.”
The hospital works to break down those barriers beyond the bedside. Through a partnership with the University of Akron School of Law, supervised law students help families tackle legal custody issues that could delay treatment.“ The law students can help families like a grandmother who is out there on her own get the legal custody that she needs to consent for care for the child.” These challenges define the environment in which Kim operates, shaping how the legal function integrates into clinical workflows.
Leading from within
Kim joined Akron in 2023 after a career spanning hospitals, managed care, and academic medicine. Her path into law reflects a different kind of first.“ I am a first-generation everything. Neither of my parents graduated from high school. I am the first person in my family to get a college degree, and I am the only lawyer in the family.”
Her career unfolded across different parts of the healthcare system, shaping how she approaches legal leadership today.“ I have been practicing law for about 28 years, the majority of that in some portion of healthcare, on the provider side, in managed care, and at the University of Pittsburgh in health sciences and research.
“ In my experience, you not only have to know the law, but you have to know your organization; the culture, the policies, the business, and the financial pieces, so when you are in a room and there is a conversation that may be or may not be legal, you can speak up.” That holistic philosophy shapes the legal department as a strategic partner. At Akron, the attorneys are assigned to specific areas of practice and engage early in planning and decision-making.“ We know the law; we know the business. So, being at the table when conversations first start, we understand both the concept and the strategic goals.”
Technology is really where we are spending a lot of time thinking about things differently
Technology and risk
Access at Akron is not just about how patients enter the system, but how easily they move through it. That shift is reshaping how care connects with families and how decisions get made across the organization.“ The push is practical: reduce wait times, remove friction, and meet families where they are.”
For the legal department, it means stepping into conversations earlier, before tools are implemented rather than after.“ For our legal department with an organization that wants to lean into AI, technology is really where we are spending a lot of time thinking about things differently. A lot of it involves technology; while the use of an electronic medical record is primarily used for clinical information, we optimize its use to streamline making appointments, facilitate communication between providers and patients, including other reminders.” Akron is also exploring improving patient access and experience through other initiatives including text messaging appointment reminders and invoicing.
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