L.A. Care Health Plan, the largest publicly operated health plan in the country, is pleased to announce the promotion of James Kyle, MD, to the new position of Chief of Equity and Quality Medical Director. Dr. Kyle joined L.A. Care as Medical Director for Quality Improvement in April of 2019, leading QI efforts in clinical quality, including health disparities, accreditation initiatives and member and provider surveys. Late last year, he was named the Medical Director for Quality, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. In that role, he led the health plan’s enterprise-wide equity efforts outlined in L.A. Care’s Statement of Principles on Social Justice and Systemic Racism. He will continue to lead these efforts in his new position, he will promote diversity, equity and inclusion practices that will be evidenced through L.A. Care structures, culture and leadership.
In the summer of 2020, when the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 in Black and Latino communities was becoming devastatingly clear, Dr. Kyle organized two COVID-19 Disparities Leadership Summits. He gathered health care leaders from across Los Angeles County to strategize on how to address these disparities. He also led L.A. Care’s participation in LA vs Hate’s inaugural United Against Hate Week, and is continuing the to lead the health plan in preparation for the county’s second United Against Hate Week.
Dr. Kyle will continue to help lead the Quality Improvement Department as Chair of the Credentialing and Peer Review Committee and the Performance Improvement Collaborative and Physician Quality Committee. Dr. Kyle implements strategy for the quality improvement functions within the health plan, in collaboration with the administrative and clinical leaders of the organization. In this position, he works to help reduce health care inequities among the under-resourced communities that L.A. Care serves.