MD – Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH
Residency – Internal Medicine, The Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, NY

Biography: Dr. Tiffany Kenison, an internal medicine physician, is interested in health policy as well as implementing systems and policy-based change geared towards decreasing health disparities for diverse populations.  As a fellow, she engaged in clinic work with the West Los Angeles Veteran’s Affairs Same Day Clinic VA Primary Care.  She completed the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health Master in Health Policy and Management degree program in Winter of 2020.  

In August of 2018, Dr. Kenison was co-author for an online Education for Health publication article titled “Assessing the hidden curriculum for the care of patients with limited English proficiency: An instrument development.”  She collaborated on this project with Drs. Alexander Green, Claudia Rosu, and Chijioke Nze.  In 2019, Dr. Kenison participated as a Co-investigator in a collaborative project between the UCLA NCSP and Healthy African American Families II (HAAF-II) with the goal of amplifying the community voice regarding facilitators and challenges of social determinants of health impacting South Los Angeles.  The project is titled “Communities 4 Wellness Equity: Community Voices Conference” (C4WE).  Dr. Kenison assisted in planning an initial community conference titled “Community Voices” that served as an asset and need assessment of social determinants of health through focus groups and surveys of participants in the conference.  

Dr. Kenison’s main NCSP research project is titled “Universal Multi-Domain Social Determinants of Health Screening in a Safety-Net Emergency Department.”  Her mentorship and collaboration team included Dr. Robert Brook, NCSP Director Emeritus and Dr. Alison Hamilton, Associate Director for Implementation Science at the VA HSR&D Center for the Study of Healthcare Innovation, Implementation & Policy, VA Greater LA Healthcare System.  The proposed impact of this project was to attempt to address the negative impact that social determinants of health have on a community by screening and addressing social needs in the Emergency Department of hospitals located in a high need community.  To further this research, Dr. Kenison engaged in a policy elective project focused on “Addressing Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) in the Emergency Department” in the summer of 2019.  She served with New York City Health + Hospitals under the mentorship of Drs. Eric Wei, Vice President, Chief Quality Office; Theodore Long, Vice President, Ambulatory Care; and David Silvestri, Director, Care Transitions and Access.  Continuing this project throughout her second year in fellowship, Dr. Kenison and her team developed a pilot program that incorporates a multi-domain social determinants of health screening and assistance program into the workflow of the Emergency Department at North Central Bronx Hospital, one of eleven acute-care hospitals within NYC Health + Hospitals, the largest public healthcare system in the United States.   

In addition, during fellowship Dr. Kenison collaborated with Dr. Arleen Brown (UCLA GIM) as co-investigator in a qualitative research project utilizing a community-participatory approach, purposeful sampling, and rapid qualitative analysis techniques to conduct a stakeholder analysis of Whole Person Care, LA (WPC-LA).  WPC-LA is a Medicaid waiver pilot program intended to bring together health and social service agencies to coordinate care for Los Angeles County’s most vulnerable Medi-Cal beneficiaries.  Through 16 programs, WPC-LA serves six high-risk populations: people experiencing homelessness, justice involvement, high risk pregnancies, serious mental illness, substance use disorders, and complex health conditions.  Dr. Kenison participated in research protocol and materials development, conducted interviews of community stakeholders, and assisted in analysis of semi-structured interviews.  

As a fellow, Dr. Kenison also published an article on “Unlocking HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Delivery: Examining the Role of HIV Providers in Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Care” in AIDS Patient Care and STDs Vol. 34, No. 6 June 2020.  

During fellowship Dr. Kenison volunteered with Physicians for Human Rights as an asylum forensic evaluator.  In this position, she evaluated immigrants who are seeking asylum to assist with their applications for asylum.  After fellowship, Dr. Kenison served with the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services as Medical Director at LAC+USC Medical Center Primary Care Adult East Clinic. The LAC+USC Medical Center is one of the largest public hospitals and medical training centers in the United States.  Dr. Kenison now serves as the Primary Care Director of Equity and Care Experience at the San Francisco Department of Public Health.