Leah Fitzgerald
Leah Fitzgerald, J.D., ’15: “It is hard to believe that it has almost been a year since I graduated from law school and have been working as the Patient Care Risk Manager at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota since graduation. Children’s is one of the largest pediatric systems in the United States with 18 different sites throughout the metro. Children’s is the only Minnesota hospital system to provide comprehensive care exclusively to children. I actually had the opportunity to be introduced to Children’s through my Health Law Institute (HLI) externship experience and was offered the position as a result of the externship.
“While I had clinical experience in healthcare, I had limited knowledge of what happens behind the scenes in a healthcare organization. Through the Health Law Institute, I was able to develop the knowledge base I needed to understand the regulations and liability a healthcare organization is faced with today. I apply what I learned in my health law classes every day in my role as the risk manager to not only assess liability, but collaborate with the compliance team to comply with healthcare regulations. I also work closely with the patient safety team to ensure Children’s provides the safest, most effective care to our patients, while evaluating the quality of care within the organization. ‘Kids first’ always is our highest priority as an organization.”