The County of Santa Cruz has hired turnaround leader Margaret Lapiz to announce the launch of SAVE Lives Santa Cruz County to guide the process of reopening the local economy as the COVID-19 emergency eases.
She will work with the county’s Health Services Agency to increase COVID-19 testing, contact tracing and isolation services, which are considered essential to reopening workplaces and schools until a vaccine is available. Then she will begin meeting with business leaders and others.
Lapiz, who holds master’s degrees in business administration and public health from UC Berkeley, has worked 25 years in health care strategy.
Community Foundation Santa Cruz County secured funding to help cover some of the costs, including Lapiz’ position, enhanced testing and contact tracing systems.
Margaret Lapiz
As an executive vice president for The Permanente Medical Group, Lapiz led an initiative to prepare and support physician leaders as they advanced in their careers. Permanente has 9,000 physicians, 38,000 employees and $14 billion in annual revenue. Most recently, she supported Netflix and the Aspen Institute as they expand their executive leadership programs. Last year, she partnered with the county and the Pajaro Valley Community Health Trust to evaluate the feasibility of purchasing Watsonville Community Hospital.
The World Health Organization calls the “test, trace, and treat” strategy the backbone of successful response to the pandemic as exemplified by efforts in Singapore, South Korea, and Germany.
In the U.S., tests are not readily available and contact tracing programs are often done manually, which is time-consuming.
“We must turn an eye towards large scale recovery efforts,” said Mimi Hall, director of the Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency. “The county is committed to easing the shelter-in-place restrictions so we can jumpstart our economy, but we must have safeguards in place.”