Advisory Board Member Profile
Deborah ChristianIndependent Consultant
Senior Clinical Improvement Advisor 
Areas of Expertise
Needs assessment to enhance care of underserved, under-resourced communities and improving the patient experience.
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Deborah Christian is a Physician Assistant with more than 25 years of experience providing clinical care and coordination services to minority older adults with complex medical and social issues. She is a graduate of Fisk University and Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science where she received her medical training.
Immediately upon graduation from Drew University, she was recruited to join the healthcare workforce at Los Angeles County, Department of Health Services where she helped develop a comprehensive geriatric medicine program at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center. The program later received recognition by U.S. News & World Report as one of the nation's best geriatrics program in its' 2002 “America's Best Hospitals” survey. With her experience, expertise, motivation, and leadership, she successfully managed an elder abuse prevention and intervention program funded by Los Angeles County, Department of Community and Senior Services. Through this position she identified the need to improve health care outcomes of minority older adults, specifically after hospital discharge. As a result, Ms. Christian worked diligently with community leaders to develop an interagency initiative targeting older adults that are at risk for hospital readmission. With her broad background in geriatric medicine, training as a Care Transitions Intervention® Coach and experience in providing care to minority older adults, she promoted comprehensive strategies for mitigating “post-hospital syndrome” and its accompanying stressors that contribute to the vulnerability of minority patients soon after hospital discharge. For 5 years, Ms. Christian successfully managed the Diabetes Self-Management Education Program at the California Medicare Quality Improvement Organization - Health Services Advisory Group (HSAG). Currently her work focuses on improving outcomes of people with opioid use disorder and enhancing the care of individuals experiencing the ravages of the coronavirus in the nursing home setting.
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