Taru Gupta MDS,MPH,PMP

Experience

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  DJ College of Dental Sciences and Research Center

  Jul 2014 - Jan 2015

  Senior Lecturer, Department of Public Health Dentistry

  Advised postgraduate students on thesis and research projectsLectured undergraduate students on relevant dental topicsOrganized and managed dental outreach camps in rural areas of Modinagar, UP, IndiaTeam leader responsible for planning and implementation of preventative and curative treatmentScreening for oral health cancer and referral to tertiary centersCounselor for smoking and tobacco cessationOral Health promotion and oral health education

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  Allegheny County Dental Task Force

  Jan 2016 - Apr 2016

  External Collaborator

  Single-handedly identified different targeted approaches to make oral health care accessible to kids 0-5 years of ageIdentified possible contributions from every stakeholder on the committee includingpediatricians, dentists, dental hygienist, nonprofit organizations and insurance companiesConducted phone and in person interviews across the state to understand the current oral health initiatives and potential efforts at the state level to improve oral healthcare especially for Medicaid insured childrenVisited successful Medicaid practices in Philadelphia to understand their scheduling and operational modelResearched successful dental programs across United States that can be replicated at the county levelConducted site visits to the school based dental outreach program and county dental clinics to identify and recommend areas of opportunity and improvement Show less

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  Highmark Inc.

  Jan 2016 - Jan 2017

  Clinical Services - Health Policy and Management Administrative Resident

  Conducted research on different successful business models to connect community resources effectively with the Medicare Advantage seniors and disabled members in Pennsylvania and West VirginiaIdentified highest healthcare utilizing members and their most pressing psychosocial needsStrategized and created customized solutions to improve access to various community based social service agenciesDeveloped business case for Highmark to work with social service agencies Advised on how to integrate new solutions into existing programs at the insurance company and AHNAnalyzed dental policies in Medical policy department for content, clarity and clinical utilizationCollaborated with Med Econ Initiative to advise cost reduction strategies and solutions for high costing medical proceduresDrafted a new medical policy for Upper Endoscopies to guide appropriate claim paymentsEdited Medicare policies to ensure that they were in compliance with the latest regulationsManaged several projects that involved facilitating communication among different teams Show less

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  Jewish Healthcare Foundation

  Jun 2016 - Jul 2016

  Patient Safety Fellow

  Conducted site visits to Excela Health to observe process flow on the C.diff isolation unitsKey team member to formulate evidence based solution for process improvement to reduce C.diff infection rates at Excela HealthRepresented the group to a 100+ audience including the JHF board membersAttended all the lean training sessions and workshops for quality improvement

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  Helion

  Feb 2017 - Apr 2018

  Project Manager

  HM HCS is a post-acute management company set up to bring value to at risk entities through the optimal management of post-acute care services.Conceptually, HM HCS functions much like a Pharmacy Benefits Manager (PBM), except instead of managing prescription benefits it is managing post-hospital benefits. HCS principally manages high performing networks of post-acute providers for at risk entities seeking to better manage quality, experience, and cost in the post-acute care space. HCS aligns incentives-both financial and operational across the post-acute care continuum to improve quality, experience, and cost for its customers.Managed 4-5 large to midsize projects through oversight of multiple projects at various stages of project lifecycle; work cross-functionally with internal and external stakeholders; create and maintain detailed project documentation providing structure and organization.My primary responsibilities included vendor optimization by serving as a program manager for naviHealth. Key areas of work - Drafting contracts with legal and compliance and negotiating the naviHealth contract renewal. I maintained the customer value creation and pipeline initiatives for HM HCS that demonstrate the value added by the company at the enterprise level. Beyond my project management duties, I supported the implementation of a validated dental assessment tool for post-acute care pathway of stroke patients in an attempt to reduced aspiration pneumonia events with our Clinical team at HM HCS. Show less

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  Highmark Health

  May 2018 - Apr 2020

  Project Manager (Enhanced Community Care Management)

  Enhanced Community Care Management (ECCM) aims to transform the delivery of care to patients through continuous care coordination, targeting the most at-risk patients via a patient - centered care model that is focused on prevention, care quality, health outcomes, and patient satisfaction. At the heart of the program are the ECCM Nurse Care Managers (NCM) embedded in Primary Care Physician offices. Nurse care managers promote patient needs within a true partnership approach that empowers patients with self-management techniques. At the same time, patients always have direct access to their NCM. The NCM keeps patients and caregivers engaged in ongoing care plans by “meeting patients where ever they are” – including visits at home, at their PCP office, in the hospital, through virtual outreach, and ongoing phone check-ins. I worked towards solidifying the foundation of clinical project management structure on the team. Drive the operations and implementation of electronic care-coordination technology platform for the frontline staff. Collaborate with senior leadership to create vision and drive long-term vision of the rapidly expanding program. Provide oversight and support for projects to monitor achievement of critical milestones within timeframes consistent to achieve organization’s mission and financial objectives. Standardize program protocol, guidelines to meet regulatory, and accreditation requirements. Instrumental in standing up the evidence based practice council and trained the team on thorough literature review and basics of research. Designed survey instruments for information gathering and data analysis. Show less

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  Blue Cross Blue Shield Association

  Apr 2020 - Jun 2021

  Senior Consultant, Program Development
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  Isha Foundation USA

  Jan 2022 - now

  Conscious Planet SaveSoil Champion

  Why Save Soil?The Save Soil movement is an effort to save our planet’s soil from extinction. This is a global movement that @Sadhguru is initiating to bring attention to this catastrophic issue that humanity is facing and calling for policy change towards corrective action.𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙞𝙡 𝙚𝙭𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣?Around the world, because we are not paying the right kind of attention to it, soil is losing its vitality and turning to sand.𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙬𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨?Across the countries of the world, nationwide policies need to be in place to ensure minimum 3% organic matter in soil.𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙘 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙤𝙞𝙡?Soil is healthy and cultivable only when organic content is present in it. It degrades and becomes less fertile if there is not sufficient organic matter in the soil.𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣?Bring land under vegetation and shade. Plant litter will increase soil organic matter.𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙙𝙖𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙤𝙞𝙡?● 62% of India’s soil has an organic content of less than 0.5%.● The US has lost 50% of its topsoil.● In Europe, 75% of the soil has an organic content of less than 2%● Two thirds of Africa is well on track to losing its arable lands by 2030● Worldwide: 52% of agricultural soils are already degraded - ELD initiative, 2015● By 2050, 90% of Earth's soil could be degraded - UNCCD, 2020Why are policies important?If we act now, this crisis can be effectively reversed across the globe through policies that are created to safeguard soil health. Isolated individual actions are no longer sufficient to turn this around. To ensure soil health, collective participation of all citizens is needed, which can only be ensured by adopting the necessary policies in every nation of the world.The ActionTake the message to 3.5 Billion people, that make 60% of the world's electorate Show less