DAP Health is delighted to share the advancement of Carol Wood to Chief of Clinical Operations, after she served as Director of Clinical Administration since 2017. Carol’s decades of experience in healthcare, coupled with her dedication to the mission of DAP Health, have enabled her to lead operations during this pandemic to continue serving 9,700 patients without fail.  
As Chief of Clinical Operations, Carol Wood will oversee multiple departments, including Medical, Dental, Behavioral Health and Registration. She will continue her key role in helping lead DAP Health’s ongoing response to COVID, now entering its second year.  
“During this past year, as DAP Health met the challenges of the evolving COVID crisis, Carol’s dedication and commitment never wavered,” says David Brinkman, CEO. “Not only was she instrumental in the launch of DAP Health’s COVID Clinic, but her leadership is a major asset to the health of our community as we move into the next 12 months of responding to the impacts of COVID.” 
She brings over 40 years of healthcare experience, having served in various executive leadership positions including acute care, skilled nursing, home health, hospice, and graduate medical education. 
“Carol has worked tirelessly during the COVID pandemic, connecting with the community and being that beacon of hope for so many during such an uncertain time,” says Carolyn Caldwell, president and chief executive officer of St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach, California. Ms. Caldwell also serves on the Board of Directors at DAP Health as a board member. 
According to Ms. Caldwell, recent events including the COVID pandemic and civil unrest have brought even more emphasis on health equity, with a focus on diversity and inclusion.   
“At DAP we know, based on our experience, that the people we serve must be represented in the diversity of the people who lead and provide care,” says Mr. Brinkman.  “Two of the ways health equity is achieved are through cultural competence and hiring.” 
Despite making up 65 % of healthcare’s workforce, women only hold around 30% of medical leadership positions in the US. (Oliver Wyman) 
“I applaud DAP Health for their focus on diversity and inclusion and I would like to share a quote by Ruth Bader Ginsberg that I think is very appropriate,” says Ms. Caldwell. “’Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It shouldn’t be that women are the exception.’”