faculty focus
BRINGING THE REAL WORLD INTO THE CLASSROOM How two changemakers in SoCal health care prepare students for a rapidly evolving industry By Christina Schweighofer
Over the course of their careers in hospital management, USC Gould Lecturers in Law Sheniece Smith and Susan Taylor have seen the industry grow ever more complex. Both Smith
and Taylor have significantly impacted how health care is delivered in Southern California. They now bring their expertise to the classroom, with the goal of helping students succeed in their careers. Smith, who teaches “Health Law and Policy,” is the vice president and general counsel for Hannibal Regional
Given the fluidity and growing complexity of health care, Taylor and Smith have made it their goal to equip students with a solid understanding of substantive law and the skills to adapt to change. Healthcare System in Hannibal, Mo. She previously spent more than 10 years in the legal department at Children’s Hospital Orange County where she launched a family legal assistance program that provides free guardianship and conservatorship services to families who otherwise cannot afford them.
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Taylor teaches “Health Care Law, Business and Finance.” She is the CEO of College Hospital Costa Mesa. Passionate about issues of mental health and substance abuse, Taylor changed how mental health care is delivered in Orange County when she launched a crisis stabilization unit at College Hospital. Patients with an acute need for stabilization can now receive prompt psychiatric services without in-patient hospitalization. Both lecturers draw on their own experiences to teach students how the law might apply to current issues and real-life situations. Smith covers topics ranging from bioethics and telemedicine to physician relationships and informed consent, which is where her experience with family legal assistance has proven especially useful. All aspects of her practice have been pertinent in class, including bankruptcy. “It seems it would be irrelevant to a hospital — but it’s not, because we have patients who filed bankruptcy. Health care touches all things because it has to do with people,” she says. Taylor, who appreciates the real-time aspect of teaching health care law, dedicates one full week to the Affordable Care Act in her class. Recently, she also referenced the novel coronavirus in a lecture about disaster preparedness as a factor in the licensing and certification of health care facilities. Mental health care, homelessness and the opioid
