NELSON FLORES HOSPITAL MEDICINE CONSULTANTS - Key Persons
John is the nation's preeminent expert on hospital medicine practice management. With more than 25 years of experience as a practicing hospitalist, Dr. Nelson co-founded the Society of Hospital Medicine (the medical society for the nation's hospitalists) and remains an active figure in the evolution of hospitalist practice nationally. In 2010, the society honored Dr. Nelson for his contributions to the field by inducting him as one of only three members of the inaugural class of Masters in Hospital Medicine.
In addition to his work in practice management consulting, Dr. Nelson serves as Medical Director for the clinically integrated network and physician advisor for case management at Overlake Medical Center in Bellevue, Washington. His career in clinical practice as a hospitalist and service as hospitalist medical director enables him to relate first-hand to the practical challenges of managing a growing hospitalist practice, and readily establishes credibility with the hospitalists in client organizations.
Dr. Nelson is in high demand as a speaker and writer on the subject of hospital medicine. He serves as course co-director and faculty for the Society of Hospital Medicine's one-day practice management courses and writes a practice management column for SHM's monthly newsmagazine The Hospitalist.
A great lover of an array of musical genres including the blues and late '70s/early '80s classic rock, Dr. Nelson recently began learning to play guitar. This has led him to discover a passion for music theory, which he studies avidly.
Education
BA, Psychology, Wake Forest University
MD, Wake Forest Bowman Gray School of Medicine
John Nelson, MD is one of the founders of the specialty of hospital medicine, and has consulted with hundreds of hospitalist programs over more than 25 years. In 2004 he and Leslie Flores, MHA, an experienced hospital executive, co-founded Nelson|Flores with the goal of merging their complementary skills and expertise to better serve clients.
Working primarily with hospitals and integrated delivery systems, Nelson|Flores helps clients build successful new hospital medicine programs and enhance the effectiveness and value of existing programs. In addition to our work with adult and pediatric hospitalist programs, Nelson|Flores is actively involved on a national level with the rapid evolution of "hospital-focused practice" - that is, the trend toward adoption of the hospitalist model of practice by many specialties including acute care surgeons (general surgery hospitalists), orthopedic hospitalists, neuro-hospitalists, GI hospitalists, OB hospitalists (laborists), intensivists, etc.
A founding partner of Nelson|Flores, Leslie Flores is now retired from active consulting but continues to serve in an emeritus role to periodically offer advice and to help brainstorm solutions to clients' pressing challenges.
Leslie lends a healthcare administrator's perspective, having served in executive-level positions in hospital operations, physician practice development and managed care. She practiced as a healthcare management consultant for more than 20 years.
In addition to her work in hospitalist practice management consulting, Ms. Flores' experience includes extensive work in management and leadership development, leadership coaching, retreat facilitation, conflict mediation, and team-building in healthcare settings.
Ms. Flores remains active in the Society of Hospital Medicine, where she serves as an informal advisor for practice management issues. Since 2008 she has co-led SHM's biennial surveys of hospital medicine groups, from survey design through analysis and writing of the resulting State of Hospital Medicine report. She also serves as a member of the Executive Council for the Society's Multi-Site Leaders Special Interest Group, and as a member of the blogging team for SHM's official blog The Hospital Leader. She served as course co-director for SHM's one-day practice management course for more than a decade.
An active member of Grace Chapel Indio, where she sings (and occasionally plays guitar) on the worship team, Ms. Flores is committed to living out her love for Jesus in all aspects of her life.
Education
BS Biological Sciences, University of California, Irvine
MHA, University of Minnesota