Terri talks with Cindy Ehnes about how she sees crisis as opportunity, how she insists on thriving not just surviving, and how she didn’t let losing her left hand at the age of 19 hold her back from becoming not only the first disabled professional skier but in being a champion for patients in the healthcare system.
Who is Cindy Ehnes?
Cindy Ehnes is the Executive Vice President of COPE Health Solutions, an attorney licensed in California and Colorado who served as Gov. Schwarzenegger’s Director of the CA Department of Managed Health Care for seven years, the author of The Prentice Hall ADA Compliance Advisor and was a world class ski racer. She served for nine years as Consumer Representative and Chairman of Colorado's insurance plan for uninsured, high-risk individuals and was the Enforcement Director for the Consumer Affairs section at the Colorado Division of Insurance, where she oversaw passage of several patients' rights initiatives, including new rules for patients with chronic conditions and for newborns.
Show Highlights
Cindy became a ski racer in the mid-west and got a ski scholarship to college
Cindy lost her hand in a meat grinder when she was 19
Cindy finds joy in the littlest things in life which is a major factor in her ability to face the challenges in her life
Cindy’s mom helped give her courage to continue with her life very quickly after the amputation
The importance of not transferring your fears as parents to your children
Cindy was selected by cosmetic company Bonnie Bell to ski with their national team and became the first person with a disability to be a professional in the ski industry
Cindy is a firm believer in not just surviving, but thriving
Cindy moved to Colorado, practiced law, had her two daughters, one with a severe medical issue and due to the medical issue, changed her life priorities
Cindy learned that her child, and others like her, were medically uninsurable which led to starting a grassroots effort that led to her work in healthcare
Cindy moved to California and was asked by then Governor Schwarzenegger to be the Director of Managed Healthcare
Cindy became inspired to begin the work on building the technical infrastructure in California to support integrated medical records from experience with Kaiser’s integrated medical record system while she had breast cancer
Terri and Cindy discuss healthcare in the US and the healthcare systems supporting it
Terri talks about the frustrations associated with having disparate medical record systems in managing her healthcare
Cindy used her power of being a regulator to help patients
Patients are expected to, with the high cost healthcare programs, to be empowered to make their own healthcare decisions but aren’t given the tools to do so
Terri talks about her increased optimism around healthcare with changes in the FDA
Cindy encourages those involved in healthcare to focus on the patient because that will simplify solving healthcare related problems
Terri talks about as investors, we can do well and do good and should be focusing on leaving the world a better place for our kids and grandkids and the importance of founders to develop products and services based on lived experiences
Cindy would wave her magic wand to change the president.
Terri’s Key Takeaway
If we as parents can give our children a sense of agency over their own lives, we have succeeded as parents.
Contact
Cindy can be found on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/cindy-ehnes-472a609/
Here’s a link to an interview she did in 2016. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/laura-dunn/women-in-business-qa-cind_b_11063826.html
You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium: https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead.
Feel free to email Terri at PilotingYourLife@gmail.com.
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