TINA PATEL GUNALDO, PHD, DPT, MHS

I am a physical therapist whose career kept expanding beyond any single department. In healthcare I moved from clinical practice to managing five professions. In academia I was hired into one department and ended up teaching across schools and leading university-wide initiatives. What I discovered along the way is that fragmentation in healthcare is not a people problem. It runs deep from how we are educated in separate programs and spaces, straight into how we practice in separate departments, units and settings.

Everything I build through Collaborate for Health traces back to one moment. I was invited to join a friend's healthcare journey as she navigated a fragmented healthcare system. While talented professionals worked hard and advocated for what they could, they were working against a system that was not designed for collaboration. What I witnessed in that experience is what I work to support every day, for leaders, for teams, and ultimately for the patients and families who deserve better.