Desiree Thomas is the Chief Operating Officer of Be Well OC.
Desiree has more than two decades of healthcare leadership experience spanning several prominent organizations across Southern California. She most recently served as Executive Director of Emergency Department, Critical Care and Behavioral Health Services for Providence St. Joseph Hospital Orange. In this position, she had oversight for more than 550 full time employees and 141 beds, including 53 ED beds with 90,000 annual patient visits.
Her responsibilities included not only fiscal management and programmatic growth for her units but also developing and maintaining physician alignment for local and regional initiatives such as clinical performance improvement and contract management.
After beginning her nursing career as a critical care nurse at LAC+USC Medical Center, Desiree spent 14 years rising through the nursing ranks at MemorialCare Health System. During her tenure, she served in several key roles including Director of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery Services as well as System Director of COVID-19 Surge Planning in the initial months of the 2020 pandemic. She was also tapped to lead as Interim Vice President of Critical Care Services at Phoenix Children’s Hospital for one year during the COVID-19 pandemic. Desiree holds a Master of Science degree in Nursing from Mount St. Mary’s University, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Biola University, and will complete the Executive Master of Business Administration program at University of California Irvine in June 2024. She has received several nursing and leadership accolades during her career is a member of several industry organizations including the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL), and Association of California Nurse Leaders (ACNL).
Orange Campus
265 S. Anita Drive,
Orange, CA 92868
Irvine Campus
7800 Marine Way,
Irvine, CA 92618
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