The Face Behind HCQ
Michelle R. Hackley MBA, RN, JD., CPHRM, FASHRM
Michelle Hackley is a Los Angeles-based attorney specializing in compliance and risk management. Michelle draws upon her experience as in-house risk management counsel, litigator, and critical care nurse to provide practical yet comprehensive advice and guidance on a wide range of multi-dimensional issues impacting health care providers.
Michelle delivers unique and strategic guidance to clients navigating complex medicolegal situations. She routinely advises clients regarding HIPAA, EMTALA, the Conditions of Participation, and Title 22, as well as situations involving issues related to capacity, consent, end-of-life decision-making, psychiatric and medical holds, organ donation, treatment of minors, discharge planning, and managing disruptive patients and families.
Michelle has extensive experience advising clients on physical safety and security matters and coordinating responses to evolving and ongoing threats. She served as the risk management liaison to local and state law enforcement agencies for a large health system and developed and implemented comprehensive policies and guidelines for clinicians and administrators interacting with various law enforcement officials.
Michelle’s expertise includes investigating and reporting of adverse events, as well as making required disclosures to patients and families. She has extensive experience with inquiries and investigations of federal and state governmental agencies and licensing bodies at the institutional and provider level.
As in-house risk management counsel, Michelle was responsible for managing professional liability claims from inception to conclusion, including retaining and overseeing outside counsel, coordinating system-wide responses to discovery, managing strategic approaches to mediation, arbitration, and trial, and negotiating favorable settlement of several high-profile, high-exposure cases.
Michelle brings a deep knowledge and understanding of the complex situations facing healthcare providers. Her expertise allows her to provide comprehensive advice and guidance with a practical approach that supports the day-to-day operations and long-term strategic goals of clients providing care and services to diverse patient populations in a wide variety of settings.
Michelle’s experience includes nearly a decade as in-house risk management counsel at a large academic health system where she was responsible for conducting comprehensive risk assessment activities, and developing and implementing multi-dimensional risk reduction strategies, leading to measurable improvements in quality and safety standards across the system.
Michelle currently serves as the Executive Director of The Foundation for Healthcare Quality, a non-profit organization she founded in 2020 to provide education on regulatory compliance and risk management strategies to small, non-profit, community-based providers.
Michelle earned her B.S.N. from Grand Canyon University graduating summa cum laude in 1997. She was a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing and was the recipient of the Florence Nightingale Award for academic excellence and leadership. Michelle received her M.B.A. with a concentration in healthcare administration from Texas A&M, Corpus Christi, and she received her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, in 2005.
Michelle is a Certified Professional in Health Care Risk Management and a Fellow of the American Society for Health Care Risk Management. She is the current Chair of the Southern California Association for Healthcare Risk Management Communications Committee, and she has lectured and written on a wide range of legal, compliance, and risk management topics.
How We Work Together
HCQ works collaboratively, fostering strong partnerships with healthcare providers and community-based organizations to ensure the seamless delivery of support. By sharing our expertise, resources, and insights, we strengthen the impact of our collective efforts.