Compliance Isn’t Policing, It’s Partnership

Ella never intended to go into compliance. She started her career as an executive assistant—sharp-eyed, operationally embedded, and quietly observant of institutional blind spots.

“I was aware of the issues we were facing,” she recalls. “But I had no authority to fix them. I could see the compliance gaps. I knew who needed to be at the table. I even had a strong sense of how to address them—but it wasn’t my place to lead those conversations—yet.”

“That changed after an accreditation review uncovered deficiencies in our compliance program, marking a turning point in how we approached compliance. It was a stark reality check that ultimately became a catalyst for change. There was collective acknowledgment among leadership and the board that we had fallen short. That moment shaped my entire philosophy.”

The organization responded by creating a formal compliance role. Ella stepped up, driven by the same instinct that had nagged her for years: problems weren’t being ignored—they just weren’t being owned. “I took the role to fix what I could already see was broken,” she says. “And that’s exactly what I’ve done ever since.”

Ella is quick to correct a common misconception: that compliance is about rules and punishments. “It’s not about catching people doing something wrong,” she says. “It’s about building systems where it’s hard to do the wrong thing in the first place.”

“YOU CAN’T ENFORCE YOUR WAY TO TRUST. COMPLIANCE ISN’T ABOUT PUNISHMENT—IT’S ABOUT BUILDING RESILIENT, ETHICAL CULTURES.”

That starts with culture. Her leadership style is grounded in empathy, support, and shared responsibility. “Too often, compliance teams use the stick. I prefer the invitation. Invite people into the process. Help them understand why it matters. You get better results when people feel like they’re part of the solution.”

This mindset has helped her turn sceptics into allies—especially when developing new policies or procedures. “The initial response is often one of resistance. Not because they don’t care, but because they’re overwhelmed. So, I work with them to find the path to yes. Maybe that means changing a process. Maybe it means providing more context. But it always means listening.”

Ella’s work isn’t happening in a vacuum. Her organization operates in a politically charged space where regulations change fast, public opposition is real, and risk is multidimensional.

“Healthcare compliance is hard. Reproductive healthcare compliance is even harder,” she admits. “You’re not just navigating clinical standards. You’re dealing with ideological attacks, legal ambiguity, and public safety threats.”

Fortunately, she’s not alone. A strong national federation supports local affiliates with legal interpretations and rapid updates. “But interpretation is only half the work. You still have to translate it into how frontline staff pivot to comply with the changes tomorrow morning. That’s where real compliance lives.”

One of the biggest shifts Ella led was moving the organization toward a structured compliance architecture—anchored in the seven elements of an effective compliance program laid out in chapter eight of the federal sentencing guidelines.

Policies & Procedures. Leadership engagement. Training. Reporting channels. Monitoring. Auditing. Risk Assessments. Enforcement. Investigations., … It’s all tracked.

“We built a compliance dashboard that reflects all seven elements. Every policy, every task, every deadline is accounted for,” she says. “If we’re slipping on training, the dashboard shows it. If monitoring drops, it’s flagged. It’s our early warning system.”

“OUR DASHBOARD DOESN’T JUST TRACK TASKS—IT TRACKS TRUST.” The backbone of this infrastructure? A purpose-built compliance platform. “We use VComply, and I’ll be honest—it’s been a game changer.”

Like most nonprofit teams, Ella’s department is resource-constrained. “It’s a small team. It’s often just me,” she says. “With no excess capacity on our compliance team, we have to be strategic with the resources we have.”

This reality forced her to think differently. “We had to be smarter with the systems we used. VComply made that possible. It didn’t make compliance easy—nothing does—but it made oversight manageable.”

With the platform, tasks are assigned, deadlines tracked, and anomalies flagged across programs and locations. “If a single clinic location or department is struggling to complete compliance related tasks, it’s visible, right there in the dashboard. I know where I need to intervene.” “Without VComply, we’d be placing the burden of risk identification on managers who are already stretched thin.”

IT’S NOT ABOUT SURVEILLANCE. IT’S ABOUT PARTNERSHIP. “The system helps leaders lead. It gives them visibility. It reinforces accountability.”

Ella doesn’t just preach compliance—she teaches it, designs for it, and engages people in it.

“Every year, I meet with every team. In person if I can, virtually if I must. We talk through the code of conduct, retaliation protections, and reporting channels. But we don’t just read policy.”

She uses scenarios, humor, worst-case examples. One year, she ran a contest where teams designed their own compliance logos and posters.

“We made it fun. And the winning team’s design is now used across all locations. That’s how you make compliance stick. You turn it into something people own.”

Ella insists that this approach isn’t just more human—it’s more effective. “If compliance feels like a rulebook someone throws at you, you forget it. If it feels like something you helped create, you remember it.”

One of the most impactful things VComply enabled was making compliance performance visible across levels. “Each team has their own dashboard now. They see their metrics. They know senior leadership is reviewing them. And they know it affects promotions, raises, leadership potential.”

Ella doesn’t frame this as pressure—it’s alignment. “People want to grow. They want to lead. And now they see that compliance isn’t a checkbox—it’s a leadership competency.”

“WHEN COMPLIANCE BECOMES A LEADERSHIP METRIC, IT STOPS BEING SOMEONE ELSE’S JOB.”

Ella admits there are moments when the scale of her responsibility—and the pace of change—feels overwhelming.

“I’m project-minded,” she says. “So if I start to feel burned out, I find a project. I fix a process. I redesign a system. I work with teams to improve something. That arc—from problem to solution—grounds me.”

She draws energy from the results. “The last accreditation review we had? After rebuilding the program and implementing the platform? The review team said it was one of the smoothest they’d ever conducted. That was the reward. That was the proof.”

Ella sees the next frontier of compliance as digital infrastructure and patient privacy.

“Telehealth, home delivery, remote monitoring—healthcare’s digital shift is already here. But that innovation depends on infrastructure. And privacy will be the biggest battleground.”

New HIPAA regulations are expected to reshape how organizations manage and secure patient data. “The way we protect patient information has to evolve. HIPAA isn’t static. And compliance programs need to stay ahead—not just catch up.”

Her advice to future compliance leaders? Adapt how you communicate.

“Don’t send someone a six-page SOP. Give them a one-pager. Better yet, show them a 60-second walkthrough video. We live in a world of bite-sized learning. Compliance has to meet people where they are.”

“IF THEY DON’T UNDERSTAND IT, THEY WON’T FOLLOW IT. AND UNREAD POLICIES DON’T PROTECT PATIENTS.”

Ella’s answer is short and powerful.

“Because it keeps people safe,” she says. “When someone walks into a clinic, they trust that the care they receive is safe, ethical, and accountable. That’s what compliance is. It’s the infrastructure behind that trust.”

“You don’t go to the doctor to come home sicker. Compliance makes sure you don’t.”