Healthcare Ethics Consulting for Clinical and Public-Sector Healthcare
Autonomy. Beneficence. Non-maleficence.
About Pacific Bioethics
Our Mission
- At Pacific Bioethics, LLC, we offer healthcare clinical ethics consulting and education to promote ethical, patient-centered care in diverse healthcare settings. We work with healthcare leaders and care teams to navigate complex ethical and communication challenges that arise in everyday clinical practice.
- Traditionally, formal bioethics support has been concentrated in large academic medical centers and integrated hospital systems. Many community-based healthcare organizations face similar ethical challenges without access to trained ethics professionals. Pacific Bioethics was established to help bridge this gap by making ethics consultation and education accessible, practical, and responsive to the needs of smaller and nontraditional care settings.
- Our services support community clinics, skilled nursing and long-term care facilities, outpatient and specialty practices, behavioral health programs, and public-sector healthcare systems, particularly those serving vulnerable populations. Our approach is collaborative and non-punitive—focused on strengthening ethical decision-making, supporting staff confidence, and fostering trust between patients, families, and healthcare organizations.
- Based in California, Pacific Bioethics works with partners at the federal, state, county, city, and private-sector levels, advancing integrity, accountability, and respect for human dignity in healthcare and health-related services.
About the Founder
- Latelle J. Barton II, MD, HEC-C, an MD-trained Bioethicist and Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics Fellowship alum, leads Pacific Bioethics. He is a Nationally Certified Healthcare Ethics Consultant (HEC-C) with experience in medical ethics education, professionalism, and clinical communication. His work focuses on translating ethical principles into practical guidance for frontline healthcare teams across community clinics, long-term care, outpatient specialty practices, and public-sector healthcare settings. Dr. Barton brings a collaborative, non-punitive approach to ethics consultation and education, supporting patient trust, staff confidence, and ethical decision-making in complex care environments.
Veteran-Owned Small Business
Federally Certified
California Microbusiness
Certified
Los Angeles County LSBE
Certified
Los Angeles City EBE, SBE, and VSBE (Harbor)
Certified
Federal & State Partnerships
Ethics Support for Public Healthcare Systems
Pacific Bioethics LLC is a Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB), California Certified Microbusiness, and Los Angeles County LSBE, providing specialized healthcare and clinical ethics consulting for government agencies and public health systems.
Our mission is to strengthen ethical decision-making in healthcare, behavioral health, and research—supporting federal, state, and local programs that serve vulnerable populations.
We collaborate with partners across the public sector to help ensure care that is equitable, transparent, and patient-centered.
Core Public Sector Services
- Clinical Ethics Consultation
Guidance for healthcare teams on ethical dilemmas in patient care, informed consent, and decision-making capacity.
- Program & Policy Development
Design and implementation of ethics frameworks that align operations with federal and state regulations.
- Moral Distress Support
Ethics-informed strategies addressing clinician burnout and moral distress in high-risk environments.
- Training & Professional Education
Tailored workshops and continuing education for clinicians, leadership, and staff.
- Research & Human Subjects Protection
Consultation on regulatory compliance, informed consent, and participant safeguards for clinical and behavioral studies.
- Crisis & Emergency Response Ethics
Ethical decision frameworks for disaster response, triage, and scarce resource allocation.
Principal Consultant Differentiators
- Certified Healthcare Ethics Consultant (HEC-C) with academic and clinical experience.
- Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics Fellow alum; National Institute of Health research ethics training.
- Dual background as Associate Professor of Medical Ethics & Professionalism and former U.S. Navy medical service member.
- Unique blend of academic, military, and consulting experience applied to federal and state healthcare, healthcare education, and research systems.
Medical School Accreditation Consultant
International/Offshore Medical Education
At Pacific Bioethics, we guide international medical schools in building accreditation systems grounded in ethics, professionalism, and accountability. Accreditation is not just compliance — it is the foundation of credibility, sustainability, and growth. Our approach integrates academic quality with ethical leadership, helping schools align with global standards while fostering trust, transparency, and professional integrity.
Accreditation Guidance Tailored to Your School’s Stage
- New Schools – Accreditation strategy from the ground up.
- New Developing Schools – Avoid common pitfalls early and increase chances to obtain candidacy status.
- Accreditation with Conditions – Addressing areas of concern to achieve full compliance.
- Probation Status – Targeted guidance to resolve deficiencies.
- Denials – Corrective strategy to reapply successfully.
- Not Accredited – Guidance for schools unable to accredit due to severe deficiencies.
High-Impact Consultations — Fast, Focused, and Insight-Driven
- Clarity on what regulators expect.
- Actionable steps tailored to your school.
- Risk-avoidance strategies to prevent costly mistakes.
- Direct alignment with US-modeled standards.
At Pacific Bioethics, we believe that ethics and accreditation are inseparable. True accreditation reflects not only institutional compliance, but institutional conscience — a commitment to fairness, integrity, and the responsible education of future physicians.