Foundation’s Clinic Leadership Institute Graduates its 2010 Class of Leaders
New graduates will lead clinics through the rapidly changing healthcare environment
San Francisco, June 23, 2010 -- Thirty-three community clinic leaders will graduate from Blue Shield of California Foundation's Clinic Leadership Institute on Saturday, following 18 months of intensive education and leadership development. Clinic Leadership Institute, a signature program of Blue Shield of California Foundation, engages emerging leaders from community clinics throughout California to position them to be visionary leaders and change agents.
Community clinics are central to California's healthcare safety net, providing care to more than 4 million people every year. Rising patient loads and uncertainty of funding has impacted community clinics over the past two years, making strong leadership more important than ever. Community clinics are also adapting to the new healthcare environment formed by the passage of federal health reform.
"Clinic Leadership Institute graduates will be leading the safety net through unprecedented times," said Brenda Solórzano, chief program director for Blue Shield of California Foundation. "The newfound tools and skills of these leaders will provide the safety net with a strong foundation for working in the post-reform environment. These times require leaders who are agile, creative and committed to providing quality care for Californians in need."
During their training with the Institute, participants engage in interactive and instructive activities focused on strategic thinking, financial management, health policy and other critical leadership skills. Participants take their knowledge back to their communities by implementing projects at their home clinics. The Center for the Health Professions at the University of California, San Francisco is the administrator for Clinic Leadership Institute. The 2010 leaders are the second graduating class of Clinic Leadership Institute.
The graduates' projects are already underway, and will be presented in detail at graduation on Saturday, June 26. Projects include:
- In San Diego, Mark Connelly at the Borrego Community Health Foundation prepared an emergency operations plan for pandemic flu for an area particularly hard-hit by the H1N1 outbreak of 2009.
- In Union City, Carlos Londono at Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center created an information exchange between electronic health records and a disease registry to increase immunization rates among children.
- In Eureka, Sherri Provolt of the Open Door Community Health Centers developed partnerships with local organizations to direct patients away from the emergency room for non-emergent issues.
Clinic Leadership Institute is an outgrowth of the Foundation's longstanding commitment to supporting California's healthcare safety net. Since 2003, the Foundation has invested nearly $40 million in approximately 200 health clinics, consortia, and their associations across California.
Clinic Leadership Institute, Class of 2010:
Central Coast
Salvador Chavarin, Salud Para La Gente, Watsonville
Yolanda Robles, Planned Parenthood of Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo Counties, Inc., Santa Barbara
Lupe Terrones, Marian Community Clinics, Santa Maria
Central Valley
Kennoris Bates, Golden Valley Health Centers, Merced
Amisha Patel-Pannu, Clinica Sierra Vista, Bakersfield
Petrus Tjandra, National Health Services, Inc., Shafter
Far North
Carolyn Hopkins, Shingletown Medical Center, Shingletown
Elizabeth Morris, Feather River Tribal Health, Inc., Oroville
Greater Sacramento Area
Karen Larsen, CommuniCare Health Centers, West Sacramento
Greater San Diego Area
Amie Brown, Council of Community Clinics, San Diego
Mark Connelly, Borrego Community Health Foundation, San Diego
Timothy Miotti, Borrego Community Health Foundation, San Diego
Los Angeles and Orange County Area
Robin Bradley, Camino Health Center, San Juan Capistrano
Mary Ann Hodges-Huntsman, Share Our Selves Free Medical Clinic, Costa Mesa
Rosa Ortiz, Venice Family Clinic, Venice
Grace Sison, AltaMed Health Services Corp, Los Angeles
Erika Sockaci, Los Angeles
North Coast
Jeanie Eldridge, Redwoods Rural Health Center, Inc., Redway
Carole Press, Mendocino Community Health Clinic, Inc., Ukiah
Sherri Provolt, Open Door Community Health Centers, Eureka
Riverside
Pamela Love, Community Health Systems, Inc., Moreno Valley
San Francisco Bay Area
Lucinda Bazile, LifeLong Medical Care, Berkeley
Priscilla Contreras, Alliance Medical Center, Healdsburg
Ignacio Ferrey, La Clinica de La Raza, Oakland
Karen Hill, Glide Health Services, San Francisco
Felicia Jones, Planned Parenthood Golden Gate, San Francisco
Therese de Leon, Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, Gilroy
Carlos Londono, Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center, Inc., Union City
Maritza Penagos, Mission Neighborhood Health Center, San Francisco
Amy Petersen, San Francisco Community Clinic Consortium, San Francisco
Sridevi Ponnala, Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center, Hayward
Stacey Stirling, St. Joseph Health, Santa Rosa
Anita Zamora, The Women's Community Clinic, San Francisco
About Blue Shield of California Foundation
Blue Shield of California Foundation is one of the largest healthcare grantmaking organizations in California. For more information, visit: www.blueshieldcafoundation.org. The Foundation was formed by Blue Shield of California, a not-for-profit corporation with more than 3.4 million members, 4,800 employees, and 20 offices throughout California. For more information about the company, please visit www.blueshieldca.com.
About the Center for the Health Professions at UCSF
Since 1992, the Center has been dedicated to transforming health care by delivering Leadership programs to empower change agents at every level and within all sectors of the health care system; and by producing nationally and internationally recognized, unbiased Research to help health care decision makers understand today's workforce issues and design actionable strategies to solve them. For more information about the Center, visit: http://futurehealth.ucsf.edu/