Blue Shield of California Foundation Names 25 Emerging Health Clinic Leaders

Honorees to participate in 2012 class of Clinic Leadership Institute

San Francisco, February 1, 2011 – Blue Shield of California Foundation (BSCF) has selected twenty-five health clinic professionals from throughout California to participate in the 2012 class of the Clinic Leadership Institute (CLI). The individuals in CLI’s fourth cohort are committed to the clinic field and will grow their leadership skills and the performance of their host clinics through participation in the program.  CLI was launched in 2007 to prepare the next generation of community clinic leaders for executive leadership positions in order to sustain a strong and vibrant community clinic system in California.

“Over the next few years, California clinics will have the opportunity to improve performance for their existing patients as well as extend care to new patients,” explained Peter Long, BSCF president and CEO.  “If we are going to make good on the promise of health reform, our investment in these emerging leaders will be a critical piece of preparing community clinics to deliver high quality care.” 

California’s 800 community clinics provide medical care to over four million people annually, the majority of whom are living below the federal poverty level. Record numbers of Californians have been turning to clinics for help as high unemployment and state budget woes have left more and more people without health insurance.  

Over the next 18 months, CLI participants will attend intensive sessions that will hone participants’ skills in the areas of financial management, strategy development, and healthcare policy. They will also have the opportunity to apply their new skills to special projects in their clinics. The program is administered by the Center for the Health Professions at the University of California, San Francisco, and was designed with input from community clinic representatives, as well as regional and national experts in the field of leadership development. 

“The bottom line is that when we identify the rising stars in our health clinics and invest in their skills and leadership today, clinics become more effective and patients get better care tomorrow,” said Long. 

The Clinic Leadership Institute, a signature project of BSCF, is an outgrowth of the Foundation’s longstanding commitment to supporting California’s healthcare safety net. Since 2003, BSCF has invested over $47 million in over 200 health clinics and their associations throughout California.  

Watch a brief video to hear what past participants say about their experiences with the Clinic Leadership Institute: http://www.blueshieldcafoundation.org/programs/healthcare-coverage/clinic-leadership-institute.

BSCF’s Clinic Leadership Institute Class of 2012: 

Central Valley

  • Kerry Hydash - Family HealthCare Network, Visalia
  • David Lopez - Community Medical Centers, Stockton
  • Wunna Mine - Darin M. Camarena Health Centers, Fresno
  • Melissa Rhoads - Valley Health Team, Fresno

Far North

  • Tami Fraser - Shingletown Medical Center, Shingletown
  • Deni Kennedy - PeachTree Healthcare, Yuba City

Greater Sacramento Area

  • Molly Brassil - California Primary Care Association, Sacramento

Greater San Diego Area

  • Simin Khadivi - Alliance Health Clinic, San Diego
  • Maura Mireles - Neighborhood Healthcare, Escondido
  • Nedy Morfin - Borrego Community Health Foundation, Cathedral City

Los Angeles and Orange County

  • Ty Aburto - Westside Family Health Center, Sun Valley
  • Arron Barba - Venice Family Clinic, Inglewood
  • Jeremy Elkins - Share Our Selves, Tustin
  • Susie Estrada - Wilmington Community Clinic, San Pedro
  • Susy Flores - UMMA Community Clinic, Hawthorne
  • Lauren Hill - Planned Parenthood Pasadena & San Gabriel Valley, Los Angeles
  • Candy Rabago - Eisner Pediatric and Family Medical Center, Los Angeles

North Coast

  • Aila Gilbride-Read - Six Rivers Planned Parenthood, Arcata

San Francisco Bay Area

  • Merrill Buice - San Francisco Community Clinic Consortium, San Francisco
  • Jorge De Luna - Community Health Partnership, San Jose
  • Claudia Del Rio - Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center, Hayward
  • Alvaro Fuentes - Community Clinic Consortium, Oakland
  • Kemi Role - Women's Community Clinic, San Francisco
  • Puja Satwani - Gardner Family Care Corp, Santa Clara
  • Alana Thompson - Dientes Community Dental Clinic, San Jose

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, 4,700 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/

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