Foundation Announces 2013 Graduates of Clinic Leadership Institute
Program helps prepare the next generation of leaders in California’s healthcare safety net
San Francisco, CA, July 2, 2013 – On Saturday, twenty-four leaders from community health centers across California graduated from the Clinic Leadership Institute (CLI) Emerging Leaders program. With funding from Blue Shield of California Foundation, CLI provides promising healthcare professionals with the skills, networks, and guidance they need to effectively lead their organizations and meet the health needs of California’s underserved.
“Leadership development is a core element of our strategy, and is critical to achieving a high-performing healthcare safety net,“ said Peter Long, president and CEO of Blue Shield of California Foundation. “As we fully implement health reform in California, these leaders will be key to transforming systems of care and expanding access to services throughout the state.”
Launched in 2007, CLI provides participants with unique training focused on strategic thinking, financial management, health policy and other essential leadership skills. Since the program’s inception, CLI has produced over 100 trained leaders. The 2013 graduates make up the fifth class of CLI’s Emerging Leaders program, with a sixth cohort already underway.
This year’s graduates were selected for their leadership potential, and represent a range of roles within community health centers - including program managers, regional directors, systems administrators, and beyond. Throughout the 18-month program, participants develop individual projects to enhance the capacity end efficacy of their organizations. Each graduate has an innovative project already underway at their health center. Sample projects include:
- Jay Kelley, of the Family HealthCare Network, developed a digital solution for collecting data and measuring performance. The project is now enabling staff at his organization to better track their efficiency, view trends, and align their strategies with broader organizational goals.
- Julie Kirk, of the Westside Family Health Center, established a school-based approach to reducing rates of sexually transmitted diseases among adolescents in Los Angeles County. The project is now active in five local schools, with health professionals conducting confidential reproductive health screenings once a month through a mobile medical unit.
- Brenda Pettit, of the Community Health Centers of the Central Coast, Inc., created a patient navigation center to improve the ability of care teams to effectively respond to patient needs. The project has streamlined the scheduling process and is already improving quality of care.
The Center for the Health Professions at the University of California, San Francisco is the administrator for the Emerging Leaders program.
BSCF's Clinic Leadership Institute Class of 2013:
North Coast
Thomas Steenblock – Open Door Community Health Centers
Stephanie Wheeler – Long Valley Health Center
Far North
Francine Novak – Western Sierra Medical Clinic
Bay Area
Jinyoung Chun - Asian Health Services
Crystal Eubanks - LifeLong Medical Care
Aaron Lones - Ravenswood Family Health Center
Ezequiel "Zeke" Montejano - St Anthony Medical Clinic
Elizabeth Sekera - Lyon-Martin Health Services
Lucretia Sonderer - Community Health Clinic Ole
Juan Taizan - California School Health Centers Association
Central Coast
Michelle Franco - Planned Parenthood
Brenda Pettit - Community Health Centers of the Central Coast, Inc.
Central Valley
Jay Kelley - Family HealthCare Network
Mary Lou Lopez - United Health Centers of the San Joaquin Valley
Lisa Mosqueda - Central Valley Health Network
Gurjeet Sandhu - Golden Valley Health Centers
Los Angeles
Jose Acosta - LA Care Health Plan
Elizabeth Gomez
Julie Kirk - Westside Family Health Center
Lelenia Navarro - East Valley Community Health Center, Inc.
Southern California
Elizabeth Ahumada - Neighborhood Healthcare
Nancy Pealing - Borrego Community Health Foundation
Irene Torres - North County Health Services
Statewide
Andie Patterson - California Primary Care Association
About Blue Shield of California Foundation
Blue Shield of California Foundation is one of the state’s largest and most trusted grantmaking organizations. Our mission is to improve the lives of all Californians, particularly the underserved, by making health care accessible, effective, and affordable, and by ending domestic violence. For more information visit: www.blueshieldcafoundation.org.
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/