Chief Executive Officer
Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic

Number of employees you

oversee:

Last year we employed 2,015

employees, and 623 volunteers and career placements. This includes 166 medical

providers, 35 dentists and 18 pharmacists.

What is Yakima Valley

Farm Workers Clinic?

Yakima Valley Farm Workers

Clinic is a Community Health Center and a system of care that serves people who

live in poverty. We are uniquely suited to assist individuals who have more

challenges than the average, middle-class community member. In addition to

medical and dental care, we provide integrated behavioral health, integrated

nutrition services and whole host of additional programs and services.

Brief background on the

organization:

Yakima Valley Farm Workers

Clinic was founded in the 1970s to address the health care needs of migrant and

seasonal agricultural workers living in the Yakima Valley. Over the course of

the last four decades, we have grown to serve communities across Washington and

Oregon where people are struggling to support their families.

How did you land your

current role? How long have you been in it? What drew you to this work?

I was recruited by

organization in 1986. After my interview, I accepted the position which I have

now held for 36 years.

There was significant need

in the community, and I felt that I was well suited to help the board of

directors meet that need.

Tell us about your

business model and why it works when so many health care organizations are

struggling?

We have built our

infrastructure to ensure that we deliver high quality care, which ensures that

our patients are satisfied with the care we provide and, therefore, we have

patients who have been loyal to our organization for the last 35 years.

We run a business and as

such, we must ensure that part of our strategy is to think about long-term

sustainability.

Managing our resources is a

major priority in our organization.

Sustainability is not all

about resources, but is also about ensuring that we recruit and retain the

right people dedicated to the mission of our organization. We have been

incredibly successful in retaining our staff by ensuring that they have the

tools they need to be successful in their work.

What should Tri-Citians

know about the organization and its local clinics, including the Miramar

Clinic, which is being built near Vista Field in Kennewick?

As an organization, we have

a long history of caring for the migrant/seasonal community as well as the

low-income community which struggles getting the appropriate care.

The community should know

that we are a fully integrated health care system dedicated to improving the

lives of our communities.

This means, when a patient

comes to see us, we will deliver their medical, dental, behavioral health,

nutritional health care and more.

Our new Miramar Health

Center in Kennewick will expand its services to address not only medical care

patients need, but also dental, pharmacy, social services as part of our

integrated model.

What is one

characteristic that you believe every leader should possess?

An understanding of the

population we are serving, having the compassion to care for the people in your

communities and to be a fiscally responsible individual.

What is the biggest

challenge facing you as a manager today?

We are continually

challenged by the lack of health care professionals willing to do the work we

do in the locations in which we provided that care. Human capital is the most

difficult to attain and to retain.

If you had a magic wand,

what would you change about your field?

I would build a completely

new reimbursement system that rewards performance and outcomes focusing on

access and quality of care.

What advice would you give

someone going into a leadership position for the first time?

Create a vision, build good

partnerships and be fiscally responsible; three of the critical elements to

build a consistent and successful delivery system.

Who are your role models

or mentors?

Dr. Monahan, a dedicated

physician who provided health care for the migrant/seasonal farmworkers at a

time where there was very little support from the community for that type of

work. He was a good mentor and someone I admired.

I always was amazed at the

courage and the commitment that Cesar Chavez had toward serving the

migrant/seasonal farmworker.

How do you measure

success in your workplace?

If we have created access to

care for patients who otherwise are struggling to get services and we have

treated our patients with care and dignity, then we are very successful.

How do you keep your

employees motivated?

We provide them with the

tools that they need to be the best they can be in the work that they are

doing. We pay them well so that they feel valued and we provide them with

opportunities to advance and learn.

What do you consider your

leadership style to be?

I have always attempted to

be focused on our patients and have created a culture of responsibility that

has allowed us to grow and be an organization that focuses on our communities.

Leadership, in my opinion,

is not a question of style but a question of results.

How do you balance work

and family life?

It is always a difficult

task in that both are incredibly important and are a major priority in my day

to day life.

What do you like to do

when you are not at work?

Play tennis and ride

motorcycles.

What’s your best time

management strategy?

I don’t have one. The work

needs to be done and I need to attend to my family and I do both the best way I

can.

Best tip to relieve

stress?

Stay organized and be

consistent.

What’s your favorite

book?

My favorite book is “The

House on Mango Street,” by Sandra Cisneros, and “One Hundred Years of Soledad,”

by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Do you have a personal

mantra, phrase or quote you like to use?

When it comes to our work,

‘no’ is a temporary obstacle.