Message from the CEO

Welcome to the summer issue of our Access newsletter! It’s hard to believe that we are more than halfway through 2023 and we have some very exciting updates to share with all of you.

Since taking the helm in 2022, it was my goal to work closely with the CPCA Board of Directors and our staff to carve out a new vision for the organization that was built on collaboration, honored the strong foundation set by our founders, and yielded a clear path for the organization, propelling the community health center mission forward and improving the health and wellbeing of our communities. I was excited to work with our Board to develop a new strategic vision anchored in five overarching goals, which are aimed at achieving Health Center Optimization; Strengthening Workforce & Diversity; Achieving & Advancing Regulatory Equity; Becoming a Center of Advocacy Power & Influence; and improving Association Impact & Sustainability.  

As the CEO of CPCA, I am proud of the work that you – our members – do each day to improve the health and wellbeing of Californians. Our strategic plan builds on this foundation by providing a roadmap for us to continue to be a strong voice for all of you and the patients you serve. You can read more about our strategic plan here.

Building on our work of Becoming a Center of Advocacy Power & Influence, we are excited to be moving our civic engagement work forward with the hiring of Lindsey Freitas as the new Vice President of Civic Engagement and Community Affairs. Lindsey will lead the development and implementation of CPCA’s community health center (CHC) civic engagement program to educate and empower CHCs and diverse communities to become civically engaged to improve public health and wellbeing. Lindsey will also serve as the lead for CPCA’s external public affairs work, support CPCA’s government relations priorities, and lead strategic initiatives for the organization. Lindsey will oversee a new grant-funded team that will provide both statewide and regional support for our civic engagement work as we look to expand statewide. You can read more about Lindsey in our new staff update.

Regarding another exciting development over the past few months, I am happy to announce that we launched CPCA’s Health Center Site Visit Program during National Health Center Week (August 6-12, 2023). This is part of our work to ensure Association Impact & Sustainability as well as improve member engagement by sending CPCA staff to CHC sites to hear directly what issues are impacting you and your health centers. CPCA will deploy staff across California in teams of three or more and invite RAC staff to participate. Thank you to the members that have already expressed an interest in having CPCA staff visit your health center. If you are interested in participating in the Health Center Site Visit Program, please let us know.

And finally, I wanted to make a plug for our upcoming Annual Conference. Our staff are diligently working to review the content submitted through our call for presenters process and put together an impactful agenda that you won’t want to miss. We are excited to be in Los Angeles and I hope to see many of you there in person. You can find information on registration and the most updated agenda here.