Nieves Gomez, CBHA Director of Operations, was one of just 15 young professionals
honored nationwide recently through the Geiger Gibson Program in Community
Health Policy at the George Washington University’s Milken Institute
School of Public Health. The award ceremony was held April 1st during the National Association of Community Health Centers 2017 Policy
and Issues Forum in Washington, DC. “The Emerging Leader Award is
designed to highlight and share the accomplishments of exceptional young
members of the community health center movement,” said Sara Rosenbaum,
founder of the Geiger Gibson Program at the Milken Institute SPH.
The community health center movement started with just two clinics that
opened in the late 1960s and has now grown to include more than 1,350
centers serving more than 25 million people in all 50 states. “CBHA
(founded in 1972) is a community health center,” said Dulcye Field,
Chief Operating Officer at CBHA. “Nieves is very deserving of this
national recognition and we are very proud of him.” Field credits
Kent Mosbrucker, CBHA Chief Financial Officer, with nominating Gomez for
this national award.
“I have worked closely with Nieves ever since he began his career
as a behavioral health consultant at CBHA in 2009. He came to us eager
to have a positive impact on the health of our communities,” Mosbrucker
said. “Nieves has never lost his zeal to be an advocate for our
patients and continues to seize opportunities to impact larger patient
populations. He served as clinic manager at several of our clinics and
continues to be an advocate for oral health education, implementing “Howie
parties” which involved oral health screenings with a hygienist
and CBHA mascot Healthcare Howie. He has engineered several major projects
while transitioning to his current role as director of operations.”
Nieves and his wife, Valerie, endured the death of their infant son, Liam,
in 2012. “I admired their courage while working through this tragedy.
Nieves loves this community and remains committed to the mission of Columbia
Basin Health Association and the vision that Community Health Centers
share across the country,” Mosbrucker concluded.