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 1^st 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.