Community Health Best Practices, LLC exists today because of the collaborations and partnerships developed through the Best Practices Forum. For over a decade, the executive and clinical leaders of some of the nation’s leading community health centers have come together (at least annually) for purposes of sharing with each other their own health center’s “best practices” in areas such as:
- Clinical quality improvement
- Development and enhancement of human resources
- Leadership excellence
- Use of advanced metrics to improve health outcomes
- Implementation and use of business intelligence software
- Application of LEAN principles in community health care
- Accountable care and payment reform
- Health care facility management
- Telehealth and Telepharmacy
- Social media and health care marketing
- Advanced concepts in implementation of patient centered medical homes
The first Best Practices Forum (February 2000) was organized by Robert Gomez, then the CEO of El Rio Community Health Center in Tucson, Arizona. El Rio hosted the first Best Practices Forum at Rio Rico Resort, Rio Rico, Arizona. Participating Health Centers were: El Rio Community Health Center, Salud Family Health Centers (Jerry Brasher, CEO), Watts Health Foundation (David Ocepek, MD), West End Health Center, Pittsburg, PA (Wilford Payne, CEO), Samuel Rodgers CHC, Kansas City, MO, Ben Pettus CEO), Newark Community Health Centers, Newark, NJ (Robert Russell, CEO), Access Health Centers, Chicago, IL, (Michael Savage, CEO), Clinica Sierra Vista, Lamont CA (Steve Schilling, CEO), Lutheran Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY (Jim Stiles, CEO), Mariposa CHC, Nogales, AZ (Jim Welden, CEO), North East Medical Services, San Francisco, CA (Sophie Wong, CEO) and Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic (Carlos Olivares, CEO).