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Welcome to El Rio Community Health Center
Dear Friends of El
Rio: The
mission of providing accessible and affordable healthcare to all who need it is
the goal that binds us together at El Rio – Board of Directors, staff, friends
and community. It brings us all together
– not because it is easy, but, in fact, because it is so hard to accomplish in
an era when there are so many among us who face every new day without medical
insurance or the money to access health care.
By choosing to make a difference in one of the most trying issues of our
time, we measure ourselves against a goal that demands our utmost energy and
skill. Today,
El Rio serves the mission better than at any time before - a bold statement
considering our history of 37 years of service to Tucson, yet the facts sustain
it. We are serving more people who need
care than ever before. Today, over
70,000 people depend on us as their regular source of medical care. The
quality of care we offer, as measured objectively, is better than ever. Year after year, we equal or exceed industry
standards for key quality measures for preventive and chronic care. In addition, we are connecting thousands of
low-income patients with the comprehensive healthcare benefits they deserve
using our innovative, web-based eligibility screening system, Health-e-AZ. All the while, the Health Center remains
strong financially to further its mission in the years ahead by focusing on
those most compromised by our community’s advanced, yet fragmented system of
care. In
the spirit of providing “more than just medicine,” El Rio has served as a
catalyst for improving access to care for many special population groups,
including: women at risk, children, the homeless, individuals with HIV/AIDS
and, of course, the uninsured. Special
program initiatives directed to each of these patient groups have led to better
quality and access to care as part of our overall efforts to improve the health
and wellbeing of our community. We
will continue to make a difference by working to ensure first rate health care
is available to all who need it. We
invite you to meet our staff, review our programs, and learn more about El Rio
Health Center through this website.
Finally, we hope to encourage your participation in El Rio as a
potential donor, friend, board member or employee. Join the team that advances the dream of
accessible and affordable health care for all.
Kathy
Byrne joined El Rio Community Health Center as Executive Director in 2004. Born and raised in Chile, she is a graduate
of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and has over twenty-five
years of experience in health care management.
Her Arizona career started in Tucson and includes ten years with
Carondelet Health Services (1976-1987), where she was responsible for strategic
planning and new program development.
She participated in the merger implementation that brought Carondelet,
St. Mary’s and St. Joseph’s Hospitals under one corporate umbrella. During these years, she also provided
consulting support to a variety of Carondelet affiliates, including: Holy Cross
Hospital in Nogales, Northern Cochise Community Hospital, and Our Lady of
Lourdes in Pasco, Washington. In
1987, Kathy joined Mercy Care Plan on a full time basis as its President and
CEO. She served in this capacity through
2001. Mercy Care Plan is a
statewide-managed care health plan serving the Arizona Medicaid
population. During her tenure, the plan
grew to serve over 140,000 members.
Kathy was also one of the founding members of the Baby Arizona Program. Kathy
has most recently served as an Assistant Director with the state AHCCCS
program. Her focus has been on the services and support processes required to
meet the needs of the fee-for-service population and the providers that care
for them. She has also served as a
private consultant to a number of Arizona Federally Qualified Health Centers,
including El Rio. |
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