Colorado Latino named as new President of Latino Health Group CPMC’s Anaya to lead Latino health care executive group

Citation

(2009), "Colorado Latino named as new President of Latino Health Group CPMC’s Anaya to lead Latino health care executive group", Leadership in Health Services, Vol. 22 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/lhs.2009.21122aab.001

Colorado Latino named as new President of Latino Health Group CPMC’s Anaya to lead Latino health care executive group

Article Type: News and views From: Leadership in Health Services, Volume 22, Issue 1

Edited by Jo Lamb-White

Keywords: Leadership culture, Healthcare strategy, Leadership development

Michael Anaya Sr, CEO of Colorado Plains Medical Center (CPMC) in Fort Morgan, has been named the new president and chairman of the board for the National Forum for Latino Healthcare Executives (NFLHE).

Anaya will work with the NFLHE board of directors toward increasing the representation of Latinos at the executive level of US hospitals and health systems, according to a news release from the organization.

“We’re excited to have Michael Anaya step up as our new president and chairman,” said Hank Hernandez, who stepped down as president of NFLHE and currently is the CEO of Las Palmas Medical Center in El Paso, Texas. “His experience, leadership and commitment to diverse executive suites will help NFLHE continue its mission.”

Other board members shared those sentiments.

“We on the NFLHE Board are thrilled to have Michael Anaya at the helm,” said Richard Cordova, a founding member and past president of NFLHE who is the current president and CEO of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. “Michael is an up-and-comer with a can-do attitude who gets things done. He brings many leadership strengths to NFLHE and a youthful energy to carry the organization and its members forward. His drive will energenize us all.”

Board member A. David Jimenez, the COO of Catholic Healthcare Partners in Cincinnati, added: “I believe Michael’s appointment comes at a crucial juncture in NFLHE’s history. His proven leadership equips him to guide the organization at a time when it is most needed. Michael will bring discipline and focus as we seek to move NFLHE into the consciousness of mainstream health care.”

Anaya is a founding member of NFLHE and previously served as its treasurer.

NFLHE is a national organization that works toward building and promoting a network of future health care leaders and seeks to foster discussion with respect to health policy and research agenda affecting US Latino communities.

“I’m humbled by this opportunity and hope to build on the strong foundation set by my predecessors and advance our Latino pipeline into health care and improve the quality of health services,” said Anaya, who will serve a two-year term.

The CEO of CPMC since 2005, Anaya was 36 when he took his first helm as CEO of Dundy County Health System in Nebraska. He also spent 21 years in the military, starting in the US Air Force as a pharmacy technician, completing his undergraduate and graduate degrees and accepted a commission in the Medical Service Corps in the US Navy, serving in a variety of operational hospital and health system leadership roles.

Since retiring from the military, Anaya has held several leadership positions in the health care industry, including at St. Alexius/SouthPointe Hospital in St. Louis, Mo., and Doctors Hospital of Laredo in Laredo, Texas.

Anaya said his priorities at the NFLHE helm include strengthening Latino health care leadership, developing programs to introduce young Latinos to health care leadership roles and inspire them, and creating more chapters throughout the US, especially in universities, colleges and a federal sector representing Latino health care executives in the uniformed services, public health and Veterans Affairs.

“I hope to create an overall strategy and focus on advocacy,” Anaya said. “NFLHE must play a larger role in finding a solution for the complex health care system issues we are dealing with and find commonality in easing the problems of the uninsured, creating access and removing disparities.”

The industry faces challenges, Anaya said, including dealing with the uninsured, underinsured, disparities in care, charity care, bad debt, decreases in reimbursement and the ongoing national discussion about access of health care. To address them, Anaya hopes to create a dialogue, work together with others in the industry and educate through advocacy.

Based in Chicago, NFLHE is led by senior executive health care leaders in the US whose vision is to be a voice for their experience and of the diverse communities they serve.

For more information: www.thelatinojournal.com