Events

OLE Health’s New CEO Takes Modern Approach to Healthcare Advocacy

Napa County’s largest community health center to launch wave of new advocacy and outreach efforts aimed at engaging Napa Valley’s current and future generations.

Napa, CA – On the heels of an unprecedented national debate surrounding health care reform, Napa County’s largest community health center is looking to raise the bar for community engagement aimed at protecting the health of our region’s most vulnerable populations.

“What we’ve learned over the past year is that we cannot simply rely on Washington to the protect the health of our low-income families, children and seniors” says Alicia Hardy, Chief Executive Officer at OLE Health. “Our patients cannot continuously be at the mercy of partisan politics. The solution is to build a framework here at home that fosters a more informed and engaged community with regards to healthcare, and that starts with us.”

Engaging millennial populations in the healthcare conversation is a key strategy for OLE’s efforts, citing the tremendous success of OLE Health’s Pop-Up Health Center initiative in 2017 which heavily utilized social media to promote and incorporate the “Pop-Up” retail phenomenon with OLE’s on-site healthcare services in the community.

“Communication is evolving faster than ever” says Fernando Diaz, Director of Marketing and Communications at OLE Health. “We have to be able to adapt to these changes in order to remain relevant in today’s conversations”

OLE also plans to host a “Healthcare Mixer” at Cadet in Napa on March 8th with the goal of bringing together community supporters in a casual-and-fun setting to help build partnerships with key players throughout Napa County. Participants also have an opportunity to meet with Hardy directly to discuss her vision for OLE Health in her new role as CEO, as well as a chance to listen in on special guest Andie Patterson, Director of Government Affairs for the California Primary Care Association, the state’s leader and recognized voice representing the interests of California community health centers and their patients.

“We applaud OLE Health’s efforts to take a more progressive approach towards engaging communities”, says Carmela Castellano-Garcia, Chief Executive Officer at CPCA. “The future of healthcare lies with the next generation of advocates, and we must do all we can to ensure we keep those communication lines open to empower these audiences in ways that are meaningful for them.”

Other forthcoming efforts for OLE Health’s new strategy for community engagement include student-led advocacy opportunities, investing more resources into social media, and giving OLE’s youthful staff a stronger voice within the community.

For more information on OLE Health services visit olehealth.org. ### OLE Health provides person-centered, high-quality health care for residents of Napa Valley and Solano Counties. Our teams of medical professionals work together to provide patients with the range of services they need, when and where they need them. Our wide-range of treatment programs include Women’s Health Services, Behavioral Health Specialists, Dieticians, Dental Health and more. OLE Health offers customized care to fit the wellness needs of each patient. For more information, visit: www.olehealth.org or call 707-254-1770