Clinica Family Health & Wellness is a community health center, a medical safety net for those who otherwise might fall through the cracks of the American health care system. For more than 40 years, Clinica has existed to provide health care to the individuals and families in our community at a price they can afford. Young or old, people of any race or ethnicity or income level—we are here to provide them with exceptional health care because no one should have to choose between obtaining the health care they need and other necessities such as housing or food.
About CLINICA
YOUR PATIENT-CENTERED MEDICAL HOME
A medical home isn’t so much a place as it is a philosophy of care. As a patient-centered medical home, we are committed to providing each and every patient with comprehensive, coordinated care. We are committed to providing you with the care you need, when you need it. And we are committed to providing the highest level of safety and quality in our care.
Equally important to us is developing a relationship with our patients that encompasses the whole person. We want to understand and respect your unique needs, culture, values and preferences. A medical home actively supports patients in learning to manage and organize their own care at the level the patient chooses. Recognizing that patients and families are core members of the care team, medical home practices ensure that they are fully informed partners in establishing care plans.
TEAM-BASED CARE
Very often, a patient needs more than one kind of care to be fully well. Our providers utilize a team-based model that brings medical, dental, behavioral health care and pharmacy services together for our patients—all under one roof. Our teams consist of primary care providers, nurses, medical assistants, behavioral health therapists, pharmacists, dieticians, dental hygienists, health coaches and more. Patients, and their needs, are at the heart of our care. We want patients to be our partners in their care, engaging them at every level, coordinating their health care needs and helping them stay well.
QUALITY HEALTH CARE
Our community-based clinics are nationally recognized for excellence. Clinica is accredited by the Accreditation Association For Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC). That means we’ve met the highest performance standards in delivering high-quality, safe care. We’re also proud to be recognized as a patient-centered medical home by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).
The health care we provide is evidence-based and data-driven. We rely heavily on standards developed by nationally recognized groups such as NCQA to measure the quality our health outcomes. And we utilize data obtained from multiple—including our own—make health care decisions.
CONVENIENT HOURS & CLOSE TO HOME
Clinica offers evening hours and same-day appointments. With six community-based clinics, we care for people in south Boulder, Broomfield, Gilpin and west Adams counties. Click for locations and hours.
AFFORDABLE
We’re here to help make the entire community healthier and stronger by providing health care for people of all ages and backgrounds, whether they have insurance or not. While we accept most insurance plans and welcome Medicaid, CHP+ and Medicare. We also have discount programs for people who do not have coverage.
FEDERAL FUNDING RECIPIENT
Clinica Family Health & Wellness receives HHS funding and has Federal PHS deemed status with respect to certain health or health-related claims, including medical malpractice claims, for itself and its covered individuals.
OUR MISSION
Clinica exists to be the medical and dental care provider of choice for low-income and other underserved people in south Boulder, Broomfield, Gilpin and west Adams counties. Our care shall be culturally appropriate and prevention focused.
OUR VISION
Our vision for the future is that every low-income and other underserved person in south Boulder, Broomfield, Gilpin and west Adams counties will have access to high quality, preventative medical care that is integrated with behavioral health and dental care.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
We believe that providing people with affordable health care is the right thing to do because:
- We believe that no one should suffer needlessly.
- We believe that by keeping people well, they will be able to take care of themselves, support their families, stay in school, be employed and be active in their communities.
- We believe that by immunizing children, we keep the entire community healthier by keeping communicable diseases in check.
- We believe that by offering people access to care at facilities like Clinica, they will be less likely to use hospital emergency department for primary care, which will save the health care system money.
- We know that it saves everyone money when the costs of providing health care to the uninsured are not shifted back to the insured.
A Statement in Opposition to Systemic Racism
At Clinica Family Health, we oppose systemic racism and bigotry in all its forms.
From our humble beginnings, championing justice and equity for marginalized people has been at the core of our work at Clinica Family Health. We recognize that our fight for over 40 years has brought us a level of prominence and privilege as an organization. Today more than ever, we must use our power to continue the work of our founders . . . to listen and to learn, and to call attention to and dismantle the flawed systems that oppress and create inequity in healthcare and beyond.
As a healthcare provider, Clinica Family Health is committed to improving equity and addressing health disparities that exist in our communities based on racial/ethnic, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and socio-economic status. To achieve this, we strive to create a safe and culturally sensitive health care home that welcomes Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color, and is inclusive of our LGBTQ+ and immigrant community members.
Racism is a public health issue, and health should not be dependent on wealth.
Clinica Family Health stands in solidarity with our employees, patients, community members, family members, friends, and neighbors who are calling for changes to a system that still allows disparities related to access to quality health care, education, employment, citizenship, housing and the criminal justice system. We are committed to changing these health, racial and economic disparities in collaboration with the communities we serve.
August 28, 2020
CELEBRATING MORE THAN 45 YEARS OF COMMUNITY-BASED CARE
OUR STORY
Clinica was founded by Alicia Sanchez a single mother of seven children who truly understood the need for affordable health care. Alicia was a single mother of seven children. Although she never finished high school and suffered from an autoimmune disease that kept her from holding a regular full-time job, she had a huge heart and was known locally as was known as “la medica.”
Before the Lafayette/Louisville area had hundreds of doctors and two, Joint Commission-accredited hospitals, south Boulder County was dotted with commercial farms that hired dozens of Spanish-speaking migrant workers. People turned to Alicia when they were sick or injured and had no money.
Every week, she loaded her car “Susie” with the area’s poor and drove to University Hospital in Denver so people could get low-cost care. She spent days waiting with them, translating and helping them understand test results. Alicia knew Lafayette and Louisville desperately needed affordable primary health care.
Through a true grassroots effort, Alicia, along with community leaders and health care providers, started Clinica in 1977. The first Clinica office was in a small, wood frame house in Lafayette. The master bedroom was divided into two exam rooms. The living room served as waiting room, check-in and medical records. The kitchen served as the clinic’s lab, complete with a chicken egg incubator in one corner that grew throat cultures. That first year, Clinica had a budget of $75,000, and our six staff members provided basic health care to about 500 Lafayette residents.
A vital part our early mission was providing care to the migrant farm workers in Boulder County. Every Friday, our staff would close the clinic early, load supplies into their cars and head to the barracks where the farm workers lived. They couldn’t get to the clinic, so the staff brought the clinic to them.
CLINICA TODAY
Clinica now sees almost 59,000 patients a year. With more than 590 employees, we operate eight community-based medical clinics and two dental clinics serving south Boulder, Broomfield, Gilpin and west Adams counties. Today, Clinica is recognized at state and national levels for our innovative care model and exceptional health outcomes.
SERVING DIVERSE COMMUNITIES
OUR PATIENTS
Clinica cares for patients from all walks of life: insured, underinsured, uninsured. Some are well off. Others are facing hard financial situations. Regardless of their personal situation, they all need high-quality, affordable health care for themselves and their families.
IN 2023:
- 94% were living at or below 200% of the federal poverty level (which is an annual income of $62,400 or less for a family of four)
- 30% were children 17 and younger
- 38% were uninsured
- 36% were best served in a language other than English
- 75% were people of color
Simon joined Clinica’s staff in 2011 as a project manager and, in less than three years, was named as president and CEO of the organization. Before coming to Clinica, Simon worked for Abt Associates, Inc., a research and consulting firm that assists companies and governmental agencies in implementing health, social and environmental programs. Simon spent his first three years with Abt in Kazakhstan helping restructure the country’s public health system. He spent another five years at Abt’s Bethesda, MD, office managing government-funded international activities to improve care in areas such as HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health, and community health. Prior to becoming Clinica’s president and CEO, Simon served as the clinic director of Clinica’s Boulder facility, the People’s Medical Clinic. In that capacity, he managed 64 staff who provided care to almost 9,500 annually. As Clinica’s CEO, Simon wants to work closely with other social service agencies and officials within Clinica’s service area to improve the health care safety net for low-income and uninsured individuals.
Brian brought almost two decades of health care finance and operations experience with him when he became Clinica Family Health’s chief financial officer in 2019. After finishing his master’s degree in healthcare administration, Brian began an administrative fellowship at St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City, MO. He stayed with the organization for more than eight years, acting as the director of support service, special projects, ancillary services and finally as the CEO of one of St. Luke’s medical centers. Brian also spent time with Avera Health in Sioux Falls, SD, learning about telemedicine and its many applications in the future of health care. When Brian joined Clinica in 2015, he took on the role of clinic director at our Thornton clinic. There, he oversaw 95 staff and managed a budget of almost $12 million for a clinic that provided health care to almost 9,700 patients. During this time, Brian was also tasked with rolling out a new service line for Clinica: walk-in services at two locations. The walk-in clinics have proven to be exceedingly popular with existing patients and a significant source of new patients. As Clinica’s CFO, Brian wants to provide financial stewardship that will assure donors and optimize Clinica’s fiscal resources.
An has spent the entirety of her clinical career caring for the underserved and was the Chief Dental Officer of another Colorado community health center before joining Clinica in 2010. In addition to providing patient care, she has helped to expand the Clinica’s dental program to two locations and triple the size of the dental staff. She is committed to increasing access to comprehensive, high quality dental services through continued expansion of Clinica’s dental capacity and a strong emphasis on collaboration and routine program evaluation.
Karen has been a family physician at Clinica’s Lafayette Clinic since 2004 and took on the role of Assistant Medical Director in 2012. Dr. Funk graduated with distinction from Swarthmore College where she spent a year at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She went on to the University of Chicago where she graduated with honors with a Masters degree in Public Policy. Following graduate school, Dr. Funk served as the Quality Improvement Coordinator for Planned Parenthood of Greater Chicago. Somewhere along the way, someone convinced Karen that she would be a great physician and in 2001 she received her M.D. from the University of Illinois. Like Dr. Wheeler, Dr. Funk was a Albert Schweitzer Fellow. This involved working with a Community Health Center in Chicago providing group based education to teens on obesity prevention, healthy sexuality and pregnancy prevention. With family ties in Colorado and a growing family, Karen completed her residency in Family Medicine at Rose Medical Center.
Before coming to Clinica Family Health, Kelly worked in many facets of the health care industry. He during college, he worked at a retail pharmacy, he spent several years learning the revenue cycle at an institutional pharmacy provider and even worked in commercial insurance. Along the way, he gained experience in customer satisfaction, inventory management, the importance of accurate and complete coding, data extraction and analysis, and a passion for leadership. Upon joining Clinica in 2013, Kelly took on the role of clinic operations director at Clinica’s People’s Clinic site in Boulder. In that position, he oversaw more than 100 staff, managed a budget of $10 million, expanded community partnerships and helped oversee a bi-directional medical clinic imbedded in a community mental health center. As Clinica’s vice president of operations, Kelly plans to focus on building high-performing teams across the organization, improving operations and financial outcomes and continuing to strengthen Clinica’s partnership with other community resources while keeping the patient at the center of every decision.
A native of Minnesota, Janet worked as the assistant director of the Colorado Community Health Network (Colorado’s Primary Care Association), where she was responsible for grant writing, healthcare policy, and primary care provider recruitment. Beginning in 1994, Janet served as assistant director for Clinica Family Health and was responsible for day-to-day administrative operations of the organization. After a sabbatical, Janet returned to Clinica as a grant writer and public policy advocate. In 2011, she became director of accountable care and behavioral health. Since becoming vice president of integrated services, she has continued to deepen and refine Clinica’s advanced care model.
Before joining Clinica, Jena was a human resources professional in the manufacturing and technology sectors, managing complex multi-state initiatives. She moved from her first Clinica role as a human resources generalist into managerial and directorial roles before becoming chief human resources officer in 2020. Jena’s vision is to nurture existing systems and develop new strategies that provide the tools and the empowerment necessary to foster our employees’ growth. She is passionate about equity, diversity and inclusion and believes they should be at the forefront of every organizational decision. Jena is also passionate about running especially on Colorado's mountain trails.
COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP
OFFICERS & MEMBERS
Clinica is run by a volunteer board of directors. At all times, at least 50% of the seats are filled by patients or people who utilize our services (foster parents, etc.). This is a requirement of all federally qualified community health centers. It also allows patients and those who use our services to have a say in how our clinics are operated. Our board of directors generally meets on the fourth Wednesday of each month.
OFFICERS
Chair: Ella Padilla Committee(s): Executive, Finance, Nominating
Vice Chair: Jeff Zayach Committee(s): Executive, Credentialing
Treasurer: Matthew A. Antush Committee(s): Executive, Finance, Compensation
Secretary: Heather Elkins Committee(s): Executive
MEMBERS
Inez Buggs Committee(s): Credentialing
Carolina Flores Manrosa (consumer) Committee(s): Finance
Lizandro Gonzalez (consumer)
Douglas (Doug) Jones (consumer) Committee(s): Finance
Cheryln Marriott (consumer) Committee(s): Executive, Nominating
Mayra Martinez (consumer) Committee(s): Nominating
Heidy Ordonez (consumer) Committee(s): Finance, Compensation
EMERITUS MEMBERS
Eleanor Montour
As required of all federally qualified community health centers, at least 50% of our board members directly utilize Clinica for health care services. This allows patients to have a voice and a vote in how their health center is run.
ACCREDITATIONS, CERTIFICATIONS & RECOGNITION
COMMITTED TO EXCELLENCE
We provide care that is nationally recognized for excellence.
Clinica is accredited by the Accreditation Association For Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC), an independent organization seeking to improve the care provided by the nation’s hospitals and health care centers. That means we’ve met the highest performance standards in delivering quality, safe care.
Clinica Family Health & Wellness is also recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as a Level III Patient Centered Medical Home. That means we’ve met NCQA’s rigorous standards for quality care and commitment to improvement.
Under our roof…
Clinica has quietly provided a medical safety net to our struggling neighbors for over 40 years.
Those without health insurance have found exceptional health care.
We deliver team care so patients have access to a doctor, case manager, mental health therapist, registered dietitian, dentist, pharmacist, and other health care providers.
And we have built a health care home where patients get to know their providers, find comprehensive care, and feel like valued partners in their wellness.