Hello from the CEO
It’s hard to believe that I joined California Primary Care Association (CPCA) only a short time ago, in March of 2022. Life is strange like that, where weeks can feel like months and years can feel like days. In many ways, I am simultaneously starting several new chapters in my life – not only as the CEO of CPCA – but also my journey of fatherhood as I send my oldest kids to college while also welcoming my newborn son Alec Javier to the world.
Those of you who are parents can likely relate to the fleeting feeling of time that comes with having a newborn. Those of you who are in positions of leadership can likely relate to the feeling of there never being enough time and the challenges of leadership. These two paths that I am on are not that much different. These two chapters are coming together and bringing me full circle to a place that blends both my passion and my determination.
To share a bit about myself, I emigrated from Mexico to California when I was four years old along with my parents, four sisters and two brothers. We settled in the Salinas Valley where the entire family worked as farmworkers and struggled to be seen in a community that often ignored us. It was there that I learned some of life’s most important lessons. I saw people come together and demand to be seen and heard. I saw people organize for the betterment of themselves and their community. It is where I first witnessed the power of community engagement and community-based services. In many ways, these experiences drove me to law school, political activism, and developing a rebellious lawyering health advocacy practice. I wanted to help my community by anchoring my advocacy work in the community I want to help, which ultimately put me on the path to where I am now – leading CPCA.
As your CEO, I will be a fierce and unapologetic advocate for community health centers and the patients and communities that we serve. I have a clear vision for this association and its members, in which we will be at the table as thought leaders when any major health policy is made in this state. The needs of our patients and the communities we serve will not be an afterthought. Community health centers are, have been, and will continue to be the backbone of the state’s health care system and will be treated as such. Working together, CPCA will be one of the most influential associations in California.
Based on my more than two decades of advocacy experience, there are four essential elements to achieve this vision. The first is coalition building and partnership, for which we are well-positioned. Because our very mission is focused on serving the entire community, community health centers are perfectly positioned to engage a broad spectrum of partners, especially since health center boards are composed of patients and community members. We will work on building the systems to engage the community and community groups that health centers have been working with since the beginning of the movement. Moreover, our staffs’ work will be anchored in the community. Understanding our health center leaders and their communities by directly interacting with them and experiencing their challenges is essential to our work.
The second is building political resources to be influential and effective in the political environment. We are moving in the right direction, but it will take time to strengthen our brand and will need ongoing financial investments and grassroots coordination to be effective. The third is having a unified voice. Our collective voice is our strength, and harnessed effectively, will empower us to achieve the vision of the health center movement. This does not mean that we must agree on everything, but that we resolve our issues internally. We must build a big tent, where we are inclusive in our decision making and engage in vigorous debate, but ultimately take unified action. Transformative change can only happen when we come together and work toward a common goal.
And finally, we need a strong narrative. It is essential to tell our story. It must be powerful and persuasive. We have a powerful story and rich history of social activism on behalf of the disenfranchised and neediest in our society. We care for over 7.2 million patients. That means that 1 out of every 5 Californians are served by community health centers. Our community health centers have been at the frontline leading the fight against the inequitable impact of COVID-19 on our communities. We need to continue to remind policy makers who we are and what we do – the role we have played and continue to play in creating healthier communities and a healthier California. Equity and access for all can’t be achieved without supporting the backbone of California’s healthcare system.
I would be remiss in not acknowledging the support of the CPCA staff, our RAC leaders, our members, and our Board of Directors. Thank you for your guidance and vision that will help propel us to new heights. I look forward to learning about each and every one of our community health center members in the coming months and I hope to see many of you in person at our upcoming CPCA events. Until then, feel free to reach out to myself or the CPCA staff with any questions, comments or concerns you may have.
Adelante!
Francisco J. Silva