Chicago Launches Charter Chapter of National Forum for Latino Healthcare Executives to Help Hispanics Reach the Boardrooms of Health Systems, Hospitals
CHICAGO – Lisa Aponte-Soto is among the visionaries of the emerging Chicago charter chapter of the National Forum for Latino Healthcare Executives (NFLHE), which was formed to increase the representation of Latinos at the executive level of U.S. hospitals and health systems.
“It can be really difficult to maneuver in the health care system without a network,” said Aponte-Soto, who is the marketing manager at the Department of Health Systems Management at Rush University Medical Center, a research and teaching hospital in Chicago. With less than 3% of Latinos in the health management industry nationwide, Aponte said there simply is not a longstanding pool of Latinos health administrators in the U.S. to serve as role models and mentors.
NFLHE President Hank Hernandez who met recently with board members in San Diego concurs. “It’s important to have chapters where large Latino populations exist to carry forth NFLHE’s vision of working on a local level on issues important to our communities,” said Hernandez, who is CEO of Las Palmas Medical Center in El Paso, TX.
"Establishing chapters is the key to realizing NFLHE’s objectives,” Hernandez said. “We believe chapters can help hospitals directly by actively engaging in and serving as a resource for health care issues directly affecting Latinos.”
This fall, the Chicago chapter will be hosting its inaugural event.
The group got its start in late 2005. Among the organizers were NFLHE liaison Angela Anderson, who is the director of operations at the Institute for Diversity; Monica Ochoa, the former director of multicultural affairs at the Chicago Department of Public Health; Justino “Louie” Sosa who is a NFLHE board member and former public service administrator with the Illinois Department of Public Health’s Division of Emergency Management Systems; and Lubina Perez, who is on an administrative fellowship with the Illinois Masonic Advocate Healthcare.
Aponte-Soto serves as chair of the Chicago chapter. “We have much to learn from Latinos who have reached senior-level positions because many of us may reach mid-level management but not be able to advance beyond that,” she said.
Many might say that, with her impressive academic credentials, Aponte-Soto should have no trouble in rising to the executive level of a health system. She has a bachelor’s degree in science biology and psychology from Loyola University Chicago, a bachelor’s in language literature and translation from Loyola, and a master’s degree in health administration from Governors State University in University Park, IL. She is also working on a PhD in community health sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health.
Even with credentials like Aponte-Soto’s, mid-level managers like her find they need help to rise to higher, executive levels. Thus their reason for joining the organization.
“What drives us are the challenges we face navigating through a highly competitive system,” Aponte-Soto said. “Recognizing that senior health executives are key decision-makers, the under-representation of Latinos in senior leadership and management can translate to health disparities in our communities.”
The Chicago chapter evolved from discussions among Latino leaders from the Chicago area at the NFLHE national meeting in March 2005 at the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) Congress. The Chicago group has also met with the National Association of Health Services Executives (NAHSE), which was hosting its sixth annual mentoring event at Provident Hospital of Cook County.
Said Hernandez: “We at NFLHE would like to see more chapters like the Chicago group located strategically around the country where Latinos live and are moving to. At NFLHE, we believe that together we can make a difference on the local and national levels.”
For more information on joining the Chicago chapter, please e-mail the group at nflhe@nflhe.org.
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The National Forum for Latino Healthcare Executives (NFLHE) is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing the representation of Latinos at the executive level of U.S. hospitals and health systems. Based in Chicago, NFLHE works with industry leaders to increase the representation of Latinos in the executive ranks of U.S. hospitals, health systems and healthcare. NFLHE helps prepare the next generation of Latino healthcare executives to meet the challenges of the nation's future and improve the healthcare for our communities. NFLHE also partners with government agencies to eliminate health disparities and direct the future of healthcare in the U.S.
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