Health Center Welcomes New CEO

The Board of Director's announces the new CEO for the Health Center. Charla McKenzie DeHate was born in Redmond, Oregon and grew up in Bend where she graduated from Bend Senior High School.  She then moved from the area where she lived and worked in Portland, Los Angeles and Vero Beach, Florida before returning to Central Oregon ten years ago.

During the past twenty four years Charla has managed and directed facilities in the medical field with the most recent experience as the Director of Quality Improvement, Chief Operations Officer and Chief Executive Officer of Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC).

When Charla began working for FQHCs over eight years ago, she discovered quickly that this was the work that she had been preparing for:   using her skills to help those that need health care but could not afford it—the "underserved."

In 2008 Charla graduated from the inaugural program for "Community Health Center Leadership" at the University of Washington.  In 2011 she completed the "Health Information Professional Certification Program" which included among many other classes, Quality Management, Change Concepts and Lean/Six Sigma.

With her extensive background in business management, quality improvement and Federally Qualified Health Centers, Charla will bring valuable experience to the La Pine Community Health Center, La Pine and its surrounding communities.
 
When Charla is not working, she enjoys flying her Cessna Cardinal with her husband Mike to camp sites in the Idaho Mountains and the Northwest coast.  She also enjoys long walks and developing her "high desert" landscaping which is an on-going project.

The La Pine Community Health Center is committed to improving the health of the community.

To achieve good community health, services must strongly emphasize prevention, early intervention, rehabilitation and education, in addition to direct care.

Community Health Centers that receive federal funding through the Health Resources and Services Administration, HHS, are also called "Federally Qualified Health Centers." Today, there are more than 4,000 federally-supported service delivery sites. Through the years, health centers have built an impressive track record delivering high quality prevention and primary care to millions of residents in inner cities and isolated rural areas.

In 2002, President Bush launched the Health Centers Initiative to significantly increase access to primary health care services in 1,200 communities through new or expanded health center sites.