Umatilla County — Greater Oregon Behavioral Health, Inc. (GOBHI) has selected a longtime Hermiston resident to lead community health engagement work in Eastern Oregon.
Effective April 11, Lourdes Reyna Alcala will fill the role of the Community Health Development Manager. Reyna Alcala, already a familiar face among local civic and human services workgroups, will take a prominent role as part of GOBHI and the local Coordinated Care
Organization of which it is affiliated.
She has worked in early childhood services as a supervisor in several rural communities, and most recently served as a Family Support Specialist at the Intermountain Education Service District. GOBHI noted her strong working relationships with the Hispanic/Latinx communities and her familiarity with the Eastern Oregon Coordinated Care Organization’s (EOCCO) community advisory work—both of which are key focus areas for this position.
She will oversee the critical and vast work of this department. The team facilitates work with EOCCO's Local Community Health Providers in all twelve of the region’s counties, in addition to working with the EOCCO Community Advisory Council, health integration, social determinants of health such as addressing food and housing insecurities and other important health related work. Reyna Alcala is fluent in Spanish and English, holds a Bachelor's degree from Washington State University, and is completing a Master’s degree in Special Education from the University of Oregon.
“We’re thrilled for Lourdes to come aboard and lead this community role,” said Karen Wheeler, CEO of GOBHI. “Her expertise in collaboration with diverse communities in Eastern Oregon will help take us to the next level in uplifting local voices and improving services for residents.”
GOBHI serves as an administrative services organization on behalf of EOCCO. It is responsible for managing the behavioral health benefit, non-emergent medical transportation, and for facilitating community conversations to improve the local healthcare system as a whole.
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About:
GOBHI was founded in 1994; it is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit corporation that is charged with administering the behavioral health Medicaid benefit, non-emergent medical transportation and community engagement in 12 rural and frontier counties in Oregon. GOBHI is co-owner of Eastern Oregon Coordinated Care Organization, along with Moda Health, and also provides various direct services statewide.