In this edition of CAHL’s podcast, Michael O’Connell spoke with Graciela Soto Perez, CEO of Altura Centers for Health, a federally qualified health center dedicated to serving the underserved and uninsured population in Tulare County.
Soto Perez’s commitment to the mission is deeply personal. She experienced similar struggles growing up as a migrant farm worker alongside her family, harvesting olives, grapes, and oranges year-round. Despite these challenges, she excelled academically, becoming a certified nurse assistant and working as a home health aide in high school. She furthered her education by earning a business certificate from the Tulare County Organization for Vocational Education Program. She received a B.A. in Public Policy Planning and Development with a minor in Healthcare Administration from USC. Continuing her dedication to healthcare leadership, she received her master’s in Healthcare Administration and Gerontology from USC.
She has been an ACHE member since 2001. She initiated Chicano Studies at Woodlake Union High School, driven by her passion for educating others about Mexican-American history and inspiring future generations.
During this podcast, they discuss the significance of her background and how it has inspired her work of providing compassion, the healing process, and the ultimate goal of improving the quality of people’s lives through access.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity. Listen to the full podcast on CAHL’s YouTube channel here.
Interview Highlights
Michael O’Connell: Graciela, how do you define authenticity in the context of healthcare leadership, and why is it essential for you?
Graciela Soto Perez: Authenticity is very important to me. I feel very fortunate in this sector, and as a federally qualified health center and mission bureau, our organization. Authenticity is about being true to oneself and self-awareness, and the upbringing and mission go hand-in-hand with my upbringing, aligning morals and transparency with compassion and a healing process with the ultimate goal of improving people’s quality of life, providing access, and at a qualitative matter.
O’Connell: Please explain how authenticity fits with your decision to stay in your home community rather than move elsewhere.
Soto Perez: While at USC, I had the opportunity to stay in Southern California, but all of my family is in the Central Valley. We don’t have prominent universities, but we do have a lot of warm, welcoming, passionate people, and there’s so much to do here. I feel I could make a bigger impact in this community than anywhere else.
At the age of 26, I became CEO of Altura Centers for Health, formerly the Tulare Community Health Clinic. When I first started, we were just one clinic, and we did not receive any special funding. We applied for Migrant Funding to help our large population of migrants, and we can better assess and address the needs of the people through outreach and improving the health care in this sector.
You can shine and help when you can relate. In the Central Valley, we have a high Hispanic population, mostly of Mexican descent. I am of Mexican descent, which helps us continue to learn and add to those skills.
O’Connell: Share a personal experience where authenticity as a healthcare leader significantly impacted your team or organization.
Soto Perez: These experiences, being an FQHC and working at the clinic, helped us stay true to the mission. We can’t be successful if it’s just me. There are multiple leaders in the organization who impact the outcome. Everyone is responsible for different sectors of the company’s success, and they all have to be authentic because I alone will not work.
I support my leaders beginning in the interview process. When I hire team members, I ensure they share the same mission and values as the organization. Upon hire, I take time to get to know them through the interview process, take them on a tour, and take them out to lunch, where they can open up. I provide them with the skills and support them in joining memberships to help them improve their skill level, such as ACHE and the California Primary Care Association.
We support their growth and strength while also being true to themselves. I always tell them to lead by example. As I am flexible with them, I expect them to treat their employees similarly. The titles are important, but leave that at the door; human interaction is critical. Our team aligns with that mission of compassion and equality in health care.
O’Connell: Many healthcare organizations have been trying to work through health equity. As a federally qualified health center, are there any programs or initiatives you will implement in your new building as you expand to serving undocumented individuals?
Soto Perez: Being an FQHC, we have always provided more than just the doctor-patient relationship. We have provided transportation, outreach, and dentistry; we go to schools and offer oncology in addition to primary care and pediatrics.
Our team is very diverse; it reflects the community we serve. We are working on a Mexican doctor program to bring in doctors from Mexico who are more culturally competent for our patients. Our workforce and management team come from around the world, such as Serbia, the Philippines, Peru, Chile, Columbia, and Costa Rica. The more diverse we are, the more our company enriches.
O’Connell: Any final thoughts about authentic leadership?
Soto Perez: Always return to your vision and mission. It’s not just about bringing in a paycheck but about enjoying every day of work. It doesn’t feel like work when you are your true self. You are contributing to providing quality, affordable access. Being in healthcare is enriching and an honor. I truly enjoy it!