Grants Pass, OR – Siskiyou Community Health Center announced today that its board of directors has unanimously chosen Rich Booth as the new Chief Executive Officer. Booth, who has been serving as the Chief Operating Officer of Siskiyou Community Health Center since 2008, will succeed the late Kurt Higuera. Booth and Higuera worked closely for nearly 10 years and, together, have ushered Siskiyou Community Health Center through the last decade of strategic growth and service expansion for the community. After thorough succession planning and a comprehensive search process, the board is pleased to have found the best individual to assume leadership of the organization.
Under Booth’s exceptional leadership as the COO, Siskiyou Community Health Center has seen many exciting changes and growth. They’ve expanded from 87 employees in 2008 to currently over 200 employees. Booth played an integral part in the expansion of primary care and dental services in Grants Pass and Cave Junction, along with adding onsite Pharmacies to both locations, a Walk-In Clinic, Laboratory, Radiology, and Behavioral Health ancillary services. The addition of these services, as well as the expansion of primary care, has made Siskiyou Community Health Center the largest patient-centered medical home in the Rogue Valley.
Rich Booth, 43, is a Grants Pass High School graduate and attended Oregon State University where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Health Care Administration. He has a passion for working for Siskiyou Community Health Center because he understands the important role a health center such as Siskiyou plays within a community. Before becoming Siskiyou Community Health Center’s COO, Booth worked for six years as the Executive Director of an Independent Physician Association in Portland, Oregon which provided health care to more than 50,000 members in four Northwest counties. His duties included operational management for more than 115 primary-care pediatric providers, as well as serving as Director of Managed Care and Information Technology for 24 primary care providers. He was also in charge of operational and personal management for all technology needs.
Jim Pilcher, Chairman of the Board of Directors, expressed his excitement about Siskiyou’s future and new CEO, “As the new CEO of SCHC, the Board of Directors applauds Rich Booth’s loyalty to the past as established by the late Kurt Higuera. Rich’s nine years of experience at SCHC will be the foundation for the quality care that is Siskiyou. His vision will guide the providers and staff through the turbulent and uncertain future that is American health care. Rich Booth is the perfect person to be leading SCHC today.”
Founded in 1973, SCHC continues on its mission to build healthy communities by providing a wide range of affordable health services. SCHC’s goal is to provide affordable health care for everyone, regardless of their financial situation. As a not-for-profit federally qualified health center, SCHC is able to offer a sliding fee scale for patients with no insurance. For those with insurance, SCHC also accepts most insurance plans including the Oregon Health Plan and Medicare. With his experience and thorough knowledge of the organization, the appointment of Rich Booth as CEO will ensure that Siskiyou Community Health Center continues to provide an affordable solution for quality healthcare for the entire community.