Archives: Executive Team Member
Chief Executive Officer and practicing family physician, Rakesh Patel, M.D., has been with Neighborhood Healthcare since 2003. He has ensured the non-profit community health organization possesses the resources and culture it needs to provide quality, compassionate, whole-person care to families, regardless of their situation or circumstances. Dr. Patel is the Chair of the Board of Managers for Integrated Health Partners of Southern California, San Diego’s leading clinically integrated network representing 270,000 lives.
A board-certified family physician and Certified Physician Executive, Dr. Patel received his M.D. from the Medical College of Wisconsin and completed his residency at Scripps Family Practice Residency in Chula Vista. He received his MBA from the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst. He is a CPCA board member and CMA delegate and serves as the East County Region Director on the San Diego County Medical Society Board.
A senior health care executive with over 30 years’ experience in clinical laboratory medicine, Jeff brings an established track record of leadership to Neighborhood. He is responsible for site operations and ancillary services support and is a key contributor to the development of organizational strategic initiatives. Prior to joining Neighborhood, Jeff worked for 20 years at Laboratory Corporation of America, advancing from an operations role to Senior Vice President of both the Northeast and West Divisions. Among his most fulfilling achievements in this role was the ability to attract talented health care professionals and build successful management teams. Most recently, Jeff served as Chief Operating Officer for West Pacific Medical Laboratory, where he was instrumental in positioning the company for a successful sale to Sonic Healthcare.
Jeff holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Leadership from Penn State University, with an emphasis on Supply Chain Management. He currently serves on the board of the California Clinical Laboratory Association.
Dr. James Schultz, Neighborhood’s Chief Medical Officer, has been instrumental in growing our clinical operations and improving patient access to specialty services like Hypertension Management. He also serves as a consultant for Integrated Health Partners and Health Center Partners, Medical Director for Project Access San Diego, and the immediate Past President of the San Diego County Medical Society. Dr. Schultz received his MD from the University of California, Los Angeles. His MBA from California State University, San Marcos, is a faculty member at UCSD School of Medicine and a frequent speaker on quality improvement and innovation in community health centers.
Dr. Schultz completed his Family Medicine Residency at Tallahassee Memorial Regional Medical Center, where he served as Chief Resident. He received his MD from the University of California, Los Angeles, his MBA from California State University, San Marcos, and his Diploma in Mountain Medicine and Fellowship in the Academy of Wilderness Medicine from the Wilderness Medical Society.
Lisa has over 30 years’ experience in healthcare and 25 years’ experience working with Federally Qualified Health Centers. She is responsible for optimizing and managing the financial performance of the organization and offers strategic insight and planning. She has been providing financial consulting services to community health centers throughout Southern California for over 20 years.
Lisa is a member of the finance committee for Health Center Partners and Integrated Health Partners in San Diego and has served as Chair of California Primacy Care Association’s (CPCA) CFO work group. She represents the San Diego region on many advisory and task force committees throughout California and provides guidance to CPCA staff on financial matters pertaining to Federally Qualified Health Centers. Lisa has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with an Emphasis in Accounting from San Diego State University.
As Neighborhood Healthcare’s Chief Growth Officer (CGO), Alex is responsible for growing and expanding new and existing services. He has more than a decade of experience working with Federally Qualified Health Centers. Alex joined Neighborhood as Director of Operations and transitioned to a Revenue Cycle Director position before advancing to his current role as CGO. Alex’s ability to quickly build strong and trusting relationships with stakeholders throughout the organization has been integral to his successes in the complex, ever-changing healthcare industry. With a strong background in leadership and management, Alex expertly utilizes training focused on collaborative values that result in teams that are as efficient as they are productive.
Alex holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from San Diego State University. He is a cohort 9 Clinic Leadership Institute alumni, a project of Blue Shield of California Foundation through Healthforce Center at UCSF. Recently he completed the UCLA/Johnson & Johnson Health Care Executive Program. He chose to enter the community health field to create awareness and link the community to needed resources and services.
Kristi brings over 30 years of HR leadership to Neighborhood Healthcare with a strong emphasis on developing and executing the human resources strategy in support of the overall business plan. At Neighborhood Kristi will drive the people strategy across the company by leading our inclusion and diversity efforts through the recruitment and employment of competent personnel, the development and implementation of compensation and benefit design to attract and retain the best in the industry, employment law compliance, employee relations and the learning and development of our workforce. Kristi has a Bachelor of Arts in Human Resources Management from National University and possess two professional certifications, one through UCSD Human Resources Certificate Program and the other as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR). Outside of Neighborhood Kristi is an active volunteer for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation focusing on mentoring of newly diagnosed kids/families and participating in advocacy groups that raise awareness about the importance of funding for research through local and national legislators.
For two decades, Elizabeth has dedicated herself to Neighborhood Healthcare’s progress. Starting at the grassroots, she’s been a vital part of the operations team since 2008 and now as the Vice President of Operations. As the VP of Operations, Elizabeth oversees the Neighborhood-wide field operations structure and provides key oversight of our PACE programs. She excels at turning ideas into effective strategies, creating real change. With a Business Management degree from the University of Redlands and years of hands-on experience, she’s adept at identifying growth opportunities and data-driven solutions.
Elizabeth is also certified in Lean Six Sigma and is a cohort 5 Clinic Leadership Institute alumni, a Blue Shield of California Foundation project through the Healthforce Center at UCSF. Elizabeth strives for continuous improvement. Her deep understanding of healthcare comes from diverse settings, shaping her commitment to equitable access.
Jenn is a highly accomplished leader with over 20 years of experience. In collaboration with Neighborhood Healthcare’s CFO, she directs and oversees the organization’s financial activities, including the annual budget, financial proformas, and financial statement reporting. Jenn is also responsible for such financial departments as Accounting, Payroll, Procurement, Contracting, Payroll, and PACE Financial operations for the federally qualified healthcare non-profit organization.
Before joining Neighborhood Healthcare in 2014, Jenn served as the Chief Financial Officer for a manufacturing company in San Diego. She also held Controller positions in varying industries, including construction and distribution. Jenn received her MBA from Eastern New Mexico University and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Phoenix. She is a member of the finance committee for Health Center Partners and Integrated Health Partners in San Diego. Jenn is also a past executive board member of the East County (San Diego) Chamber of Commerce.
Prudence brings 30 years of healthcare and information technology expertise to Neighborhood Healthcare. Her extensive background in establishing technology infrastructure, aligning IT initiatives with overall business goals, and building teams to drive operational and workplace efficiency will directly help improve patient and employee experience.
Recognized as San Diego Magazine’s Top Tech Executive in 2015, Prudence came to Neighborhood after serving three years as the Director of PMO Information Systems for Munson Healthcare, northern Michigan’s largest healthcare system. Before that, she worked at Palomar Health for 21 years, the last six as the organization’s vice president of information technology and CIO. Prudence received her Certified Healthcare CIO from the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives in 2020 and holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Phoenix.
Dr. Edgar Bulloch, MD, OB/GYN, Neighborhood’s Associate Chief Medical Officer brings extensive experience in community healthcare and executive leadership, having served in various roles in other community health organizations. He co-leads Neighborhood Healthcare’s Women’s Health and Prenatal programs. Dr. Bulloch’s expertise and leadership complement the current medical leaders of the organization, providing ‘bench depth’ as the organization continues to grow rapidly to serve the needs of communities from El Cajon to Riverside. He is excited to join the organization and contribute to its mission of providing quality, compassionate, whole-person care to families, regardless of their circumstances.