Gigi Darricades, President/Chief Executive Officer of Valley-Wide Health Systems, Inc., recently welcomed board members and staff members of the organization and many people from the medical community and the greater community to a reception honoring Phillip Mendoza, MD as the organization’s new Chief Medical Officer or CMO. Gigi also extended appreciation to former CMO Ricardo Velasquez, MD for his many years of dedication to the organization. Valley-Wide has clinics in the San Luis Valley, the lower Arkansas Valley and Cañon City.
Since arriving in October 2011, Dr. Mendoza has practiced at one of Valley-Wide’s newest facilities, the Edward M. Kennedy Health Clinic in Monte Vista. Dr. Mendoza has a special interest in giving all Valley-Wide patients access to a provider who knows their name and can help them navigate the complex health care system.
Dr. Velasquez began his family medicine career with a four-year stint in the San Luis Valley. Since his return to Valley-Wide, Dr. Velásquez has worked as a staff physician, interim Chief Executive Officer, and since 2003 as CMO. As an ardent supporter of rural medicine, Dr. Velásquez will remain at Valley-Wide in a consulting capacity in which he will work with the organization and the changing health care environment.