Inland Empire Health Plan Honors San Bernardino County Supervisor Josie Gonzales

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Nov 17, 2020, 14:00 ET

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif., Nov. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) honored San Bernardino County Supervisor Josie Gonzales during its Nov. 9 board meeting, commemorating her 16 years of service as the County's Fifth District Supervisor, including 10 years as a member of IEHP's Governing Board.

IEHP presented Supervisor Gonzales with a proclamation honoring her service at the health plan’s Governing Board Meeting on Nov. 9. Pictured: IEHP CEO Jarrod McNaughton and Supervisor Josie Gonzales.

First appointed to the IEHP Governing Board in 2004 through 2009, Supervisor Gonzales served as Vice-Chairman from January 2006 through December 2006. In 2015 she was re-appointed to the board and continued to inspire collaboration and relationship building with various community organizations.

"We can't thank Supervisor Gonzales enough for her tireless dedication to our community through her service on our board and commitment to our mission," said IEHP Chief Executive Officer Jarrod McNaughton. "In her 10 years as an IEHP Governing Board Member, Supervisor Gonzales greatly influenced and supported the health plan's work in addressing homelessness and increased outreach to support the needs of children in the Inland Empire."

Through her involvement, IEHP established the Housing Initiative and several housing development partnerships to provide stable and supportive housing to homeless members with complex care needs.

Supervisor Gonzales also played an instrumental role in helping the health plan make essential connections to better serve children in the community, connecting IEHP to organizations like First 5 California and local school districts.

"It has been my privilege to be part of the IEHP family, to have worked among people with whom I share a mutual passion and vision for helping individuals, families and children, who for whatever reason – in a time of their lives – find themselves needing our assistance," said Supervisor Gonzales. "My time on the IEHP Board has allowed me to champion wonderful causes and open doors to address complex issues, such as homelessness combined with innovative access to healthcare enabling long term benefits to its members."

"I believe in 15 years if not sooner, if we are determined and focused to work the IEHP plan, we can successfully address homelessness by creating safer, healthier homes and communities for our families," added Supervisor Gonzales. "We know that good quality healthcare is critical to our children's ability to learn, and that their future success depends on it. It is by understanding the relevance of these important connectors that will create healthy, stable and safe environments for our children by which we will certainly achieve our goal."

In addition, Supervisor Gonzales was a critical source of support in helping the health plan ramp up transportation benefits, establishing a partnership with Omnitrans, and ensuring members' access to needed care and services.

"The 'people first' philosophy Supervisor Gonzales lives by and unwavering advocacy for underserved populations have made lasting impressions at IEHP," McNaughton added. "We wish Supervisor Gonzales all the best in her future endeavors and will forever be grateful for her contributions and efforts to make the Inland Empire a vibrant and healthy community. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you, Supervisor Gonzales."

About IEHP
IEHP, Inland Empire Health Plan, is one of the top 10 largest Medicaid health plans and the largest not-for-profit Medicare-Medicaid plan in the country. With a network of more than 6,400 Providers and more than 2,000 employees, IEHP serves more than 1.3 million residents in Riverside and San Bernardino counties who are enrolled in Medicaid or Cal MediConnect Plan (Medicare-Medicaid Plan). Through a dynamic partnership with Providers and Community, award-winning service and innovative products, IEHP is fully committed to advocating for our Members and providing them with quality, accessible and wellness-based health care services. For more information, visit iehp.org.

SOURCE Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP)