Kelli Nomura, ICHS CEO named Diversity Champion
International Community Health Services (ICHS) Chief Executive Officer, Kelli Nomura, has been named Diversity Champion and selected as one of 15 preeminent health care leaders of the Puget Sound region by the Puget Sound Business Journal (PSBJ).
“Kelli Nomura has proven to be committed to working to achieve health equity,” said Alice Braverman, ICHS Foundation Executive Director. “She is well known for her advocacy to remove barriers to care. Nomura works to create a continuum of quality health services that advocates for health access for low income people.”
The PSBJ launched the annual Health Care Leadership Awards in 2019. The program recognizes the doctors, researchers, administrators and executives whose work provides models for how care can be delivered and tools for the prevention and alleviation of illness. The awards recognize innovative and influential thinkers whose leadership has had an indelible impact on the region.
Nomura has been a health care and community leader in the Puget Sound for over 30 years. Prior to her appointment as ICHS’ CEO in 2022, she served as an ICHS board member for over 10 years, with an emphasis on strategic planning and community relations.
ICHS is a federally-qualified community health center that has been at the forefront of advancing health equity for low-income, uninsured, and underinsured children, adults, and older adults, including immigrants and refugees in King County, regardless of language or financial barriers. In 2023, ICHS served 31,230 patients. 4 in 5 of whom were low income, and 7 in 9 are persons of color. ICHS welcomes all people regardless of language, immigration status, or financial barriers.
Earlier this year ICHS was awarded the Health Center Quality Leader gold badge from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for their clinical quality performance and ability to improve health outcomes.
“Under Nomura’s leadership, ICHS has been able to adapt to the pandemic and post-pandemic needs of the communities we serve,” said Braverman. “Achieving this status means that ICHS has not only met but exceeded key metrics, reflecting the organization’s commitment to excellence in healthcare delivery.”
Nomura has also overseen the continuing development and planning of the new Ron Chew Healthy Aging and Wellness Center, which offers a 25,000-square-foot space to provide services to the community and plans to open in Seattle in 2025. When completed, the center will quadruple the number of vulnerable older adults served at ICHS.
Prior to joining ICHS as CEO, Nomura served as division director for the Behavioral Health and Recovery Division of King County’s Department of Community and Human Services. She was dedicated to ensuring access to high-quality behavioral health services for low-income people of all ages in King County.
She will be honored with the award at the Health Care Leadership awards luncheon in Seattle on December 5, 2024. For more information about the event or to reserve your seat, click here.