The following is a statement of the ICHS Board of Directors on the Retirement Announcement of President and CEO Teresita Batayola:

International Community Health Services (ICHS) President and CEO Teresita Batayola has announced her intention to retire in December 2022. The ICHS Board of Directors accepts this news with gratitude for her 17 years of transformational leadership.

Batayola has served at ICHS since 2004 and oversaw its growth from two neighborhood clinics to a regional health care network of 11 service sites. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she guided ICHS through the establishment of drive-through testing sites, implementation of telehealth, and advocated for vaccine equity and vaccinating diverse communities through its clinics, schools and public sites while addressing vaccine hesitancy. ICHS continued to provide care for its patients and participants as it pivoted to also provide lifeline services, distributing food and essential supplies to seniors, families and youth during this period.

“Leadership, especially in a nonprofit organization, is always a marathon,” Batayola said. “Every step matters. But leaders have to know when that marathon is over. My 26th mile is only a marker in ICHS’ history and long future. It is time to prepare to hand over the baton.”

Batayola’s departure at the end of 2022 allows the ICHS Board of Directors time to search for and acquire new leadership and implement a plan for succession. A search committee was convened and will appoint a community advisory group to provide input in the search.

“We are immensely proud and grateful to Teresita for her tireless work,” said ICHS Board President Gildas Cheung. “ICHS is fulfilling the vision of its founders and its mission of providing linguistically and culturally appropriate health care in large part because of her dynamic, innovative and effective leadership.”

ICHS is a nonprofit community health center providing culturally and linguistically appropriate health services to improve the wellness of King County’s diverse people and communities. Since its founding in 1973, ICHS has grown from a single storefront clinic in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District with deep roots in the Asian Pacific Islander community, to a regional health care provider employing nearly 600 people with over 27,000 patients speaking 70 languages at 11 clinic locations.