Adventist names community integration leader
Adventist Health Lodi Memorial has announced the appointment of Katherine “Kat” Gonzales as the organization’s community integration manager.
This new role stems out of Adventist Health’s effort to transform the health and health status of the communities it serves.
This work began in 2018 when the hospital board established its Mission Integration Committee. Board member and chair of the Mission Integration Committee, Bill Cummins, founding pastor of Bear Creek Community Church, has assembled a list of community leaders to spearhead the mission.
One of the first recommendations that the committee made was to hire a leader to assist the hospital in this important work.
“Our board has assisted me in integrating into our community. With the addition of Kat, we will be able to further extend the influence of our mission,” said
Daniel Wolcott, president of Adventist
Health Lodi Memorial.
Gonzales will be a major partner with
Wolcott in the local business community.
“I am looking forward to connecting to the community and offering a continuation of health and wellness already being done inside the hospital,” Gonzales said. “I’m excited to see how God is going to move, and eager to serve the community and its needs.”
Along with serving with local groups, a large part of Gonzales’ role will include advancing health strategy in Lodi and aligning with community health, population health and care coordination leadership, resources and partners. She will coordinate the Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) and Community Health Implementation Plan (CHIP), as well as community benefit reporting.
Gonzales holds a bachelor’s degree in Spanish from Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, Conn., and master’s of public health in health education from Loma Linda University. Prior to joining Adventist Health Lodi Memorial, Gonzales worked in human resources for Kettering Health Network in Miamisburg, Ohio. She was also a program coordinator for HealthCorps in Upland where she worked with high school students.
Gonzales lives in Lodi with her husband, Manny, who serves as the youth pastor at English Oaks Seventh-day Adventist Church in Lodi.