Cesar Herrera of Yuvo Health

Cesar Herrera, MBA, M.P.H.

Right after immigrating to the United States from the Philippines at age 3, I grew up in doing the job-course neighborhoods in and around Detroit. I have an MBA from New York College Stern Faculty of Company and an M.P.H. from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Faculty of General public Wellness. Prior to starting off Yuvo Wellness in 2021, I was the head of existing business enterprise for Zocdoc, a platform that permits patients to reserve appointments for health care treatment, and the main answers officer at Healthify, which delivers accessibility to networks of social assistance organizations. My loved ones resides in the Washington, D.C., suburbs.

Why did you come to a decision to pursue a career in health care?

I grew up recognizing I preferred to work in healthcare, whilst I did not figure out the specifics right up until my school yrs. As a previous affected person of federally capable overall health facilities (FQHCs), I was drastically influenced by the healthcare business at a youthful age. FQHCs, which furnished treatment to traditionally underserved communities, gave my relatives care, guidance and dignity, no matter of our well being insurance plan status.

Which profession accomplishment are you proudest of and why?

I’m most proud of launching Yuvo Health and fitness with my 3 co-founders. Collectively, we share a deep-rooted mission: to be an advocate and protector of persons in historically disenfranchised and very low-earnings communities that could be battling to obtain care.

What is the most hard section of your latest posture?

The lack of accessibility to healthcare in the United States goes much past health care itself. Our country’s well being inequities are a purpose of institutional racism and classism — challenges that are deeply rooted. Whilst we’re tackling wellness inequities by way of our get the job done, there is so substantially a lot more to be done on a broader scale by policymakers to improve obtain to treatment.

What is your organization carrying out to address healthcare equity?

FQHCs are the “boots on the ground” in underserved communities, giving treatment to those people who have to have it most. They also experience unique operational challenges that prohibit the development desired to satisfy need. Yuvo Overall health is helping FQHCs serve additional members of their communities by connecting FQHCs to worth-primarily based contracting and administrative services so they can elevate their profits products into something more sustainable. FQHCs are then empowered to lengthen their attain to far more people who need to have access to care.

If you could change just one thing in U.S. healthcare, what would it be?

I want health care to be equally available to all people, no matter of their geography, socioeconomic standing, race, society or language. In accordance to the Overall health Assets and Services Administration, there are 20 million lower-money individuals across the United States who never have entry to an FQHC and will need principal treatment. If we keep on to develop a health care ecosystem where by vendors are compensated considerably significantly less for Medicaid patients than for commercially insured people, then this obtain gap will in no way go absent.

How do you stay away from burnout?

I keep away from burnout by shelling out significant time with my three youngsters and wife, throughout which I am totally existing. Since it is straightforward to feel that we need to often be obtainable, I increase particular time blocks to my calendar that are not able to be scheduled about. For case in point, I have time blocks for routines and school drop-offs every single early morning, as nicely as a household supper time each individual evening. If I really don’t acquire command of my calendar, it can easily consider manage of me. Actually unplugging from operate, even if just for short home windows every single working day, can help me be a lot more present when functioning.