Gabriela Rodrguez

I started my healthcare career in 2010 as a scheduler for a local clinic in Northwest Arkansas. Within 3 years, I became a medical assistant. Five years ago, I had this urge for growth and wanted to move into a leadership position. When there wasn't any help for me to grow at the hospital where I was working, I went to my mentor, Julie McHorder, who is the CEO for Northwest Health in Bentonville. I knocked on her door and told her I had never been a secretary, but I had assisted a doctor for years, and I would be the first person there and the last person to go, and I would learn how to be her assistant. She asked me where I saw myself in 5 years and 10 years. I said in 5 years I want to be a director of operations, and in 10 years I would like to be a CEO like her. I'm up to my fourth year, and right now I'm a director of operations in Carlsbad, New Mexico. As Director of Operations, everything has to do with operations in the clinics in this area for CHS, from strategy, operations, leading my teams and my managers. I have to build good relationships with providers and in the community, making sure that my managers, my clinics, and my providers have everything that they need to be able to provide excellent healthcare for our patients. One of my most notable achievements was in 2025 when I was moved into operations of surgical clinics in a rural community in northwest Arkansas. I had a challenge with credentialing a surgeon, and we were missing a piece with CMS. We were right before the closing of the government, so I reached out to a state representative and went to their office and spoke with them. What was going to take 2 months took 2 days. Learning that we have those representatives to help us in any situation, and not being afraid to reach out to the authorities, that was a very big step in my career.