We recently connected with Ana Moncada and have shared our conversation below.

Ana, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Is there a heartwarming story from your career that you look back on?

One of my clients, Mr. Lopez (not his real name), arrived in my office feeling hopeless and scared. I understand how tough it can be for clients to seek help and take steps to meet me in person. Rather than giving him more grim news that I could not help him due to his immigration status, I worked with him to put an action plan together that would help him resolve his immigration issues, and then start to address the other needs that he originally came to me to achieve; namely, housing and employment. Mr. Lopez and I uncovered a specific policy, with the help of legal aid partner agencies, that helped resolve his documentation and immigration issues. We built trust and hope together as he slowly but consistently followed the plan to obtain documentation, apply for services and attend necessary meetings. In the end, Mr. Lopez not only obtained his corrected legal status, but he also secured health care, housing, and employment – a huge success! This success was due to the trust we established, patience, and persistence.

Ana, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Advanced Healthcare Administrators (AHA) originated from deeply personal roots, as I founded this organization and continue to build it to serve those from socio-economic situations similar to my own. I am motivated by my own experiences and drive to support my community by providing others with guidance so they can access critical services for healthcare, housing and other social determinants of health. I come from a hard-working Latino family, and my parents did not want to ask for help. Only by serving as a volunteer myself did I realize that sometimes we need to invite people to help them, and provide an authentic and non-judgmental approach to listen and serve.

I set up my non-profit organization to facilitate connections that clients need to receive services. My 15 years working in healthcare administration and operations at clinics taught me that we need to take an upstream approach to preventing illness and to do this, we must consider and address the social determinants of health. I created a social determinants of health (SDOH) assessment to better understand and then address client needs. AHA was developed using this mindset, that to improve the health and well-being of community members, we need to first understand what social determinants of health are influencing their care. I am most proud of the AHA mission to serve our lowest-income community members with a prevention orientation to understand and then address their barriers to optimal health.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

In addition to training and staying on top of the latest policies and regulations, it is important for me to stay connected to other organizations and individuals, develop partnerships, and be humble. When I partner with other organizations, we start by finding mission alignment. After we establish common goals, we figure out how to take action, based on our respective expertise to better serve clients. I recommend staying connected to others in your field and building partnerships within the social service field. We need to learn from each other and support each other, and this often includes reaching out and collaborating.

I am involved in several community groups and boards. I also make sure I maintain valid credentials to stay aware of complex and changing social service policies and rules. I need to understand how the latest social service programs work to best serve my clients and to train my staff.

Finally, I recommend staying humble. We are all human, and we are all learning. Even the “experts” can make mistakes and improve, so by staying humble, I keep an open mind and service mindset.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

My organization is all about service, and those who receive our services have been essential to building the reputation of AHA. Often clients come to me after they have unsuccessfully sought help elsewhere, they are distraught and tired. At AHA, we listen and treat each person with respect. Clients return to AHA when they see progress toward their goals, and then they share their success with friends, which increases my client base.

In sum, AHA has established a reputation for being effective. This reputation prompts more connections and referrals. Even health provider groups have contacted AHA to send us more clients since they are grateful that AHA has provided much-needed social support to their patients. I firmly believe that connections and support amongst providers, government entities, and non-profits ultimately support our clients and help build our respective organizations.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.aha-inc.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/advancedhealthcareadmin/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AdvancedHealthcareAdminLA/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/advanced-healthcare-administration/