HOUSTON (May 7, 2018)—Dr. Glorimar Medina-Rivera has been named the new executive vice president and administrator of Harris Health System’s Ambulatory Care Services, its integrated network of health centers, specialty clinics and mobile health units. As one of the largest public safety-net providers in Texas, Harris Health focuses on serving the primary care, disease management and prevention healthcare needs of Harris County residents.
Dr. Glorimar Medina-Rivera (Courtesy of Harris Health System)
Medina-Rivera is a board-certified anesthesiologist and an assistant professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center (UTHealth) at Houston, having served as assistant chief of anesthesiology at Harris Health’s Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital from 2008 to 2014. She became medical director of Harris Health’s Ambulatory Surgical Center at LBJ Hospital in 2014 and was named medical director of the Harris Health Outpatient Center specialty clinics in 2015.
“As a physician partner to Harris Health throughout the years, I’ve always felt aligned with the system’s mission and values,” Medina-Rivera says. “I feel deeply connected to our community and am excited to serve our patients in this new role.”
Medina-Rivera graduated from Ponce Health Sciences University in Puerto Rico in 2003 and completed her residency of anesthesiology at UTHealth in 2007, where she stayed on as faculty for the past 10 years. In 2013, she received the medical school’s Emerging Leadership Award that recognizes rising physicians within Harris Health System.
“Throughout her tenure at UTHealth, Dr. Medina-Rivera has been a model for physician partnership, operational efficiency and patient advocacy,” says Dr. Ericka Brown, chief operating officer, Harris Health System.
In addition to numerous medical staff recognitions, Medina-Rivera also served as a medical representative for the Affiliated Medical Services Committee for Harris Health’s Board of Trustees. She has a special interest in underserved populations and has participated in several mission trips to Guatemala. In her free time, she enjoys exercising, reading and spending time with her husband and son.
In 2017, Harris Health provided more than 1.9 million outpatient clinic visits to the residents of Harris County. Harris Health is a recipient of the prestigious National Committee for Quality Assurance designation for its patient-centered medical homes and is staffed by nationally recognized physician faculty and residents from its medical school partners: Baylor College of Medicine; McGovern Medical School at UTHealth; and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.