Serving Community with Compassion: 5 Qs for an Account ManagerCHPW's official blog website

5 Questions with Juan Mendoza, CHPW Account Manager

Community is more than just part of our name at Community Health Plan of Washington. Our Community Outreach Team lives and works in the communities where they serve as account managers across the state.

Juan has a passion for putting CHPW members and the community first. We sat down with him and asked him five questions about his work in Southwestern Washington.

How long have you been with Community Health Plan of Washington and what is your current role and area?

I began working for CHPW in June of 2020 and I currently serve as an Account Manager in Southeastern Washington, that includes Benton, Franklin, Grant, Adams, and Walla Walla counties. My role is community outreach. I work closely with our members, the community, and partner with the Community Health Centers in my area to support their needs. You can find me at local community events, at health fairs or at health clinics where I make myself available to answer questions about our health care plans, about eligibility and enrollment or about health care overall.

What do you enjoy the most about your work at CHPW?

Being able to visit different communities every day is an exciting part of my position and I love that I get to work so closely with our community health center staff all around the region. Our Eastern Washington team is really close, and it is always nice when we get to collaborate and work or attend events together. Not to mention we have one of the best leading our team, Brisa Guajardo. I’ve learned so much from her passion for helping others and her knowledge. She has really helped me grow in my role. But the most enjoyable thing is that I get to meet members out in their communities and provide services and support they need, and that has only grown my admiration for CHPW.

Why did you choose to pursue a career in health care?

You know, this is a funny question to me because when I was originally interested in this position, I had no idea what was going to come of it. I was looking for a new job that would be able to connect my love for our community in the Wenatchee area with my past experience. At the time I remember feeling very excited to get to work for a health insurance organization that truly put members and the community first. I was able to quickly understand that CHPW was different, and I would be having the opportunity to make a difference and help folks with a variety of services and support.

What is something you have recently learned or accomplished that you are proud of?

I’m continuously proud of our work as a collective team. The relationships we are able to build with not only the community health centers, but community-based organizations in and all around the state is so amazing to me. I am so grateful for the personal relationships I get to create with the various staff I meet while out in the field. We are currently doing outreach and collaborative work around the end of the Public Health Emergency and the need for folks on Apple Health (Medicaid) to renew their eligibility for what might be the first time since the start of the pandemic. We are really hoping to help make this an easy renewal process for everyone.

If you have visitors from out of town, where do you like to take them to experience the Pacific Northwest?

If I’m in the Tri-Cities, I would take them out on the Candy Mountain Trail. I love that it’s a shorter trail and you are able to take in views of the valley. If I were in the Wenatchee area (my previous stomping grounds), I would take visitors out for a day in Leavenworth. From food to drinks to outdoor recreation and activities, there is plenty to do with friends or family of all ages.