Anahi Huang, MD

Claudia Pleitez, MD FAAP

Darlene Melk, MD FAAP CPE

JOINED CCHCI IN 2010

Why I Believe in the Mission of CCHCI

I believe in community medicine.  In order to provide the highest quality and most comprehensive care to our patients, we need partners.  At CCHCI we have care coordination, nursing expertise, and administrative support to practice the kind of medicine that everyone deserves.

DARLENE'S BACKGROUND

Raised by a single mom, Dr. Darlene Melk’s journey to becoming Chief Medical Officer at Chiricahua Community Health Center, Inc is both impressive and inspiring. As the daughter of a Cuban refugee, Spanish is Dr. Melk’s first language, and she remains bilingual to this day. Diagnosed with Type One diabetes at age eight, Dr. Melk knew early on she wanted to be a doctor to take care of children like her and set her mind to realizing that dream early on.

After graduating from the University of Arizona Medical School and completing her residency training at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, where she was recognized as “Senior Resident of the Year”, Dr. Melk stayed true to her passion in serving children with barriers to care. Her first job was working for a Federally Qualified Health Center or FQHC in Phoenix and knowing that she could see any child, regardless of the circumstances into which they were born, solidified her resolve to serve in the FQHC environment.

Dr. Melk joined Chiricahua in 2010 as a Community Pediatrician and over the next ten years served as Director of Community Pediatrics and Director of Community Medicine before becoming Chief Medical Officer in 2020. She was a member of First Things First Regional Council from 2016/2023 and was the Chair for the Council from 2019/2023. In 2024, Dr. Melk was appointed by Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs to the Arizona Early Childhood Development and Health Board, which is the First Things First State level directorate. Dr Melk has also served as a Board Member of the Western Clinician Network since 2021 and was elected President for a one-year term in 2023. Dr. Melk additionally served on the Steering Committee for Douglas Education Partnership Council from 2017/2023 and is currently Chair of Pediatric Leaders Peer Network Committee for the Arizona Association of Community Health Centers.

ACADEMIC BACKGROUND

Devyn Thurber, MSN, MPH, PNP-BC

JOINED CCHCI IN 2015

Why I Believe in the Mission of CCHCI

I believe in the mission of CCHCI, because it strives to break down social and economic barriers to health for all members of its surrounding community. I am excited to be a part of a growing team that works every day to bring high quality, evidence-based health care to as many children as possible irrespective of their family’s ability to pay.

DEVYN'S BACKGROUND

Growing up, I experienced first-hand the barriers to health that come with living in a rural community. After studying architecture in college, I worked as a patient advocate filing insurance claims for nutritional counseling and advocating on behalf of patients for comprehensive care. My desire to gain a better understanding of how social and economic factors affect the quality of patient care is what led me to pursue my Masters of Public Health (MPH) at Dartmouth College. As an MPH intern for the Women, Infants, and Children Supplemental Nutrition Program (WIC), I witnessed the important role that families play in helping to prevent nutrition-related chronic illnesses that begin in childhood. I attended Yale University to train in pediatric primary care and diabetes management with the professional goal of returning to a rural community where I could work every day to educate families about disease prevention, so that they have the tools to grow healthy families regardless of their circumstance. Outside of my clinical role, I enjoy trail running and spending time exploring Cochise County with my husband, 2 sons and 2 dogs.

ACADEMIC BACKGROUND

Eduardo Marrero, MD FAAP

JOINED CCHCI IN 2016

Why I Believe in the Mission of CCHCI

I believe in the philosophy of CCHCI, they have an excellent team and bring high quality health care to anyone who needs it.

EDUARDO'S BACKGROUND

Gabrielle Lugo, PNP

JOINED CCHCI IN 2022

Why I Believe in the Mission of CCHCI

I believe in the mission of CCHCI because all people deserve high quality health care regardless of social, economic, or immigration status.

GABRIELLE'S BACKGROUND

I grew up in Orlando, FL, where I attended elementary, middle, and high school. I completed my undergraduate Bachelor’s of Science at the University of South Florida. After graduation, I decided to pursue a degree in nursing and completed my Bachelor’s in nursing at the University of Miami. While working at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami, I completed my Master’s in Nursing in 2016 with a focus in pediatric primary care. I met my husband in Miami while practicing pediatric neurology. We married in 2019 and moved to Iowa so that he could pursue a fellowship in pediatric hematology and oncology. While living in Iowa, I worked in school-based clinics and witnessed the barriers to primary and preventive health care that exist in this country and the need for community collaboration to deliver this care. My husband and I relocated to Douglas after falling in love with CCHI, the views, and the town. I have always loved working in pediatrics and especially enjoy seeing my patients grow.

ACADEMIC BACKGROUND

Gino Bardi Lola, MD

JOINED CCHCI IN 2022

Why I Believe in the Mission of CCHCI

I believe that everyone deserves great medical treatment and when I got to know Chiricahua I saw that the vision aligned with my beliefs. I think the community is great and I'm excited to start practicing here.

GINO'S BACKGROUND

I was born and raised in El Salvador, and that’s where I did my medical school. I came to the US in 2014 to further my medical career. I did my training as a pediatrician in Miami and in 2019, I moved to Iowa City to continue my training in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at the University of Iowa. After finishing my training, I just now moved to Douglas.

ACADEMIC BACKGROUND

Jeffrey Holzberg, MD MSc FAAP

JOINED CCHCI IN 2017

Why I Believe in the Mission of CCHCI

In Line with the mission of Chiricahua, I believe in putting patients first and providing a high level of care, no matter who comes to the clinic's doorstep. Chiricahua also allows the opportunity to partner with the community outside of the clinic doors.

JEFFREY'S BACKGROUND

I enjoy being a pediatrician because I work directly with kids on their immediate health concerns while simultaneously working with the community to prevent those same health concerns in future years. Before entering medical school, I spent a year in the urban Bronx of New York and then the next year in rural India. Both of these experiences trained me to look at the upstream factors of health, the aspects of life that affect patient’s health before they ever arrive in the clinic. These years showed me the power of community workers to care for their local population better than any doctor could. In residency, I evaluated the effectiveness of community workers to improve development in early childhood among local residents.

ACADEMIC BACKGROUND

Ninive A. Quijada, RDH BSDH

Pamela Oliphant, RDN

Terri Kibler, RDH BSDH