Becoming “The Clinic with the Heart”

This #purpleheartday we share the story of how Chiricahua became “the Clinic with the Heart”.

Richard Sampson, our current Chief Operations Officer retired from the United States Army in 1990 and had received the Purple Heart during his service in Vietnam. He was recruited by Chiricahua’s first CEO, Ginger Ryan to help with the effort to bring a new federally qualified community health center to Cochise County and was one of the original team of 5 employees who opened Chiricahua in the Elfrida Community Center in 1996. After two years of operations they had gotten the funding needed to build a new clinic of their own from the ground up.

Richard decided he would lay his purple heart into the foundation of the Cliff Whetten Clinic in Elfrida. He said, “Once the foundation for the new clinic had been poured, I walked over and pushed my purple heart into the cement. I put it in the area that would be the procedure room. It was to be an area to be used to triage emergencies. It seemed like a fitting place for this medal to rest, knowing what I went through to receive it.”

“It was nothing to glorify myself or Chiricahua. It was something I did as an individual after hearing about a veteran who had placed their purple heart under the Vietnam Memorial. I knew that I wanted to leave my purple heart somewhere with meaning.”

Richard says he doesn’t know how the word got out about what he did for the clinic. But once word spread, Chiricahua was nicknamed “the clinic with the heart.”

Richard added, “Working for a community health center is a way of life. I don’t provide patient care, but by managing buildings and ensuring availability of space I am enabling the providers of care at Chiricahua to fulfill their mission. I believe in taking the opportunity to make a difference and improve health services for everyone. After retiring from the U.S. Army and trying to fit into the new civilian world, Chiricahua was instrumental in nurturing my passion to help others.”

Check back often for news updates.