Kelli Nomura, ICHS CEO Named Diversity Champion
By International Community and Health Services
NAP Contributor
Kelli Nomura, ICHS CEO, was named Diversity Champion.
International Community Health Services (ICHS) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Kelli Nomura, has been named Diversity Champion and selected as one of 15 preeminent health care leaders of the Puget Sound region in Washington State by the Puget Sound Business Journal (PSBJ). “Kelli Nomura has proven to be committed to working to achieve health equity,” said Alice Braverman, ICHS Foundation Executive Director. “She is well known for her advocacy to remove barriers to care. Nomura works to create a continuum of quality health services that advocates for health access for low-income people.”
The PSBJ launched the annual Health Care Leadership Awards in 2019. The program recognizes doctors, researchers, administrators and executives whose work provides models on how care can be delivered, and tools for the prevention and alleviation of illness. The awards recognize innovative and influential thinkers whose leadership has an indelible impact on the region.
Nomura has been a health care and community leader in the Puget Sound area for over 30 years. Prior to her appointment as ICHS’ CEO in 2022, she served on the ICHS Board of Directors for over 10 years with an emphasis on strategic planning and community relations. Nomura wanted to gain awareness of other areas of the medical health system for Seattle communities particularly the AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) community. “I have been connected to or interested in the integration of behavioral health with medical care because I believe that it is so important to treat the whole person and not separate treatment of the head from the body,” Nomura said. “[ICHS is] committed to providing those services in a culturally and linguistically appropriate way. We serve everyone, that is really where our mission is. [We make] sure that the community, AAPI community as well as immigrants and refugees who do not have access to health care [or] have a place to go.”
ICHS is a federally qualified community health center that has been at the forefront of advancing health equity for low-income, uninsured, and immigrants and refugees in King County regardless of language or financial barriers. In 2023, ICHS served 31,230 patients. Four out of five of them were low-income and seven out of nine were people of color. ICHS welcomes all people regardless of language, immigration status or financial barriers.
Earlier this year, ICHS was awarded the Health Center Quality Leader Gold Badge from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for its clinical quality performance and ability to improve health outcomes.
“Under Nomura’s leadership, ICHS has been able to adapt to the pandemic and post-pandemic needs of the communities we serve,” said Braverman. Nomura has also overseen the continuing development and planning of the new Ron Chew Healthy Aging and Wellness Center, which offers a 25,000-square-foot space to provide services to the community. It plans to open in Seattle in 2025. When completed, the center will quadruple the number of vulnerable older adults served at ICHS.
Prior to joining ICHS as CEO, Nomura served as division director for the Behavioral Health and Recovery Division of King County’s Department of Community and Human Services in Seattle. She was dedicated to ensuring access to high-quality behavioral health services for low-income people of all ages in King County. Nomura was responsible for mental health and substance use disorder prevention, intervention and treatment services with a focus on recovery, as well as the management of the Mental Illness and Drug Dependency Behavioral Health sales tax revenues. Under her leadership, King County assumed the role of managing and coordinating the King County Integrated Care Network of Providers, enhancing consumer choice for behavioral health services county-wide. She also took on direct responsibility for serving as the Administrative Service Organization for the region coordinating the county’s crisis response services and access to care.
Prior to joining King County in 2016, Nomura worked over 30 years in clinical and leadership roles within the behavioral health provider network. She also holds a master’s degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology, both from the University of Washington. This is where she connected with the King County behavioral health organization and where she would eventually work after graduating.
Nomura grew up outside of Portland, Oregon. Her father was a physician, so she learned early on the importance of health care and preventative health, as well as the importance of access to health care. From a young age, she knew she wanted to work in the field of health.
For more information about ICHS, visit: ichs.com.
