Podcast episode 12: Sonja W. Bachus

Welcome to the Pioneers in Health podcast. Here, we share inspiring stories of pioneering leaders working to improve health. We bring you guests from our state, from our nation and from your backyard to tell their stories of how they broke new ground and changed the landscape of health care.

In episode 12, we interview Sonja W. Bachus. She currently serves as the CEO of Community Care Network of Kansas but will transition into a leadership role at the National Association of Community Health Centers in December. There, she will serve as senior vice president of Primary Care Associations and Health Center Controlled Network Relations.

Sonja, a Kansas native, is a transformational leader with deep roots in the Community Health Center movement. She has served in leadership roles at multiple Community Health Centers across the country.

Through her leadership at the Community Care Network of Kansas, the team developed key legislative and agency relationships that resulted in a 34% increase in state grant funding and a 72% increase in capital improvement grant funding available to member health centers who serve one in nine people across Kansas.

She also led a multi-agency effort that secured $10 million in grant funding for five member clinics to launch and/or expand integrated behavioral health in primary care clinics, and she launched an Accountable Care Organization to pursue value-based contracts with seven of the network’s FQHC/LAL members.

Sonja earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Washburn University and a Master of Jurisprudence in Health Law from Loyola University Chicago Law School. She also holds the designation of Community Health Center Executive Fellow from the Kansas Medical Center and a Public Policy Certificate from the National Institute of Lobbying and Ethics.

In this episode, Sonja discusses her journey from working in banking and finance to health care and how she found her passion in community health.

She discussed how the civil rights movement led to the Community Health Center movement as a way to serve all people. Community Health Centers increase access to crucial primary care by reducing barriers, such as cost, lack of insurance, distance and language for their patients. In 2023, they served nearly 32.5 million patients.

“The movement has continued to grow, and it just means that no one is left behind,” Sonja said.

She also discusses:

Technology in health care

Community Care Network of Kansas’ work

Her future role at the National Association of Community Health Centers

And much more! Listen now, and learn more about how Sonja is a pioneering leader in health care.