Dec 17, 2024
December 17, 2024 (ROCHESTER, NY) —Trillium Health, a community health center dedicated to providing comprehensive and compassionate care, is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Michael Mendoza and Christopher Woodring to its Executive Leadership Team. Both individuals will bring a wealth of expertise and strategic vision to help advance Trillium Health's mission of delivering high-quality healthcare services to the community, beginning in January 2025.
Michael D. Mendoza, MD, MPH, MS will serve as Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer. In this role, he will be responsible for implementing Trillium Health’s strategic framework, collaborating with leadership to increase access to programs and services, promoting operational excellence, and managing resources to help the organization achieve its goals as a Federally Qualified Health Center. Dr. Mendoza currently serves as Professor in the Departments of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.
Dr. Mendoza most recently served as the 9th Commissioner of Public Health for Monroe County, NY where he oversaw the Monroe County Health Department, its 283 employees and its $80+ million budget. In this capacity, he supervised the development, implementation, and evaluation of a diverse array of health promotion and disease preparedness efforts serving the residents of Monroe County, NY. During his eight-year tenure in this role, Dr. Mendoza was a leader in the county response to the opioid overdose crisis, he advocated for health equity and expanding the public health workforce, and he led the county response to various communicable disease outbreaks including ZIKA, and measles. Most notably, Dr. Mendoza was a key leader in the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic for the Monroe County region.
As a board-certified family physician, Dr. Mendoza has worked as a primary care physician for over 20 years, currently seeing pediatric and adult patients at Highland Family Medicine as well as on the inpatient units at Highland Hospital. He joined the faculty at the University of Rochester in 2009 and was appointed to serve as Medical Director at Highland Family Medicine, overseeing one of the largest family medicine residency teaching practices in the country. In the following seven years, Dr. Mendoza led the practice through unprecedented growth and change. Under his oversight, Highland Family Medicine became recognized as a local and national innovator in team-based care and interprofessional practice and education.
As a recognized community and regional leader, Dr. Mendoza has held board and committee roles in the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, the New York State Academy of Family Physicians, the New York State Association of County Health Officials and the New York Health Foundation. Closer to home, Dr. Mendoza is a member of the Board of Directors of Willow Domestic Violence Center of Rochester where he served as Chair of the Board during the COVID pandemic; a member of the Board of Directors of the George Eastman Museum where he served on the Inclusion, Diversity and Outreach Committee; as well as a member of the Board of Directors of Common Ground Health and the Greater Rochester Regional Health Information Organization.
Originally from Chicago, IL, Dr. Mendoza received his undergraduate and medical degrees from The University of Chicago. He received his Master’s degree in Public Health from The University of Illinois - Chicago, and he obtained his Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the Simon Business School at the University of Rochester. He completed his residency training in Family and Community Medicine at the University of California - San Francisco and served an additional year as Chief Resident. He completed a Fellowship Program in Resident Teaching at UCSF and the Certificate Program in Biomedical Informatics at Oregon Health and Science University. In his spare time, Dr. Mendoza enjoys spending time with his kids, his two goldendoodles, running, cycling, cooking, photography, and DJing (mostly 80s and 90s music).
Christopher Woodring, PharmD, RPh will serve as Vice President, Chief Pharmacy Officer. In this role, he will be responsible for overseeing Trillium Health’s two retail pharmacies, a specialty/home delivery pharmacy, and contract pharmacy partner relationships. Christopher graduated from the Wegmans School of Pharmacy at St. John Fisher University.
Christopher joined Trillium Health in 2008, and for the past 16 years, he has been managing Trillium Health’s in-house pharmacy and overseeing the integration of pharmacy and clinical services. He is nationally recognized for his expertise with the 340B Drug Pricing Program, and he has overseen Trillium’s pharmacy securing URAC specialty and mail service pharmacy accreditation.
Christopher is a member of Ryan White Clinics for 340B Access, and he serves on the Advocacy Committee and the Payor Committee. He is also a member of the NYSDOH Drug User Health Working Group, Save New York Safety Net’s Watchdog & Policy Committee, the Monroe County Medical Society Pharmacy Workgroup, and the Rochester Pharmacy Access Coalition. In addition, he has served on the Finger Lakes Region’s Vaccination Hub, and he was a recipient of the RBJ’s Health Care Hero Award for the COVID-19 Task Force.
Christopher is a graduate of the Healthcare Business Academy Fellowship Program at NorthStar Network and the High Impact Management Program at Coleman Associates. He has been a presenter at the New York State AIDS Institute and the University of Washington’s A1 Learning Collaborative, as well as a speaker at 340B Health’s and 340B Grantees’ national conferences. Christopher serves as a mentor in Trillium Health’s mentorship program.
Christopher Woodring will succeed Mark Malahosky, who is retiring as Vice President of Pharmacy Services after 20 years with Trillium Health.
"We are excited to welcome Dr. Mendoza and Christopher Woodring to our Executive Leadership Team," said Jason Barnecut-Kearns, President & CEO of Trillium Health. "Their extensive experience, strong leadership, and unwavering commitment to our mission will significantly enhance our ability to serve the community, particularly as we transition to a Federally Qualified Health Center."
About Trillium Health
Trillium Health is a Community Health Center that provides extraordinary care for all, including LGBTQ+ health, ensuring equitable, judgement-free, and affordable care. We believe that everyone who walks through our doors deserves high quality, affordable healthcare, regardless of income, sexual orientation, gender identity, race, or ethnicity. For more information, please visit www.trilliumhealth.org