This episode is part of Pear VC's series on Medicaid, covering the basics that founders need to know to build innovations that support communities in need.

Today, we're delighted to introduce Tracy Douglas, the CEO of Virginia Community Healthcare Association (VCHA), which is the primary care association representing Virginia’s Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) . 

Tracy brings over 25 years of healthcare administration and operations experience. She has held executive roles in FQHCs in Indiana and Maryland, overseeing multiple locations across both states. In these roles, she led operations, maintained financial strength, and supported strategic goals to achieve excellence in medical practices, programs, and services. Tracy has  managed operations in various healthcare settings, including pediatric centers of excellence, providing cardiac, kidney, and pulmonary services, both clinic-based and surgical. She also oversaw outpatient and inpatient acute care services and led a large health system’s managed care division. Additionally, Tracy served as the Executive Director of a for-profit physician-hospital organization.

In her current role, Tracy  is responsible for the overall operation, management, program development, and fiscal control of VCHA. She also advocates for the Association’s members with federal, state, and local policymakers to ensure they have the tools and resources needed to improve access to primary care for the underserved in Virginia.

Tracy received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland, College Park, and her master’s degree in General Administration with a focus on Healthcare Administration from the University of Maryland University College.

In this episode, we learn about the scope of FQHC services, how FQHCs are financed, what challenges they face and how they evaluate vendors.