News
Staff Profile: Aimee Gonzalez goes from MA to AVP at Tapestry 360 Health
Being a Medical Assistant (MA) is a good way to get yourself into healthcare,” says Associate Vice President for Operations Aimee Gonzalez. “If you want to grow and progress, then get that experience as an MA – then find opportunities to learn more and do more.”
Above: Aimee Gonzalez earlier in her career. Image at top of story: Aimee leading a managers’ meeting in January 2023.
Tapestry 360 Health works hard to hire from within, she says, and rewards effort. “I’m one of three people here now who started as MAs and now are at the manager level or above,” she says. “We look to grow our own leaders, based off people’s work ethic and demonstrated leadership.”
Aimee says staff get training when they become managers and other support. She won an IPHCA Ramona Lopez Award for operations leaders last year. She’s happy to share her personal career path from MA to AVP.
Getting her start
Aimee says she was a “nerd” in elementary and high school, but only realized it a couple years ago. “It wasn’t until I went to a reunion with friends from primary school that I realized I was in the smart kids class way back then,” she says.
Aimee got her start on a healthcare career at a young age. She was riding the Division Street bus when she saw an advertisement for MA training.
The ad was the opportunity she needed, Aimee recalls: “I was a teen mom and never had enough money for everything my son and I needed….” she says. “It wasn’t a good life. They didn’t give you enough to survive, constantly having to seek services–it was too much. So I called the number.”
Within weeks she was studying to be an MA. She enrolled in nine months of school followed by a three-month externship at Erie Family Health Center.
“The ideal situation is to get hired at the externship site, which is what happened with me. That’s where I was for five years, at the Erie Teen Health Center,” Aimee says. She joined colleagues who left Erie to work at Tapestry 360 Health’s Roosevelt High School school-based health center.
After 12 years at Roosevelt, Aimee became an instructor and then Program Chair of an MA training program at the former Everest College. “Studying to be an MA is a career starter program,” she says. “It was a very fast way of getting some type of degree without having to go to a traditional college.”
Teaching others, becoming a manager
When she decided to move on from her position there, Tapestry 360 Health was the first place she turned to. She rejoined in 2018 as a manager–a role very much in demand due to rapid expansion at Tapestry 360 Health. “When I left for Everest, Tapestry 360 Health had the school clinics and had opened four clinics,” she says. “By the time I came back, we had 15 clinics!”
Aimee came back as a manager of three community health centers. “Normally, you wouldn’t get a manager’s job without a college degree, but they gave me a job based on my experience,” she says.“They threw me into the fire, but they also gave me the flexibility to go to school. I had a lot of support.”
She received her BA in healthcare management from Northeastern Illinois University. The school’s university without walls program provided credits for her real-world experience.
As an associate vice president, Aimee is proud of bringing the National Institute of Medical Assistant Advancement, NIMAA, partnership to Tapestry 360 Health. Students take courses online and do their externship at Tapestry 360 Health.
The program is faster to complete these days than her own training required, she adds. It’s better than her education in other ways, too. “With NIMAA, a lot of it is online, and then we do the hands-on with the students,” Aimee says. “They practice blood pressure, injections and learn administrative responsibilities. It all takes place right here in our clinics.”
Tapestry 360 Health culture
What makes Tapestry 360 Health a good place to work for Aimee? She says leaders set a supportive tone that helps shape the culture across the organization. “I work for an organization where people are] passionate about what we do. People care about the services and mission. And I work with a ton of strong women.
“We have a lot of women in leadership, which is not very common in healthcare,” Aimee adds. “Even more important, we’re not competing. Everybody’s very supportive, everybody works together. I’m super grateful that I work with the women I work with.”
Related Posts
Being a Medical Assistant (MA) is a good way to get yourself into healthcare,” says Associate Vice President for Operations Aimee Gonzalez. “If you want to grow and progress, then get that experience as an MA – then find opportunities to learn more and do more.”
Above: Aimee Gonzalez earlier in her career. Image at top of story: Aimee leading a managers’ meeting in January 2023.
Tapestry 360 Health works hard to hire from within, she says, and rewards effort. “I’m one of three people here now who started as MAs and now are at the manager level or above,” she says. “We look to grow our own leaders, based off people’s work ethic and demonstrated leadership.”
Aimee says staff get training when they become managers and other support. She won an IPHCA Ramona Lopez Award for operations leaders last year. She’s happy to share her personal career path from MA to AVP.
Getting her start
Aimee says she was a “nerd” in elementary and high school, but only realized it a couple years ago. “It wasn’t until I went to a reunion with friends from primary school that I realized I was in the smart kids class way back then,” she says.
Aimee got her start on a healthcare career at a young age. She was riding the Division Street bus when she saw an advertisement for MA training.
The ad was the opportunity she needed, Aimee recalls: “I was a teen mom and never had enough money for everything my son and I needed….” she says. “It wasn’t a good life. They didn’t give you enough to survive, constantly having to seek services–it was too much. So I called the number.”
Within weeks she was studying to be an MA. She enrolled in nine months of school followed by a three-month externship at Erie Family Health Center.
“The ideal situation is to get hired at the externship site, which is what happened with me. That’s where I was for five years, at the Erie Teen Health Center,” Aimee says. She joined colleagues who left Erie to work at Tapestry 360 Health’s Roosevelt High School school-based health center.
After 12 years at Roosevelt, Aimee became an instructor and then Program Chair of an MA training program at the former Everest College. “Studying to be an MA is a career starter program,” she says. “It was a very fast way of getting some type of degree without having to go to a traditional college.”
Teaching others, becoming a manager
When she decided to move on from her position there, Tapestry 360 Health was the first place she turned to. She rejoined in 2018 as a manager–a role very much in demand due to rapid expansion at Tapestry 360 Health. “When I left for Everest, Tapestry 360 Health had the school clinics and had opened four clinics,” she says. “By the time I came back, we had 15 clinics!”
Aimee came back as a manager of three community health centers. “Normally, you wouldn’t get a manager’s job without a college degree, but they gave me a job based on my experience,” she says.“They threw me into the fire, but they also gave me the flexibility to go to school. I had a lot of support.”
She received her BA in healthcare management from Northeastern Illinois University. The school’s university without walls program provided credits for her real-world experience.
As an associate vice president, Aimee is proud of bringing the National Institute of Medical Assistant Advancement, NIMAA, partnership to Tapestry 360 Health. Students take courses online and do their externship at Tapestry 360 Health.
The program is faster to complete these days than her own training required, she adds. It’s better than her education in other ways, too. “With NIMAA, a lot of it is online, and then we do the hands-on with the students,” Aimee says. “They practice blood pressure, injections and learn administrative responsibilities. It all takes place right here in our clinics.”
Tapestry 360 Health culture
What makes Tapestry 360 Health a good place to work for Aimee? She says leaders set a supportive tone that helps shape the culture across the organization. “I work for an organization where people are] passionate about what we do. People care about the services and mission. And I work with a ton of strong women.
“We have a lot of women in leadership, which is not very common in healthcare,” Aimee adds. “Even more important, we’re not competing. Everybody’s very supportive, everybody works together. I’m super grateful that I work with the women I work with.”
