Regence BlueCross BlueShield’s director of Latino outreach honored for improving access to health care in Latino community
LEWISTON, Idaho – Francisco Garbayo was recently named “Entrepreneur of the Month” by Mirada Magazine in Idaho in recognition of his commitment to the Latino community. Garbayo leads Regence BlueCross BlueShield’s Latino outreach efforts and works to break down the linguistic and cultural barriers that make it difficult to understand and access the health insurance system in the U.S.
After learning he had been named Entrepreneur of the Month, Garbayo told Mirada Magazine, “The health of Latinos is an issue at the forefront of my work at Regence and I am fiercely committed to addressing the health disparities that exist between populations of color and the general population.”
Garbayo was born in Havana, Cuba, and lived there until he was 15 years old. After leaving Cuba, he lived in Spain for one year and then immigrated to the United States as a political refugee. Before joining Regence, Garbayo spent more than 20 years in human resources at companies such as Qsent, Chrome, Egghead.com and Fujitsu.
Mirada Magazine is a free, bilingual magazine published monthly. It has the largest Latino readership in Idaho. At the end of 2009 it began recognizing businesspeople for their contributions to the Latino community through its Entrepreneur of the Month feature. Past recipients include Tom Dale, mayor of Nampa; Cleveland Events Center; and Lucio Angel Granados, who started the first credit repair company in Idaho.
About Regence
Regence is the largest health insurer in the Northwest / Intermountain Region, offering health, life and dental insurance. Regence serves more than 2.5 million members as Regence BlueShield of Idaho, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah and Regence BlueShield (selected counties in Washington). Each health plan is a nonprofit independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Regence is committed to improving the health of our members and our communities, and to transforming our health care system. For more information, please visit www.regence.com or follow us on Twitter.