For Hysby Ramirez, working at SFCHC is deeply personal. Her connection began when she became her grandmother’s caregiver and started taking her to medical appointments at the clinic. Today, her grandmother is 100 years old and continues to receive care from Dr. Margaret Stein, SFCHC’s board-certified internal medicine physician.
“My grandmother has always been treated like family,” Ramirez said. “We are very grateful for the care and kindness she has received.”
That experience eventually led Ramirez to join SFCHC two years ago. With no previous medical background, she had a great deal to learn, but she embraced the challenge and recently earned a promotion to front desk lead. Today, she helps oversee daily operations, supports her coworkers and assists patients with scheduling, eligibility, payments and other needs.
Ramirez understands that the front desk is often one of a patient’s first points of contact with SFCHC. For her, each interaction offers a chance to help someone feel welcomed, cared for and more comfortable navigating their visit.
As Ramirez grew in her role, she came to appreciate the many ways SFCHC supports patients beyond a traditional medical appointment. She points to diabetes programs that include cooking classes focused on healthier meals, staff who help patients understand Medi-Cal and other insurance options, services for patients in rehabilitation centers and outreach to unhoused members of the community who need medications and other resources.
“We don’t just provide medical care,” Ramirez said. “We look at the different needs of the whole person. It is truly a community-based organization that brings many different services together to help people. That is what makes SFCHC special to me.”
Caring for others has been a recurring theme throughout Ramirez’s life. Before joining SFCHC, she worked as a human resources assistant and payroll specialist for a car dealership in Glendale. She later started her own commercial cleaning business, where she was especially proud to create job opportunities for single mother’s trying to support their families.
Ramirez hopes to restart the business when the time is right, operating it during evening hours so it will not interfere with her work at SFCHC. Her goal is to offer flexible opportunities for mothers who need additional income or prefer to work at night so they can be present for their children during the day.
That goal is rooted in her own journey as a single mother of four daughters, ages 23, 17, 11 and 3. Raising children at very different stages of life, she says, has taught her patience, strength, responsibility and the importance of being there for the people who depend on her.
Her faith and community are also important parts of her life. Ramirez volunteers with her church’s food distribution program, helping provide meals to families in need and continuing a tradition of service that reaches beyond her role at SFCHC.
For Ramirez, the path from bringing her grandmother to SFCHC to serving patients at the front desk has brought her story full circle. “I am grateful to work for an organization that has made such a difference in my grandmother’s life and continues to make a difference in our community,” she said. “Serving and helping others has always been an important part of my life. I am proud to be part of SFCHC and grateful that I can continue doing that every day.”
