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Excited For The Future
Written By: Luke Osteen | Issue: March 2024
Faviola Olvera’s decades-long commitment to serving others here on the Plateau finds its full flowering as she oversees the Community Care Clinic’s expanded operations. To learn more about the clinic (located at 52 Aunt Dora Drive in Highlands) and its services, visit highlandscashiersclinic.org.
Faviola Olvera
When Faviola Olvera arrived in America with her family when she was eight, she knew she wanted to take an active part in the life of her community, eventually settling on nonprofits.
“My interest in nonprofits began in my teenage years while tutoring ESL (English as a Second Language) at the Literacy Council of Highlands,” she says. “Growing up in Highlands and going to Highlands School made me realize that it takes a village to raise a child and more importantly, make that child feel like an integral part of the community. Teachers, teacher’s assistants and several community members worked diligently with my siblings and I to make sure we learned and eventually mastered the English language.”
That passion for learning and teaching percolated in young Faviola.
“After taking a break from college to figure out what I actually wanted to study, I taught English as a Second Language at the place where my language journey began, Highlands School, and continued to tutor with the Literacy Council” says Faviola. “I also started working for the International Friendship Center, a nonprofit resource center for the international community here in Highlands. For me, working in this type of nonprofit was a natural choice, as I could identify and communicate with the people I
was helping.
“In 2019 I began working at the Community Care Clinic of Highlands-Cashiers. Working here and eventually leading the organization was a full circle moment for me, as I volunteered as an interpreter for the clinic since the first clinic in 2005.
“I am excited for the future of the clinic. In 2023, we drafted and adopted an ambitious strategic plan to expand hours, services and providers.
“The clinic this year is working on expanding our services to include urgent care hours. Historically, we have only had two weekly evening clinics but at the end of February, we will have extended hours on clinic days to accommodate walk-in urgent care patients. The urgent care hours will allow us to see acute care cases that would go to our local emergency rooms for care or otherwise go untreated.
“In 2024, we plan to have a more in-depth vision screening program-we are currently working with some local optometrists to develop a way to provide low-cost eyeglasses to our patients.
“In 2023 the clinic had 1,307 patient care visits, more than ever before. We hope this expansion will allow the clinic to continue to provide more quality medical care to those who need it the most.”
