THOMAS R. ORTIZ, MD, FAAFP
Medical Director
Dr. Thomas R. Ortiz, a board certified Family Physician, has been in the private practice of Family Medicine as the Founder and Medical Director of Forest Hill Family Health Associates, PA (www.fhfha.com) in Newark, NJ Northward since 1984. In 2010 his practice was nationally recognized by the NCQA as a Patient Centered Medical Home, a unique designation only offered to high preforming practices, pioneering transitions of care programs, population care coordination and patient outreach, clinical care HIT integration while embedding a behaviorist, nurse practitioners, physician’s assistants, navigators and health educators directly into the delivery team.
An early adopter of Electronic Medical Record technology since 2001, in 2011 his practice achieved meaningful use recognition for EMR utilization by the Office of the National Coordinator and NJ Medicaid. As Founding CEO of Health Practice Management Corp., a Health Care Consulting firm, he has established the Forest Hill Medical Arts Center for Specialty Care, bringing 16 subspecialty physicians into Newark’s Northward, expanding access to specialty care to a community in great need.
A graduate of New Jersey Medical School in Newark, NJ and Mountainside Family Practice Residency Program in Montclair, NJ, Dr. Ortiz joined the National Health Service Corp. and has made a career as a public health advocate for universal access to primary care for all, focused on the poor and vulnerable populations. A long time champion for health care justice for all the people, he has served on many local and statewide task forces, commissions and committees representing primary care medicine and health information technology and has received numerous peer recognition awards and community accolades attesting to his efforts.
With the advent of a national movement for healthcare reform and the passage of the Affordable Care Act, Dr. Ortiz has been leading the charge for urban primary care infrastructure development, medical neighborhood integration, value based payment reform, technology innovation and an advocate for Patient Centered Medical Home principles for health care delivery. Leading physicians and other NJ health care stake holders, he served as past president of the NJ Academy of Family Physicians, representing over 1200 Family Physicians and other primary care practitioners in NJ.
Most Recently, Dr. Ortiz has been named the Medical Director of the NJ Innovations Institute for Health Care, CMS funded Garden Practice Transformation Network, tasked with bringing practice transformation support services into a value based alternative payment models to primary care practitioners.
He has also been tapped Clara Maass Medical Center, a, RWJ Barnabas Hospital, to be the first Medical Director for the Center of Excellence for Latino Health, serving the growing Latino communities with health promotions, awareness, career development, staff cultural compentency and direct medical services, through the school systems and the churches.
For his voluntary community service, Dr. Ortiz currently serves on the Board of Trustees, Executive Committee and as the chairman of the Population Care Committee of the Greater Newark Health Care Coalition, Inc. Dr. Ortiz believes that quality health care is a right, not a privilege and is dedicated to the provision of accessible, quality, comprehensive, patient centered, primary care services, to the most vulnerable populations of our urban areas.
Dr. Ortiz has formally served as Consultant Medical Director for the City of Newark, Dept. of Child and Family Well Being Health Centers, a new FQHC, where he provided vision and clinical leadership to this transformation, growing a unique, comprehensive, primary health care service provided by a dedicated team of health care professionals, reaching the most vulnerable populations in the City. Dr. Ortiz also served as consultant medical director at NJ HITEC and is the former Chief of the Division of Family and Community Medicine at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center.
He lives in Montclair, NJ, is married 35 years to his wife, Myrna, a retired Physical Therapist, has 3 married children and 5 healthy grandchildren.