SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — An immigrant from India is now the first woman of color to be the top doctor at an Ohio health center. She already has plans to help more underserved patients.

What You Need To Know

  • Yamini Teegala has just been named the new CEO of Rocking Horse Community Health Center in Springfield 

  • Teegala comes from a family of doctors in India, but wanted to make her own legacy in the U.S. 

  • As CEO, she hopes to address issues of staff burnout and help more immigrants and children have access to affordable health care 

For Yamini Teegala. being a doctor runs in her family.

“Mom and dad are both physicians in India, and they had a 30-bed establishment that they would have happily handed over for us to take care of and not worry about anything and just take the legacy,” said Teegala. 

She said she wanted to create her own legacy though, so she came from India to the U.S. to do it.

After 16 years, she not only became a family doctor, but the first woman of color to become the top doctor at Springfield's Rocking Horse Community Health Center.

“It aligns with what I believe medicine should be, health care should be and I think that's why it's easy for me. It's not like a job. I just feel like I am executing what I went to medical school for," said Teegala. 

She was just named CEO at Rocking Horse, a health center with an estimated 14,000 patients. She said most patients there are uninsured or underinsured and the need is growing.

“People come to us a lot of the times, we are viewed as a community support organization not just like a doctor's clinic,” said Teegala. 

She said there are three main problems she wants to combat as CEO. The first is burnout.

“Physician burnout, provider burnout, and very much short-staffed and, you know, turnover because i think we're just in that post-pandemic aftermath of feeling the real wrath of it. so we really as an executive team are going to focus mainly on how do we retain people,” said Teegala. 

Next, she said they’re looking at how to better translate health care.

“We have seen a large increase in the number of non-English speaking people that we serve in the clinic, and that is not it's not it's very easy to say, but the operational processes that take behind the scenes to take care of these individuals is actually like running as another unit because you have to understand just general language itself is difficult and it's a barrier,” said Teegala. 

She said they’re also trying to make sure more kids get health care.

“We are slated to open a school-based health center on the premises of the Springfield High School and we will be operating the clinic in collaboration with the school,” said Teegala. 

It's all an effort that she hopes will help pave the way for more families in need and more doctors and future CEOs like her.

“It's not my victory. I really think it's a win for all,” said Teegala. 

For more information on Rocking Horse Community Health Center, click here.