Project Director
RWJF Aligning Forces for Quality
Albuquerque, NM
Patricia Montoya, MPA, BSN, RN, is the project director for the Albuquerque Coalition for Healthcare Quality, which leads the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Aligning Forces for Quality (AF4Q) initiative. Pat has more than 30 years experience in health care ranging from direct patient care to public policy and management.
Pat joined the New Mexico Medical Review Association (NMMRA) in 2005, managing activities with physician practices regarding the adoption of electronic health record systems, the assessment and enhancement of clinical skills relating to cultural competency; and quality improvement activities surrounding diabetes care, screening mammography, and influenza and pneumococcal immunizations. She served as NMMRA’s director of new business from 2008 – 2011 and has served as the director of government relations since 2008. When NMMRA took the lead on forming the Albuquerque Coalition, Pat took on the job of project director for the AF4Q initiative.
Prior to joining NMMRA, Pat held political appointments under President Bill Clinton within the US Department of Health and Human Services. These appointments included Commissioner for Children, Youth and Families Administration and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Dallas Regional Director. More recently, she was Secretary of Health for the State of New Mexico under Governor Bill Richardson. As cabinet secretary, Pat helped complete the State’s first comprehensive health plan, improve immunization rates, and improved the department’s accountability, efficiency, and effectiveness. In addition, to her political appointments she was also practice manager for Presbyterian Family Healthcare and executive director for New Mexico Health Resources.
She is a 2003 graduate of the Harvard John F. Kennedy School of Government State Health Leadership Initiative and is a graduate of Leadership Albuquerque. She has served on numerous boards and committees, including Con Alma Foundation and the Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) Board of Stewardship Trustees Quality and Safety Committee.
She is a native New Mexican, a registered nurse and a graduate of the University of New Mexico with a B.S. in Nursing and an M.A. in Public Administration/Health Administration.