Debra A. Farmer, President/Chief Executive Officer of Westside Family Health Center (WFHC) has been awarded the prestigious Cal Wellness Sabbatical Program Award from The California Wellness Foundation along with seven other organization leaders.

Ms. Farmer, who has led WFHC since 1999, has been instrumental in its growth from a small women’s clinic to the Federally Qualified Health Center that it is today, seeing more than 10,800 women, men and children annually.

“All the honorees have made important contributions to the health and wellness of their communities,” said Fatima Angeles, vice president of programs at The California Wellness Foundation. “The sabbatical award provides them with the opportunity to recharge and then return to their organizations with renewed vitality  and focus.”

The Cal Wellness Sabbatical Program Awards were created to improve the long-term effectiveness of health-focused nonprofits by providing their executives with the rest they need to continue to direct their organizations’ missions.

The award comes with a grant to cover Ms. Farmer’s salary plus expenses related to the professional development of managers and staff during the sabbatical.

“I am honored to be chosen for this award,” Ms. Farmer said. “Leading Westside Family Health Center through its many phases of growth over the years has been very rewarding, and this sabbatical will give me the opportunity to take a step back, think and reflect on where we have been and where we are going. Taking this sabbatical is the right step because I have never had a better leadership team to take the reins while I am away,” she added.