DIRECTOR'S PAGE
JAIME (GUS) RIVERA, MD, FAAP
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Rivera was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He immigrated to the US in 1957 with his mother during the height of the Puerto Rican Diaspora where he lived in The Bronx until 1972. He attended New York City public schools and graduated from Aviation High School in Queens, NY. He attended The City College of New York graduating with honors in 1972. He received his M.D. degree from Harvard Medical School in 1976 and completed residency training in pediatrics in 1979 at Bronx Municipal Hospital, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York. In 1986 he completed fellowship training in pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition at Texas Children’s Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas. Dr. Rivera is board certified in pediatrics and pediatric gastroenterology.
Dr. Rivera practiced in Delaware from 1987 to 1999. In 1999 he accepted a full-time position as Chief Medical Officer of Coventry Health Care of Delaware. As Chief Medical Officer, he had responsibility for 150,000 members living in four states. In 2001 he joined Elder Health Pennsylvania HMO as the founding Regional Medical Director. Elder Health specializes in managed care for the Medicare and Medicaid dual eligible elderly in Philadelphia.
In July 2004, Dr. Rivera was appointed Director of Delaware’s Division of Public Health and State Health Officer by Governor Ruth Ann Minner. The Division employs over 1500 workers and has an annual budget in excess of $130 million.
Dr. Rivera has worked on a national level with the Center for Health Care Strategies in Princeton, New Jersey on Best Clinical and Administrative Practices for high-risk pregnant women enrolled in Medicaid programs. Most recently, he served on the National Advisory Committee of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Hablamos Juntos (We Speak Together) Program. In 2003, the Hablamos Juntos Program granted ten million dollars to organizations across the country to design model programs to eliminate language barriers to health care for Hispanics. Dr. Rivera also serves on the National Advisory Committee for the National Hispanic Medical Association. Finally, Dr. Rivera is a member of the five states Infant Mortality Collaborative created by the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He is Co-chair of Delaware’s State Infant Mortality Task Force.
Locally, Dr. Rivera served as Chairman, Delaware Governor’s Advisory Council on Hispanic Affairs under Governors Thomas Carper and Ruth Ann Minner. He has served on numerous community-based nonprofit boards. Currently, he serves on the Board of Directors of the United Way of Delaware and sits on its Executive & Finance Committees as well as its 2004 Campaign Cabinet; the Health Resources Board; and the Council on State Service Centers. From 1995 to 1998 he served as a Kellogg Foundation National Leadership Fellow where he concentrated on leadership studies and public education. Dr. Rivera is a founder of the Delaware Hispanic Political Action Committee and the Delaware Friends of Aspira Committee.
In 1972, Dr. Rivera co-founded Latino Boricua Health Organization at Harvard Medical School. This organization currently has thirteen chapters in medical schools across the country and is dedicated to increasing Latino enrollment in medical school and serving their needs while in medical school.
Dr. Rivera’s public work focuses on leadership development and political empowerment, public education, infant mortality and racial and ethnic disparities in health care.
