Our Founder

Dr. Richard Izquierdo – affectionately known as “Doc” – was born in East Harlem on October 23, 1929, to Serafin and Sinda Izquierdo, one of New York City’s original bodegueros. 

He married his wife Adelita in1954, and continued his studies, graduating from University of Lausanne Medical School in Switzerland in 1957. He returned to the Bronx for his internship and residency at Fordham Hospital and in 1962, he opened his first practice on Southern Boulevard, two blocks from where he grew up. His mission wasn’t simply to provide health care – he wanted to change what health care looked like in low-income communities. And he did. 

In 1967, he was appointed by Borough President Herman Badillo to be the first chairman of the newly formed Community Planning Board. That same year, Doc purchased an abandoned building on Southern Boulevard and Westchester Avenue with a down payment of $3,000 to create the San Juan Health Center. In 1974, the Center became Urban Health Plan, Inc., a federally qualified community health center licensed by New York State. 

“Once I’m done with one project, the wheels are already turning for the next one. As long as I can, I will continue to do what I can for the community.” 

Doc hosted a radio program called “Puerto Rican Panorama” on NBC and interviewed over 150 prominent Puerto Ricans. He served on the board of the Association for the Help of Retarded Children for over 20 years. This recognizes the needs of children with special needs and developmental disabilities and honors the memory of Jackie, Doc’s third child who was born with Down’s Syndrome.

On January 23, 2007, Doc was awarded the Surgeon General’s Medallion from the 17th Surgeon General of the United States, Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., FACS, This award is the highest honor that the Surgeon General can bestow on a civilian or officer. Doc was Dr. Carmona’s childhood doctor and his lifelong personal mentor. In 2013 he received the Dr. Jack Geiger Award from the Community Health Care Association of New York State (CHCANYS). And in 2016, he was awarded the Maclovio Barraza Award for Leadership from UnidosUS (formerly the National Council of La Raza) – an award that recognizes those who have worked for the betterment of the Hispanic community at the grassroots level.

One of Doc’s dreams was to provide a quality education to free the children of the South Bronx from the bonds of poverty and provide quality health care to the community. In September 2010, his dream was fulfilled with the opening of the Dr. Richard Izquierdo Health and Science Charter School – the first charter school in New York City to offer a Career and Technical Education program geared specifically toward preparing students for jobs in the health care sector. 

Dr. Richard Izquierdo passed away in 2020 at the age of 90. But his legacy lives on through Urban Health Plan – one of the largest health centers in New York State – and through his daughter Paloma Izquierdo-Hernandez our President and CEO.