Patricia Perez
Patricia Perez
Institute on Disability and Human Development
University of Illinois at Chicago, IL
Patricia is from Cuba and migrated to the United States with her husband in 2005. She holds a bachelor of arts with a double major in History, Marxism Leninism and a minor in education from the “Instituto Superior Pedagogico Felix Varela” in Cuba. Patricia graduated from Northeastern Illinois University with a Masters degree in Inner City Studies in 2009 and currently she is a third-year doctorate student in Disability Studies at the University of Illinois in Chicago (UIC). For over nine years, Patricia has been immersed in the field of case management working with diverse populations, including children and families and more recent individuals with disabilities. She works for one of the managed care companies operating in the state of Illinois that deliver services to Medicaid recipients. She manages a team of Long-Term Services and Supports coordinators that are responsible for the administration of Home Community Based Services programs for adults with disabilities in the Chicago area. Patricia is interested in the development and evaluation of policies impacting home community-based services programs, Medicaid Integrated Care Programs and quality of care management services to reduce health disparities and to increase community re-integration for individuals with disabilities. She supports patient’s self-determination rights and patient and family engagement in treatments for people with chronic illnesses.