April 10, 2025 News Release (Broadcast)
Contact: Barbara Laughon
(760) 873-5811 ext. 3415

The Alumni Association of UC San Francisco will honor Colleen McEvoy, the driving force behind Bishop Union High School’s school-based health clinic, with its 2025 UCSF Alumni Practitioner Award.

The award honors UCSF alumni whose work reflects deep empathy and compassion in healthcare. McEvoy, a certified pediatric nurse practitioner at Northern Inyo Healthcare District, will receive the award during UCSF’s Alumni Weekend, set for April 25–26 in San Francisco.

McEvoy joined NIHD’s Pediatrics Clinic in 2015, bringing experience from Bay Area school health centers. That work showed her how on-campus care can reduce student absences, improve well-being, and boost academic success. With a strong commitment to adolescent care, she proposed a partnership between NIHD and Bishop Union High School. That proposal led to the creation of the Bronco Clinic — the only school-based health center in Inyo and Mono counties.

Located in the basement of BUHS’ main building, the Bronco Clinic delivers primary care services in a familiar and comfortable setting for students.

“It took a few months to build trust and establish clear communication between the two district boards while addressing the many questions that came up, but we made it,” McEvoy said. “The services we provide to students are invaluable, and just as important are the strong community partnerships that have developed through this effort.”

Corrine Quintana, Vice Principal at BUHS, praised McEvoy’s leadership, saying, “Colleen has been a champion in our small community to ensure all students have access to quality healthcare. Through her dedication, the Bronco Clinic has provided hundreds of students with a wide range of services focused on promoting their overall health and wellbeing. Her kind and open nature helps teens feel comfortable sharing their concerns honestly, resulting in the best possible outcomes.”

McEvoy and Dr. Stacey Brown, a long-time family medicine provider at NIHD, offer on-campus care two days a week.

“Colleen has pulled off a truly remarkable feat: a school-based clinic in a geographically isolated, remote, rural American West community,” Dr. Brown said. “Perseverance with multiple hospital boards, school boards, and community leaders over many years has propelled her concept from utterly impossible through improbable and arrived at truly essential – something that teachers, parents, and students cannot imagine living without.”

McEvoy brings more than 20 years of experience in pediatric care, including specialties like hematology, oncology, and palliative care. She is currently working toward certification as a Pediatric Primary Care Behavioral Health Specialist and collaborates with families on nutrition and wellness.

“Colleen embodies the spirit of compassionate care and clinical excellence that we strive to achieve,” said NIHD Acting CEO Allison Partridge. “Her dedication elevates care in our community and inspires all of us.”

NIHD25_UCSFhonorCMcAEvoy-1677:
UCSF Director Lawrence Rickford; NIHD’s Colleen McEvoy, C-PNP; UCSF interviewer Brandy Ford; and UCSF camera operator Francis Bautista stand together in the patient room at Bishop Union High School’s Bronco Clinic. The UCSF film crew visited Bishop to document McEvoy’s impactful work as the founder of the clinic and to celebrate her selection as the 2025 UCSF Alumni Practitioner Award recipient. The clinic, a partnership between Northern Inyo Healthcare District and BUHS, provides vital on-campus healthcare to local students. Photo by Barbara Laughon/Northern Inyo HealthcareAbout Northern Inyo Healthcare District: Founded in 1946, Northern Inyo Healthcare District features a 25-bed critical access hospital, a 24-hour emergency department, a primary care rural health clinic, a diagnostic imaging center, and a rehabilitation service for physical, occupational, and speech-language therapy. We also offer clinics specializing in orthopedics, cardiology, urology, women’s health, pediatrics and allergies, general surgery, colorectal surgery, and breast cancer surgery. Continually striving to improve the health outcomes for those who rely on us for care, NIHD aims to improve our communities, one life at a time. One team, one goal, your health.