"We literally saved this patient's life"
A LONGTIME EVARA HEALTH PATIENT, one of many who cannot afford medical insurance, recently agreed to help test a new program designed to remotely monitor a person’s vital signs 24/7. Soon after, an Evara Health nurse saw changes in his heart rate and blood pressure and told him to get to an emergency room. Immediately.
He was having a heart attack.
“We literally saved this patient’s life,” says Elodie Dorso, CEO and president of Evara Health, a not-for-profit health-care organization serving low-income and underserved Pinellas County residents. “This was an uninsured patient who would not otherwise have been able to afford remote monitoring. He was grateful to us, and we’re grateful to him for allowing us to pilot it with him. I hope to save more patients.”
Each year, nearly 70,000 people visit Evara Health’s 16 physical and three mobile health centers. Dorso, a St. Petersburg native and 2001 USF graduate, leads a team that includes numerous Bulls; about 30% of the company’s leaders are composed of USF alumni. It’s a business profile becoming increasingly prevalent throughout the Tampa Bay area.
“USF produces very innovative, fast-moving, ambitious leaders. I think that’s what attracts them here at Evara,” Dorso says. “They see we’re supporting the community, much like USF does, so they are drawn to us for the same reason they were drawn to USF.”
So many fellow Bulls in the workplace creates a familiar, encouraging environment that feels like coming home, says Assistant Vice President of People and Culture Stephen Lytle, ’04, Life Member.
“We, as USF graduates, share a unique bond and a collective commitment to innovation and community service, which are central to the ethos at Evara,” he says.
“The leadership under Elodie exemplifies these values and is a major reason many choose to start and continue their careers at Evara.”
With the dramatic growth in USF alumni, Bulls have become a powerful influence in the Tampa Bay business community. USF has more than 386,000 former students — up nearly 100,000 in the past 10 years — with about 165,000 choosing to remain in the 10-county region. Corporate partnerships put new grads on the path to become industry leaders, and strong bonds fostered by student groups and Alumni Association programs have created a robust Bulls network.
They’re making an impact. Social enterprises like Evara Health, where the primary mission addresses a societal issue — with profit secondary — have become increasingly common. These Bulls-led businesses also tend to make philanthropy part of the company culture.
“USF prepares graduates with an entrepreneurial spirit who are ready to innovate and serve our community,” says David Blackwell, Lynn Pippenger Dean of the Muma College of Business. “Our alumni are transforming business to create a positive impact on our world, and Evara Health is a wonderful example of that.”
Three years ago, Dorso established the Evara Health Foundation, which has raised more than $7.5 million to support health-care workforce development and community outreach programs. It also sponsors community events, such as the USF Greater Tampa Alumni Chapter’s Bulls Block Party, which raises money for student scholarships.
Evara Health — then called Community Health Centers of Pinellas — first drew Dorso’s interest 25 years ago when she was still a USF student. Its mission appealed to her.
As a teenager, she’d lost both of her parents to cancer. While her mother had medical insurance, her father did not, so she witnessed at a young age the differences in the health care they could afford.
The people who took care of her parents left an indelible memory and inspired her to work in health care.
“The way they made my parents feel, and the way they made me feel as well. The compassion, the sympathy — and the understanding that I literally was just a teenager who was losing both her parents at the same time,” she says.
She knew she was not built to become a doctor or nurse, but health-care administration seemed a good fit. In 1999, she took a job in human resources at Community Health Centers of Pinellas. Founded in 1980 by Dr. Johnnie Ruth Clarke, the not-for-profit organization aimed to provide affordable medical services for St. Petersburg’s underserved residents.
Two years later, she was chief operating officer.
In 2020, Community Health Centers became Evara Health. Its quality of care is ranked in the top 20 nationally of U.S. Federally Qualified Health Center providers and in the top 5% for cost efficiency. Evara tailors services to the needs of each community.
That might include providing transportation to appointments or offering Wi-Fi access for telehealth. “Our tagline is, ‘One patient. One family. One community at a time,’” says Dorso, who stepped into the role of CEO in 2018. “When you touch one patient, their family is also educated, and they see the impact of health care and primary care and chronic disease management. Then that flows throughout the community.”
Evara offers dental, chiropractic, podiatry, behavioral health and nutrition services and plans to add physical therapy, occupational therapy and dermatology — specialties that account for many referrals out of Evara Health and can be difficult for Medicaid patients to access.
In her tenure as CEO, Dorso has fostered several initiatives, including the Evara Health Foundation, which supports new programs like remote patient monitoring.
One of her most ambitious projects is the Evara Health Institute, which provides state-of-the art training for health-care technicians and assistants. It’s the largest workforce apprenticeship program in the state; programs planned for 2025 will make it the largest in the nation.
Dorso also serves on a number of boards for industry and community organizations, including the USF Foundation Board of Directors.
“I have been very blessed in my life, despite my challenges with the health of my parents. I have a huge responsibility to give back,” she says. “But I also get so much from it as well. I fill my cup from seeing the impact I can make, not only in this organization, but on the boards that I serve.”
When she was named a 2024 BusinessWoman of the Year by the Tampa Bay Business Journal, among other accolades over the past year, a flattered Dorso pushed the credit to her team, who she describes as mission-driven, ambitious, innovative and caring.
“Until you step into the role of CEO, you have no idea what it is. The amount of responsibility, the amount of pressure,” she says. “But also the pride you feel for what your entire team is capable of, because I can see it at a different level. It fills me, honestly, with joy. It’s why I’ve stayed for so long.”
