Ms. Irene A. Armendariz, MHP, has been appointed Executive Director of Superior HealthPlan in El Paso, Texas and Ms. Yvonne A. Guerra has been appointed Director of Member Services statewide, Superior HealthPlan Chairman of the Board Jose Camacho has announced.

Mr. Camacho said, "We are pleased to report that Irene Armendariz has been appointed Executive Director of Superior HealthPlan (Superior) in the El Paso Medicaid Service area and Ms. Yvonne Guerra will now head Superior's Member Services statewide. Both of these outstanding individuals played important roles in establishing Superior in 1999. Their talents and leadership abilities have greatly impacted the success of Superior, which has gained more that 26,000 Members in the first 17 months of the health plan's operations."

Ms. Armendariz, a native of El Paso who received her MHP (Managed Health Care Professional) in 1998, was Superior's Director of Network Development and Provider Relations in the El Paso office. Before joining Superior in 1999, she was the Contracts Manager of Sunwest Billing Services in El Paso and was responsible for all provider contract issues.

From 1995 to 1998, Ms. Armendariz was the Manager of Network Development and Management for Anthem Health Benefits, Inc. She assisted in the startup and development of the company's El Paso office and was responsible for developing and maintaining the provider network.

Ms. Armendariz replaces Joe Duerre, who is pursuing other interests.

As Director of Member Services Statewide, Ms. Guerra will report to Michael D. McKinney, M.D., who is President of Centene of Texas.

Before joining Superior in 1999, Ms. Guerra, a native of El Paso, was the Manager of Physicians Services for Sierra Providence Health Network. In addition to maintaining long-term relationships with physicians, she was also directly responsible for clinic operations and special projects. From 1993 to 1998, she was the Manager of Plaza Diagnostic Services for Providence Memorial Hospital.

For five years, Ms. Guerra was the Supervisor of Customer Services at Providence Memorial Hospital. She was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the department, which included resolving patients complaints and concerns by providing a forum to assist hospital management and the physician staff in addressing internal operational issues.

Superior, which provides managed care services for the Medicaid population, is a joint partnership formed by the Texas Association of Community Health Centers, a group of Federally Qualified Health Centers across the state and Centene Corporation.

Centene Corporation specializes in providing services for government-supported health care programs. It has Medicaid managed health care plans in Indiana, Wisconsin and Texas.