Armando has a welcoming smile that radiates kindness.  

“IF YOU HAD TO PICK SOMEONE TO BE BY YOUR SIDE AT THE END OF THE WORLD, YOU BETTER HAVE ARMANDO.”
Dr. Federico Herrera

Armando Ambriz moved from Michoacán to Chicago in April 1990. He came to be with his Dad, and to save money to help other family members join them in a better life.

For years, Armando worked in factories and warehouses.  In 2008, he decided he wanted to do something more.  His brother recommended the medical field. And so for a year, Armando worked during the day and attended school in the evenings.  Some days he would wake up early to study for four hours before going to his job at a distribution center.

After graduating, Armando landed as a medical assistant at Esperanza Health Centers, a Federally Qualified Health Center that operates five clinics on the Southwest side of Chicago.  That was nearly twelve years ago.  He is indispensable to his primary physician, Dr. Federico Herrera.  They work shoulder to shoulder. To the patients at the clinic, Armando is the guy from the community.  People recognize him.  He wants to get along with everybody. He has a warm, disarming demeanor.  He knows everyone’s name. 

“IT FEELS VERY REWARDING TO HELP PEOPLE IN NEED.”

In March 2020, as the pandemic unfolded, Armando was on the front lines of Esperanza’s COVID response and their tent testing efforts.  The communities where Esperanza’s clinics are located had among the highest positivity rates in the city.  One neighborhood, Little Village, had three times the city-wide positivity rate for much of the spring.

No one was fully prepared. There were brutally cold days. Wet days. There were long lines of cars and patients who were clearly struggling with a sense of desperation, some who had lost family members just days prior. Armando worked six days a week, sometimes arriving at 6:30am and staying late until everything was clean and prepared for the next day.

The staff at Esperanza recognized that their patients needed to feel some humanity in the crisis.  They listened.  The spent extra time with them.  They developed a protocol to provide full assessments—checking blood oxygen levels, breathing, heart rate, temperature, and more—which allowed their doctors to make clinical decisions about what the next steps should be. Sometimes they prescribed medication to reduce the symptoms. Sometimes they sent people directly to the emergency room. 

“HOPEFULLY WE GAVE SOME PEOPLE MORE OF A CHANCE THAN THEY WOULD HAVE OTHERWISE.” Ricardo Cifuentes

Armando admits that, when he stopped to think about it, he was afraid, but he was determined not to back down. There was constant risk of being exposed to the virus. Because he lives with his Dad, who has been through a kidney transplant, the consequences of his own exposure were even higher. He credits his faith as a huge source of strength through challenging times. 

“I CAN DO EVERYTHING THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME.” (Philippians 4:13)

In early 2021, Armando was among the first to be vaccinated.  He was the lead medical assistant at a mass vaccination site in Chicago Lawn and has worked at three vaccination sites over the last seven months.  He estimates that he has administered 4,000 to 5,000 vaccine doses and counting.

Armando wants people to know that there is always hope. There is always something on the other side of your challenges.  People like Armando Ambriz spread hope.

“IT MAKES ME FEEL PROUD. WE WERE GIVING IT ALL. I DID SOMETHING GOOD.”