SEATTLE – January 3, 2017 – Six months into his tenure, Sound Mental Health CEO Patrick C. Evans today announced significant changes to the organization’s executive leadership team. The announcement is the initial stage of Mr. Evans’ broader vision to strategically position Sound Mental Health to identify and develop new business opportunities emerging in today’s health care industry.
By creating this management structure and team aligned more around business, Evans expects to promote a culture of autonomy and innovation among its clinical, medical and business teams. Integration and other trends in health care will create opportunities for SMH to develop behavioral health care products and services. SMH’s Board of Directors and Mr. Evans believed the moves were essential for the long-term prospects for the organization to go to the next level.
“These are exciting times for us,” said Mr. Evans, who brings a strong business orientation to his role as a health care CEO. “There is tremendous potential for us to boldly pursue promising business opportunities that await us. I believe these changes will allow us to unlock our expertise, commitment to innovation and dedication to quality to transform health care and shape its future.”
Part of the reorganization includes expanding the role and responsibilities of existing executive leadership and appointing new leaders to the team to oversee various business functions of Sound Mental Health. The new leadership will consist of a multidisciplinary team of professionals that includes:
Patrick C. Evans, President and Chief Executive Officer
Paul Eisenhauer, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Dr. Mary Bartels, Vice President and Chief Medical Officer
Karen Ainley, Vice President and Chief People Officer
Katrina Egner, Vice President and Chief Programs Officer
Susie Winston, Director, Clinical Quality and Excellence
Stephen McLean, Director of Marketing and Public Relations
The organization is currently in the process of filling additional key leadership positions in Development, Operations, Strategy and Technology and will make announcements in the future.
Mr. Evans and the Board of Directors worked extensively with a Seattle-based management consulting firm specializing in restructuring health care organizations. Evans recognized the untapped potential of the organization and wanted to create a structure that allows it to grow strategically and in alignment with the changing health care market.
“In our decision to restructure Sound Mental Health, I often think of the words of well-known academic E. Gordon Gee, who challenges us to embrace and even be the change we want to be,” said Mr. Evans. “‘We can either be the architects of change or its victim.’”