Healthcare Network's new CEO says Immokalee will be a big part of his focus
A new chief executive officer took the reins of Healthcare Network, the nonprofit organization that is the medical home for many of Collier County’s neediest residents.
Jamie Ulmer, 51, replaces Emily Ptaszek, who stepped down as CEO earlier this year for a position in Colorado. Ulmer started July 11.
Healthcare Network is a federally qualified nonprofit health center dedicated to providing primary medical care to anyone regardless of insurance status, income or employment. It also provides dental care and behavioral health services.
In order to receive federal support, Healthcare Network and other qualified centers must focus on underserved communities and provide services on a sliding scale basis depending on patients’ ability to pay.
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The staff at Healthcare Network in 2021 cared for roughly 50,000 patients for nearly 148,000 patient visits. Of the patient total, nearly 27,000 are children. Nearly $13 million in uncompensated care was provided to patients last year.
This year’s operating budget is $51 million for 18 practice locations, three mobile units and two pharmacies. Healthcare Network has 380 employees.
“After a comprehensive nationwide search process, the board is pleased to have found the most qualified individual to assume leadership of this organization,” Haris Domond, chairman of Healthcare Network’s board, said in a news release. “The combination of (Ulmer’s) experience, results and drive makes him an ideal fit for Healthcare Network today and for our next stages of growth.”
Ulmer comes to Collier from Marion County where he served as chief executive officer of Heart of Florida for the past four years. Heart of Florida shares the same mission as Healthcare Network of serving the needy and is a federally qualified health center.
Ulmer said he jumped at the chance to interview for the position at Healthcare Network, a process he said started in late February and wrapped up in May.
The job at Heart of Florida prepared him for taking the helm at Healthcare Network, he said.
When he started at Heart of Florida in 2018, the center had 19,000 patients annually and it grew to 30,000 patients during his tenure, according to the Ocala Star Banner.
“It was a great stepping stone and paved the way to be here,” he said.
His first week on the job
He lauded the Healthcare Network’s board of directors for its focus on finding someone who is right for the job.
“I know it is the right fit and the timing was right,” he said.
He plans to spend two to three days a week in Immokalee, where Healthcare Network was launched 45 years ago, because the migrant farmworking community is where the greatest needs are to address gaps in access to care.
He's been busy meeting community leaders, which so far includes Eileen Connolly-Keesler, president and chief executive officer of the Collier Community Foundation.
"I am excited to work with (him)," she said in an email. "He is very knowledgeable about how to connect Healthcare Network with community needs and will be a great asset for us in Collier County."
While fundraising is important to nonprofit agencies like Healthcare Network, the organization’s true mission is taking care of the underserved, Ulmer said.
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“We never want to lose sight of that,” he said. “One of my strengths is vision. I bring vision and the ability to execute and get things accomplished in a relatively short period of time.”
One service that Healthcare Network is not offering now but needs involves medication assisted treatment for people with substance abuse issues.
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He has begun talking with staff about it, which he said will take some work to get off the ground, yet staff members who will be involved have their licenses already through the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to prescribe controlled substances.
“We’ve got to get into that,” he said.
What’s his background?
Ulmer said he has known for some time that when he plans to retire, which will be a second time after retiring from a military career, he wants to be living somewhere between Tampa and Naples.
He, nonetheless, said he can see himself staying at Healthcare Network for 10 to 15 years.
That’s about as long as a chief executive officer should stay at any one organization, which is what is best for the organization.
“You need fresh ideas,” he said.
While at Heart of Florida, he increased the organization’s operating budget from $8 million to more than $30 million and established an elder care contract to serve center patients living in a nearby assisted living facility and nursing. The project generated more than $3 million in revenue in its first year.
He opened four pharmacies and a freestanding pharmacy so patients could have drive-up access and after-hours service. The pharmacies earned $4 million in revenue in the first year.
Ulmer served in the U.S. Army for 24 years with multiple deployments. He retired from active duty in 2013 as executive/operations officer at Fort Bragg, N.C. He also served as public health administrator for the Army at Fort Jackson, S.C.
In addition, he worked for the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control as the state’s public health administrator for emergency medical services for children. He was recruited for the position of chief operating officer of Rural Health Services, a federally qualified health center in Aiken, S.C.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from South Carolina State University and a master’s degree in human resources development and health services management from Webster University in St. Louis.
He serves on several committees for the Florida Association of Community Health Centers which represent the interests of community-based organizations like Healthcare Network. He is an active member of the National Association of Community Health Centers.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: New Healthcare Network CEO says focus is "closing gaps" in care access
