By Terri Hornbach
Jolene Joseph, DBH, LCSW, LISW-S, CHCEF, has been named Chief Executive Officer of The HealthCare Connection.
Dr. Joseph, an Ohio native, has more than 20 years of experience in senior management and executive positions in hospitals, non-profit organizations, and community health centers.
She replaces Dolores Lindsay, founder and previous CEO, who retired on October 1 after 53 years at the helm.
“After a very intensive search process, we are pleased to welcome Dr. Joseph as the new CEO,” said LaVerne Mitchell, board chair of The HealthCare Connection. “We are excited to have someone of her caliber join our team and lead our mission to provide quality, affordable health care to the medically underserved, underinsured and uninsured residents of northern Hamilton County.”
Before joining The HealthCare Connection, Joseph was Chief Operations Officer and Director of Behavioral Health at MarillacHealth, a federally qualified health center in Grand Junction, Colorado. She is also a faculty associate and instructor in behavioral health and social work at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona.
Prior to Colorado, Joseph was Director of Behavioral Health and Director of Operations for Health Partners of Western Ohio, a federally qualified health center in Lima. Before that, she was Executive Director/CEO of the Children’s Developmental Center in Lima. She also has extensive experience as a social worker, and as a consultant to numerous governmental agencies in the areas of primary, maternal and behavioral health care for underserved populations.
Joseph received her Doctorate in Behavioral Health from Arizona State University. She holds a Master of Social Work from the Ohio State University, and a Bachelor of Science in Social Work from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Licensed Independent Social Worker. She received her certification as a Behavioral Health Consultant in Primary Care from the University of Massachusetts Medical School and achieved the designation of Community Health Center Executive Management Fellow from the University of Kansas Medical Center.
“It is an honor and a privilege to be asked to lead this incredible organization, and I am grateful for the Board’s confidence in me,” Joseph said. “I am particularly fortunate to have the mentoring of our retiring CEO, Dolores Lindsay, and to be surrounded by a talented team. Like most people who work here, I joined The HealthCare Connection in order to help eliminate health and racial disparities, and to provide access to care for all because it is their right to receive quality health care.”
“Dr. Joseph’s depth of expertise and knowledge will enable The HealthCare Connection to further its legacy of providing affordable, superior services, because everyone deserves quality health care,” said Dolores Lindsay, retiring CEO. “I support the Board of Directors’ choice of leadership and look forward to watching the organization continue to grow and flourish under her direction.”
The HealthCare Connection serves as a primary care safety net by providing quality, culturally sensitive and accessible primary health and dental services to the medically underserved, underinsured and uninsured in northern Hamilton County and surrounding areas. It has operated for more than 50 years. More than 17,000 patients are served annually at neighborhood health centers in Lincoln Heights, Mt. Healthy and Forest Park; a school-based health center within Princeton City School District; and two co-located behavioral health centers.