Pete Underwood, MBA, CNMT, Vice President of Business Development, is focused to help ensure quality behavioral healthcare programs are available to the numerous underserved hospital systems across the U.S. In many communities, where 60% of senior adults with mental health issues previously went untreated, PMC and Senior Life Solutions have implemented intensive outpatient programs that have brought the highest level of care to those suffering from late life behavioral health issues.
Pete joined PMC in 2015 as a Business Development Director. He is skilled at providing hospitals with feasibility and financial analysis, Medicare cost report impact analysis, space design, and strategic planning. Prior to joining PMC, Pete gained 13 years of experience in healthcare from his role as business development executive in the field of medical imaging. Here, he gained expertise in ensuring hospital partners continually benefit from turn-key and contracted services.
Pete earned his Master’s in Business Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Nuclear Medicine from Abilene Christian University. He reached the distinction of Summa Cum Laude at each program and earned the Gold Key Award in Nuclear Medicine.
Whitney joined PMC in early 2016 as a regional director. She oversees Senior Life Solutions program operations in her home-state of Iowa.
Whitney began her career in medical services as an acute-care respiratory therapist before moving into management of invasive ventilator units with Linde RSS. Crediting this experience with playing a pivotal role in her managerial development, Whitney managed day-to- day operations in four units located across the Southeast.
Prior to joining PMC, she supervised a national team of healthcare professionals under Alana Healthcare’s population heath management. Whitney recruited medical directors nation-wide and cultivated client relationships with national insurance providers, hospitals and accountable care organizations. She utilized clinical, financial and operational data to develop and implement strategies that ensured quality care while reducing healthcare costs.
Whitney is thrilled her position with PMC has brought her home to Iowa and allows her to work in small communities, much like the one she was raised in.
Whitney received her M.H.A from Stevens-Henager College.
Mica Harris, Board Certified Psychiatric and Mental Health Nurse, provides clinical and operational oversight to programs throughout the region. Mica joined PMC in July of 2016 as a program director for a Senior Life Solutions program in the state of Iowa and now serves as the senior regional director. Mica’s passion for clinical care and longevity in the field attributed to her success as a program director, allows her to bring a unique and valuable skillset to PMC.
She began her nursing career in 1994. Mica has experience in long-term care, home care medical, home care infusion, neonatal intensive care, GI procedural nursing, and nursing management of a busy central catheter placement team.
Mica received her BSN from The University of Iowa, an MSN in Leadership, and a MSN in Education from Walden University in Minneapolis, MN. She received her Doctorate in Nursing Practice from St. Catherine University. She also holds a Nurse Executive certificate from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).
Jay Ricke joined Integrated Telehealth Partners (ITP) as director of business development in January 2017 bringing 25 years of healthcare and medical sales experience to the organization.
Prior to joining ITP, Jay worked as the diligent director for Arjo, a division of Getinge Group. Getinge is a worldwide leader in patient handling, patient hygiene equipment, and injury prevention programs. Jay had previously worked for Arjo as an account executive for 17 years and then transitioned to a corporate account director for 3 years. Jay began his health care career with Iowa Medical Supply as a regional sales representative. He has also worked as a regional manager for Crystal, Inc. an Iowa based nursing home organization.
Jay holds a B.A. in Commercial Economics/Business Administration and a minor in chemistry from South Dakota State University.
Dr. Megan Embrescia joined ITP as their medical director in 2017, bringing several years of experience in the field of crisis telepsychiatry.
Dr. Embrescia completed both her psychiatry residency and child and adolescent fellowship at LAC-USC medical center, home to one of the busiest psychiatric emergency rooms in the country. It was there in the psychiatric ER that she developed a passion for treating patients in the most acute phase of their illness. She later made a cross-country move to Charleston, SC, where she discovered that she could see and treat the patient population that she loved via telehealth.
Dr. Embrescia has held medical licenses in over 15 states and has provided care via telemedicine in emergency rooms as well as inpatient, outpatient, mobile crisis, and medical floor settings over the last 10+ years of her career. She has a firm belief in treating individuals in the least restrictive environment possible and offering compassionate quality care to all psychiatric patients.
Dr. Embrescia earned her B.A. in Government from Dartmouth College, and later attended the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California where she graduated in 2005 with her M.D. Dr. Embrescia is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in both general psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry.
After several interstate moves, Dr. Embrescia has now settled in her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. She enjoys spending time with her family, including her 5 young children.
Jessica Lavender, LPC-MHSP, ITP’s Customer Relations Director. Jessica focuses on the overall leadership, management, and oversight of customer success with the Inpatient Psychiatry Service line of Integrated Telehealth Partners (ITP).
Jessica is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Tennessee with 15 years of clinical and administrative behavioral health experience. Before joining PMC, Jessica served as the Director of Partial Hospitalization and Intensive Outpatient Services at Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital. Prior to that role, she was the Manager of Integrated Behavioral Health Care with Ascension Care Management.
Jessica holds an MS in Counseling Psychology from Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN, and a BS in Communications from Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, TN.
Stephen McKenna is a Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Consonance Capital Partners. Prior to founding CCP, he was a Managing Director at JPMP, where he focused on making growth equity and buyout investments. Stephen served on numerous boards, including KEPRO, Generac Power Systems, Jetro Holdings, National Waterworks, and PQ Corp. Prior to joining JPMP in early 2000, Stephen worked in the Investment Banking Group of Morgan Stanley and the Mergers & Acquisitions Group of JPMorgan. Stephen holds a BA from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Mitchell Blutt, MD is the CEO of Consonance Capital, a health care focused investment firm. He is the former Executive Partner of J.P. Morgan Partners (JPMP). He is also a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, in the Department of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine.
Dr. Blutt completed his BA and MD degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. He received his MBA at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania through the Clinical Scholars Fellowship sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center.
Dr. Blutt has served on numerous boards of directors, including Cardinal Health, Cooper Holding, DJ Orthopedics, Fisher Scientific, General Medical, Hanger Orthopedic Group, Medical Arts Press, Tenax, Thermoscan and KEPRO. He also formerly served on the Board of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, the Board of Trustees of Penn Medicine (the Health System of the University of Pennsylvania), the Board of Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, and the Board of The Brearley School. He currently serves on the Board of Overseers of the University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences and is the Chairman of the External Advisory Board of CHIBE (Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics) at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Blutt is a recipient of the Alumni Award of Merit, the University of Pennsylvania’s highest honor. He serves on the Board of Overseers of Weill Cornell Medicine and is on the Executive Committee of the Dean’s Council, an advisory board to the Dean. Dr. Blutt is also a member of the New York Weill Cornell Council, an advisory board to the New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. He serves on the Board of Directors of The Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation that supports independent research on health and social issues and makes grants to improve health care practice and policy. Dr. Blutt also serves on the Board of Bako, a premier national provider of specialty laboratory testing and other high quality pathology services, and PMC (Psychiatric Medical Care), the leading operator of inpatient and outpatient behavioral health programs in rural communities.
Dr. Blutt founded Consonance Capital in 2005.
Nancy-Ann DeParle is a partner and co-founder of Consonance Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused on investing in innovative health care companies in the lower middle-market. She is also a director of CVS Caremark, HCA Health, and Enclara Healthcare and served on the board of KEPRO. From 2011-January 2013, she was Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy in the Obama White House. A health policy expert, DeParle previously served as Counselor to the President and Director of the White House Office of Health Reform. She spearheaded President Obama’s successful effort to enact the Affordable Care Act and managed the initial implementation of the law.
From 2006-2009, DeParle was a Managing Director of CCMP Capital Advisors, a private equity firm, and a senior advisor to its predecessor, JPMorgan Partners, LLC. She was also a Senior Fellow at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a trustee or director of several corporate and non-profit boards. From 1997-2000, DeParle was Administrator of the agency now known as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). She directed Medicare, Medicaid, and State Children’s Health Insurance (SCHIP), which provide health insurance for more than 105 million Americans at an annual cost of $870 billion. Earlier in her career, she served as Associate Director for Health and Personnel at the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and as Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Human Services.
A native of Rockwood, Tennessee, DeParle received a B.A. with highest honors from the University of Tennessee, where she was Student Body President, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. She also received a B.A. and M.A. in Politics and Economics from Balliol College of Oxford University, where she was a Rhodes Scholar.
Faith Trussell, a board certified psychiatric and mental health Nnurse, joined PMC in 2013 as program director for a Senior Life Solutions program in Missouri. She led the program from its opening to a thriving two-track program that was named Western Region Program of the Year in 2015 and National Program of the Year in 2016. She trained many Senior Life Solutions teams and corporate staff at her site, and created a standardized orientation process for all new PMC staff. In 2017, she joined the corporate clinical team, and in 2018 became the clinical services director. She is responsible for training and ensuring clinical compliance in all PMC intensive outpatient programs.
Faith’s healthcare experience is rich and varied. Early in her career, she provided healthcare services to people in the mountains of Bolivia, South America, where she lived for eight years. Upon her return to the U.S., she worked as a wound care nurse in Long Term Care, and as a CNA/CMT instructor. She also taught high school health for several years along with Spanish, drama, choir and other classes, but discovered her calling in 2009 when she began practicing psychiatric nursing.
Faith holds a B.S. in nursing from MidAmerica Nazarene University and a M.S. in nursing from Aspen University in Denver CO. She is also a certified compassion fatigue professional.
