Unity Health Care announces new Chief Medical Officer Dr. Cox-Batson and four new board members

CMO hire completes CEO Dr. Jessica Henderson Boyd's senior leadership team as organization launches bold three-year strategic plan

WASHINGTON, Jan. 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- After a national search, Unity Health Care welcomes Dr. Stephanie Cox-Batson as its new Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Cox-Batson joins Unity Health Care from Chicago's Near North Health, a Federally Qualified Health Center, where she also served as Chief Medical Officer. "I am excited and humbled to have been chosen as Unity Health's next Chief Medical Officer. My life's work has been defined by helping under-served and disenfranchised individuals achieve optimal health. Unity has a long history of working to create a more equitable health care system and I am already inspired by the dedication of the Unity Health team," said Dr. Cox-Batson.

In addition to her role at Near North Health she served as an attending physician at Northwestern Prentice Hospital's Obstetric Triage Unit and as an associate at Northwestern Specialists for Women where she provided full-scope obstetrics and gynecology services and supported OBGYN residents.

"I'm thrilled to have Dr. Cox-Batson join Unity Health Care. She is a fantastic physician executive with a heart for serving our community and her role will be critical as we move our organization forward," said Unity Health Care President and CEO Dr. Jessica Henderson Boyd.

Dr. Cox-Batson's role will be to lead the organization's efforts to provide safe, effective, and comprehensive health care and to encourage innovation. She continued, "The health care industry is at a crossroads. We need to be prepared to adjust our care models to meet the needs of the next generation, while honoring and respecting an expanding aging population. There is a lot of good work to be done and I'm ready to get started."

In addition to Dr. Cox-Batson, four new board members have been named to the Unity Board of Directors to support the organization's new three-year strategic plan.

Unity Health Care Board Chairperson Frederick D. Cooke Jr., Esq. will continue his service as Board Chair through 2023. "I am thrilled to welcome this strong group of new board members and I look forward to serving with each of them," Cooke Jr. said.

The new board members began their 3-year terms with Unity Health Care effective January 1, 2023 and can serve a maximum of two consecutive terms. The four new board members are:

• LaTricia Frederick, EdD, MBA, SPHR, Director of People and Communities, Global Sales and Engineering Functions at Cisco Systems, Inc.
• Carlos Martínez-Palmer, Consumer member, retired with a background in exhibition design
• Rogann Matthews, Consumer member
• George Worrell, Consumer member, CEO George Worrell Style LLC.

"As a Federally Qualified Health Center, our board of directors is made up of a majority of consumer members, or patients. Three of our new board members are current patients of Unity and their perspectives will be invaluable to our work together. LaTricia Frederick brings expertise in supporting diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in workplaces and I'm thrilled to have her join us." Dr. Boyd added, "I want to thank our new board members for joining us and I want to thank Chairperson Cooke for continuing his years of service as board chair. I know that together we can achieve our big goals and advance health equity."

Unity Health Care reaches people wherever they are to provide compassionate, comprehensive, high-quality health care that is accessible to all and advances health equity in Washington, DC. As the largest network of community health centers in the District our team of compassionate and multicultural health professionals place Unity values into action every day to bring whole-person care and wellness to nearly 100,000 patients through 475,000 visits annually through our network of over 28 traditional and non-traditional health sites and a mobile medical outreach vehicle. https://www.unityhealthcare.org 

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Unity Health Care