Corizon Health Names New CMO

BRENTWOOD, Tenn., March 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- James E. “Pete” Powell, MD, MMHC, has been named Chief Medical Officer of Corizon Health.

Corizon Chief Executive Officer Steve Rector announced the addition to his leadership team as part of his overhaul of the correctional healthcare provider following a recapitalization and reorganization that resulted in a new board of directors, new leadership, consolidation of the company into its Tennessee headquarters, and a significant reduction in debt.

Rector said Dr. Powell will lead a companywide adoption of an integrated patient care model.

“Integrated care, which requires coordination of physical health, mental health and substance abuse services, is particularly effective in the patient population we serve, where we find a much higher rate of comorbid chronic health conditions than outside the correctional environment,” Rector said. “We have seen good outcomes in areas where we are the comprehensive health services provider and our task is to replicate and continue to improve those outcomes across the board.”

Dr. Powell comes to Corizon from Community Health Systems (CHS), one of the nation’s leading operators of general acute care hospitals and outpatient services. As the Vice President of Physician Practice Services, Dr. Powell was responsible for physician practices services, the employed physician network, overall quality, medical staff affairs, and recruiting, overseeing 14,000 employees and 4,000 clinicians, spanning 1,100 sites in 21 states.

Previously, he served in a variety of positions at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, serving his last seven years there as Assistant Chief Medical Officer overseeing Vanderbilt Health Williamson, a multi-specialty physician network system of care.

Rector said that he expects Dr. Powell to be a valuable and visible member of Corizon’s leadership team involved in all aspects of the company from physician recruitment and effective onboarding to driving strategic standardization and adoption.

“I have seen Pete in action and I know he can forge Corizon into a clinically integrated healthcare system,” Rector said. “He puts the patient first and has the mentoring and communications skills necessary to marshal all the moving pieces to ensure appropriate, evidence-based healthcare is provided to the patient in the most effective manner possible.”

About Corizon Health

Corizon Health is the leading provider of correctional healthcare services in the United States, providing quality healthcare services to states and municipalities across the country. Corizon offers individual or comprehensive solutions for physical care, behavioral care, pharmaceutical and reentry services. For more information, please visit www.corizonhealth.com.

Media Contact: Martha Harbin
martha.harbin@corizonhealth.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/437d71e4-3a6a-4228-8f5b-dc09757a4f6f