J. Cornelius Brown Named President/CEO of HealthNet
4/24/2012
After a national search, HealthNet’s Board of Directors has named J. Cornelius “Jimmy” Brown as HealthNet’s new president and chief executive officer, effective June 11. He will succeed Booker Thomas, who is retiring after more than 12 years at the helm of the state’s largest federally qualified health center. HealthNet provides care annually to more than 51,500 uninsured and underinsured patients in Marion County and beyond through its growing network of eight primary care health centers and several outreach programs. HealthNet is an affiliate of IU Health.
Brown most recently served as vice president of corporate services and community affairs at Swope Health Services, a federally qualified health center providing primary health care, outreach and behavioral health services through its 11 medical, dental, and behavioral health/residential treatment centers in the Kansas City, MO area. In his 8 years with Swope, Brown also served as chief operations officer and as vice president of clinical operations, and led several creative partnerships to expand access to much-needed care for communities in Missouri and Kansas.
Before joining Swope, Brown spent more than 20 years leading efforts to improve the delivery of quality, affordable health care services in several hospital leadership roles, including as president and CEO of Dallas Southwest Medical Center in Dallas, Texas; senior vice president for medical operations/corporate administration at Continuum Healthcare Systems, Inc. in Houston, Texas; and as assistant administrator and chief operating officer of Hadley Memorial Hospital in Washington D.C.
In announcing the selection, HealthNet Board of Directors Chairwoman Dora Chestine said, “I’m very happy that Jimmy will be joining us. He is extremely intelligent and an energetic relationship-builder. He has a very clear vision for the critical role community health centers play as safety net providers and he has the ability to turn vision into action. He will be a true asset at HealthNet.”
“HealthNet serves a critical role in improving the health of our urban communities,” said Daniel F. Evans, president and chief executive officer, Indiana University Health. “Jimmy’s professional experience demonstrates that he supports our mission and we are pleased to welcome him to our community.”
“HealthNet has grown remarkably under the leadership of Booker Thomas,” Brown said. “I am honored to join the HealthNet team, and am excited to work with the board, health care providers, patients and staff to address the health care challenges of our day. This is an unparalleled time of opportunity for community health centers and I feel we are uniquely positioned to meet the growing needs of the uninsured and underinsured in Indianapolis.”
Mr. Brown retired as a Lieutenant Colonel from the Air Force in 1992 after a 20-year career in health and hospital administration. He has a master’s degree in public administration with an emphasis in health care management from the University of North Dakota and a bachelor’s degree in public administration from North Texas State University.