MEEKER | Cassie Mitchell publicly accepted the reins from Christy Whitney to serve as HopeWest’s second President & CEO at the Black Tie and Boots Gala on June 11, 2022.
A native of Kentucky, Cassie Mitchell is a highly regarded and experienced healthcare leader who is well known nationally. She has worked in health care for 27 years as a trained Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) and Registered Nurse (RN). For twenty of her 27 years in health care, she has compassionately served thousands of patients and their families in some of their greatest times of need through hospice care.
“I am humbled to be joining a community-rooted, legacy-rich, mission-driven organization serving the seriously ill and their families here in western Colorado,” stated Mitchell.
Cassie’s career began in hospice as an admission nurse and nursing supervisor, eventually moving into roles to include inpatient unit management, intake, and admission team leadership, 24/7 call center oversight, clinical operations, and business development.
Before joining HopeWest, she served as the Chief Operating Officer at Bluegrass Care Navigators in Lexington, Kentucky. Bluegrass Care Navigators serves a third of the State of Kentucky delivering care to over 20,000 patients annually, 6,000 of whom receive hospice care. They have a number of programs similar to HopeWest, including: Home-based Primary Care, Integrative Medicine, Transitional Care Dementia Program, Transitional Care, Extra Care, Adult Day Health Care, Palliative Care, Grief Care and Hospice Care. Much like HopeWest, they also recently launched a PACE Program.
Although Cassie is a new face to our community, HopeWest’s founding President and CEO, Christy Whitney, has had the privilege to work with Cassie over the past twelve months to ensure stability and continuity of care during the transition.
Whitney reflected, “Cassie is people and community-centered, finding joy and fulfillment in service to others. She deeply understands HopeWest exists to serve our community, enrich lives, and profoundly change the experience of aging, illness, and grief. I am thrilled that such an experienced, servant leader is at the helm.”
Chairman of the Leadership Transition Committee, Tom Sawyer, oversaw the board selection process to find Christy’s successor and relayed the importance of bringing on a leader with heart and business sense: “Not only does Cassie personify HopeWest’s values of compassion, empathy and generosity, she holds a MBA and has the business acumen and experience to guide HopeWest through the challenges facing the hospice and healthcare industry today.”
Regulatory challenges and funding shortfalls are not new to hospice; Like her predecessor, Cassie is committed to continuing the mission-driven work of HopeWest, which exists to enrich the lives of those it serves.
Mitchell is equipped to lead, and her vision for HopeWest is steadfast: “It’s a new chapter in the beautiful book of ongoing challenges HopeWest has met and will continue to meet with a steadfast commitment to service. We will do what our founders did and what this community-based non-profit has been doing for nearly 30 years—we will serve our community. We will continue to invest and grow the services we provide today and watch the horizon for new, sustainable opportunities. We will remain committed to our mission of profoundly changing how people experience death, grief, and illness—one person at a time.”
HOPEWEST PRESS RELEASE | Special to the Herald Times
