Central Health names its first chief transformation officer

Central Health, which provides health care for low-income residents of Travis County, has named its first chief transformation officer. Kim Heinonen joined its executive team in mid-November after 20 years as an executive consultant at Simpler Consulting, an IBM company. “In that role, he led large-scale business transformations across a broad range of industries and companies, including 10 years working with Kaiser Permanente, the largest healthcare provider in California,” a news release from Central Health reads. The hospital district has plans to invest nearly $800 million by 2030 to build a comprehensive health care safety net for the county. It’s doubled its number of employees over the past three years and has launched more than a dozen specialty and supportive care lines of service and opened five different new clinical sites, plus new programs for Austin’s unhoused population, county jail inmates and response to Travis County’s overdose crisis. Heinonen will help guide this rapid transformation. “This role is a key step in our journey to improve the health outcomes of our community,” said Dr. Patrick Lee, president and CEO of Central Health. “By collaborating closely with our leaders and teams, Kim will help us align our talent, culture, and leadership and identify opportunities to make our work more effective, all while keeping people and patients at the forefront of our mission.”