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Community Psychiatry Expands Executive Leadership Team with Appointment of New COO, CGO, and CFO

Strategic appointments of Julie McCarter, Ernie Varvoutis and Mark Brandow to Community Psychiatry leadership team add accomplished health care executives to propel continued expansion of integrated access to high-quality, clinically-driven mental health care nationwide

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – JANUARY 28, 2021 – Community Psychiatry, a leading independent US provider of outpatient behavioral health services, today announced the expansion of its executive team with the appointment of Julie McCarter as Chief Operating Officer, Ernie Varvoutis as Chief Growth Officer and Mark Brandow as Chief Financial Officer to the company’s executive team. McCarter, Varvoutis and Brandow bring more than 70 years of combined experience leading high performing teams within the health care sector and will report directly to Community Psychiatry CEO, J. Christopher Brengard.

“I am thrilled to welcome Julie, Ernie and Mark to the Community Psychiatry team as we expand our reach across communities nationwide at such a pivotal moment in the evolution of mental health services,” said J. Christopher Brengard, Chief Executive Officer of Community Psychiatry. “Their unique strengths and expertise will support the vigorous expansion of Community Psychiatry’s provider-driven model as the choice platform for both clinicians and patients as we continue to grow innovative clinical programs with our key partners.”

As Chief Operating Officer, McCarter brings more than 25 years of health care experience to the Community Psychiatry leadership team. She previously held several senior positions with Cigna and Great-West Healthcare, where she led strategic operations, product development, network development and provider relations. Most recently, McCarter led a product organization supporting solutions enabling earnings of $2 billion.

“More Americans than ever are deeply in need of mental health care and we are optimistic about our plans to help individuals who may not have had access to excellent mental health care in the past,” said McCarter. “We also look forward to continuing to attract leading clinicians to ensure a compassionate patient experience and further increasing our seamless integration with primary care providers.”

Varvoutis brings more than three decades of health care experience to his role as Chief Growth Officer for Community Psychiatry, where he will lead organic growth and partnerships strategy with a focus on increasing consumer access to covered behavioral health services. Most recently, he held several senior positions at TeamHealth, Inc., and in 2009 was appointed as executive vice president responsible for leading and managing acquisitions and joint ventures. During his tenure, Varvoutis oversaw the completion of transactions worth nearly $2.8 billion.

New Chief Financial Officer, Brandow has more than 20 years of experience in the health care payor space. Prior to Community Psychiatry, he served as Chief Financial Officer of the commercial health care segment for Cigna. In this role, Brandow was responsible for the top and bottom-line growth of the US commercial businesses reaching 14M customers and worth $25 billion in revenue.

McCarter, Varvoutis and Brandow will further support Community Psychiatry’s commitment to expand and improve access for individuals to high-quality clinical care via telemedicine and in-person care, drive improved outcomes and clinical pathways, track quality data and increase opportunities for mental health clinicians to integrate with primary care providers. Their appointments continue a series of recent strategic appointments, including J. Christopher Brengard as CEO, Chris Hocevar as Chairman of the Board, and new board member, former U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy, founder of The Kennedy Forum.

With deep expertise in providing in-person care since 2003 and telemedicine since 2009, Community Psychiatry’s more than 140 clinicians currently serve patients from 44 locations and remotely via telehealth. Clinicians can offer patients a range of treatments and modalities, including psychiatry, psychotherapy, psychological testing and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to improve patient outcomes.