Patients First Health Care Completes Leadership Team with the Addition of CFO Rene Crosswhite

WASHINGTON, MO, Oct. 11, 2011 - Patients First Health Care names Rene Crosswhite as chief financial officer.  In this role, Rene will be responsible for the financial management of the organization, its 21 locations, including primary care, 20 specialties and six treatment centers. This appointment and the restructure of Patients First leadership team, is part of the three-phase plan the company announced in August 2011 to respond to critical state of health care in the region and sweeping changes brought about by health care reform.

Rene is a results-oriented business person with more than 20 years of experience in the health care industry.  She joins Patients First from Mercy Health System, most recently as a vice president of financial analytics and planning.  In that role, Rene led and directed the financial planning, assessment and support of market development strategies. She coordinated the annual operational and capital budget process and long-range financial planning activities across the organization in concert with hospital CFOs and other senior leaders.  She also led financial planning efforts for Mercy’s community master planning process.

“We are very pleased to have Rene on the team,” said Joseph Gubbels, chief executive officer of Patients First.  “Rene will help us add structure to our financial decision making, forecast for the future and benchmark Patients First with other multispecialty groups.  We are committed to remaining independent and keeping care local for the people of this community.  The addition of Rene and steps Patients First is taking now will enable us to optimize patient care and improve patient service into the future.”

Rene completed her MHA from Webster University in St. Louis and BSBA from University of Missouri in St. Louis.  She has her CPA certification and is a member of Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants and Healthcare Financial Management Association.