Martha Whitecotton

MODERN

Top 25 INNOVATORS HEALTHCARE’S

MARTHA WHITECOTTON NAMED AMONG TOP 25 INNOVATORS BY MODERN HEALTHCARE

This August, Martha Whitecotton, RN, MSN, FACHE, senior vice president of Behavioral Health Services at Atrium Health, was named among Modern Healthcare's Class of Top 25 Innovators, in part for her leadership in the Virtual Behavioral Health Integration program. The Top 25 Innovators awards and recognition program recognizes leaders who are establishing innovations and transformative programs that improve care in their organizations, with emphasis on nominees’ efforts to: implement patient-centered technology; advance efficient and equitable care; and attain measurable and sustained improvements in healthcare delivery. Atrium Health’s Population Health team nominated Martha for her role as a champion of virtual behavioral health integration within the primary care setting, which has expanded needed services to more people, helped to diagnose mental disorders sooner, reduced the stigma associated with asking for mental health support and lowered the overall cost of care.

Daily Dose blog From Atrium Health’s

This June, Martha and her husband were both diagnosed with COVID-19. Though they have recovered, the experience had a lasting impact, as Martha shared on Atrium Health’s Daily Dose blog:

“Being a healthcare leader taught me a great deal about COVID-19. Being COVID-positive taught me even more. I’ve learned what it’s like to be a coronavirus patient, to have a virus that no one truly understands yet. I’ve also learned about myself as a worker and about my colleagues as a support system. Even though I’ve worked at Atrium Health for 32 years, I learned more than ever how fortunate I am to be a part of this team.”