The Board of Directors of Better Health Partnership (BHP) has announced that current BHP President and Chief Executive Officer Rita Navarro-Horwitz has decided to retire at the end of 2024. Over her 43- year career in the healthcare market, Rita has held leadership roles that included innovative, ground-breaking ventures in ambulatory care, corporate-based wellness, and community health improvement. The last 13 years she held positions in Better Health Partnership as Director of Business Development, Chief Operating Officer and in 2017 was selected as its President and CEO following a national search conducted by the Board of Directors to replace the founding CEO, Dr. Randy Cebul.
Since 2011, Rita helped grow the footprint and impact of BHP’s regional health improvement collaboration. She was instrumental in expanding its scope in 2020 with the launch of the Better Health Pathways HUB, serving Cuyahoga County, to address social determinants of health as a pivotal path toward eradicating persistent health disparities. In doing so, she helped bridge the gap between clinical care, payers, public health, and community resources to better coordinate care and strategies for improving health outcomes. Additionally, Rita successfully led the organization and supported our partners through the global pandemic, which highlighted the importance of working collaboratively across sectors to address public health issues and ensure equitable access to care for our region’s most vulnerable populations.
“Those of us who have worked closely with Rita respect and acknowledge her most for her passion for identifying and addressing health disparities in Northeast Ohio and her never ending energy in advancing novel solutions to our region’s most intractable health challenges,” said Board Chair Jim Weisman. She is an alum of Leadership Cleveland’s class of 2019 and was recognized in 2018 by Crains Cleveland Business as one of the most notable women in healthcare and as a notable Latino leader in 2023. “We wish Rita all the best in her retirement and thank her for all she did for Better Health Partnership and our community.”
The Better Health Partnership Board of Directors will soon be engaging in an executive search, with the assistance of MetroHealth Human Resources to ensure a smooth transition.
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Founded in 2007, Better Health Partnership (BHP), the most trusted health improvement collaborative in Northeast Ohio, aspires to achieve exceptional health value and eradicate health disparities across the region. We bridge silos by bringing health systems together with social service agencies, payers, public health, education institutions, and community-based organizations to share best practices and advance data-informed improvements in equitable population and community health. Our top achievements in diabetes care management, adult blood pressure control, maternal/infant health, COVID-19 public health response and social needs care coordination are a testament to BHP’s capabilities and our mission-driven partners’ dedication to improving health and health equity for the communities they serve.