MOUNT LAUREL, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Array Behavioral Care, the nation’s leading clinician-centric virtual psychiatry and therapy practice, announced three executive leadership hires: Shannon Werb, Chief Executive Officer; Sara Gotheridge, MD, Chief Medical Officer; and Ben Schlang, Chief Financial Officer. These new leaders will support the execution of broader company-wide initiatives and investments across technology, operations, and teams to expand the breadth and depth of Array’s telebehavioral services across the care continuum.
Demand for mental health care remains high in acute care and community outpatient settings, where capacity is significantly constrained. Less than one-third of all mental health needs are being met nationwide, according to research conducted by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Virtual psychiatry and therapy enable more patients to receive care directly from clinicians across all settings. Array pioneered this industry, with Array Co-founder Dr. Jim Varrell performing one of the industry’s first telepsychiatry encounters in 1999. Today more than 90 million Americans in all 50 states can access Array’s timely, quality behavioral health care services in hospitals, community clinics, primary care offices, and at home. Array has delivered nearly four million virtual encounters to date.
“At Array, we speak about our ability to diversify and scale effectively, not only as strategic and operational business imperatives, but importantly, as a fundamental responsibility in fulfilling commitments to our customers and the patients we serve—we’re mission-bound to meet our nation’s ever-increasing demand for behavioral care,” said Glenn Cole, Array’s Board Chairman. “The Board is grateful for all that Array’s executive team has done in establishing Array as the industry leader, and is thrilled that founders Jim Varrell and Geoffrey Boyce will continue to work alongside Shannon, Sara, Ben and other Array leaders to develop and execute a shared vision and strategy to more effectively address mental health needs across the country.”
Werb, Gotheridge, and Schlang bring substantial healthcare experience, and proven success in their respective domains, including business strategy and operations, clinical, and financial. Werb has more than 25 years of experience as a healthcare executive and driver of value creation in the provider and related healthcare technology industries. Previously, he served as COO at DispatchHealth, where he played a key role in diversifying the company’s capabilities to multiple service lines, while scaling delivery across more than 40 states. Prior to that, Werb was president and COO of vRad, a global telemedicine company and the nation’s largest radiology practice.
Array is poised to accelerate its pace of scale in new and existing markets through enhanced service offerings and operations, innovative technology, and expansion of the practice team. Array’s unique service delivery models will deliver timely and high-quality care across the continuum, regardless of setting, and continued investment in Array’s leadership will drive more comprehensive solutions to Array’s hospital and payor partners. Amid growing national concern for mental health, timely intervention is valuable and appropriate follow-up care is critical. Array is investing in both.
“We’re at a critical inflection point for telehealth—we’ve experienced wide-scale adoption and efficacy, and we must ensure we maintain that commitment in order to best meet the nation’s mental health care needs,” said Werb. “It’s an honor to lead an industry innovator and build on our legacy as a great place for clinicians to practice care and for patients to receive care.”
Along with Werb, Array welcomes Gotheridge to oversee Array’s clinical team and quality program, and Schlang to manage the company’s financial operations. In addition to growing multiple practices throughout her 25-year career, Gotheridge is an experienced CMO within community mental health and has unique expertise in integrated care. She will oversee all clinical services, maintain active clinical practice, and partner closely with Array’s operations team to ensure that the highest quality of care is delivered to patients in a scalable and sustainable way. Schlang brings more than a decade of private equity experience in healthcare investment and finance and has been actively involved with Array for nearly six years as a member of one of Array’s institutional investors, Harbour Point Capital.
“We built the foundations for Array more than 20 years ago because we knew that virtual care offered patients in critical need access to the right care at the right time,” said Geoffrey Boyce, Array’s Founder. “Now more than ever, we see the importance of our mission and recognize the need to grow our organization to meet patients’ increasing mental health care needs. With these new leaders, Array is poised to maximize the expertise of our exceptional clinicians and enhance our offerings and delivery at an accelerated pace.”
In January 2023, Array completed a Series C capital raise led by CVS Health to further scale Array’s modern behavioral care services across the continuum. Array’s clinical, operational, administrative, and technical specialists enable its to clinicians operate at the top of their licenses, integrate with care teams, and similarly practice as they would if they were physically present with the patient. Array was named a Fortune 2023 Best Workplaces in Healthcare, following last year’s receipt of Great Place to Work® certification.
About Array Behavioral Care
Array Behavioral Care is the nation's leading clinician-centric virtual psychiatry and therapy practice with a mission to transform access to quality, timely behavioral health care. Array offers telepsychiatry solutions and services across the continuum of care, from hospital to home, through its three flexible delivery models. For more than 20 years, Array has partnered with hundreds of hospitals and health systems, community health care organizations and payers of all sizes to expand access to care and improve outcomes for underserved individuals, facilities, and communities. As an industry pioneer and established thought leader, Array has helped shape the field, define the standard of care and advocate for improved telepsychiatry-friendly regulations. To learn more, visit www.arraybc.com.
