October Member Spotlight featuring Mary Clark
Mary Clark is the Chief Payer Relations Officer for Newport Healthcare, a national network of evidence-based healing centers for teens, young adults, and families struggling with primary mental health issues. She is responsible for developing payer relationships and securing contracts that enable the company to serve more families in need by moving from out-of-network to in-network provider status with health plans. Mary has an extensive background in health care with a unique combination of cross-sector payer/provider experience, leading companies through mergers and acquisitions, and resulting in significant growth and profitability. As a successful executive and talented leader, Mary has served on several non-profit, advisory, and association boards including WBL, the USO, and Girls Inc.
How did you become an executive in the health care industry? Did you always have an interest in health care?
I became interested in health care while working part time at a hospital to help pay for my college education. I worked in the admissions department, adjacent to the emergency room, and witnessed health care at its finest. It was fast-paced, admitting patients directly from the ER, people suffering from illness, injury, or about to give birth. I was the one typically running next to their stretcher, gathering their insurance information as they went to the operating or hospital room. I was fascinated with the health care sector and knew I had to be a part of it.
My insurance knowledge helped me land a contracting position with a major health plan. During my 10 years there, I advanced through the company, ultimately establishing and overseeing the first national ancillary provider network in the industry. I then was recruited to the provider side. It was at this intersection that I transitioned from contracting with health care providers to contracting with health care payers on a national level, overseeing multi-million dollar operations, and significantly expanding my skill-set. At Newport Healthcare, I have been working to establish in-network status with the nation’s major payers, something that will help make mental health treatment more accessible and affordable for all families.
At the WBL Summit last March, the Newport Healthcare team led attendees through a series of mindfulness exercises – a great way to decompress between sessions! How are practices like these incorporated into Newport’s company culture?
Mindfulness is extremely important at Newport Healthcare, for employees and clients alike. It helps us to achieve a state of focused relaxation by deliberately paying attention to thoughts and sensations. This allows the mind to refocus on the present moment. Oftentimes, before we start our meetings, we take two minutes of silence to clear our minds of other distractions and find focus. I’ll admit that I found this hard to do in the beginning. Trying to clear all the racing thoughts circling around in my head, all the things I have to get done that day, can be difficult. But I’ve learned to embrace the two minutes and really ground myself to be in the moment. I do find that it renews my focus and better prepares me for taking in the information that is about to be presented.
COVID-19 put an unprecedented spotlight on mental health awareness this year. What can our industry do to ensure the focus on mental health, particularly among teenagers and young adults, isn’t lost in the aftermath of the pandemic?
As of June 2020, the youth suicide rate is the highest in recorded history due in part to isolation and stress as a result of COVID-19. More than 70% of young adults report high levels of loneliness and more than 80% report an increase in depressive symptoms. It is increasingly important that we stay committed to fostering and protecting the mental health of our kids. Parents should establish open and honest communication within the family. We all should be able to truly listen when our family and friends are struggling. Central to this is eliminating the stigma of mental health issues. Struggling with depression, past trauma, anxiety, or any number of other mental health disorders is not a failing or weakness; acknowledging when there is a problem is a strength. And if someone needs therapy or treatment, resources should be easy and unintimidating to access.
With so much of our communication currently virtual, what advice can you offer when meeting health plan contacts remotely?
With all of us virtual, there’s a common thread in our communication: everyone wants to know how the other is doing. In my opinion, today’s business is on a much more personal level. “Are you staying safe?” “How long will you be working from home?” We’ve all heard someone’s dog bark in the background or met someone’s child who highjacked the screen. It used to be that we kept our personal and professional lives separate; now we’re in each other’s homes learning more about them as a person and forming deeper, trusting relationships. People do business with those they trust.
How do you create and maintain these relationships across the digital divide?
My belief is that whether you’re doing business together at that time or not, you should genuinely stay in touch. Send an email or pick up the phone just to check in and ask how someone is doing. Establishing and maintaining relationships takes time, but we can still accomplish this through technology. And even though it isn’t the same as meeting in-person, using video calling like Zoom or Teams can definitely make an ordinary phone call feel more personal and sincere.
You’ve been involved in WBL for many years as a member and WBL Ambassador. How do you use WBL to advance your career and business?
In networking and in life, it’s important to connect with people you admire, especially strong women you want in your corner. WBL has provided that platform for me to connect with thought leaders who freely share their wisdom and guidance, whether it’s business-related or personal, forming lasting relationships. As a WBL Ambassador, I’ve nominated several women to WBL and helped coach first-time attendees on working their network. I’ve done business with other WBL women, I’ve reached out to them for career advice, and we’ve genuinely listened to each other when something is troubling us. We’ve built trust, rapport, and respect. It is so important that we invest not only in ourselves, but other women as well.
Personally or professionally, what might the WBL network be surprised to know about you?
Most of the WBL network knows that I am a mother of two daughters, but few know that I am Snow White’s mother. Yes, you read that correctly! When we lived in Orlando, my oldest daughter worked for Disney World as Snow White while she was in high school and college. So, for several years, I truly was the mother of a princess.
