Farewell and Thank You to Brenda Houtenbrink

Highland Hospital and the Department of Family Medicine recently bid farewell to Brenda Houtenbrink, Senior Program Administrator, UR Department of Family Medicine and Highland Family Medicine. Brenda served in her current role since February 2020 and prior to that as Program Administrator, Chief of Operations - Flaum Eye Institute, University of Rochester.

Brenda worked in collaboration with Department Chair, Colleen T. Fogarty, MD, MSc, to lead all mission areas of the Department of Family Medicine, including education, research, and clinical. “Brenda’s work was considerable, especially throughout the pandemic, including preparing the building; developing a respiratory evaluation suite; assisting in reassigning clinicians to the hospital; and ensuring office coverage, remote care, and on-call availability,” said Dr. Fogarty.

In support of the hospital’s strategic plan, Brenda evaluated the clinical operation for effective systems, structure, functions, and leadership; and developed and implemented business improvement plans to support operations and improve margins. She additionally collaborated in managing and growing the HFM practice to support more than 26,000 covered lives, with more than 70,000 visits annually.

As a contributor to the developing UR Medicine Primary Care Service Line, she leveraged shared resources with Primary Care Network and Strong Internal Medicine in an effort to promote integration and cohesion. These collaborations included the launch of URMC on demand telehealth visits, benchmarking productivity and investment per clinician, and a new Triage Service for after hours. And working along with marketing and pharmacy leaders, she helped established a strategy for increasing our conversion of HFM scripts to Highland South Wedge Pharmacy.

Brenda has been an important partner in developing and growing our collaboration with our partners at TriCounty Family Medicine, where the Family Nurse Practitioner Residency training program has thrived, and the family medicine rural physician training program is under development.

Brenda is a 2023 recipient of a University of Rochester sponsorship in the Northstar Network Healthcare Business Academy where she completed a year-long fellowship, along with other Rochester area-wide executives from throughout the region. “I have gained knowledge and experiences that are unique and unforgettable,” said Brenda. “I want to thank all of my colleagues at Highland for the support, guidance, and encouragement you have provided during my time at HFM, especially during the most trying times of the pandemic period. I am excited about starting a new chapter - which will include the joy of welcoming my second grandchild next spring!”

1/3/2024

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