Our staff have the experience, knowledge and skill to formulate and implement plans and systems necessary for the management and administration of healthcare operations. Our most valuable asset is the confidence our clients have in the reliability, responsiveness and value of our staff's services.

{Community Health Associates, Inc. also engages the services of diversified, highly specialized, qualified consulting firms to complement its practice capabilities.}

PRINCIPAL - JOHN D. ESSELINK-FHFMA
With nearly thirty years experience in healthcare administration, Mr. Esselink has held positions in hospitals, ambulatory care and a medical group practice.

Since 1988 he has served as an Officer and Director of the firm. He previously was Vice President at Samaritan Health Center, Detroit, where he was responsible for a multi-site ambulatory care network, accountable for financial and grants management, multi-specialty physician group practice development and administration, legislative and regulatory policy development and advocacy. His accomplishments included doubling the size of the network, substantially increasing federal and state grant funding, establishing managed care contracts and managing federal, state and private audits.

John was also the Finance Director of the ambulatory care network. Prior to that he was the Chief Executive Officer of a physician group practice and developed cost accounting and patient billing systems, and incentive compensation plans. At Bon Secours Hospital, Grosse Pointe, Michigan he was the Assistant Administrator for ambulatory care.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Management from Lawrence Technological University, and has pursued graduate studies in Business Administration at the University of Detroit and in Health Services Administration at the University of Michigan.

John Esselink has been a member of the board of directors of national, regional and state community health center associations, and chaired a regional board. He is an advanced member and a certified manager of patient accounts and a certified managed care professional of the Healthcare Financial Management Association, and is a member of the National Rural Health Association and National Association of Rural Health Clinics.

Mr. Esselink is Managing Director and currently manages the operations of the firm's Rural Health Clinic, Federally Qualified and Community Health Center, ambulatory care development and grants administration consulting practices.

PRINCIPAL - ROBERT J. PEOPLES
With over thirty years experience in health services administration, Mr. Peoples has held senior executive positions in hospitals, multi-hospital systems and a small rural hospital.
Since 1988 he has served as President of the firm. He previously was the President/Chief Executive Officer of Samaritan Health Center, Detroit, and prior to that was the Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer at Samaritan. Under his leadership the Health Center's services were expanded and diversified (including a hospital-based Federally-funded Community Health Center network), innovative medical staff (including a hospital-based, multi-specialty primary care group practice) and community programs developed and joint ventures initiated. He directed the merger of two hospitals, and served on the governing bodies of various provider and community-based organizations.

Bob Peoples was Associate Administrator, St. Joseph Hospital, Mount Clemens, Michigan, responsible for the major inpatient hospital, medical and clinical services, and strategic planning. As the Chief Executive Officer of Traverse City Osteopathic Hospital, he led the formation of a consortium of nine rural hospitals that remains in existence today. While at Detroit Osteopathic Hospital Corporation, he held both hospital and corporate executive positions. His career began with the Medical Service Corps, United States Air Force.
He is a member of the Board of the Michigan Health Council. He has been active with the Michigan Health and Hospitals Association, the Greater Detroit Area Health and the Southeast Michigan Hospital Councils; served on the boards of two national hospital associations and chaired one of those boards. Bob previously served as a consultant to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Bob graduated the University of Detroit with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematical Economics and Master of Arts in Economics. He is a member of the American Hospital Association and the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Mr. Peoples is Managing Director of the firm and currently directs the firm's strategic alliance (i.e., merger, acquisition, consolidation, affiliation and joint venture), strategic planning and marketing, and physician resource/medical staff development consulting practices. He also leads the operations of the firm's physician practice management consulting division, PRACTICE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATES.

He is a Director and President of the Center for Health Care Access, Inc., an organization founded to support the vision of access to preventive and primary care services by and elimination of disparities in health status among underserved and vulnerable populations.

SENIOR ASSOCIATE - JANE BRUGGEMAN
Jane Bruggeman is a consultant with more than twenty years experience in the health care field. Her expertise lies in developing and managing projects, providing strategic leadership, facilitating health care planning and grant writing activities. She has a unique expertise and interest in integrating public health activities, including community planning, disease prevention and health promotion, into primary care service delivery.

Ms. Bruggeman has been with Community Health Associates, Inc. [CHAI] since 2002, providing consulting services to urban and rural area communities and providers, specializing in federally qualified and community health centers. Prior to joining CHAI she worked with the Community Health Care Association of the Dakotas [CHAD]—the State Primary Care Association for North and South Dakota, serving in a number of capacities. And, prior to her work at CHAD, she was the Director and Health Officer of Pierce County, Wisconsin. Under her leadership, department services were expanded and diversified, and the county became an agent for Wisconsin’s food safety and recreational licensing program. Ms. Bruggeman also orchestrated Pierce County to be the first rural public health department designated with the State’s highest level of complexity for local public health programs.

Before joining the Health Department, Ms. Bruggeman participated in the NACHC Match Leadership Fellows Program sponsored by the National Association of Community Health Centers and Johns Hopkins University. In this capacity, she provided administrative support and leadership to HealthNet, Inc., a multi-site, long-standing federally funded community health center in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Previous to her administrative roles, Ms. Bruggeman worked as a social worker in both hospital and ambulatory care settings, focusing on the provision of services to children with disabilities and their families. She has worked in both urban and rural settings and understands community health service delivery issues in both of these environments. She maintains proficient grant writing skills through successfully assisting clients in the acquisition of grants from private, national and federal funding initiatives.

Ms. Bruggeman holds a holds a Masters degree in Pubic Health from the University of Minnesota and a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and Social Work from the University of South Dakota.

SENIOR ASSOCIATE - KELLY HEFFNER
With more than twenty five years of business management experience, Kelly Heffner has held senior leadership positions in various health care organizations, including health care consulting practices and a Federally Qualified Health Center [FQHC].

Since 2001, she has been providing consulting services to FQHCs, health center networks, state primary care associations and other health care organizations. These services have included strategic planning, business planning, marketing, grant writing, network planning and development, board training and education, community development, community needs assessment, program evaluation, customer service training and establishing fundraising/fund development plans and capabilities. Ms. Heffner joined the firm in 2007.

Ms. Heffner was Director of Marketing and Strategic Planning for Baltimore Medical System, Baltimore, Maryland, a FQHC with ten service delivery sites and a diverse array of programs and services. During her tenure, she successfully developed and implemented marketing plans to increase the patient base and rebalance the payor mix, developed key community partnerships and strategic alliances, and transitioned the organization’s strategic planning process to The Balanced Scorecard.

Kelly also served as a consultant to the Department of Veterans Affairs in development of strategic plans and business plans to form networks of VA hospitals throughout the country. She also served as the Project Director for the Department’s national recruitment advertising campaign for more than twenty (20) clinical job categories, including physicians, mid-level providers, nurses and pharmacists.

Ms. Heffner holds a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Psychology from Juniata College, and a Master of Business Administration degree from Loyola College.

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