Essence brings more than 20 years of healthcare finance experience to our health center. Most recently, she served for nearly five years as CFO for St. Joseph and St. Mary’s Medical Centers, which is part of Prime Healthcare Services, one of the nation’s largest health systems. Prior to that, she spent four years at St. Francis Health in Topeka, Kan., as administrative director of finance. While there, she was promoted to CFO / vice president of financial services. Essence also spent more than a decade at Saint Luke’s Health System in Kansas City, serving in various finance leadership roles at the hospitals, medical group, and corporate levels.

Additionally, Essence is active in our community, contributing her financial and healthcare expertise to several non-profit boards, including Life Star of Kansas and St. Francis Foundation. She currently serves on the OATS Transit Board and is an active member of the Healthcare Financial Management Association.

Essence attended Rockhurst University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Master of Business Administration with a concentration in accounting.  She is also a Certified Public Accountant licensed by the State of Missouri.