Leadership

Jeron Ravin, JD

President and CEO

As President and CEO, Jeron Ravin leads strategic direction for Swope Health. Jeron previously served as the Chief Operating Officer for the Community Health Center Association of Mississippi where he worked to strengthen Mississippi community health centers by overseeing policy, marketing & branding, workforce development, clinical quality improvement, outreach and enrollment, and health information technology. He also provided training and technical assistance.

Jeron is a former political staffer, with experience in policy-making and consensus building at the local, state, and federal government levels.

He is a Fellow of the Latino Center for Leadership Development, a leadership training program for those with a desire to serve their community through positions of impact, such as elected office, corporate or non-profit boards, political appointments, or other positions of public trust.

Jeron is completing graduate studies at Brown University’s School of Professional Studies, earning a Masters of Healthcare Leadership. He holds a Juris Doctor from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law and a BA in Journalism from the Cathy Hughes School of Communications at Howard University.

Mark Miller

Vice President, Behavioral Health Services

Mark Miller leads all behavioral health functions including outreach, community support, substance abuse treatment, and residential services.

He joined Swope Health in 2009. His experience includes chief operating officer of the Center for Behavioral Medicine in Kansas City.

In 1998 Mark was elected first African American president of the University of Missouri Alumni Association.

He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Missouri.

Naimish Patel

Chief Financial Officer

Naimish Patel oversees all budgeting, strategic financial planning and business decision support analysis for Swope Health.

He earned an MBA from University of Missouri-Kansas City and is a certified public accountant.

Patel is a member of the Health Care Financial Management association and American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Kelly Murphy

Chief HR Officer

Kelly Murphy manages all Human Resources functions for Swope Health and engages in the work of cultivating a culture that energizes associates around the Swope Health mission, attracts and retains top talent, builds a learning organization, and fosters continuous development.

Prior to joining Swope Health, Murphy worked for regional electric utility company Evergy, where she led all aspects of HR, including total rewards (compensation, benefits and wellbeing), employee and labor relations (including diversity, equity and inclusion), organizational development, and the implementation of technologies and innovation related to HR programs and services.

Murphy holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Bucknell University.

Murphy is also active in the Kansas City community, where she currently serves as the Board Chair of the Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey.

Megan Krohn, DDS

Executive Vice President, Dental Services

Dr. Krohn is responsible for the coordination and delivery of services at all Swope Health dental sites.

Dr. Krohn is a graduate of the UMKC School of Dentistry and served as an oral surgeon intern at Truman Medical Center. In 2016, she pursued her true calling in public health service and joined Swope Health to practice general dentistry. She has been instrumental in the dental department’s continued growth of its outreach programs, coordination of surgical needs for patients, and overall better access to dental care for our community.

Additionally, she has served at Swope Health Independence and Swope Health Central with an emphasis on providing surgical procedures.

She earned a degree in Biology in 2012 from Rockhurst University and graduated from the UMKC School of Dentistry with Honors in Oral Surgery.

Dr. Krohn was born and raised in Wichita, KS and now lives in North Kansas City. She is passionate about improving community access to dental care and excited to share in the growth of the dental department.

Kenneth Thomas, MD

Executive Vice President, Children’s Services

As Director of Children’s Services, Dr. Thomas is responsible for expanding children’s services through existing satellite locations and through deliberate business development efforts for new sites and opportunities. Dr. Thomas is a Board-Certified Pediatrician.

Prior to joining Swope Health, he served as Attending Physician in the Truman Medical Center/Lakewood Pediatrics Department. He was also the Clinical Director of the Medical Coordination Program at the Children’s Mercy Pediatric Care Center and served as Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Missouri, Kansas City School of Medicine.

Dr. Thomas received his medical degree from the University of Nebraska Medical Center. He trained at Children’s Mercy Hospital in both pediatrics and pediatric emergency medicine, with a focus on complex medical conditions.

A Kansas City native, Dr. Thomas has been caring for the children in this community for more than 20 years.

Naiomi Jamal, MD, MPH, CMQ

Chief Health Officer

As Chief Health Officer, Dr. Naiomi Jamal heads the Department of “Quality and Population Health” at Swope Health. She is responsible for organization wide clinical quality, performance and process improvement, along with Population Health initiatives geared towards meeting the quadruple aim of improving provider and patient experience, Improving population health outcomes and resource stewardship. This includes developing and overseeing a quality plan for the entire organization.

She also practices as a primary care physician through the Independence clinic and sees a variety of complex medical diagnoses. Dr. Jamal is on faculty at University of Missouri/Kansas City where she is responsible for developing and delivering a preventive medicine and public health curriculum for family medicine residents. She is also responsible for the didactic lecture series Social and Structural Determinants of Health at the UMKC School of Medicine for Medical Students.

Dr. Naiomi Jamal completed her Medical Degree from The Aga Khan University, in Pakistan. This was where she first developed an interest in serving vulnerable populations. She later finished a family medicine residency from the University of Texas Medical Branch in 2015. She went on to complete a General Preventive Medicine and Public Health Residency and obtained a Master’s degree in Public Health from UTMB in 2017.

She went on to complete a General Preventive Medicine and Public Health Residency and obtained a Master’s degree in Public Health from UTMB in 2017. She is also Board Certified in Medical Quality.

Thurston Smith

Chief Information Officer

Thurston Smith joined Swope Health in March 2021 from Cerner Corp., where he was a senior engineer manager leading an engineering team in code design and development.

Previously, he was CIO at the Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center in Kansas City, and he brings expertise from roles at Truman Medical Centers; Datafile Technologies; and DST Systems Inc., all in Kansas City; and at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, in Iowa City, Iowa.

A veteran of the U.S. Army and Army Reserve, Smith has also held positions as an adjunct professor with Johnson County Community College and DeVry University.

Dr. Smith holds a Doctorate of Health Administration from Capella University in Minneapolis; and an MBA from DeVry University, Keller Graduate School of Management, in Naperville, Ill. He received a Master of Arts in Educational Technology from the University of Missouri-Kansas City; Associate degree in Applied Science in Information Technology from Hamilton Business College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Computer Science from Mississippi Valley State University in Itta Bena, Miss.

Active in the Kansas City community, his church and fraternity, Dr. Smith also serves on the boards of Jackson County CASA, a court advocacy group for children, and his non-profit organization, Iron Men Ministry, which mentors young men in positive development and empowerment.

Angela Smart

Chief Development and Communications Officer

Chief Development and Communications Officer, Swope Health and Executive Director, Swope Health Foundation

Angela Smart is responsible for growing the Swope Health Foundation by establishing a strong development and fundraising operation to support a variety of programs and capital projects, including building long-term relationships with individuals, foundations and corporations. In addition, she oversees the communications and community engagement functions of Swope Health.

Angela most recently served as the Vice President of the Hall Family Foundation, where she was responsible for grantmaking to Kansas City-area nonprofits in the categories of human and social services, health, higher education, arts and culture. Prior to this position, she worked in multiple roles in corporate finance at Hallmark Cards Inc., Grant Thornton/Kansas City and Andersen Consulting/Detroit.

Angela has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance from University of Michigan and an MBA from the Bloch School of Business at University of Missouri/Kansas City. She serves as Secretary of the Board of Trustees of William Jewell College and chairs the Academic Affairs Committee. Angela has served on the boards of the Shawnee Mission Education Foundation, the Hall Center for the Humanities, Sheffield Place and Solace House.

Josette Mitchell

Chief Operations Officer

Chief Operations Officer

As Chief Operations Officer, Josette Mitchell is responsible for providing leadership over both clinical and non-clinical operations ensuring all procedures and systems are in place for effective growth.

Josette joined Swope Health in 2002 working in various capacities within the Behavioral Health Department. Prior to joining the Executive Leadership team, she served as the Deputy Director of Behavioral Health providing clinical leadership for all programs, driving departmental growth and strategic initiatives. She was instrumental to the success of Swope Health becoming a Certified Community Behavioral Health Organization.

Josette is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, earning a Master of Social Work from the University of Kansas and received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Northwest Missouri State University.

Heath Rath

Executive Director - PaceKC

Executive Director, PaceKC

PACE KC is a newly formed non-profit, championed by Swope Health, to bring the PACE model of care to the residents of Kansas City for the first time. PACE – Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly – is a model of care that provides a full range of person-centered health and wellness services that empower individuals age 55+ to age in place rather than be institutionalized.

Heath Rath has spent his professional career working to build and expand evidence-based programs that improve the lives of older adults. Over the last six years, he has focused his efforts on the development of programs that aim to allow older adults to age gracefully in the communities they call home, specifically PACE Programs.

He worked with Swope Health to successfully lobby members of the Missouri Senate and House of Representatives as well as the Missouri Department of Social Services, MO Health Net Division, to support and appropriate PACE funding.

Prior to his work with Swope Health, Heath served as Director of Midland Care Connection’s Ann Street PACE Center in Kansas City, Kansas. During his time at Midland, he oversaw the development and successful launch of Midland’s third Center and the first PACE Program in the Kansas City metro area.

Heath earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology and secondary major in Gerontology from Kansas State University. He went on to complete a Master of Science in Gerontology with an emphasis in long-term care administration. While earning his M.S. at Kansas State he worked in the College of Health and Human Sciences Center on Aging as a project specialist for the PEAK 2.0 program. He also served as the advisor for the K-State Gerontology Ambassadors and the K-State Gerontology Club as well as instructed online undergraduate courses in Gerontology. Heath is a licensed long-term care administrator in the state of Kansas.