Certain turning points in a person’s life can encourage them to think back on all they have achieved and look forward with anticipation to what is ahead. Melissa Mitchell, the chief innovation and strategy officer at HealthLinc Community Health Center in Valparaiso, is at one such turning point in her career. Mitchell, who has been at HealthLinc for the past 15 years, will be instated as the new CEO on January 1 of next year.
Before working at HealthLinc, Mitchell, a La Porte native, worked in technology as an account executive at an Illinois-based business-to-business sales company. Upon her husband’s return from military service in Afghanistan, the couple moved back to Northwest Indiana to start their family. While pregnant, Mitchell went on to work at her father’s doctor’s office. In 2008, the family practice joined HealthLinc and Mitchell was put in charge of overseeing this transition. Eventually, her father’s office became HealthLinc’s Knox location.
In 2010, Mitchell became the director of system operations at HealthLinc. Her technological background made her an ideal choice for this position.
“It was a relatively small organization at the time and I was one of the only people that was really technologically trained,” Mitchell said. “They were in the process of converting to their first ever electronic medical record, so I was really well suited to take over that transition as well.”
As HealthLinc continued to grow, Mitchell began running systems and software for HealthLinc and eventually assumed the role of chief information officer. She went on to become the chief operating officer several years later and finally took up her current position of chief innovation and strategy officer in 2021.
Mitchell feels that HealthLinc holds an important place in the La Porte County community.
“I firmly believe that what we do is critical to helping people have a better opportunity in their own lives,” she said. “It's important for us to be able to give back to the people who are hard-working Hoosiers that need health care. A lot of the time, people feel like they don't have access, whether it's because they can't afford it, they don't have hours that work for them, or they don't feel like someone in the medical community cares about them. That's what we're here for, to listen to our patients and help them improve their own health.”
One of the most important things Mitchell has learned in the course of her career at HealthLinc is the importance of pushing herself to take the next step, no matter what.
“You're not always going to be perfectly trained and prepared for whatever you're about to take on,” she said. “You should never hold back from taking a chance because you're not 100% ready. I don’t think it's ever the right time to be 100% ready. You have to be able to jump into what comes next, whether or not it scares you a little bit, because that's how you're going to learn.”
Mitchell is grateful for the guidance Beth Wrobel, Healthinc’s current CEO, has lent her during her time with the organization. Mitchell also expressed her appreciation for the help she has received from the staff at HealthLinc, both those who came before her and those who worked alongside her. Finally, she said that the support and understanding that her family has given her over the years has been a blessing.
As she moves into the next phase of her career, Mitchell looks forward to the completion of HealthLinc’s Michigan City clinic. This building, the first that HealthLinc has built from the ground up, will be equipped with a lineup of new facilities such as a pharmacy and an optometry office. She is also excited for the upcoming implementation of a social worker residency program as well as the addition of podiatry, chiropractic, and addiction services to the HealthLinc system.
When she is not working, Mitchell enjoys taking her three kids to their various activities and cheering them on. During the Christmas season, Mitchell and her family bake cookies to give out as presents to their friends and family. Although they have a wide array of tried-and-true cookie recipes, Mitchell and her family are always on the lookout for new ones that can elevate their cookie-baking operation to the next level.