Dr. Eken works toward mission of expanding Regional Division care
01/18/22 03:25:pm
“At the time, I was in private practice in Louisville, Kentucky, and was advised to refer a patient of mine with severe OCD to Rogers,” Dr. Eken explains. “Around that same time, I attended the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry’s annual meeting and met Dr. (Peter) Lake and Rogers’ outreach manager. They invited me to come to Wisconsin to learn more about treatment at Rogers and also encouraged me to apply. I went back to my hotel room and started laughing with my husband – I couldn’t believe that this place in Wisconsin wanted me to apply for a job!”
Now nearly 13 years into her time with Rogers, Dr. Eken has served in numerous roles, including a brief stint at Oconomowoc’s inpatient unit followed by five years as the medical director of the Child Center (now known as OCD and Anxiety Children’s Residential Care). While she enjoyed her time living in Wisconsin, she made it known to leadership that, should they decide to open regional clinics, she would be interested in relocating to a warmer climate.
“About two winters in, I told Dave Moulthrop (Rogers’ CEO at the time) that I was not going to survive many more Wisconsin winters,” Dr. Eken says with a laugh. “I expressed my interest again when Pat Hammer came on, and now here I am in my current role as regional medical director. I’ve helped open everything outside of Wisconsin, starting with Tampa in 2014.”
As regional medical director, Dr. Eken oversees all the regional clinics throughout the country, supporting medical staff and ensuring that patients can access quality care. Additionally, she serves as the executive sponsor of the practice management value stream.
“The need is so great,” Dr. Eken explains. “We go into these communities where they have general treatment options, which are appropriate for some people, but for many it’s just not the right form of treatment. We’re able to fill that need.”
While her role initially required a great deal of travel to all the clinics, often for about three weeks every month, the pandemic has allowed her to meet virtually with staff from her home in Nashville.
"At this stage in my career, my goal is to spread evidence-based treatment and to affect larger populations,” she says. “I come from a pretty entrepreneurial family, but I didn’t want to be an entrepreneur on my own. My role as regional medical director is the perfect way for me to channel my entrepreneurial spirit.”
In keeping with both her personal mission and Rogers’ mission, Dr. Eken says she’s most excited about the new psychiatrists and psychologists joining the team as this will allow for greater program expansion, particularly for Eating Disorder Recovery and Mental Health and Addiction Recovery.
“The opioid crisis was already devastating, but, now with the pandemic, it’s the leading cause of death in psychiatric patients,” she explains. “Eating disorders are one of my big passions, and we’re seeing eating disorder presentations right now unlike anything we’ve seen before. Spreading these services is really exciting to me.”
Though Dr. Eken does not carry her own patient load, one aspect of her role that she enjoys is providing coverage for regional clinics when doctors are on vacation or if an emergency arises, allowing her to work with a wide range of teams.
Get to know Dr. Eken
Dr. Eken is a big sports fan, citing University of Tennessee football and basketball as some of her favorites, in addition to regularly attending Nashville Predators NHL games.
One unique fact about Dr. Eken is that she was a competitive clog dancer from age 8 until high school – a skill that came in handy during her time living in Wisconsin, as clogging steps translate well to polka. Though she enjoyed clogging, she ultimately stopped in favor of playing basketball, which earned her a college scholarship.
Today, Dr. Eken enjoys staying active with her Peloton and spending time on the lake water skiing.
