Advisory Board Members

Dr. Baase serves as the Board Chairperson of the Michigan Health Improvement Alliance (MIHIA), a multi-stakeholder collaborative dedicated to improving the health of people in 14 counties of central Michigan through the transformational initiative THRIVE (Transforming Health Regionally in a Vibrant Economy). Dr. Baase is a member of the Stewardship Council of Raising the Bar an initiative funded by RWJF to set bold new principles for the role that health care systems. She is a member of the National Alliance to impact Social Determinants of Health, NASDOH and serves as a senior advisor to HealthBegins focused on upstream efforts in healthcare. She is also on the Susan and Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences Advisory Board at UC Irvine. Dr. Baase served for years as a member of the Roundtable on Population Health Improvement of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine and served as the initial chair of its Business Collaborative. Catherine Baase retired from her role as Chief Health Officer and Global Director of Health Services for Dow, a position she held for 20 years of her 32 years there. Under her leadership, their health programs were extensively recognized for their innovation and achievement around the world. She has co-authored more than 30 publications and received many awards for leadership in the health field. Throughout her career, Dr. Baase has been involved across the landscape of health including public health, healthcare, health policy, health promotion and occupational health. She is a Fellow in the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and a Fellow in the American Academy of Family Physicians. Dr. Baase is married with four children and eight grandchildren.

Beth Charlton became the President/CEO of Covenant HealthCare on July 1, 2021. Prior to that she served as the Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer. During her long career at Covenant, she has served as the Director of Critical Care and Progressive Care departments, the Vice President of Patient Services/Chief Nursing Officer and has held many nursing and leadership positions. A lifelong community member, Ms. Charlton began her career at Covenant (formerly St. Luke’s Hospital) in 1989 as a student nurse. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Saginaw Valley State University, as well as a Master of Science degree in Administration from Central Michigan University. Ms. Charlton serves as a member on the following Boards: Boys and Girls Clubs of the Great Lakes Bay Region, Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce, CMU Medical Education Partners, Hospital Council of East Central Michigan, MiHIA, Mobile Medical Response, Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance, the Michigan Health and Hospital Association, and the SVSU Foundation. Beth is also a member of the Michigan Organization of Nurse Executives and the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Dr. Brenda Coughlin grew up in the Great Lakes Bay Region, earned a Bachelor of Science in Physiology and a Bachelor of Arts in German from Michigan State University, a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Virginia and a Master of Public Health from the University of Michigan while serving as Great Lakes Bay Health Centers (GLBHC) Medical Director. In 2012, she became President/CEO of Great Lakes Bay Health Centers. Dr. Coughlin is passionate about providing excellent health care to anyone who seeks our services in the Great Lakes Bay Region and beyond. Her mini-mission is to create an environment where the Executive Team, Managers and Directors can be successful while enjoying a fulfilling and successful personal life. She loves to spend time with her husband, three children and two dogs.

Shane Hunt has been working in Healthcare for over three decades. He is a registered nurse since 1989, earned a BBA and most recently a Masters in Healthcare Administration from Central Michigan University. Currently working as the Chief Nursing Officer for the Ascension Northern Hospitals. Shane is the Vice Chair to the Hospital Council of East Central Michigan, a member of the Michigan Hospital Association’s Council for Small and Rural Hospitals. Previously a Board Member of the Underground Railroad for Saginaw County and past president of the Michigan Association of Air Medical Services.

Dr. Dan Kehres, DC is the owner of Kehres Health & Chiropractic which has six locations in Michigan, the first opened in Saginaw in 2010. Dr. Kehres learned the value in taking care of his body from a young age. After a football injury in high school, he was told he would never play again, or be able to walk without a limp. He learned there was a lot more to healing the body beyond surgery. With strenuous rehab, Dr. Kehres went on to play football again at Alma College and graduated with biology and chemistry degrees. Knowing the importance of treating the body as a whole, Dr. Kehres knew chiropractic was the perfect fit for him. He graduated with his Doctorate of Chiropractic from Palmer College of Chiropractic in Port Orange, Florida. In 2015, Dr. Kehres was named the first Doctor of Chiropractic added to the Saginaw Valley State Athletic Training Department. He has been the Team Chiropractor working with athletes from all sports for more than seven years. Community involvement and awards: Junior League of Great Lakes Bay - community advisory board member, Saginaw County Medical Society, Saginaw Chamber of Commerce, Michigan Association of Chiropractors, Public speaker for hundreds of community events, businesses and health seminars, RUBY Award Winner in the Great Lakes Bay 2014, Michigan Association of Chiropractors Community Champion Award 2016.

Janey J. Lamar is a native of Saginaw, Michigan, where she was appointed Magistrate of the 70th District Court. She is the first Black woman to assume this role. Janey graduated from Michigan State University and earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology. Janey later earned her Juris Doctor Degree at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. After obtaining her Juris Doctor Degree, she was admitted to practice law in Michigan and California. Prior to being appointed Magistrate, Janey managed her own law practice where she represented clients in a variety of both civil and criminal matters in Michigan's state and federal courts. She is a member of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan (WLAM) Great Lakes Bay Region. She is also a member of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Women of Color Task Force (WOC) where she collaborates with other women of color attorneys to increase the presence of women of color in the legal profession. She has been recognized by NAACP’s Saginaw Branch for contributions to others in support of social justice and equality. Janey takes great pride in being able to positively contribute to the legal profession.

Darrell joined McLaren Bay Region as President & CEO in August 2021 following a year as President & CEO at McLaren Central Michigan. Prior to joining McLaren, Lentz served as the President of Aspirus Wausau Hospital, which provides patient care in 14 counties across northern and central Wisconsin and into Michigan’s U.P. Over the course of a 25-year career in hospital and health system operations management, Lentz has worked in various parts of the country, allowing him to gain experience covering the entire continuum of healthcare in a variety of settings. These settings include small rural hospitals, critical access, faith-based, for-profit, large academic and multi-hospital health systems. Darrell holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Bentley College and a Master of Business Administration from New Hampshire College. Darrell and his wife Angela live in Bay City and have two adult daughters, Mackenzie and Grace. He enjoys hunting, golfing, and spending time with his family and their two English crème retrievers, Francesca (Frankie) who is a licensed therapy dog, and Finnigan.

Marissa Palmer is the Vice President of Nursing Services at MyMichigan Health. Palmer received her bachelor and master’s degrees in nursing between 2011-2014. In May of 2021, she earned a Doctorate of Nursing Practice from Saginaw Valley State University. She has been with MyMichigan Health for more than 16 years serving in a variety of roles including patient care as a nurse in several departments, community education, clinical quality nurse specialist, quality improvement manager, director of quality and patient safety and, most recently, director of trauma and critical/progressive care. The scope of Palmer’s new role is one she’s eager to embrace. “I am looking forward to advancing my nursing practice at MyMichigan by being an active participant in our organizational growth toward generational sustainability,” she said. “This is an exciting time to be in health care, and I am grateful to be given the opportunity to lead nursing in a time of transition while having the foundational advantage of a strong, shared-governance culture.” When not at work, Palmer enjoys spending time with husband, Kal, daughters Rylin and Leighton, and their fur family members, Winnie, Clove and Betty. Many hours are currently spent at their children’s sporting events. They also have fun camping and spending quality time with family and their tightknit friend group.

Dr. Delicia Pruitt is the wife of 26 years to Brian Pruitt. She has 4 children: Brianna, Destiny, Brian, and Diamond. One of her life’s joy is her family. She enjoys being a wife and mother. In addition, she has been practicing medicine for 19 years as a Family Medicine Physician. Her current job is the Medical Director of the Saginaw County Public Health Department where is gives medical guidance to the residents and medical professionals of Saginaw County. Her former job was Program Director at Central Michigan Medical Educational Partners in Saginaw, MI. In this position as the lead educator, she led the training of medical residents and students. Dr. Pruitt has led an active role in her church with running youth ministries with her husband. She is an educator to both the public and medical profession about health, wellness, family values and multiculturalism. She has spoken at Dr. Delicia Pruitt is the wife of 26 years to Brian Pruitt. She has 4 children: Brianna, Destiny, Brian, and Diamond. One of her life’s joy is her family. She enjoys being a wife and mother. In addition, she has been practicing medicine for 19 years as a Family Medicine Physician. Her current job is the Medical Director of the Saginaw County Public Health Department where is gives medical guidance to the residents and medical professionals of Saginaw County. Her former job was Program Director at Central Michigan Medical Educational Partners in Saginaw, MI. In this position as the lead educator, she led the training of medical residents and students. Dr. Pruitt has led an active role in her church with running youth ministries with her husband. She is an educator to both the public and medical profession about health, wellness, family values and multiculturalism. She has spoken at many conventions, conferences, and churches over the past 30 years. Her goal is to positively impact the people in the State of Michigan for the improvement of families, health, and wellness.

Beth Roszatycki is the Michigan Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Regional Director for the Lake Huron Region, hosted by the Scott L. Carmona College of Business at SVSU. The SBDC is an iconic champion for entrepreneurs within the region while identifying new programs and services to meet the ever-changing needs of the entrepreneurial community. The SBDC provides consulting, training, market research and technology commercialization services to assist small business to launch, grow, transition, and innovate. Prior to her role with the SBDC, Roszatycki was the Chief Executive Officer of Michigan Health Information Alliance Inc. (MiHIA) from 2014 through 2020. MiHIA is a multi-stakeholder, 501(c)(3) nonprofit community collaboration, established in 2007, working to achieve a community of health excellence. MiHIA’s mission is fulfilled by focusing on the Triple Aim – population health, patient experience, and cost of care. Roszatycki, during the last three years of her tenure with MiHIA spent much of her time focused on the THRIVE (Transforming Health In a Vibrant Economy). THRIVE is a co-led, collaborative effort fueled by the recognition that our population’s health and a robust economy are intertwined. Roszatycki joined MiHIA from Bay Arenac Behavioral Health where she served as the Administrative Services Supervisor. During her tenure at Bay Arenac Behavioral Health, she led a variety of performance improvement projects, provided management and oversight of agency accreditations, developed and implemented network policy and procedures, completed compliance reviews, worked extensively with providers through the contract development process, and co-led the through an electronic health record implementation. Prior to her role with Bay Arenac Behavioral Health Roszatycki was the Director of Clinic Services for a behavioral health care provider in central and southeast Michigan. While there she took an active role in program development, as well as the on-going oversight of 6 clinical programs serving over 3,000 individuals throughout Genesee, Macomb and Oakland County. Ms. Roszatycki earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Merchandise Management/Retailing from Michigan State University and Master of Business Administration degree from Saginaw Valley State University. She is a life-long resident of the Great Lakes Bay Region and in her free time enjoys spending time with family and friends, attending Michigan State and Detroit sporting events, and traveling.

Samuel Shaheen is the President and Chief Executive Officer for Central Michigan University Medical Education Partners. He oversees Graduate Medical Education and leads the partnership between Central Michigan University and Saginaw’s two major hospital systems – Covenant and Ascension. Most recently, he served as Professor of Surgery and Chair of Surgical Disciplines for CMU College of Medicine. Prior to joining CMU, Dr. Shaheen was founder and president of Midwestern Surgical Associates, a 10-surgeon group that provided multi-specialty surgical care throughout the region. This organization became the CMU College of Medicine Surgical Department in 2013. In addition to teaching and practicing medicine, Dr. Shaheen is devoted to community development and support of the arts in the Great Lakes Bay region. His community leadership roles include founding member of the Temple Theatre Foundation; he helped establish the Mid-Michigan Children’s Museum; and is one of two founding directors of the Saginaw Art Museum. He has served on numerous boards and is currently on the Great Lakes Region Advisory Board of Huntington National Bank, Council of Michigan Foundations Impact Investing Committee, Steering Team for Transforming Health Regionally in a Vibrant Economy (THRIVE), Albion College Board of Trustees, and is a past chair of Covenant Healthcare Mackinaw Surgery Center. Dr. Shaheen is a 1988 graduate of Albion College, earned his Doctor of Medicine from the University of Michigan in 1992 and completed his surgical training at Northwestern University in 1997 before returning to his hometown of Saginaw. He received a Doctorate of Humane Letters from Albion College in May of 2018. He is married to Holly, and they have four children.

Joel Strasz is the Health Officer with the Bay County Health Department. He has served in this capacity since 2013 and prior to being appointed was the Public Health Services Manager since 2005. He has over twenty years’ experience in public health, including extensive work in community organization, data analysis and evaluation, environmental health issues and public health operations. He previously served as a Board member for the Bay County American Red Cross, the Crossroads Center for Recovery and is a current Board member of the Bay County Habitat for Humanity. He holds a BA from Michigan State University and an MPA from the University of Michigan-Flint.

Gretchen Wagner is the Director of Early Childhood Education at Bay-Arenac ISD, responsible for the direction of programs and services for families and young children in general and special education. Her administrative work over the last eleven years, is rooted in being a leader dedicated to creating inclusive, engaging, united environments for individuals and the community. Prior to administration, Gretchen served as a speech-language pathologist in the school system for eight years. Working at the Bay-Arenac ISD, Gretchen has led BAISD Early Intervention implementation of several research-based practices. She has supported and implemented professional learning for both general education and special education teachers in the areas of early literacy instruction, positive behavior supports, adverse childhood experiences, and inclusion. Additionally, she has presented to the Michigan Board of Education on the Great Start Readiness Preschool programs in Bay and Arenac Counties. Gretchen collaborates with education, business, non-profit, and government partners to form strong community relationships in order to strengthen systems that serve families and young children. Her visionary counsel has earned her the reputation of a hands-on problem solver with the various committees and boards at the local and the state level she serves. At the state level, Gretchen has worked on the Michigan Poverty Task Force to develop recommendations for the annual report; she participated in the review and revision of the Early Childhood Standards of Quality with the Michigan Department of Education Office of Great Start; and is an ACE Master Trainer with the Michigan Ace Initiative. Locally, Gretchen is actively involved in board governance for the Bay-Arenac Diaper Bank, Arenac County Multi-Purpose Collaborative Body, Bay County Human Service Collaborative Committee, 211 Northeast Michigan, YWCA Great Lakes Bay Region, Messiah Lutheran Church, and the Bay Arenac Trauma Informed Community Taskforce. She is an active member in the Bay City Morning Rotary and volunteers regularly with the United Way of Bay County. Earning her Bachelor of Arts from Michigan State University in 2001, Gretchen continued her education to earn her Master of Science degree from Loyola College in 2003. In 2017, she earned the status of Education Specialist from Saginaw Valley State University. Currently, she resides in Essexville with her husband and son. She enjoys spending the summer at their cabin and the fall in East Lansing watching football!

Stacey Webster is an occupational therapist with 12 years of experience working across the continuum of care including acute care, sub-acute rehabilitation, skilled nursing, and home healthcare. She obtained her Master of Science degree in Occupational Therapy from Saginaw Valley State University and her Post-Professional Doctorate in Occupational Therapy from Chatham University. Her clinical expertise involves working with the geriatric population including implementation of evidence-based programs for dementia staging, Parkinson’s Disease, incontinence, and fall prevention. Her passion is promotion of successful aging in place. Stacey has presented and published on topics including falls efficacy, interdisciplinary care in home health, LSVT BIG treatment, mindful leadership, animal-assisted therapy, fine motor centers, and chronic fatigue syndrome. She currently works as a clinical instructor and assistant research advisor in the occupational therapy program at SVSU and as an adjunct professor at Chatham University.