Transforming Lives: How Dr. Andy Mendenhall’s Leadership is Redefining Community Healthcare
Dr. Andy Mendenhall is President and CEO at Central City Concern, a community-based non-profit dedicated to providing low-income people experiencing or at risk of homelessness with affordable and supportive housing, person-centered health care, addiction recovery, and employment assistance. There are formidable challenges facing Andy and his team, but his leadership is rooted in the belief that all people can and should be healthy, and it is his privilege and mission to support this goal.
Andy’s conversation with Suzanne covers his journey from working as a practicing physician to the highest levels of leadership at a large and complex organization; the work being done at Central City Concern, which directly addresses the many systemic and cultural challenges Portland is facing; his empowering vision for the future; and his strategic use of data, advocacy, and education to build a plan to reach that vision. We also discuss Andy’s personal beliefs and values, and how he operationalizes these values through his work.
Suzanne and I met Andy last year when he contributed to a panel discussion on the future of healthcare we coordinated at a Public Health conference. I was so moved by Andy’s words regarding courage and his mission at CCC that I asked him to be a guest on our podcast, which, at the time, had not yet launched. It is a tremendous honor to be sharing this conversation with our audience, as I believe Andy is the type of leader we can all learn so much from. The passion and heart he brings to his work inform, inspire, and ignite. Enjoy!
Andy’s Bio
Dr. Mendenhall is currently the President and CEO of Central City Concern, where he oversees all aspects of this multi-faceted CBO dedicated to helping people end or avoid homelessness and build healthy, housed, resilient, and engaged lives. Andy joined CCC in 2017 as Senior Medical Director for Substance Use Disorder Services (SUDS) and became Chief Medical Officer (CMO) in 2018. During his tenure, Andy has elevated and diversified CCC’s service level to offer a broad array of evidence-based practices to match client needs. As CMO, Andy brought oversight and responsibility for the agency’s medical and clinical services, provided leadership to staff, helped set the agency’s strategic direction, promoted ethical and quality care, and led CCC through the COVID-19 pandemic. He became President and CEO in July 2022. Andy is Board Certified in Addiction Medicine and Family Medicine. He graduated from the University of Portland and trained as a medical student and resident family physician at OHSU. He worked at Providence Health Systems and CleanSlate Centers, and co-founded an outpatient integrated treatment program called HealthWorks NW, which was acquired by Hazelden Betty Ford in 2012. Andy’s heart has always been anchored in service work to the most vulnerable and simultaneously resilient members of the Portland metropolitan region.
Dr. Mendenhall’s perspective and approach are largely shaped by his organization’s commitment to supporting community members who are un-housed, and the array of challenges they are facing. Access to healthcare, mental health, affordable and available housing, and addiction are barriers to wellness he and his team battle, and he is passionate about finding creative and impactful ways to confront and eliminate them. Andy believes collaboration and community can serve as a powerful antidote to the isolation of addiction and mental illness.