Heatherington, Mullins named COMP-Northwest inaugural commencement keynote speakers
Two staunch supporters of the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest (COMP-Northwest) – Jeff Heatherington and Dr. Larry Mullins – have been tapped as keynote speakers for its inaugural commencement ceremony on June 5, 2015.
Heatherington is founder, president and CEO of FamilyCare Health Plans, Oregon’s oldest Medicaid managed care plan. Mullins, DHA, FACHE, is president and CEO of Samaritan Health Services Inc., an integrated health care system of hospitals, physicians, clinics, health plans and other health operations in Oregon.
Heatherington founded FamilyCare, which is an osteopathic HMO that focuses on Medicaid and Medicare programs, in 1985. His history with COMP dates to its founding in 1977. While serving as director of Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons of Oregon, Heatherington helped bring together WesternU and Samaritan Health Services to build COMP-Northwest.
In July 2012, FamilyCare gave $2 million to COMP-Northwest for scholarships supporting osteopathic medical students interested in primary care.
Heatherington is also a member of the COMP-Northwest Advancement Board, and was awarded an honorary doctorate from WesternU in 2007.
Mullins helped establish the vision responsible for the success of WesternU COMP-Northwest. Through Samaritan Health Services, he built the medical school through a partnership with WesternU, on an area called the Samaritan Health Sciences Campus.
Mullins has achieved special designation of Diplomate in Healthcare Administration in the American Academy of Medical Administration. He is a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives, and serves as regent and chapter president for the state of Oregon. He also is a past chair of the Oregon Association of Hospitals & Healthcare Systems and of the Health Systems Governance Council of the American Hospital Association.
Mullins is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, having served as an infantryman in South Vietnam with the 26th Marine Regiment and the 1st Marine Division.
COMP-Northwest’s inaugural commencement is a historic event. Ninety-eight students from the charter class are graduating from WesternU’s Oregon campus, with two more from COMP in Pomona walking with those graduates, for a total of 100.
Commencement is set for 11 a.m. June 5 on the COMP-Northwest campus, 200 Mullins Drive, Lebanon, Oregon.
Click here for more information.
