Rye Resident Named Chair of Community Health Group Open Door Foundation
(PHOTO: Newly appointed Board Chair Jamie Jensen with Open Door President & CEO Lindsay Farrell at last year’s Tune In benefit. Credit: Lynda Shenkman.)
The Open Door Foundation announced the appointment of Rye resident Jamie Jensen to Chair of its Board of Directors.
Jensen has long worked in the nonprofit sector as the principal of Jamie Jensen Consulting and as a former executive for the Rockefeller Foundation. She joined the Open Door Foundation Board in 2016 and has held roles as Board Secretary and event co-chair.
“Aside from being a brilliant strategic thinker, Jamie knows how the Open Door operates in the wider health care landscape,” said Lindsay Farrell, President and CEO of Open Door. “Her understanding of our community’s diversity and the issues confronting our under-served populations will enrich the work of the Open Door and propel us in the greater Community Health Center movement.”
The Open Door Foundation promotes community health through the philanthropic support of the Open Door Family Medical Center and other initiatives designed to enhance the health and wellness of over 60,000 patients throughout Westchester, Putnam and Ulster Counties.
“Open Door is an essential community organization that is part of a much larger network that addresses health inequities head-on,” said Jensen. “As a policy wonk and a systems junkie, I like to see things change at the systems level.”
Jensen was raised on Long Island and lived in Manhattan for many years until moving to Rye in 2010. She is a graduate of Wellesley College with a master’s degree in Curriculum Studies from the University of Michigan.
Through her work with the Foundation Board, Jensen has volunteered for its Baby Bundle program, a free, educational prenatal program that provides Open Door patients with essential newborn items, as well as the support needed to give their babies a healthy and safe start in life; the Open Door Reach Out and Read program that introduces the importance of reading to young children; and its Mobile Food Pantry, which provides food and nutritional support for low-income families.
“If you want a person to live a healthy life, you need to have a ‘whole person’ mindset. This means having access to primary medical, dental, and behavioral health care, as well as nutrition education, access to affordable, healthy food, exercise classes, and other programs that address all of the factors impacting a person’s wellness,” said Jensen.
An active member of her local community, Jensen is the founder of both the Rye Town Park Alliance, which protects and supports a historically landmarked public park and beach on Long Island Sound; and Healing Arts Collective, which offers a multi-dimensional approach to wellness by connecting professionals in the healing fields with local residents seeking optimal health. She has also worked as a reporter for the Rye Record, covering local government and areas of community interest.
Open Door depends on private funding to support some of it most critical services – Patient Advocacy, Wellness, and Behavioral Health Care Integration. These programs require more than $2 million annually to operate, but are not covered by third-party reimbursements or government grants. The Open Door Foundation provides critical philanthropic support to fill these financial gaps – investing less than 4% of its annual health center budget to support 70% of its patients with health and cost-saving interventions and remedies.
