Primary Care Coalition today announced the appointment of Annice Cody as its next President and Chief Executive Officer.

“The Primary Care Coalition Board is delighted that we have been able to attract a leader of Annice Cody’s caliber and record of accomplishment to PCC. She is well known and highly respected throughout Montgomery County and the State and will lead PCC to even greater heights in these challenging times,” said PCC Board Chair Kevin Sexton. The Board selected Ms. Cody from over 300 high quality applicants to lead the organization and its outstanding staff and executive team in its important work in improving community health and preserving health care access for our most vulnerable neighbors.

“I am inspired by PCC’s mission to create lasting health improvements for vulnerable populations and its commitment to expanding its reach and strengthening its core. As CEO, I will bring my strategic orientation, collaborative spirit, and operational expertise to lead PCC in achieving its vision, amplifying its role as a backbone organization in our community, and ensuring improved health outcomes for the communities it serves,” states Cody. “I am excited for the opportunity to collaborate with the Staff, Board, and community partners to advance the essential work of Primary Care Coalition going forward.”

Annice Cody is an innovative and dynamic leader with more than 25 years of experience in local, regional, and national healthcare. She is an experienced health care executive with a strong record of improving community health and well-being. As President at Holy Cross Health Network in Montgomery County, she has led transformative investments to improve healthcare delivery in Montgomery County and in Maryland. She brings a strong community orientation and extensive experience in developing successful partnerships in Montgomery County and beyond.

Annice Cody’s appointment as President and Chief Executive Officer will begin on April 30, 2025.

Leslie Graham, who has led PCC so well and accomplished so much for our community as CEO, will continue to serve until then and will work with Annice in the weeks after to ensure an excellent transition.
 
About The Primary Care Coalition
The Primary Care Coalition (PCC) makes health happen for vulnerable children, adults and families. PCC is a backbone organization, building collaboration among health care providers, social service organizations, anchor institutions, and local and state government. PCC implements unique multi- partner programs that ensure high quality health care and related services for individuals, while advancing solutions to complex health care challenges and fostering systems change for long-term impact.

The mission is to improve the health of vulnerable individuals and families by building partnerships and strengthening systems.

Media Contact: Stephanie Narayanan
Email:  [email protected]

​We're thrilled to invite you to experience the unforgettable moments from the Primary Care Coalition's 2024 Storytelling Show, Best-Kept Secrets! If you couldn’t join us live on November 7th, now is your chance to unwind and immerse yourself in six captivating stories shared by our dedicated PCC staff and partners. At PCC, we believe in the importance of authentic connections and the strength that comes from our collective experiences, and this is a perfect opportunity to embrace those values. 
 
This year's stories showcased the dynamic interplay of personal experiences and professional insights audience members have come to expect. PCC’s Chief Operating Officer Hillery Tsumba explored what her own self-identity has taught her about navigating complex truths, while Councilmember Gabe Albornoz shared a formative experience connecting a community member at risk. Edwin Rich countered the isolation of his illness with a dedication to service, co-founding the Tree of Hope Association. Haseeb Shinwary journeyed full circle from his professional life in Afghanistan to his resettlement in the US and his current role as Workforce Navigator Manager at PCC. Nora Morales, program director at Identity, found resilience in helping hands and her own cultural heritage. Dr. Cesar Palacios is never far from his Guatemalan roots as Executive Director of Proyecto Salud clinic, but love led him toward a life he never imagined.
 
For those who missed these stories live—or who just want to hear them again—they are available online. Join us in celebrating the transformative work we do together and in writing a brighter future for all. 

It is, once again, a tough budget year, and we do not expect sweeping new initiatives out of the state legislature this year. But there are important opportunities for forward movement we’re watching, including:
 
HB 665/SB 328 Maryland Medical Assistance Program and Health Insurance – Annual Behavioral Health Wellness Visits – Coverage and Reimbursement
 
What it does: Requires public and private insurers to reimburse providers for annual behavioral health wellness assessments.
 
Why it matters: Montgomery Cares and Care for Kids are not health insurance, and they are local rather than State-level programs, Yet both Montgomery Cares and Care for Kids programs already incorporate behavioral health screenings into primary care and provide reimbursement or infrastructure to ensure these services are available to patients. PCC strongly believes access to behavioral health within primary care should be available to Maryland Medicaid and privately-insured beneficiaries as well. Behavioral health assessments identify patients who may need behavioral health support. Identifying needs is a critical step in connecting people with care. Ideally, providers will also be set up to introduce patients with identified needs to on-site behavioral health staff. In FY23, 70% of MCares primary care visits included a documented depression screening. Within the six clinics served by the Montgomery Cares Behavioral Health Program—some partner clinics have their own behavioral health care programs—9.2% of primary care patients received behavioral health services in FY23.

 
SB 367 Maryland Medical Assistance Program – Supportive Housing and Health Services
 
What it does: Directs the Maryland Department of Health to establish Medicaid coverage for housing and/or supporting services for Medicaid recipients who demonstrate need, including those with somatic and/or behavioral health-related challenges to maintaining stable housing.
 
Why it matters: To quote the legislation directly, “living without stable housing can drastically worsen an individual’s health, exacerbate mental illness, make ending substance abuse difficult, and prevent chronic physical health conditions from being addressed.” Medicaid reimbursement of these supports adds another tool to address the intersection of health and housing needs. Recent Joint Commission requirements for hospitals to screen inpatients for social needs could provide an additional opportunity to identify patients who would benefit from these services.

 
HB 553/SB 94 Maryland Medical Assistance Program – Self-Measured Blood Pressure Monitoring

What it does: Covers the cost of home blood pressure monitors for patients with select conditions, patient education around blood pressure measurement, and provider time to receive and review results. Also requires a utilization and impact report after one year of implementation.
 
Why it matters: Proposed legislation expands Maryland Medicaid coverage for remote monitoring from those with “uncontrolled high blood pressure” per 2022 legislation to a list of conditions including diabetes and pregnancy. The expansion could be an important tool for health equity, including maternal health equity. A study of national death certificate data from 2016-2017 identified “the causes of death that contributed the most to the non-Hispanic Black‒non-Hispanic White maternal mortality disparity.”  Eclampsia and preeclampsia were at the top of the list. In Maryland, the average percent of Black women covered by Medicaid at delivery (53.4%) was more than twice the average for white women (20.2%) between 2021 and 2023, based on National Center for Health Statistics data via March of Dimes.  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
HB 417 Public Health – Commission on Universal Health Care
 
What it does: Establish a commission representing a broad range of interests to explore models for universal health care coverage and project potential costs to the State.
 
Why it matters: Universal health care coverage will not be cheap, but governments and communities incur significant costs when residents are unable to seek early and appropriate health care. Considering potential coverage options and their trade-offs is an important step in the process toward designing a more equitable care system in our state. Montgomery County and Primary Care Coalition have, for decades, worked to achieve universal health care for Montgomery County residents. Through building capacity in the community, this County has a strong network of safety-net health centers that serve residents struggling to afford or access health care. The Montgomery Cares and Care for Kids programs are proud partners in this work. We applaud the exploration of models to bring health care access to all State residents.

 
HB 345/SB 174 Interstate Social Work Licensure Compact
 
What it does: Allow Maryland to participate in a multistate licensure agreement for clinical social workers with a master’s-level education.
 
Why it matters: There are not enough behavioral health practitioners to meet the needs for behavioral health services in the state. The proposed legislation would simplify licensure for individuals to practice in multiple states, potentially improving access to behavioral health services in Maryland.

 
HB 869/SB 372 Preserve Telehealth Access Act of 2025
What it does: Continues required reimbursements for telehealth visit coverage, including audio-only visits, currently set to expire June 30, 2025.
 
Why it matters: Telehealth is an important option to ensure healthcare access, and it may be particularly useful for people with transit, childcare, and job challenges that make regular in-person visits challenging. Including coverage of audio-only visits helps ensure telehealth is accessible to a broad patient population that may have irregular or insufficient access to video calls. While there has been a substantial decline in MCares telehealth visits over the last few years, there were still 2,547 telehealth encounters in FY24 (3.6% of total).                  

Tabitha Gingerich is the Primary Care Coalition’s (PCC) Clinical Lead for Specialty Care Programs, working through Project Access to ensure vulnerable adults in the community get the healthcare they need. She also coordinates with the Montgomery Cares health centers, working to get the generic medicines their patients need for chronic conditions like diabetes, heart conditions, and thyroid issues, as well as for infections and shorter-term treatments.  

Gingerich joined PCC three years ago but has lived in the area for about ten years. She grew up in Northeastern Ohio, then went to college and worked in Harrisburg, Virginia, and the Shenandoah Valley region. She migrated to Washington, D.C., when she met her husband, Keith. She is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) with a master’s in nursing. Her first job when she arrived in this area was as a nurse at Joseph’s House, a small nonprofit medical respite care facility for people living with HIV and end-stage cancers.  

What Gingerich appreciates most about her current position at PCC is the relationship-building supporting patient care. While she is not currently providing direct care, she provides second-line support to the direct caregivers at the primary and specialty care offices. She values and enjoys this collaboration to provide access to quality care for vulnerable persons in the community. Last year, she even took on additional responsibilities, handling the vacant director duties until the position was filled in December. Gingerich was recently awarded the Mary C. Jackson Award for her outstanding work. 

“The collaboration and connection with our partners is extremely satisfying,” said Gingerich. “I work with the Montgomery Cares health centers that provide direct care to our patients. I help them get coordinated and scheduled with the medical professionals who can provide the specialty care they need. What I love the most about my work is relationship-building with partners in the community. How we brainstorm and resolve complex cases, how we determine if we have the resources, and where we send someone for care are important decisions. Resolving healthcare issues for our neediest patients informs us for the next person who comes along, and it is helping PCC to build a better healthcare network.”  

Tabitha Gingerich’s interest, compassion, and care for Spanish speakers comes from her father, who taught Spanish at her high school in Ohio. She was in her dad’s class in the 9th and 10th grades. As a young child, her parents took their family on a four-week trip to Bolivia to volunteer in a children’s home. This experience provided relationships, names, faces, sights, sounds, and flavors that, at a young age, helped to shape her appreciation of other cultures.   

When not at work, Gingerich is busy at home. She and her husband purchased a house in Hyattsville two years ago. Gingerich says her happy place is her back-screened porch, where she enjoys birdwatching and hosting friends for homemade pizza parties in nice weather. She’s perfected a technique for making her pizza crust using 00 flour, a preheated cast iron skillet, parchment paper to transfer the crust, and the old oven that came with the house. She is also planting native perennials on the property as the weather allows. A new gallery wall she’s created now includes seven pieces of art reflecting her interest in birds. In November, Gingerich and her husband became foster parents for the first time, an arrangement that lasted a few weeks. The couple is looking forward to doing more of that. ​

“I love my work and what we do at PCC,” said Gingerich. “Although I wish healthcare were available and accessible to everyone, I’m grateful that the community is invested in serving those in need. This is one small way to counter the injustices. I am honored and grateful to be a part of our work together.” 

[Silver Spring, MD] – The Primary Care Coalition (PCC), is a leading nonprofit deeply committed to improving health in Montgomery County with special focus on those who are uninsured, face cultural or linguistic challenges to accessing healthcare, or experience racism and other social factors that lead to health inequities. PCC is committed to improving processes for the direct health care and social service providers serving these populations. PCC is excited to announce the commencement of a comprehensive search for a new President/CEO to steer the organization's vision and mission into the future.

The Board has approved a Search/Transition Workgroup to conduct this search which will be chaired by Kevin Sexton, Board Chair.
Outgoing President and CEO Leslie Graham said, “Leading Primary Care Coalition has been the greatest opportunity of my life. I could not have dreamt of a more fitting professional outlet for my personal passions. I am grateful for our board’s trust, guidance, and encouragement, which have enabled my growth and the growth of our organization. Primary Care Coalition is a special place—where dedicated professionals lead with our hearts to improve healthcare and health outcomes for our community.”

Board Chair Kevin Sexton stated, “PCC has been blessed by a clear mission and great leaders over its lifetime, most recently by the extraordinary leadership of Leslie Graham. The Workgroup is hard at work to build on this record by finding our next great leader.”

“Our board has seen the impressive work that has been done by The Primary Care Coalition, and we look forward to building upon PCC’s successes as we identify the next leader of our organization to lead us into a new chapter and make an even greater impact on improving health in our community, especially among our most at-risk populations,” stated Sexton.

The incoming CEO will be tasked with providing leadership, vision, and direction to ensure that Primary Care Coalition remains at the forefront of making health happen for vulnerable children, adults and families. This role presents an exciting opportunity for a visionary leader to shape the future of PCC.

The ideal candidate for this position will possess a strong background in community or population health, with nonprofit experience, exceptional leadership and management skills, a deep understanding of the value of community partnerships for improving health outcomes, and a commitment to economically disadvantaged residents of Montgomery County, Maryland and the State.

Primary Care Coalition has engaged with HR Strategy Group, LLC to conduct a search for candidates who are aligned with PCC’s values and mission. Interested individuals are invited to apply immediately. For more information about the President and CEO position and to apply, please visit Primary Care Coalition - President & CEO Job Announcement.

About The Primary Care Coalition The Primary Care Coalition (PCC) makes health happen for vulnerable children, adults and families. PCC is a backbone organization, building collaboration among health care providers, social service organizations, anchor institutions, and local and state government. PCC implements unique multi-partner programs that ensure high quality health care and related services for individuals, while advancing solutions to complex health care challenges and fostering systems change for long-term impact.

The mission is to improve the health of vulnerable individuals and families by building partnerships and strengthening systems.

UPDATE: PCC has closed applications for this role.

Our mission has not changed.
 
That was our first and most important strategic decision. Improving the health of vulnerable individuals and families by building partnerships and strengthening systems remains our mission.
 
The task of strategic planning is to answer a core question: How do we succeed in that mission, given the current environment?                                                  
 
It was a particularly difficult to answer this planning cycle because our operating environment is changing rapidly, possibly even existentially. A combination of structural and political changes are—or are likely to—impact our longest-running programs that provide healthcare access to uninsured adults and children in Montgomery County. Meanwhile, a broader focus on achieving equitable program outcomes and addressing social determinants of health has opened new opportunities for health-related work while increasing the complexity of program design, operation, and measurement.
 
That context led to decision 2: extending our planning cycle. Instead of having a new strategic plan adopted for the beginning of FY25, this plan begins with calendar year 2025 and runs for 3.5 years, until FY29. As with our FY21-FY24 operating plan, PCC’s senior team will operationalize this document by translating the board-approved strategic priorities into annual operating plans with SMART objectives.
 
Also in keeping with our prior strategic plan, this one outlines three main goal areas necessary for PCC and our partners to create durable, effective structures that provide value in our communities. To balance brevity with specificity, each new goal also includes critical elements that clarify areas of intent and directions for focus. 
 
It builds on our mission foundation to build a blueprint for impact that considers optimal internal framing to support a growing organization, the floorplan that partners and service beneficiaries experience as they interact with our programs, and the exterior appearance that informs community identity.
 
What are we building from this 3.5-year blueprint?
 

• An organization with the adaptive strength to pursue its mission in a rapidly changing world.
• Systems that work for the people within them, from service providers to end users or clients or patients
• Statewide solutions that build on thirty years of local lessons and collaborative process

 
Holding to the construction metaphor just a little while longer brings us back to what we are really trying to build. Whether tidy cottage or grand mansion, the building is only an output. The point of these plans is not (just) to create a measurable structure; it is to serve a purpose.
 
The architectural vision of our strategic plan is to create an environment that supports our best lives. One where the rooms function in a ways that meets people’s needs and the layout is not a navigational challenge but an intuitive delight. Where all the many skilled trades have together built something greater than the sum of its parts. Where our human vulnerabilities are answered by thoughtful solutions. Where residents feel comfortable throughout their life journeys and always empowered to thrive.

Click here to read PCC's 2025-2028 Strategic Plan.