Cortica Adds Two Proven Industry Leaders To Drive Nationwide Growth and Value-Based Care
February 3, 2022
Kari O’Rourke, COO Landmark Health, and Margaret Kelly, SVP UnitedHealth Group, to join Cortica
SAN DIEGO, CA—(PRNewswire)—Cortica Inc. (“Cortica”), a high-growth, technology-enabled healthcare company, announced today the appointment of two new executives to bring Cortica’s “whole-child” medical and behavioral care model to more families across the country. Kari O’Rourke, MSN, NP-C joins Cortica as Chief Operating Officer, and Margaret Kelly joins as Chief Growth Officer. These leadership appointments come during a period of rapid expansion for the autism and neurodevelopment company. Propelled by a Series C investment last year, Cortica opened new locations in California, Texas, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York, with additional states planned throughout this year.
As Chief Operating Officer, O’Rourke will scale Cortica’s operations nationally, while continuing its focus on clinical excellence and a culture of learning and empowerment. O’Rourke most recently served as COO at Landmark Health, where she oversaw the country’s leading home-based care program for medically complex patients to reduce unnecessary ED and hospital admissions. She oversaw a team of 1,900 clinicians and operators while scaling the business from 5 to 18 states. O’Rourke has additional experience driving nationwide expansion as a senior leader at CVS Health, where she opened over 300 MinuteClinic centers across the Midwest. She started her career as a NICU nurse.
“I’m excited that Cortica’s model mirrors what we built at Landmark – integrated, tech-enabled care for a population with multi-system needs, to provide the highest quality outcomes, member satisfaction, and payer savings,” said O’Rourke. “Alongside the Cortica team, I’m excited to streamline the autism care journey for both providers and patients, bringing life-changing care to the neurodiverse community.”
As Chief Growth Officer, Kelly will oversee Cortica’s partnerships with payers, academic medical centers, employers, and government sponsors. Kelly most recently served as Senior Vice President at UnitedHealthcare, where she oversaw the growth and retention of the government, education, and labor market businesses, representing over 260,000 members. She was previously SVP at Optum, where she had national account leadership and growth responsibilities. As a United executive, she partnered with local county health departments and food banks to help the vulnerable and underserved.
“I look forward to building win-win partnerships between Cortica and the payer community,” said Kelly. “I’ve seen firsthand how Cortica’s whole-child model solves pain points of coordination, quality, and cost for payers and employers, and I’m thrilled to be providing more access to these services for families around the country.”
Neil Hattangadi, M.D., co-founder and CEO of Cortica, added, “Kari and Margaret are forces of nature, who care deeply about applying their skills and experiences to bring goodness to the world. I’m honored to have their talents in service of the neurodiverse community.”
About Cortica Inc.
We’re on a mission to revolutionize healthcare for children with autism and other neurodevelopmental differences. Cortica was founded to fix the fragmented journey families typically navigate while seeking diagnoses and therapies for their children. To bring our vision to life, we seamlessly blend neurology, research-based therapies, and technology into comprehensive care programs for the children we serve. Our coordinated approach leads to best-in-class member satisfaction and empowers families to achieve long-lasting, transformative results. For more information, please visit www.corticacare.com.