Woman Led Organization
NinePatch is a woman led organization. A leader in healthcare information technology and building successful companies, Leigh Sterling-Gooden joined the company as President and CEO in August of 2021.
About Leigh-Sterling Gooden MA, CHC
Since joining NinePatch, Leigh has driven development and innovation to advance and expand offerings that include Whole Person Care, RIE™, and Community Convener Services. She is a changemaker who keeps a watchful eye on today’s health and technology landscape with the future in mind.
Her approach to leadership includes the following:
- Collaborating with healthcare leaders worldwide to advance interoperability, patient, client, and social care
- Championing sustainable community-led initiatives that translate statewide and beyond
- Identifying and acting upon trends that impact healthcare delivery and social good
- Strengthening collaborative relationships between disparate organizations
- Building organizational teams that foster equality for race, gender, disability, and LBGTQI
- Supporting women leaders through mentorship activities
And, working tirelessly to change health and social care ecosystems so that no one has to say or hear . . .
We Should Have Caught This
Watch Leigh’s personal story featured in the documentary No Matter Where. This excerpt from the documentary tells the story of the challenges families and patients experience while managing health concerns and attempting to gain access to their medical records.
“You hear a word coming out of a physician’s mouth and suddenly time stops because your head is wrapping around that single word. And I stopped him, and I said, are you telling me that he has cancer?”
“We took the scans back to the surgical oncologist to show him. He looked very startled, and he said, I thought she was doing all the bloodwork.”
“And I said yes, I understand that now. But again, she thought you were doing it. He shook his head, and he said we should have caught this.”
A Legacy of Women Leadership
Prior to joining NinePatch, Sterling-Gooden served as the CEO and Executive Director for the East Tennessee Health Information Network (etHIN). She led the organization from the startup stage of the Tennessee Regional Health Information Organization RHIO to the HIE. The result was transformative community change that improved care coordination, patient safety, and patient outcomes.
A commitment to build financial sustainability and create mutually beneficial partnerships has resulted in Sterling-Gooden being recognized as a socially responsible and authentic leader. During her career, she has successfully built woman led organizations and held C-level or senior positions in banking, finance, and higher.
The breadth and depth of her background includes information technology, information security frameworks, risk management, regulatory audit and compliance, financial management, strategic planning, and human resources development.
Sterling-Gooden holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees in organizational and Interpersonal Communications from the University of Tennessee and Bowling Green State University in Ohio and is a Certified Wellness Coach. She resides in Knoxville, TN.
In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and Molly the springer doodle. She maintains connections to her Scottish heritage by attending Scottish festivals and games locally and throughout the United States.