00:00:00:05 - 00:00:11:06
Timothy Zercher: All right. Well, Jamie, thank you so much for joining us. Taking time out of what I'm sure is a very, very busy schedule between work and your book. First, I wanted to start off with asking what got you into the behavioral health space.

00:00:11:08 - 00:00:45:09
Jaime Vinck: Well, thank you for having me join you this morning. I'm a licensed professional counselor by training and spent my first ten years of my career at Chrysler in Detroit, where I'm from, in human resources. Everyone would always tease me about how I was always looking for the why behind people's behaviors. After working there and getting a master's in labor relations, I knew if I had the opportunity, I would become a therapist to really dig into why people make the decisions they do.

00:00:45:11 - 00:00:57:01
Jaime Vinck: I returned to graduate school and then got on the trajectory of addiction treatment, really when it was just booming in the early 2000s.

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Timothy Zercher: Wow. That's awesome. Sounds like you were a clinician before you were a clinician as well.

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Jaime Vinck: I think I was born a clinician, yes.

00:01:05:23 - 00:01:27:01
Timothy Zercher: That's cool. I'm sure it made you very good at your job as HR. Next question: You've led organizations through many different moments of major growth and also major transition. What's a leadership decision that you've made that kind of quietly changed things for your team?

00:01:27:03 - 00:02:01:26
Jaime Vinck: Absolutely. There's two answers. First is to honor and dig into co-occurring disorders. Previously, mental health and substance use were treated sequentially. Over time, we realized they needed to be treated simultaneously, along with addressing trauma. Trauma is the fire in the basement, and if it isn’t addressed, relapse cycles continue. Moving programs to co-occurring, mind-body-spirit approaches has been a decades-long movement I’m honored to be part of.

00:02:57:05 - 00:03:10:25
Timothy Zercher: As president of Meadows and board chair of the ATP, what's one industry norm that you think needs to be just rethought or totally thrown out?

00:03:10:27 - 00:04:31:14
Jaime Vinck: Expanding access to care is key. We went in-network nationally with Blue Cross Blue Shield to reach more people. Alongside that, cultural humility is critical. Leadership and providers need to reflect the patients they serve. I've long championed women in leadership. The field is staffed by women but led by men. Changing that norm has been an ongoing mission.

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Timothy Zercher: What have you found is one of the hardest things about growing an organization?

00:05:21:23 - 00:06:30:09
Jaime Vinck: The biggest challenges are patient acuity, staffing safely with competent team members, and payer rates not rising with cost of care. Responsible growth is critical—we can't just grow for the sake of growth.

00:06:47:23 - 00:07:45:27
Timothy Zercher: What are the best ways that your team finds of gaining new clients and expanding care into areas that need you most?

00:07:45:11 - 00:08:43:02
Jaime Vinck: Brand trust and relationship building are essential. Referrals from trusted sources matter more than tactics like SEO. All roads lead back to trust and brand authority.

00:08:43:05 - 00:09:21:13
Timothy Zercher: On the tactics side, what’s one marketing trend you're watching closely?

00:09:21:16 - 00:10:17:23
Jaime Vinck: Directories and partnerships with entities like LegitScript are game changers. Also, “no click” admits via AI tools like ChatGPT are shifting the landscape. Brand authority remains central in navigating these changes.

00:10:17:25 - 00:10:19:03
Timothy Zercher: Thank you so much, Jamie. I really appreciate the time, experience, and work that you and your team are doing.

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Jaime Vinck: Thank you.