Linda Follenweider is an advanced practice registered nurse and board-certified family nurse practitioner with more than 25 years of clinical experience and expertise in practice and system transformation. 

Linda re-joined HMA in 2020 after serving as chief operating officer (COO) for correctional health at Cook County Health (CCH), which provided healthcare services to patients at the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center and the Cook County Jail. As COO she led the creation of a national model for correctional health resulting in better outcomes for patients and the dissolution of 10 years of U.S. Department of Justice oversight at the jail. In addition, under her leadership, the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center was recertified by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care. 

Linda created robust reporting for data-driven care using electronic health records and jail management systems. She also served as acting Chief Nursing Officer for Corrections during her experience at CCH. Her system contributions in leadership led to her recognition as the Pinnacle Nurse Leader at CCH awarded by UIC Power of Nursing Leadership, having been nominated by CCH leadership. 

Linda has direct experience in correctional healthcare delivery from leadership to the delivery of care. She has helped systems identify at-risk detainees and inmates for optimal health outcomes within the jail and/or prison and during their transition back into the community. This includes a fully licensed Medication-Assisted Treatment program for detainees, as well as a naloxone on release education and provision program. 

She was the interim clinic director for a large mental health service provider in Detroit and opened its physical health clinic to provide clinical services for patients with serious and persistent mental illness and/or substance abuse that included linkages with recently released detainees. Linda also worked in the area of workforce development and training, including curriculum and competency development to support right staffing and system redesign as models of care and expectations for staff change. 

As a consultant with HMA, she worked with health systems, including Los Angeles County, and health plans across the country in the design and implementation of healthcare delivery particularly in the areas of innovative models of care and care delivery including patient-centered medical homes, health homes, and specialty practices. 

She has created and operationalized curriculum and training in community and ambulatory settings, including nurse competencies for all members of practice staff to increase confident functioning at their highest level of licensure and skill set as part of a larger team. Linda also created and implemented a train-the-trainer program for nurse care managers for multiple large health systems including Los Angeles County, San Francisco, and Cook County with a special focus on chronic disease, multimorbidity, and behavior change. She successfully used data and quality science to measure and move systems and groups to improve patient outcomes and create efficiencies in processes. 

In addition to her work with health systems, she was a critical part of the primary care training team for the three-year SIM work in the State of Idaho, and was a trainer in the redesign of clinical approaches to chronic disease management for the federal receiver for the California prison system.