Exalta Health will be under the guidance of an interim president after the resignation of current president Dan Takens.
Established in 1996, Exalta Health provides healthcare to a wide variety of children, adults and seniors in West Michigan, regardless of their employment, health insurance and other financial factors.
The organization had welcomed Takens, a former Byron Center School District superintendent, as president in early February 2020. Takens replaced Bill Paxton, who had retired, but Takens in turn decided this week that he needed to resign for personal reasons, and the board reluctantly accepted that resignation.
Ed Postma, a member of the Exalta Health Board of Directors and a former chair, will take over as interim president as the board enters a new search process.
Postma worked at Amway for almost four decades in international contract compliance, risk management and international business development, and he is presently a consultant with Cross Creek Consulting.
He said the Exalta Health board has been a great place to make a difference, and though he wishes the circumstances were different, he is eager to guide Exalta Health as interim president.
“Even in the midst of COVID-19,” said Postma, “when we have seen fewer patients in person, it has been clear to me and to many others how important Exalta Health is to a part of our population that is often ignored. Not just our medical and dental services, but our behavioral and spiritual care services have been a lifeline to many. People know we are here for them, and we plan for that message to continue to come through loud and clear in this time of transition too.”
In 2019, Exalta Health served 1,099 medical patients, 1,210 dental patients and provided just over 9,000 total services. Its paid staff includes a medical director, a dental director, social workers, a chaplain and a variety of administrative positions. It also relies on more than 100 medical, dental and other volunteers annually to provide its services.
About 17% of Exalta Health patients have insurance, of which most use Medicaid, meaning insurance is just 4.2% of its revenue. The donor community, including businesses, individuals, churches and foundations, helps cover the gap between what services cost and what patients can pay.
