Patheous Health Inc., one of the metro’s fastest-growing companies, named a new CEO and COO to succeed two of the company’s founders.
The Overland Park-based company announced Rick Denning as CEO and Heather Rosson as COO in a Tuesday release. Denning succeeds Michael Peck, who co-founded Patheous in 2019. Rosson succeeds Correy Trupp, also a co-founder. Patheous provides mobile services primarily for seniors suffering from swallowing impairment conditions.
Before Patheous, Peck was a partner and co-founder of Flyover Capital, a Leawood private equity firm. He also led Olathe-based Innara Health as CEO for eight years, where he worked alongside Trupp, who was COO. (Cardinal Health acquired Innara Health in early 2023.)
Denning brings much health care executive experience. He was CEO of Cambridge Healthcare Services, COO of Kindred Healthcare and a senior vice president of operations at Windsor Healthcare. Denning was also executive chairman of Patheous Health, according to his LinkedIn.
Rosson joins Patheous from Vellum Health, where she was vice president of client operations. She also worked in leadership roles at TapestryHealth and Reliant Rehabilitation.
Denning and Rosson will be based in Utah and Texas, respectively, Patheous spokesperson Adrienne Walkowiak said via email. Both are strategically located to key markets and partners throughout the country.
“While Patheous is and continues to be proudly headquartered in Overland Park, our executive leadership reflects the company’s national footprint,” Walkowiak wrote in a statement to KCBJ. “Their appointments underscore our commitment to growth, innovation, and operational excellence nationwide.”
Denning and Rosson “bring the perfect blend of business and clinical expertise to guide Patheous Health into its next growth phase, expanding our footprint” to deliver services and solutions to more patients, Kapila Ratnam, NewSpring general partner and Patheous board member, said in the release.
In May 2023, Patheous received a $15.5 million investment from NewSpring, a private equity firm in Pennsylvania. Patheous planned to use those funds to expand operations in new markets and seek acquisitions. NewSpring was an early investor in Patheous.
A few weeks later, Patheous announced that it acquired Carolina Speech Pathology LLC, a North Carolina-based company that provided swallowing evaluations with endoscopic imaging. In June 2024, the company acquired DiagnosTEX, a dysphagia imaging provider based in Dallas and Forth Worth.
Patheous is a leader in the mobile dysphagia imaging provider. The company brings these services to retirement communities, skilled nursing, inpatient rehabilitation, long-term acute care, assisted-living and memory care facilities.
The company ranked No. 5 on the Kansas City Business Journal’s Fastest-growing Businesses List. The company averaged annual revenue growth of 167.09% between 2022 and 2024. Last year, the company reported $11 million in revenue.
Patheous has 116 employees companywide, five of whom are based in Kansas City, Walkowiak told KCBJ.
