Claudia Welke, Founder of Compass Health Center
Name: Claudia Welke
Founder: Compass Health Center
Who is Claudia Welke?
Claudia Welke, MD, is a Child, Adolescent, and Adult Psychiatrist, Chief Medical Officer, and Co-Founder of Compass Health Center and Compass Virtual. With Compass Co-founder David Schreiber, MD, Dr. Welke has built an innovative, transformative model of in-person and virtual partial hospitalization (PHP) and intensive outpatient (IOP) services with 48 specialized programs. Compass's mission is to create safe and caring environments that improve access to treatment, keep people at home and out of higher levels of care (e.g., emergency department and inpatient or residential facilities), and attain better outcomes. Dr. Welke attended the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago and completed her adult psychiatry residency and a Child & Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. She is double boarded in Adult and Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.
In less than three sentences tell us about your company and what you do.
Compass Health Center is a leading psychiatric care provider in Illinois, offering comprehensive non- hospital-based services for all ages from 5 through adulthood. With in-person locations in Chicago, Northbrook, and Oakbrook, and virtual settings across the state, Compass provides intensive treatment for patients in crisis through its Partial Hospitalization (PHP) and Intensive Outpatient (IOP) programs. Compass is dedicated to delivering exceptional clinical care and patient satisfaction, empowering individuals to overcome debilitating psychiatric symptoms and achieve their fullest potential.
What does BEING a FoundHer mean to you?
As a female founder of Compass Health Center, I feel a deep sense of responsibility to provide comprehensive mental health care to individuals in need. We started Compass after recognizing the need for high quality intensive mental health that was not cookie-cutter, not a part of a large hospital system, and tailored to meet the unique needs of the community we were serving. We wanted to break in the service of our patients – many of whom struggle with suicidality and other serious concerns. Our mission is to make a positive, sometimes lifesaving, impact on the lives of those who are struggling with mental health issues and help them overcome their challenges. Being a founder allows me to channel my passion and commitment into a meaningful purpose, and it is an honor to lead an organization that is making a real difference in people's lives. I’m proud to be a FoundHer.
How do you support other female founders and women in business?
As a Latina female founder myself, I am passionate about supporting and empowering other women in business. At Compass, we prioritize the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women in leadership positions- 85% of our team members identify as female. Additionally, I make an effort to serve as a mentor and sounding board for female founders and entrepreneurs, offering guidance and advice based on my own experiences navigating the business world. I believe that by lifting up other women, we can create a more equitable and inclusive business landscape.
At what point did you make your company a full time gig? How did you know the time was right?
I co-founded Compass Health Center in 2011 after spending several years seeing patients that were admitted to an adolescent inpatient unit in a hospital. The story I heard repeatedly was one of families doing their best to access treatment for their teen but not being able to get in to see a psychiatrist that specialized in seeing teenagers or being put on waiting lists for other mental health programs. We saw that there was a need for intensive mental health services and recognized the potential impact we could make in improving access to quality mental health care.
What lesson or skill did you take with you from a prior job to help you succeed in your role today?
As a psychiatrist working with patients who were acutely suicidal, I learned the importance and complexity of our health. I had the privilege of supporting patients as they made their way out of the darkness, and that experience showed me the magnitude of the problems faced by those with mental health issues. This experience taught me the importance of providing intensive mental health services to those in need, and it has motivated me to co-found Compass Health Center to help those struggling with psychiatric symptoms.
Let’s talk social media—who handles it for your company (you, an internal team member, an outsourced solution?) and what is the secret to making it successful? What is the biggest challenge?
Compass’s Marketing Department, focused on creating first-class communication and outreach platform for raising PHP/IOP awareness and de-stigmatizing mental health, handles our social media.
According to a recent survey, we've found that over 60% of our patients learn about our services through social media. Our secret to making our accounts successful is our ability to share clinical information and theories in a digestible and relatable way, which has led to a substantial increase in engagement and followers. However, our biggest challenge is staying up to date with ever-changing algorithms and ensuring that our content reaches our target audience.
What is something you do differently from the industry standard?
At Compass, we pride ourselves in our patient-centric approach and the belief that mental health care should be readily available when patients need it the most. We have implemented same day or next day assessments and program start dates, which sets us apart from the industry standard where patients often face long wait times. Our patient-centered, comprehensive program ensures that our patients receive the best care possible. Finally, we have created an Outpatient Psychiatry Program to reduce wait times and the Compass Connect program, which supports patients stepping down from PHP and/or IOP by helping them transition back to outpatient care. This unique program has been shown to decrease recidivism rates and supports long-term health outcomes.
What was an obstacle you overcame to get your business where it is today? Please share the story behind it.
When Compass first opened in 2011, one of the most significant obstacles we faced was the shortage of mental health clinicians and psychiatrists, especially those who work with children and adolescents. This made it challenging to keep up with the demand for our specialized programs, despite the quality of care we provided. We overcame this obstacle by focusing on providing top-quality treatment to our patients and building a reputation for excellence while simultaneously creating a robust clinical training program. As our reputation grew, it became easier to attract talented clinicians who are passionate about this type of work and to provide them with additional clinical training to ensure that our patients are receiving the best of the best care.
Additionally, we developed a strong team-based approach to our work, which has helped us to maintain resiliency, focus, and determination in the face of the challenges that arise when working with patients in crisis. Today, Compass has grown to become the largest provider of comprehensive non-hospital-based psychiatric care for all ages in Illinois, with in-person locations in Chicago, Northbrook, and Oakbrook, as well as virtual settings statewide. We are excited about our upcoming expansion on the east coast with our first location opening in Maryland in the fall.
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