News

Spectrum Health Lakeland Welcomes New Board Members
Jan 20, 2022

(ST. JOSEPH) – In addition to welcoming Mike Todman as chair of the Spectrum Health Lakeland board of directors, and Christine Vanlandingham as vice chair, the health system also welcomed three new board members in 2022: Deborah Bennett Berecz, Pamela Garmon Johnson, and Kenneth O’Neill, MD.

Bennett Berecz graduated from Andrews University in 1988 and obtained her law degree from Notre Dame Law School in 1993. Her firm, Berecz & Associates PLC, focuses on family law including collaborative divorce, mediation, adoption, and alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Bennett Berecz has previously served as chair for the ADR Section of the State Bar of Michigan, president of the Collaborative Practice Institute of Michigan, and is currently chair of the board of directors for Caring Circle of Spectrum Health Lakeland. She has served as mediator for the Michigan Court of Appeals, authored numerous publications on ADR including articles for the Michigan Bar Journal, and taught family law and public policy to doctoral students as adjunct professor at Andrews University. In 2018, Bennett Berecz was recognized as an honored alumnus at her alma matter.

Garmon Johnson serves as vice president of health equity impact and partnerships for the Office of Health Equity at the American Heart Association where she is responsible for leading strategic planning efforts focused on improving the health of communities across the United States by identifying opportunities to impact transformative lifestyle and community change. Garmon Johnson has over 20 years of marketing and accounting experience and is passionate about empowering individuals and multicultural communities to be their own agents for change. She received a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of North Texas and a Master of Business Administration degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

Dr. O’Neill served as vice president clinical integration at Spectrum Health Lakeland from 2015 until his retirement in July 2021, providing leadership and strategic vision over clinical integration as a tool for transformation to improve quality and efficiency of care. He also participated in local and state-wide integration efforts and served on the Healthy Berrien Consortium and the Affirmant Health Partners board. Prior to his appointment to the Lakeland senior leadership team, Dr. O’Neill served as president of Southwestern Medical Clinic and medical director of Lakeland Medical Practices. In addition to his administrative and leadership work, he also practiced internal medicine at Southwestern Medical Clinic until December 2019. Dr. O’Neill completed his medical studies at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

For a complete listing of all Spectrum Health Lakeland board members, visit spectrumhealthlakeland.org/boardofdirectors