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New director seeks to stabilize OnTrack Dr. Kerri Hecox is the interim executive director of OnTrack. Mail Tribune / Jamie Lusch Tuesday Jan 31, 2017 at 5:08 PM Jan 31, 2017 at 6:56 PM Damian Mann Mail Tribune @reporterdm OnTrack's new interim executive director wants to focus on stabilizing families that have been torn apart by drug addiction as well as reorienting an organization that is working its way through its own crisis. Kerri Hecox, 44, is taking over for former director Rita Sullivan as OnTrack confronts greater scrutiny from state agencies over "deplorable conditions" at the group's recovery housing. "I respect the work that Dr. Sullivan has done," Hecox said. "Nobody wants to see this organization fail or not do well." According to OnTrack, Sullivan was relieved of her duties when the board concluded serious issues needed to be addressed. Hecox, who said she'll earn about $90,000 a year in her new job, is a family practice specialist who has been affiliated with Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center and La Clinica. She also was a physician for Jackson County at the Children's Advocacy Center from 2008 to 2013. Hecox was medical director at La Clinica for two years. Hecox said she sees a greater need to come up with a more clearly defined administrative structure and a greater alignment with other organizations in the community such as United Way of Jackson County, Family Nurturing Center and others. "A lot of folks are stepping forward to help," she said. These other organizations will participate in a national search for a permanent executive director. While Hecox likes to talk a lot about children, she said she's concerned about all aspects of a family situation, particularly families struggling through poverty, domestic violence, drug addiction, homelessness and foster care. "There's a wide variety of barriers these families face," she said. In some cases, parents recovering from drug addiction are the children of parents who also were involved in addiction or domestic violence. She said it's important to find ways to address all the issues facing these families and to provide effective monitoring programs. Hecox, who plans to become OnTrack's full-time medical director, is scaling back on her duties as a doctor at La Clinica and expects to work full time at OnTrack starting in March. Her focus has been to care for patients with substance abuse and mental health recovery, and she has worked with OnTrack clients over the years. "I understand the landscape very well," Hecox said. Hecox said she doesn't like to blame anyone for the problems OnTrack has endured over the past few months. "When errors occur and things break down, it's not caused by just one person," she said. Instead, she wants to focus on shoring up the existing system and working closely with the Department of Human Services to remedy the housing issues that agency raised, while providing effective treatment for clients. In her dealings with families in crisis, she said, the parents are seeking ways to improve their situation and to avoid falling back into addiction. "The vast majority of OnTrack families want to be better people," Hecox said. The OnTrack board announced Monday it hired Hammonds Construction to remodel crisis housing apartments at 11th and 12th streets in Medford after "deplorable" conditions were found by Department of Human Services and Oregon Health Authority investigators in January. OnTrack also plans to tackle other housing issues, including the Teen Program building on Holly Street where teenagers were moved out after mold, water leaks and other issues were found. Hecox will work with former OnTrack board members Rick Nagel and Tonia Moro to reform OnTrack's organizational structure to deal with employee retention, chronic understaffing and deferred maintenance. Nagel and Moro stepped in as interim executive directors after Sullivan was placed on leave. OnTrack provides drug and alcohol treatment to about 5,000 residents annually in Jackson and Josephine counties. "OnTrack has done a lot of incredible things," Hecox said. — Reach reporter Damian Mann at 541-776-4476 or [email protected]. Follow him on www.twitter.com/reporterdm.