#New York #Lavender Telepsychiatry #Kara Birch #Anna Lau

Lavender's Strategic Leadership Enhancement for Telepsychiatry

As the demand for mental health services continues to rise across the United States, telepsychiatry has emerged as a pivotal solution, enabling broader access to care. Lavender, the nation's largest nurse-owned telepsychiatry provider, is taking significant steps to ensure both quality and operational excellence with the recent appointments of Kara Birch, DNP, PMHNP-BC, FNP-BC, as Director of Clinical Excellence, and Anna Lau, MSN, PMHNP-BC, WHNP-BC, as Director of Nursing Operations.

With such a vast increase in the need for mental health care, maintaining a consistent, high-quality patient experience across various care models is crucial. Lavender's commitment to this cause is clearly articulated through the new leadership roles aimed at strengthening their clinical and operational frameworks.

Leadership Profiles

Kara Birch: Director of Clinical Excellence

Birch joined Lavender's executive team in early 2026, bringing with her over 13 years of diverse clinical strategy experience within academic medicine, community health systems, and digital health. In her new role, she will primarily focus on shaping Lavender's clinical vision and setting the standards for psychiatric care delivery.

One of Birch’s notable achievements includes designing a quality review system for Headway, a network with over 5,000 clinicians. Additionally, she serves as a Full Professor at the UCSF School of Nursing, where she has led significant initiatives, including California’s first statewide psychiatric nurse practitioner program across multiple UC campuses. Her commitment to patient care remains evident as she continues to see patients directly within an integrated mental health and obstetrics setting.

Birch emphasizes that clinical quality must be seamlessly integrated into organizational operations.