Are Superman and Beth Merchent related?
Let’s follow the evidence.
For starters, both work at Daily Planets.
When he’s not saving the world, Superman is employed at a newspaper in Metropolis, working under the cover of his alter ego, the mild-mannered, bespectacled Clark Kent.
Beth Merchent, new CEO of Daily Planet Health Services (Photo courtesy Daily Planet)
Merchent, meanwhile, is just herself, the new CEO for Richmond’s Daily Planet Health Services, a nonprofit health care center that doesn’t necessarily save the world, but last year provided more than $1.9 million in uncompensated health care to those in need.
There is a loose connection between the two Daily Planets: The nonprofit took its name from the comic book newspaper because the young people it was helping when it began in 1969 noted how it had a game-changing impact on their lives, much like Clark Kent turning into Superman.
And that’s where another connection comes into play. Sort of. Merchent had a career in finance before a stint in the Peace Corps brought her into serving nonprofits.
The connection? “It was really transformative,” she says.
The Peace Corps traditionally attracts volunteers fresh out of college, but about a third of Merchent’s class in 2002 was over age 35. She was selected to serve as a health education volunteer in the Republic of Moldova, a former Soviet state in Eastern Europe. She lived with a local family in a home without running water or an indoor toilet, and she experienced what it is like to have a limited grasp of the local language, how hard it is to interact and make people understand you.
“It was humbling,” she says. “It gave me tremendous empathy.”
It also set the scene for the next phase of life, a 12-year-stint with the faith-based, nonprofit Bon Secours Richmond Health System.
“It was a wonderful fit,” she says. “It sort of set me up to take this on.”
Merchent assumes duties on Tuesday with Daily Planet. She succeeds Peter Prizzio, who is retiring after 15 years.
So Superman’s kin, no; just someone who appreciates the value of providing transformative help to those in need.
Prior to her Peace Corps stint, Merchent was a director of development for Virginia Urology, and had a 13-year career with Wells Fargo, formerly Signet Bank.
She earned a bachelor’s degree from William & Mary, a Master of Business Administration from the Robins School of Business at the University of Richmond, and a master’s in health administration from Virginia Commonwealth University.
The entrance to Daily Planet's West Grace Health Center (Photo courtesy Daily Planet)
Daily Planet operates a health center on West Grace Street and a South Side Heath Center on Belt Boulevard. Services are offered weekdays and include primary and oral health care, behavioral health and pharmacist services, too.
Its programs include a 21-bed transitional housing facility for those with mental health or substance abuse disorders, and a 20-bed respite facility that gives convalescent care to people who have been discharged from a hospital but have nowhere else to go where they can recuperate. There’s also a Medicaid Assisted Treatment program for people with a diagnosed opioid abuse disorder.
In 2017, Daily Planet provided services to 7,227 patients; mostly primary care and mental health services, but also dental care, eye care and substance abuse treatment. About 70 percent of patients seen have no insurance, and about 80 percent fall below the federal poverty level.
Merchent says she feels blessed to be assuming a nonprofit that’s on a strong financial footing, courtesy of Prizzio. Daily Planet has an operating budget that lists $6.37 million in revenue and $5.78 million in expenses for 2016. Funding sources include 54 percent from grants and the federal government, 35 percent from fees and program income, and 11 percent from contributions.
"Peter built a tremendous infrastructure," she says.
