Mark A. Games

President & CEO, Northwood Health Systems

By Cathy Bonnstetter

For Mark Games, president and CEO at Northwood Health Systems, balancing compassionate and competent mental health care with Northwood’s bottom line is not an easy feat, but he has a lot of help supplying this vulnerable group with what it needs.

“Providing high-quality behavioral health care is an intensely personal effort that requires dedicated, compassionate and knowledgeable caregivers,” he says. “Fortunately, God has blessed us with hundreds of them at Northwood.”

Games, who holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from West Liberty University and a master’s degree in business from West Virginia University, began his 30-year career in behavioral health working at the Northern Panhandle Behavioral Health Center, which eventually became Northwood, in a group home for individuals with intellectual disabilities. He loved the work and the people he met, but after a few years, he decided to transition into health care management.

“I enjoy the broad impact that comes with working in a managerial capacity,” says Games. “As president and CEO, I lead strategic planning, program development and the overall operation of the corporation. I am also the primary liaison with the local, state and federal government and other companies and community stakeholders.”

Pete Radakovich, Northwood’s former CEO and turnaround specialist, was Games’ mentor for 13 years, and Games credits Radakovich with diligently teaching him the art and science of running a company. Radakovich transformed Northwood from a company on the verge of bankruptcy to a multifaceted, robust, nonprofit corporation.

While Games’ tenure through the ongoing opioid crisis and current coronavirus pandemic has tested his professional mettle, those challenges have resulted in some of the most rewarding work of his career. Every day at Northwood provides Games with challenges and opportunities to impact hundreds of lives.

“Community mental health centers serve many of our least fortunate neighbors, those who daily experience some of life’s most difficult challenges,” he says. “I serve with some of the most intelligent and compassionate people you’ll meet, and, as a consequence, we have developed successful programs to treat addictions and chronic mental health conditions, provide shelter and other resources for the homeless and generally improve the quality of life for thousands in our community—all while being fiscally responsible and offering competitive pay and benefits for our employees.”

Games has served as an advocate to hold the state accountable to its promises to people with severe mental disabilities, and, as a result, the state annually allocates millions of dollars in residential and community-based services. He believes with data driven advocacy and compassionate leadership, behavioral health services can thrive.

“State government always has more needs than dollars,” he says. “Many people served by the behavioral health system are not equipped or positioned to speak out on their own behalf. It is incumbent upon advocates to speak for them.”

Games, a lifelong West Virginian, says his greatest successes are his 25-year marriage with his best friend and raising his two sons as young Christian men. He also serves as an elder at Hillview Terrace Church of Christ. In the past, he has served as a missionary to Russia and a big brother in the Big Brothers and Big Sisters program. Games says he tries to achieve work-life balance by keeping God first and family next, followed by Northwood. His connection to the Mountain State is heartfelt and strong.

“West Virginia, and in particular the beautiful woods and hills of Marshall County, has always been my home. I have never considered living anywhere else,” he says. “I have often thanked God for the blessing of being rooted here in our hills and will feel honored if I can give back to this community just a fraction of what it has given me.”

Games never underestimates the impact of his work at Northwood, where he nurtures his compassion for the population he serves and his respect for those who carry out the Northwood mission.

“Northwood’s clinicians talk daily with people whose struggles are so real and overwhelming they are ready to quit life,” he says. “Decisions made at all levels at Northwood have dramatic implications for these individuals and their families. To play a role in such important community service is humbling, intimidating and exhilarating. It has been one of the greatest blessings of my life.”