Henry J. Och, President and CEO of Harbor Care
Henry J. Och joined Harbor Care in Nashua as COO in January 2020, just before COVID-19 brought the world to a halt. “I was designated incident commander for our COVID response at Harbor Care,” he says, adding he leaned into his extensive military experience as well as his 20 years in the health care industry, which included being an emergency preparedness coordinator. “We put together a response plan, which allowed us to remain open for services while protecting our clients and staff.”
And that was critical as Harbor Care— the umbrella organization for Harbor Homes, Keystone Hall, Healthy at Home, the Harbor Care Health and Wellness Center, and the Southern NH HIV/AIDS Task Force—as it provides housing and health care to more than 5,000 NH residents, including those who are homeless and people dealing with addiction issues.
When the time came to do a national search for a new CEO to replace Peter Kelleher, who retired at the end of October after 40 years of service, the Harbor Care board found the right candidate was already in its leadership team.
Och has spent his civilian career focused on advancing health equity and building health care delivery systems. He has served his country in the Army as an operations officer in Afghanistan, earning the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and in Kosovo, where he worked with the Kosovo Police Services to identify and stop human trafficking operations. He is still a lieutenant colonel in the Massachusetts National Guard.
Och says he was attracted to Harbor Care because of its array of vital services, including a veterans services division. And as an immigrant who moved to the U.S. from Guatemala with his family when he was 6 years old, Och says he has life experiences that allow him to connect with Harbor Care’s clients.
“Life as an immigrant is not easy. Not knowing the language, not being familiar with the culture, that presents many challenges,” Och says. “I am able to empathize quite a bit with the populations under our care.”
A long-distance runner, Och is excited that marathons have come back (his best time was in the Chicago Marathon, which he ran in three hours and 36 minutes). And he says he is ready to go the distance to meet the needs of NH’s vulnerable residents.