Influential Woman · Healthcare
Patrice Buwe
Founder and CEO, EchoBridge Health
Richmond, VA 23294
Her Story
About Patrice
Patrice Buwe is a highly experienced registered nurse and advanced practice registered nurse with nearly 30 years of clinical and leadership experience across critical care, research, case management, and mental health services. Based in the Greater Richmond Region, she is currently completing her MSN in Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing at Walden University and is a board-certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP-BC). Her career is driven by a deep commitment to mental wellness, care coordination, and patient empowerment, with a strong focus on improving outcomes for underserved and marginalized populations.
Her professional journey spans a wide range of specialties, including surgical intensive care, cardiac transplant nursing, clinical research, utilization review, palliative care, and behavioral health care management. She has contributed to major quality improvement initiatives in ICU settings, supported clinical trials in oncology and cardiovascular medicine, and played key roles in care transitions, discharge planning, and utilization management within large health systems such as Kaiser Permanente and Inova Health System. These diverse experiences have shaped her into a resilient and multidisciplinary clinician with strong expertise in patient advocacy, interdisciplinary collaboration, and evidence-based care delivery.
Today, Patrice serves as a Behavioral Health Utilization Review and Care Manager at Kaiser Permanente while also advancing her long-term vision of expanding mental health access through culturally competent care. She is deeply passionate about addressing mental health disparities, particularly within African American communities, and works to reduce stigma while promoting equitable access to treatment. As the founder and CEO of EchoBridge Health, she is also developing digital tools and resources designed to connect individuals in crisis with immediate support and long-term care, reflecting her lifelong mission to restore wellness, hope, and dignity in mental health care.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Patrice
01What do you attribute your success to?
I don't think I'm successful in that sense. I'm fulfilled. And if that is the metric for success, then I am successful. I feel like my entire career has been given to trying to make people feel better, advancing them, even if it's the smallest amount, to improve their health, or even to engage in wanting to improve their health. Because that's sometimes the biggest challenge that people face, is just the hope, or in their case, the lack of hope. And so when I'm able to look back, and I see how people have made some improvements in their own lives, to me, that is the metric for success for my career.
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