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Committees

Addiction Treatment Committee

With addiction treatment a major service provided by its members, the NABH Board established the NABH Addiction Treatment Committee. The committee provides a forum within the association for discussion and recommendation of action plans related to issues affecting addiction treatment providers and the patients they serve. The committee draws its membership from the entire spectrum of addiction treatment providers, including organizations that deliver hospital, residential, and outpatient levels of care within both large multi-facility systems and single-facility organizations.
The committee works to:
  • Advocate for improved insurance coverage, patient access, and payment/reimbursement for addiction treatment services;
  • Raise the importance and visibility of addiction treatment on the national agenda (as well as within the association) and works with members on state-level issues;
  • Build coalitions in support of addiction treatment policy issues;
  • Evaluate and foster understanding of how addiction treatment fits into broader healthcare reform;
  • Inform members about and promote the integration of addiction and mental health treatment;
  • Promote the integration of substance use treatment and mental health treatment in public policy, in regulation, and with payers; and
  • Foster networking on critical issues (such as clinical care, quality, administration, financing, accreditation, and more).
The committee includes:
Chair

Joe Pritchard, Chief Executive Officer, Pinnacle Treatment Centers, Inc., NJ

Members
  • Melissa Arkin, Regional Vice President, Behavioral Health Services, Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), TN
  • Mary Catherine Bohan, VP, Ambulatory Services, Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care, NJ
  • Pubali Chakravorty-Campbell, SHRM-SCP, Chief Administrative Officer, Promises Behavioral Health, TN 
  • Serene Carruthers, L.M.F.T., Manager, SHARP McDonald Center, CA
  • Debbie Cunningham, D.N.P., Executive Director | Vice President, Behavioral Health Service Line at Main Line Health, Sheppard Pratt, MD
  • Alexander (Alex) S. Gnilka, Ph.D., L.P.C.S., C.E.A.P., S.A.P., Assistant Vice President – Addiction Medicine Services, Atrium Health Behavioral Health, NC
  • Chris S. Hassan, Vice President, Substance/Opioid Use Disorder, Universal Health Services, Inc., PA
  • Paul M. Heffington, L.C.S.W., R.N., A.P.R.N., Regional Clinical Director, Behavioral Health Services, Community Health Systems, TN
  • Tracey Kaly, L.M.H.C., Director of Clinical Operations, BayCare Behavioral Health, FL
  • Jason Kletter, Ph.D., President, BayMark Health Services, TX
  • Chad Koller, M.H.A., M.B.A., M.S., L.P.C., Universal Health Services, Inc., PA
  • Bill List, Addiction Treatment Coordinator, Parkside, Inc., OK
  • Michelle L. Maloney, Ph.D., L.P.C., C.A.A.D.C., Rogers Behavioral Health, WI
    2. Jessica Matthews, Sr. Vice President of Operations, New Season/Colonial Management Group, LP, FL
    3. Ann Miller, Ph.D., Co-Founder & Chief Development Officer, Vizion Health, LLC, NC
    4. Matt Morgan, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Blended Health, AR
    5. Joe Munson, Ph.D., L.M.H.C., Q.S., Clinical Services Director, UF Health Shands Psychiatric Hospital, FL
    6. Rob Norris, Group President, SUD Service Line, Summit BHC, TN
    7. Reinaldo Olivo, Facility Director, JNM Capital Ventures, LLC, PA
    8. Sharel Rogers, Chief Executive Officer, Addiction Medical Solutions, FL
    9. Marshal Salomon, Chief Executive Officer, BayMark Health Services, TX
    10. Debbie Sanford, M.S., M.B.A., Administrator, Pine Grove Behavioral Health, MS
    11. Scott Sasserson, Chief Executive Officer, Promises Behavioral Health, TN
    12. Jim Shaheen, Chief Executive Officer, New Season/Colonial Management Group, LP, FL
    13. Nick Stavros, Chief Executive Officer, Community Medical Services, AZ
    14. Daniel Thomas, Chief Operating Officer, SUN Behavioral Health, NJ
    15. Seth Warren, President and CEO, Meridian Health Services, IN
    Staff Liaisons

    Shawn Coughlin, National Association for Behavioral Healthcare, Washington, DC

    Addiction Treatment Quality Committee

    NABH created the Addiction Treatment Quality Committee in April 2019 due to membership growth in the addiction treatment sector and the high level of national interest and activity in the addiction quality domain.

    NABH members’ expertise in quality metrics across the full continuum of care makes the association uniquely qualified to provide leadership in the rapidly evolving landscape.

    The committee works to:
    • Support overall landscape awareness about trends in quality measurement and oversight related to addiction treatment and recovery;
    • Identify challenges and best practices related to quality data collection, analysis, and reporting in addiction treatment programs; and
    • Review proposed quality process and outcome measures at the national level and provide practical recommendations for their improvement.
    The committee includes:
    Chairs

    Frank A. Ghinassi, Ph.D., A.B.P.P., Co-Chair, Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care/RWJBarnabas Health, NJ

    Michelle L. Maloney, Ph.D., L.P.C., C.A.A.D.C., Co-Chair, Rogers Behavioral Health

    Members
    • Shajine Blake, Community Medical Services, AZ
    • Trish Caldwell, M.F.T., L.P.C., C.A.A.D.C., CCDP-D, C.C.T.P., Promises Behavioral Health, TN
    • Serene Carruthers, L.M.F.T., SHARP McDonald Center, CA
    • David Hans, M.D., American Addiction Centers, TN
    • Sherri Johnson, New Season/Colonial Management Group, LP, FL
    • Ann Miller, Ph.D., Co-Founder & Chief Development Officer, Vizion Health, LLC, NC
    • Ruth Moore, C.C.E.P., Acadia Healthcare, Inc., CA
    • Siobhan A. Morse, M.H.S.A, C.R.C., C.A.I., M.A.C., Universal Health Services, Inc., TN
    • Lori Ryland, Ph.D., L.P., B.C.B.A.-D., C.A.A.D.C, Pinnacle Treatment Centers, Inc., NJ
    Staff Liaisons

    Shawn Coughlin, National Association for Behavioral Healthcare, Washington, DC

    Behavioral Health Services within General Healthcare Systems Committee

    The NABH Committee on Behavioral Health Services within General Healthcare Systems works to understand and elevate on the NABH agenda those issues that impact behavioral health services within general medical settings; focus attention on issues related to the interface of psychiatry and general medicine; and develop services and resources.
    The committee includes:
    Chair

    Gina Sharp, F.A.C.H.E., M.B.A., Linden Oaks Hospital, IL

    Steering Committee
    • Frank A. Ghinassi, Ph.D., A.B.P.P., President and CEO, Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care; Senior Vice President, Behavioral Health and Addictions Service Line, RWJBarnabas Health, NJ
    • Jerome Menendez, Vice President & Facility Executive, Mindy Ellen Levine Behavioral Health Center at Atrium Health, Atrium Health Behavioral Health, NC
    • Rick Paczkowski, Regional VP, Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), TN
    • Marguerite Pedley, Ph.D., Penn Medicine Princeton House Behavioral Health, NJ
    Members
    • Rhonda Ashley-Dixon, Vice President of Strategic Engagement & Partnerships, Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital and Clinics, TN
    • Greg Blank, PharmD, MBA, SHARP Mesa Vista Hospital, CA 
    • Jodie L. Boone, Administrator, Mayo Clinic, MN
    • Clayton Ciha, President/CEO, Ascension Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital, IL
    • Carmen Colombo, Ph.D., M.B.A., R.N., NEA-BC, Chief Nursing Officer Specialty Hospitals, Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital, CA
    • Jennifer Ziccardi-Colson, B.S.W., B.S.N., MHA/M.S.N., R.N., NEA-BC, Chief Nurse Executive and Vice President for Behavioral Health, Atrium Health Behavioral Health, NC
    • Robin Conyers, Division Vice President Behavioral Services, CHI Health Behavioral Services, NE
    • Rebecca Dvorak, M.B.A., M.S.N., R.N., B.S.N., Senior Vice President, Clinical Practice, Horizon Health, TX
    • Jennifer Fabbri, Executive in Residence, Universal Health Services, Inc., PA
    • Karen Fauer, Chief Financial Officer, UltraGroup Healthcare, tN
    • Edward Field, M.B.A., Loma Linda University Behavioral Medicine Center
    • Chuck Flavio, M.S., M.H.A., Administrator, Prisma Health-Behavioral Health Services, SC
    • Frank A. Ghinassi, Ph.D., A.B.P.P., President and CEO, Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care; Senior Vice President, Behavioral Health and Addictions Service Line, RWJBarnabas Health, NJ
    • Jerry Gold, Ph.D., Administrator, Scripps Behavioral Health and Clinical Care Line, CA
    • Dave Jenkins, President of Behavioral Health, Cone Health Behavioral Health Hospital, NC
    • Michele Keeling, Vice President/Administrator, Laureate Psychiatric Clinic & Hospital, OK
    • Allison C. Kidder, L.C.S.W., M.B.A., C0-Chief Executive Officer, Compass Health, LA
    • Drew Martin, Vice President of Behavioral Health, Community Health Systems, Franklin, TN
    • Denise Mason, L.I.C.S.W., Interim Executive Director, Director of Social Work and Admissions Inpatient Behavioral Health, BayRidge Hospital, MA
    • Jerome Menendez, Vice President & Facility Executive, Mindy Ellen Levine Behavioral Health Center at Atrium Health, Atrium Health Behavioral Health, NC
    • Stephen Merz, F.A.C.H.E., Chief Operating Officer, Sheppard Pratt, MD
    • Leslie Nyman, Administrator, Logan Health Behavioral Health, MT
    • Rick Paczkowski, Regional VP, Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), TN
    • Marguerite Pedley, Ph.D., President, Penn Medicine Princeton House Behavioral Health, NJ
    • Scott L. Rauch, M.D., President and Psychiatrist in Chief, McLean Hospital, MA
    • Vicky Sabharwal, M.B.A., Interim Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial & Operating Officer, Jackson Behavioral Health Hospital, FL
    • Debbie Sanford, M.S., M.B.A., Administrator, Pine Grove Behavioral Health and Addiction Services, MS
    • Manish Sapra, M.D., M.M.M., F.A.P.A., Executive Director, Behavioral Health Service Line, Northwell Health, NY
    • Mark E. Sevilla, D.N.P., R.N., C.E.N.P., Vice President, Behavioral Health and Emergency Services, Yale New Haven Psychiatric Hospital, CT
    • Jacob Shaheen, Director of Business Development, UltraGroup Healthcare, TN
    • Gregory Stewart, Administrator, UF Health Psychiatric Hospital, FL
    • Robert Szapor, AVP Behavioral Health and Neurosciences, AtlantiCare Behavioral Health, NJ
    • Susan L. Wright, M.B.A., Director, Behavioral Health Operations, BayCare Behavioral Health, FL
    Staff Liaisons
    • Rochelle Archuleta, National Association for Behavioral Healthcare, Washington, DC
    • Shawn Coughlin, National Association for Behavioral Healthcare, Washington, DC

    Quality Committee

    The association has appointed an NABH Quality Committee to provide perspective on quality issues to the NABH Board of Trustees and to enhance the association’s ongoing work with other national organizations (such as the National Quality Forum, The Joint Commission, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services).
    The committee includes:
    Chair

    Frank A. Ghinassi, Ph.D., A.B.P.P., Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care/RWJBarnabas Health, NJ

    Members
    • Tina Aown, Signature Healthcare Services, CA
    • Marianne Birmingham, Vivant Behavioral Healthcare, AZ
    • Alisa B. Busch, M.D., M.S., McLean Hospital, MA
    • David Ermer, M.D., Avera McKennan Behavioral Health Services, SD
    • Mark Friedlander, M.D., M.B.A., Universal Health Services, Inc., PA
    • Paul M. Heffington, L.C.S.W., R.N., A.P.R.N., Community Health Systems, TN
    • Candy Hightower, M.S., L.P.C., L.C.D.C., HACP-CMS, Summit BHC, TN
    • Karen Johnson, M.S.W., Universal Health Services, Inc., IL
    • Lydia Jones, Center for Behavioral Health, MO
    • Navdeep Kang, Acadia Healthcare, Inc., TN
    • Elisabeth Kunkel, M.D., Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute, PA
    • Stacy Miller, Universal Health Services, Inc., TX
    • Ruth Moore, CC.E.P., Acadia Healthcare, Inc., CA
    • Thomas Otten, Avera McKennan Behavioral Health Services, SD
    • Lori Scharff, L.I.C.S.W., Boys Town Behavioral Health Division, NE
    • Kristin Wilson, L.P.C., M.A., C.C.T.P., R.Y.T, Newport Healthcare, TN
    Staff Liaisons
    • Rochelle Archuleta, National Association for Behavioral Healthcare, Washington, DC
    • Shawn Coughlin, National Association for Behavioral Healthcare, Washington, DC

    Managed Care Committee

    At its Fall 2018 Board Meeting, the NABH Board of Trustees established an initiative to assure that patients who require medically necessary behavioral healthcare have access to it. This Board-directed effort is intended to address the behavioral healthcare industry’s growing concern that health plans are micromanaging behavioral health services so intensely that they are restricting patient access to medically necessary care.

    This is why NABH created the Managed Care Committee, which will work with the Board and the NABH management team to develop a focused strategy that addresses this issue. This comprehensive initiative will focus on both parity-related fixes and provider actions that could help change current health plan practices. External consultants who specialize in health plan activities, the parity law, and regulations will help the committee with its work.

    The committee works to:
    • Identify challenges that NABH members experience with utilization management procedures from health plans
    • Discuss problems they face providing care that their patients’ need
    • Develop practical recommendations to solve this persistent problem.
    The committee includes:
    Chair

    Car Evans, Chair, Universal Health Services, Inc., FL

    Members
    • Shena Ashmore, Oceans Healthcare, TX
    • Cassi Baker, Acadia Healthcare, Inc., TN
    • Greg Blank, PharmD, MBA, SHARP Mesa Vista Hospital, CA
    • Shannon Boling, L.P.C.C., L.M.F.T., Rogers Behavioral Health, WI
    • Deborah Brodine, M.H.A., M.B.A., UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital and UPMC Western Behavioral Health, PA
    • Kelly Grill-Cooper, M.S., L.C.P.C., Linden Oaks Hospital, IL
    • Angela Craparotta, M.A., M.B.A., Penn Medicine Princeton House Behavioral Health, NJ
    • Karen Fauer, UltraGroup Healthcare, TN
    • Erica K. Fox, M.B.A., Perimeter Healthcare, GA
    • Mark Friedlander, M.D., M.B.A., Universal Health Services, Inc., PA
    • Andrew J. Gerber, M.D., Ph.D., Silver Hill Hospital, CT
    • Kathie Green, Psychological & Behavioral Consultants (PsychBC), OH
    • Jeff Griffin, Newport Healthcare, TN
    • Stacie Harty, Acadia Healthcare, Inc., TN
    • Emily Hunter, L.M.S.W., Compass Health, LA
    • Marina Mahoney, Blended Health, AR
    • Michael McNeilly, McLean Hospital, MA
    • Osei Mevs, Acadia Healthcare, Inc., TN
    • Erica Munger, Penn Medicine Princeton House Behavioral Health, NJ
    • Lori Nason, RN, Acadia Healthcare Inc, TN
    • Carl O’Brien, Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care , NJ
    • Steve Page, SUN Behavioral Health, NJ
    • Ryan Pardo, LifeStance Health, Inc., WA
    • Creg Parks, Signature Healthcare Services, LLC, CA
    • Clay Phillips, Summit BHC, TN
    • Eric M. Plakun, M.D., D.L.F.A.P.A., FACPsych, The Austen Riggs Center, MA
    • Tom Rourke, SUN Behavioral Health, NJ
    • Lori Scharff, L.I.C.S.W., Boys Town Behavioral Health Division, NE
    • Jacob Shaheen, UltraGroup Healthcare, TN
    • Matthew Sparling, Vivant Behavioral Healthcare, AZ
    • Martina Sze, US Healthvest, NY
    • Susan Wright, BayCare Behavioral Health, FL
    Staff Liaisons
    • Rochelle Archuleta, National Association for Behavioral Healthcare, Washington, DC
    • Shawn Coughlin, National Association for Behavioral Healthcare, Washington, DC

    Youth Services Committee

    The purpose of the NABH Youth Services Committee is to promote the need for behavioral health treatment, education, and rehabilitation services for troubled youth; to get more visibility for youth services; and to raise youth services on the national agenda. The committee addresses public policy issues related to youth services and make recommendations to the Board of Trustees. The Board established the committee in 1998 as a way of elevating youth service issues on the association’s overall agenda.

    The committee has helped NABH to launch a major national and grassroots campaign to “Make Behavioral Health for Youth a Priority.” This ongoing effort is designed to help policymakers and community leaders understand the importance of meeting the behavioral health needs of our nation’s youth.

    Priority advocacy areas are to fight for expanded coverage for behavioral health care for youth, improved coordination of care, and fair funding.

    The committee includes:
    Chair

    Jameson K. Norton, M.B.A., F.A.C.H.E., Chief Operating Officer, Newport Healthcare, TN

    Members
    • Rhonda Ashley-Dixon, Vice President of Strategic Engagement & Partnerships, Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital and Clinics, TN
    • Andrew J. Gerber, M.D., Ph.D., Silver Hill Hospital, CT
    • Tess Hughes, PhD, LMHC, CCTP, Chief Clinical Officer, Vivant Behavioral Healthcare, AZ
    • Tom Kenny, Chief Executive Officer, Vivant Behavioral Healthcare, AZ
    • Kerry Knott, Regional Vice President Universal Health Services, FL
    • Sejal Mehta, M.D., M.B.A., Medical Director, Perimeter Healthcare, TX
    • Elizabeth Sedlack, Chief Revenue Officer, LearnWell, MA
    • Rebecca Thomas, Vice President, Perimeter Healthcare, GA
    • Matt Wiltshire, Ed.D., M.P.H., Division President, Acadia Healthcare, Inc., AR
    Staff Liaisons
    • Jessica Zigmond, Director of Communications, National Association for Behavioral Healthcare