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Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health launches organizational redesign to propel the historic nonprofit to new levels of excellence

Redesign aligns Devereux’s operational and financial strength, best-in-class leadership
with new CEO’s vision

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Board of Trustees announces officer promotions and appointments to position the
106-year-old nonprofit as the unquestioned industry leader 

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Devereux creates behavioral health staffing agency to reinvent its approach to healthcare recruiting,
especially outstanding direct service professionals
 
  

Villanova, PA – April 9, 2018 – Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health, one of the oldest and largest nonprofit providers of behavioral healthcare in the nation, announced today that its newly appointed President and CEO, Carl E. Clark II, will be leading a significant organizational redesign initiative with the support of an expanded leadership team, that will propel the nonprofit from great to extraordinary – with a focus on achieving his “Triple Aim Plus” goals, including: 1) offering even higher quality, safer and more compassionate services with improved and measurable outcomes; 2) providing services more efficiently, in terms of both treatment times and cost, and; 3) improving the overall patient, employee and partner experience. 

In support of Clark’s redesign plan, last week, the Devereux Board of Trustees unanimously approved a series of senior officer promotions and appointments, building out an extraordinary leadership team aligned with Devereux’s vision for the future of its work, and the behavioral health field at large. 

“Devereux is an extraordinarily strong and stable organization – among the best in its field – and like all best-in-class organizations, we want to be even better through careful and smart evolution,” said Devereux President and Chief Executive Officer Carl E. Clark II. “To best deliver on our commitment of quality and safety to the individuals we serve – living up to our brand promise of providing truly advanced behavioral healthcare – Devereux will work to capitalize on the remarkable organization it is today, while also leveraging fresh ideas and technologies to carry us to a new level of service and advocacy.” 

In its four-phased organizational redesign effort, Devereux will focus on the following areas: 

  1. Reinventing its approach to human resources management by creating a People Operations
    function, with new ancillary supports including the launch of QualityHealth Staffing, LLC.
  2. Redesigning its Clinical function and improving medical care coordination activities.
  3. Redesigning its Operations function and formalizing organizational strategy/planning.
  4. Formalizing a meaningful, constituent-engaged strategy, and planning/integration process.  

“In the last five years, Devereux completed one of the most significant leadership transitions in its history and, as is nearly always the case with change of that scale, the transition served to highlight both the incredible strength of our organization, as well as opportunities for improvement and growth,” Clark explained, regarding the period in which the organization transitioned approximately 50 percent of its senior leadership team – including roles such as chief executive officer, vice presidents, executive directors, etc. – due to planned retirements. “That learning, when combined with the increasing intensity of our clients’ needs and the rapidly escalating complexity of our operating environment, has illuminated a series of organizational changes which, if carefully implemented as part of a thoughtful organizational redesign, will propel Devereux from great to truly outstanding.” 

The first phase of the redesign began in March 2018 with the appointment of Mike Ernst as senior vice president of people operations, along with the launch of QualityHealth Staffing, LLC – Devereux’s newly formed staffing company created to recruit for specific positions, including direct care professionals. Robert C. Dunne, Devereux’s senior vice president and chief financial officer, will also serve as chief executive officer of QualityHealth Staffing.  

Phase II of this effort, beginning immediately, includes appointing Rayni Anderson Brindley, M.Ed., BCBA – Devereux’s current vice president of organizational development – to the role of senior vice president of organizational development, where she will elevate the organization’s quality improvement function to its own distinct and significant area of focus. Also, to improve medical care coordination activities for the individuals served by Devereux, Lea Anne Gardner, Ph.D., RN, has been named national director of population health. 

In Phase III, effective July 1, 2018, Devereux will further strengthen its operations function via several promotions, including: 1) Rhea Fernandes, Psy.D. – who currently serves as Devereux Pennsylvania’s Children’s Behavioral Health Services executive director – to the role of the organization’s chief operating officer; 2) Melanie Beidler, M.S. –  Devereux Pennsylvania’s Children's Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Services executive director – to the position of operations vice president of children's services; and 3) Stephen Bruce, M.Ed., BCBA – Devereux Pennsylvania’s Adult Services executive director – to the position of operations vice president of adult services.  

Phase III also includes the promotion of Senior Vice President of External Affairs Leah Yaw to the new role of chief strategy officer, where she will, among other things, redesign Devereux’s approach to strategic planning, including building an effective mergers and acquisitions integration process, while continuing to direct the Office of External Affairs. 

Finally, in Phase IV, which begins in September 2018, Devereux will formalize its strategy and planning process by: redesigning its marketing function; launching an expanded education division to improve the provision of special education services; and adding ancillary revenue sources to support and enhance the organization’s overall mission. 

“The actions we are taking will build upon Devereux’s already rich culture and further strengthen our 106-year-old-organization by enhancing processes and augmenting program quality for the individuals we serve,” added Clark. “Ultimately, today’s announcement will ensure that our 7,500 team members across the country continue to live Devereux’s mission of unlocking and nurturing human potential in people living with emotional, behavioral and cognitive differences – and their families.” 

Learn about Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health.

About Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health

Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health is one of the nation’s largest nonprofit organizations providing services, insight and leadership in the evolving field of behavioral healthcare. Founded in 1912 by special education pioneer Helena Devereux, the organization operates a comprehensive national network of clinical, therapeutic, educational, and employment programs and services that positively impact the lives of tens of thousands of children, adults – and their families – every year. Focused on clinical advances emerging from a new understanding of the brain, its unique approach combines evidence-based interventions with compassionate family engagement.  

With approximately 7,500 employees working in programs across the nation, it is a recognized partner for families, schools and communities, serving many of our country’s most vulnerable populations in the areas of autism, intellectual and developmental disabilities, specialty mental health, and child welfare. Programs are offered in hospital, residential, community and school-based settings. They include: assessments; interventions and support; transition and independent life services; family and professional training; research and innovation; and advocacy and public education. For more than a century, Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health has been guided by a simple and enduring mission: To change lives by unlocking and nurturing human potential for people living with emotional, behavioral or cognitive differences. www.devereux.org.

 

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