Ted Hirsch To Lead AHA's Section For Psychiatric And Substance Abuse Services

Main Category: Psychology / Psychiatry
Article Date: 16 Jan 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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Ted Hirsch, administrator for Kalispell Regional Medical Center (KRMC) and Pathways Treatment Center, is the 2008 chair of the American Hospital Association's (AHA) Section for Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Services.

Kalispell Regional Medical Center is a general acute care hospital, serving communities in northwest Montana and Canada. Pathways Treatment Center is a 40-bed psychiatric and substance abuse hospital. Both are part of Northwest Healthcare, a health system which includes a skilled nursing facility, a foundation dedicated to enhancing the health and well being of individuals, families and communities, and an 115,500 square foot fitness center with a variety of classes, programs and services available to everyone.

Hirsch has over 20 years administrative experience in the health care field, managing both acute care and psychiatric/substance abuse hospitals. In 1993, Hirsch was regional administrator for SSM Healthcare System's Behavioral Services Division, responsible for 220 licensed inpatient beds and multiple outpatient locations. In 1996, he became CEO of Meadow Pines Hospital, a 94-bed private psychiatric hospital in Longview, Texas. Hirsch moved to northwest Montana in 1999.

Hirsch holds a master's degree in education and is a Fellow with the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE). He also serves as the ACHE regent for Montana.

Anil Godbole, M.D., chair of the department of psychiatry at Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Chicago, was named chair-elect and will assume the role of chair in 2009. Rick Palmisano, president and CEO of Northern Berkshire Healthcare in North Adams, Mass., is the immediate past chair.

Elected to three-year terms on the governing council were: Scott Bond, chief executive-Southwest Washington Service Area, Providence Health & Services, Olympia, Wash.; Paul Jeffery, vice president/administrator, Wesley Long Community Hospital, Greensboro, N.C.; William Montague, medical center director, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio; Bruce Schwartz, M.D., executive vice chairman, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, N.Y.; Diane Stewart, chief administrative officer, Sutter Center for Psychiatry/Sutter Health, Sacramento, Calif.; and Debora Tanner, vice president/administrator, Riverside Behavioral Health Center, Hampton, Va.

About the Section for Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Services

The AHA Section for Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Services (SPSAS) provides perspective on behavioral health issues. SPSAS represents over 1,400 providers and promotes the development and implementation of policies that support and advocate for the nation's behavioral health care providers. A governing council composed of 16 individuals from the country's premier psychiatric programs guides the Section. For more information, visit the AHA Web site at http://www.aha.org/psych.

About AHA

The American Hospital Association (AHA) is a not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals that are committed to health improvement in their communities. The AHA is the national advocate for its members, which include almost 5,000 hospitals, health care systems, networks, and other providers of care. Founded in 1898, the AHA provides education for health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends.

American Hospital Association