Description
Chief Executive, Behavioral Health
Northern Light Health
Bangor, ME
The Opportunity:
Northern Light Health seeks an accomplished behavioral health executive to provide systemwide leadership for behavioral health strategies and services across Maine while serving as Chief Executive of Behavioral Health, which includes operational leadership for Northern Light Acadia Hospital. This is a distinctive opportunity to shape a more integrated, accessible, and coordinated continuum of behavioral healthcare throughout Northern Light Health’s statewide network while leading one of Maine’s two inpatient behavioral health hospitals.
The Position:
The Chief Executive will be accountable for the overall leadership, operations, and performance of Northern Light Acadia Hospital while establishing and advancing a clear strategic vision for behavioral health across Northern Light Health. The role extends beyond the hospital walls and encompasses inpatient, outpatient, community-based and school-based programs, along with behavioral health services embedded throughout the statewide network.
Working collaboratively with system, hospital, nursing, and physician leaders, the Chief Executive will strengthen clinical and administrative operations, improve access and care coordination, and develop services that respond to the behavioral health needs of communities across Maine. The executive will help address the needs of behavioral health patients presenting in hospital emergency departments, identify opportunities for integration with primary care, and cultivate partnerships with state government, community organizations, and other stakeholders.
An immediate priority will be strengthening Acadia’s pediatric inpatient program. Northern Light Health has begun resetting the program’s leadership, staffing, care planning, and operating processes, supported by experienced interim leadership. The Chief Executive will build upon this work by establishing greater structure, accountability, and consistency while improving clinical quality, patient safety, workforce stability, and the patient and family experience.
The successful candidate will be a collaborative, visible, and relationship-centered leader who understands behavioral health operations and the complexities of leading within an integrated health system. Grounded in Acadia Hospital’s Unified Philosophy of Care—that people are doing the best they can with the skills they have and are not choosing to struggle—the Chief Executive must balance responsibility for Acadia’s operational and financial performance with broader accountability for advancing behavioral health across Northern Light Health.
The position reports to Dean Kindler, MD, Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer, Northern Light Health.
The Ideal Candidate:
- A master’s degree in healthcare administration, business administration, public health, nursing, social work, psychology, or another relevant healthcare or behavioral health discipline is required.
- Candidates possessing an MD, DO, MSN or similar advanced clinical degree are encouraged to obtain an MHA or MBA within 18 months of hire.
- The Chief Executive is not required to be a physician or other licensed clinician.
- Candidates whose professional background requires clinical licensure must possess, or be eligible to obtain, the appropriate licensure in the State of Maine.
- A minimum of eight years of progressive senior management experience within a hospital, health system or complex behavioral healthcare organization is required.
- Significant leadership experience in behavioral health is required, including responsibility for clinical programs, operations, strategy or service-line performance.
- Demonstrated experience leading a complex healthcare organization or substantial clinical enterprise with accountability for quality, safety, patient experience, workforce and financial performance.
- Experience developing and executing an enterprise or systemwide behavioral health strategy across inpatient, outpatient, community-based and integrated care settings.
- Thorough knowledge of behavioral health delivery models, reimbursement, regulatory and accreditation requirements, and the broader public policy environment affecting access to care.
- Demonstrated success improving clinical and operational performance, establishing effective management systems and leading programs through meaningful change or transformation.
- Strong financial and business acumen, including experience with budgeting, resource allocation, expense management, capital planning and strategic growth.
- Experience partnering effectively with physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, social workers and other clinical professionals in a collaborative leadership model.
- Demonstrated success by addressing workforce challenges, strengthening employee engagement and retention, and building leadership accountability.
- Experience working effectively with governing boards, system executives, state agencies, community organizations, donors and other external stakeholders.
- Experience leading pediatric or adolescent behavioral health services, academic or residency programs, and services within a rural or statewide health system is preferred.
The Organization:
Northern Light Health is Maine’s only integrated, statewide health delivery system. With a brand promise of making healthcare work for you, Northern Light Health delivers high-quality care from Portland to Presque Isle and from Blue Hill to Greenville. The $2.4 billion system is comprised of nine member hospitals with 944 licensed beds, a single physician-led medical group, eight nursing homes with 585 long-term beds, five emergency transport members, a joint venture for LifeFlight of Maine, the state’s only air ambulance, 37 primary care locations, a Level III NICU, and a Verified Level II Trauma Center. Northern Light Health employs more than 10,000 people.
Northern Light Behavioral Health provides a broad continuum of mental health and substance use services for children, adolescents and adults across Maine. Through locations and programs throughout the state, its multidisciplinary teams deliver care in inpatient, outpatient, primary care, community, school-based, and home-based settings. Services include adult and pediatric behavioral healthcare, addiction treatment, counseling and therapy, behavioral health homes, integrated behavioral health, neuropsychology, and specialized Alzheimer’s and dementia care.
Northern Light Acadia Hospital, located in Bangor, serves as the system’s specialized behavioral health hospital and a critical resource for patients and communities throughout Maine. Acadia is a 100-bed facility with 50 adult and 50 pediatric inpatient beds, approximately 750 employees, a stable medical staff and a growing psychiatry residency program. As one of only two inpatient behavioral health hospitals in the state, Acadia plays an essential role in addressing Maine’s complex behavioral health needs.
Acadia’s services extend well beyond inpatient care. The organization provides outpatient adult and pediatric programs, integrated behavioral health, addiction services, school-based counseling, pediatric day programming, and behavioral health home services. Its highly regarded Alzheimer’s and dementia program, Northern Light Memory and Aging, provides specialized assessment and treatment for individuals experiencing cognitive, psychiatric, and neurobehavioral conditions.
The Location:
Have you experienced life in Maine? Whether you’ve stayed for a summer vacation or a ski trip with family as a kid, you know that Maine is a special place. There’s a reason our state motto is “The Way Life Should Be.” Most people only get the chance to vacation in Maine, but as a resident, you’ll have the opportunity to live here year-round and call Maine your home. Here, you’ll experience the full spectrum of the seasons, from the leaves bursting with color in autumn to those warm summer days when time seems to stand still as you relax and unwind. As one of the country’s premiere destinations for outdoor activities, Maine has plenty to offer you, whether you’re an avid hiker, climber, skier, snowboarder, or you just like to immerse yourself in nature. Maine is also home to Acadia National Park, where you can find some of the most spectacular hiking trails and views in the country. With several state parks for you to explore, you could choose a new destination every weekend and you’d be hard-pressed to check them all off.
Please direct all inquiries, applications, and referrals to:
Richard Heishman
richard.heishman@amnhealthcare.com
About B.E. Smith Leadership Solutions, Executive and Physician Leadership Search
B.E. Smith Leadership Solutions, Executive and Physician Leadership Search, is a retained executive search firm serving the healthcare and life sciences industries. Ranked as one of the top healthcare recruiting firms in the country, B.E. Smith Leadership Solutions, is known for leading healthcare into the future by its growing base of clients across the country, drawing on a national pool of candidates.
