Movers & Shakers: Caron’s CEO Switch; SUD Treatment Providers Make Executive Hires

Caron Treatment Centers CEO-elect assumes role

Brad Sorte has officially taken over the reins of Caron Treatment Centers, assuming the positions of president and CEO after being named to the roles last December.

He assumed duties from retired president and CEO Brad Tieman, who was with Wernersville, Pennsylvania-based Caron for more than 25 years. Tieman will remain with Caron as a senior advisor to the CEO and as president emeritus to the board.

Tieman got his start in the addiction treatment industry at the Hazelden Foundation. He has previously served as chairman of the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers and has been a member of the American College of Addiction Treatment Administrators.

Meanwhile, Sorte has served in a variety of roles at Caron. Most recently, he served as its chief strategy and growth officer.

Launched in 1957, Caron is a nonprofit substance use disorder (SUD) treatment provider that operates locations in Pennsylvania, Florida, Atlanta, New York City and Washington, D.C.

New Directions hires chief people officer

Overland Park, Kansas-based New Directions Behavioral Health has named Lynn Merritt as its chief people officer (CPO).

Merritt joins New Directions from the wound healing service provider Healogics, where she was the chief human resources officer. She has also previously been an executive director of human resources at Aetna, in addition to holding prior positions at Cigna and The Hartford.

As New Directions’ CPO, Merritt will be responsible for overseeing the company’s talent and culture initiatives, which are part of its business strategy.

Founded in 1995, New Directions is a behavioral health organization that reaches over 15 million individuals nationwide. The company works in partnership with health plans, employers and higher education institutions to offer services such as managed behavioral healthcare, employee assistance programs, organizational consulting and health coaching.

New Directions is majority-owned by GuideWell, a Jacksonville, Florida-based mutual insurance corporation that owns a family of companies including FloridaBlue, which is the state’s largest insurer.

Action Behavior Centers assembles advisory team

Austin, Texas-based Action Behavior Centers (ABC) — a provider of applied behavioral analysis (ABA) therapy for children with autism — has created a team of board certified behavioral analysts (BCBAs) to serve as its clinical council of advisors.

– Russell Lang, who is a professor of curriculum and instruction at Texas State University

– Linda LeBlanc, who is a licensed psychologist

– Dorothea Lerman, who is a professor of psychology at the University of Houston–Clear Lake

Founded in 2017, ABC operates about 45 locations across Texas, Arizona and Colorado, offering one-on-one therapy to children between the ages of 18 months to 10 years old. ABC has financial backing from the private equity firm NexPhase Capital.

BRC Healthcare fills VP role

Manor, Texas-based BRC Healthcare, a provider of SUD treatment services, has named Chandler Keel as its vice president of business development.

Chandler comes to BRC from the SUD treatment provider Summit BHC, where he held a variety of sales roles, with his most recent position being director of national business development.

In his new role, Keel will be tasked with building and managing a team of regional account managers, who will focus on generating SUD treatment referrals. The vice president role is a newly created position for BRC.

BRC provides individualized care through three residential programs: BRC Recovery, Spearhead Lodge and Makana Path, all of which are located in BRC’s homebase in the Austin area.

In April, BRC received an investment from the firms Veronis Suhler Stevenson and NewSpring Health Capital. The investment enabled the formation of BRC Healthcare, which is the holding company for the family of programs.

Midwest Recovery names new business development representative

Toledo, Ohio-based Midwest Recovery Center has named Nate Kehlmeier as its senior business development representative.

Kehlmeier, who is in recovery, has over a decade worth of experience working in SUD treatment in Ohio and Florida. He has served as a program director, a director of admissions, a director of business development and director of a sober living facility. He was also the director of admissions for Midwest Recovery Center when it opened in 2017.

Midwest Recovery Centers is an affiliate of Amatus Recovery Centers (ARC). ARC is operated by Amatus Health, an Owings Mills, Maryland-based health system that operates 14 centers across six states.

New COO for SUD treatment center

Wavelengths Recovery, an SUD treatment center in Huntington Beach, California, has named Bill Collins as its chief operating officer (COO).

Collins was formerly the deputy chief of police for the nearby town of Westminster, which is outside of Los Angeles.

Wavelengths provides SUD detox, residential treatment and intensive outpatient treatment. It also operates a facility in the Northern California town of Petaluma.