New C-Suite Hires at Discovery Behavioral Health, Landmark Recovery; Springtide Appoints COO

Discovery Behavioral Health appoints regional CEO

Discovery Behavioral Health (DBH) — a multi-state operator of mental health, substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and eating disorder recovery centers — has tapped Michael Uradnik as CEO of its Associated Behavioral Health Care (ABHC) unit.

Uradnik will head ABHC — which serves clients in the Seattle-area — and report to Chris Diamond, DBH’s vice president of business development. ABHC has four outpatient locations in Washington state and has served over a half million patients since it was established in 1995.

“Michael combines an entrepreneurial spirit with strategic executive management skills,” Diamond said in a press release regarding the appointment of Uradnik. “We welcome his upcoming leadership of ABHC – the gold standard for behavioral healthcare in the Pacific Northwest for more than 25 years.”

Uradnik most recently was the CEO of Tukwila, Washington-based Cascade Behavioral Health. He has also previously been the chief operating officer (COO) for Kirkland, Washington-based Fairfax Behavioral Health, which like Cascade Behavioral Health, is located in the Seattle suburbs.

“I look forward to helping fulfill Discovery Behavioral Healthcare’s mission of providing better access of care to all those who need it,” Uradnik said in the press release on his hire. “As the new leader of ABHC, I especially welcome the opportunity to work with its dedicated, compassionate staff of psychologists, physicians and certified counselors, who are among the best in the Northwest.”

Headquartered in Los Alamitos, California, DBH operates over 100 centers nationwide. Founded in 1985, DBH is a portfolio company of Webster Equity Partners.

Landmark Recovery names new CMO

SUD treatment provider Landmark Recovery has appointed Jason Kirby as its new chief medical officer (CMO).

Kirby comes to Landmark from Albany, New York-based St. Peter’s Health Partners, where he was its medical director of addiction and recovery services. He additionally served as the chief of behavioral health for the hospital unit of St. Peter’s and previously was a medical director for the insurer Highmark.

“Landmark’s systematic, data-driven approach to treatment really attracted me to the organization,” Kirby said in a press release. “Research shows medically-supervised treatment can save lives and creating an all-inclusive approach that best supports the individual’s continuum of care is my priority.”

Kirby is a fellow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), serving on both its financial and level of care committees, in addition to being a faculty member for ASAM’s treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD) courses.

“Quality of patient care is at the core of Landmark’s recovery programs,” Landmark Recovery CEO Matt Boyle said in the press release. “Landmark believes Dr. Kirby’s unique experience in both addiction medicine and health policy will help advance the efforts necessary to provide the best individualized treatment options to our patients nationwide.”

Founded in 2016, Landmark operates across 12 states. The company accepts private insurance and self pay, as well as Medicaid at its Praxis-branded facilities in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. The provider offers detox and residential services, along with intensive outpatient (IOP) and partial hospitalization programming (PHP).

Landmark is a holding company under Simsbury Associates.

ABA therapy provider Springtide hires new COO

Springtide Child Development, which provides care services in New England for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), has named Jennifer Gilchrist as its COO.

Glichrist comes to Trumbull, Connecticut-based Springtide from Landmark Health (which is not affiliated with Landmark Recovery), where she was its regional president. An in-home medical care provider, Landmark was recently purchased by health care services company Optum.

“Jenn brings a personal passion and business perspective for autism care that will contribute to the already strong team we have assembled,” Jia Jia Ye, Springtide’s co-founder and CEO, said in a press release.

Gilchrist is the mother of an autistic child.

“As a parent to an autistic child, I know personally what it is like to struggle with the care and manage the worry associated with raising a child with autism,” Gichrist said in the press release about her hire. “I’m thrilled I found an organization whose mission is to positively change outcomes and experiences for other families. Through measurement, efficiency, and personal passion from the top down, Springtide is poised to change autism care moving forward.”

Founded last year, Springtide provides applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy to youth ages 2 to 18 at three Connecticut clinics, as well as one in Massachusetts. ABA is widely considered to be a gold standard of autism care.

Springtide completed its first funding round last November, raising $18.1 million in a Series A investment led by Deerfield Management Company and Optum Ventures.