Rogers Behavioral Health System Inc.’s new CEO John Boyd said the nonprofit is on track for national expansion.
Oconomowoc, Wisconsin-based Rogers Behavioral Health named Boyd CEO in August 2022. He started effective Oct. 1, succeeding Pat Hammer, who held the role for 10 years. The organization operates in 10 states, and its facilities include three psychiatric hospitals, 17 residential programs and eight outpatient centers in Wisconsin. It also operates outpatient clinics in several major metros, including Nashville, Atlanta, San Francisco, Denver and Seattle.
Rogers Behavioral Health pulled in $347 million in revenue during its fiscal year ended July 31, 2022, according to public audit documents.
“It’s very clear during this time of significant challenge that people are facing with mental health and addiction care that there does need to be that expanded premier national provider of mental health and addiction care,” Boyd said. “I’m on a course to take this incredible foundation that’s been laid with Rogers and truly expand that into a richer, broader national model of care.”
The company is in the midst of a strategic planning process that will wrap up in July. Even before completing that process, Boyd said he expects Rogers Behavioral Health to continue to grow in outpatient and residential mental health and addiction care services.
It’s also taking a serious look at the expansion of telehealth services, especially as it impacts access to care for rural communities. That process will lean on the company’s history and background in research and outcomes-based care.
Some of its latest research includes studies of obsessive-compulsive disorder and sleep disturbances, acceptance-enhanced behavior therapy for those that compulsively pull out their hair (trichotillomania) and empirical analysis of online content’s role in eating disorders risk.
“I can honestly tell you, for the first time in my career, I lead and represent an organization that I can unconditionally stand behind and know that every single day we are providing the best life-saving or life-changing care to someone else,” Boyd said.
A doctorate-level psychologist by training, Boyd joined Rogers Behavioral Health in January 2022 as the CEO of the hospital division. He held several leadership roles before joining Rogers. A few include CEO of Sutter Health’s mental health and addiction care services line and hospital administrative director and regional director of development with Shriners Hospitals for Children.
The following Q&A has been edited for length, clarity and style.
How long have you worked in health care and what attracted you to the space?
More years than I care to admit. Over 25 years ago, I started as a mental health worker in a psychiatric hospital.
It’s really there that I fell in love with the profession of health care and mental health. I recognized early on that I can make a real difference in people’s lives and impact communities in a broader richer definition. That was the hook for me.
What inspired you to get into management and leadership roles? There is a process of starting in frontline care roles and moving into management roles.
I took a job as a mental health worker to put myself through school to become a mental health therapist. It was on that journey that I met some of the individuals that were running the psychiatric hospitals where I worked. They said they heard good things about me from patients and physicians and said I should be a psychiatric hospital CEO.
I first became exposed to health care through my mom, an environmental service worker at a local trauma facility in our community. I had the experience of understanding med-surg hospitals through the lens of someone that works very hard on the frontline and also as a champion and someone who is passionate about mental health care and became a mental health therapist.
You could work anywhere. Why Rogers Behavioral Health?
I’ve been in mental health and addiction care throughout my whole life and throughout my whole career. I’ve had the privilege of working for some amazing organizations and health systems. But where it got extra personal for me was when my little cousin, Wesley, came back from three tours of duty in the Marines, and got addicted to opioids. That turned into a heroin addiction.
I was in the position of actually getting him in and out of private treatment programs, many of which were not fueled by evidence-based research and evidence-based care. It was after the passing of Wesley as a result of heroin addiction that the desire to drive evidence-based care intensified in me.
When I got the call that this position was coming open at Rogers, I had already heard of the reputation. I did my homework and quickly realized that Rogers, by far more than any organization I’m aware of, is much further along in its pursuit of evidence-based care and treatment supported by research and is also incredibly committed to clinical fidelity throughout its locations.
But why go for a CEO role?
For me, it’s all about influence and being able to influence the way that mental health and addiction care not only is delivered in today’s environment, which for me is at Rogers, but ideally influence conversations and decisions at both the national state and local level around how mental health and addiction care should be delivered.
I do that in a variety of ways. I’m a board member at National Mental Health America, as just one example where I’ve leveraged that influence in different ways to achieve the same aim.
The reality is I wouldn’t become president and CEO of any organization, but became president and CEO of an organization that has a 20-year history of tracking clinical outcomes. I wouldn’t have just pursued that role in any environment, in any place, but Rogers was compelling for those reasons I just stated.
What is the number one challenge you think Rogers will face in 2023?
I think the challenges that we will face in 2023 are similar to what other folks face. That has to do with staffing and making sure that we have the pipeline of clinicians as well as other individuals in professions needed to serve the many communities we know would benefit from the type of care we provide.
What’s one thing that you’ll do to address that?
We have a strong commitment to our clinical training programs. We have American Psychological Association-accredited predoctoral programs for psychologists. We provide training to residents that have just completed their medical doctorate degree. Those are just a few examples of how we are actually supporting the pipeline not only to benefit Rogers but the broader communities that are in need of these mental health leaders and mental health clinicians.
Let’s pivot that question a bit. What is Rogers’ No. 1 opportunity in 2023?
When we finish our strategic planning process and about four months, give me a call. But the biggest opportunity now is to expand on those national and international needs for evidence-based treatment for mental health and addiction care.
How will Rogers grow in 2023 and beyond?
We are in the process of carefully looking at that now. But it is very clear that the need for this evidence-based treatment in different communities around the country will continue to fuel where we go and how we continue to grow in the communities that we’re in.
I think it’s fair to say that one can expect Rogers to continue its commitment and grow its commitment in the area of outpatient mental health and addiction care as well as residential programs.
I also think it’s fair to say that we will continue to look at the role that digital health plays, specifically in the areas of mental health and addiction care, and see if there are opportunities for us to continue to serve more communities, especially rural communities, that aren’t easily able to get into larger cities to receive care.
What opportunities does offering behavioral health under the nonprofit designation open up that your for-profit competitors don’t have?
One thing that’s meaningful to me about Rogers being a nonprofit is we’re able to give back to the community in a unique way. Any profits we make go back and get reinvested within the communities we serve, and strengthen Rogers’ ability to provide ongoing research in terms of what works and what doesn’t work and healing people’s lives and allows us to support other nonprofit community organizations. I think that’s a unique privilege. And for me, that’s an important differentiator that I’m incredibly proud of.
What is Rogers’ top priority with technology? We already mentioned telehealth.
That every individual and family that entrusts their care to us has the best type of digital technology-supported experience with us possible. Rogers will continue to be in pursuit of how we can offer the most effective choices, but also the broadest choices, for people to heal and truly get better while staying to the extent they can within their own homes and communities.
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