Department of Mental Health Commissioner Barbara Leadholm to Step Down

Boston — The Patrick-Murray Administration announced today that Barbara Leadholm, Commissioner of the Department of Mental Health, will step down on January 31 to assume a new role as a Principal in the Boston office of Health Management Associates, Inc. In this new position, she will continue her efforts to improve the integration of behavioral health services into the health care system as the nation prepares to fully implement federal health care reform. Deputy Commissioner for Mental Health Services Marcia Fowler will serve as Interim Commissioner.

“Commissioner Leadholm has an unmatched commitment to ensuring that people with mental illness have access to high quality services and opportunities for recovery,” said Governor Deval Patrick. “On behalf of the Commonwealth, I am thankful for her leadership and service, and I know she will continue to show leadership in advocating for the importance of behavioral health services in the broader health care system.”

“Barbara Leadholm has led the Department of Mental Health with a profound dedication to promoting recovery and resiliency for people with mental illness,” said Secretary of Health and Human Services Dr. JudyAnn Bigby. “Under her leadership, the agency has made it a priority to support consumers in achieving successful recoveries in the community.”

Barbara Leadholm has served as Commissioner of the Department of Mental Health since 2007. Under her leadership, the agency has made significant strides in implementing the Community First initiative as part of its continuum of quality services for people with serious mental illness. In launching Community Based Flexible Supports (CBFS), the Department demonstrated its goal of supporting all consumers in their realization of achieving successful recoveries in the community. The accelerated closure of Westborough State Hospital within nine months highlights Commissioner Leadholm’s and her staff’s ability to address the changing needs of individuals and plan for their appropriate discharge while developing significant new community resources. Commissioner Leadholm, along with the state’s Division of Capital Asset Management, also managed the design and groundbreaking of the new Worcester State Hospital, a 320-bed state-of-the-art facility that will help foster recovery and rehabilitation. Commissioner Leadholm’s leadership and engagement with other child-serving agencies, including MassHealth, have helped realize the Children’s Behavioral Health Initiative, an effort that allowed the state to reach beyond remedy services to achieve a shared vision of family and child voice in the design and implementation of community services for children with serious emotional disturbance and their families.

“It has been a privilege as Commissioner to lead Massachusetts’s transformation of the mental health system to a recovery and community based system of services and supports,” said Commissioner Leadholm. “I am proud of the Department’s leadership team and line staff who developed community based flexible services and work every day with some of our most vulnerable residents. We know that treatment is effective and early identification and intervention can lessen the interruption in a person's education, employment and social connections. Health care reform offers the unique opportunity to integrate mental health and substance use services into mainstream health care; in linking with the community and rehabilitation services individuals with mental illness can live productive and satisfying lives.”

Marcia Fowler has served as Deputy Commissioner for Mental Health Services since January 2009 and has been responsible for the operations of all state and contracted mental health inpatient and community-based programs and services, as well as monitoring and oversight. Prior to her appointment as Deputy Commissioner, she served the Department as North East Area Director and as Director of Investigations.

About the Department of Mental Health (DMH)

Part of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, DMH provides services to adults, children and adolescents with long-term or serious mental illness and serious emotional disturbance; provides early and ongoing treatment for mental illness; and conducts research into the causes of and treatments for mental illness. Through state-operated inpatient facilities and community mental health centers and through community services and programs provided by nearly 200 mental health providers, DMH directly serves 21,000 citizens, including about 3,500 children and adolescents, with severe and persistent mental illness and serious emotional disturbance.

# # #