The Alliance for South Sound Health announced today that Maureen Womack has been hired as chief executive officer and president of the Behavioral Health Hospital now under construction in Tacoma. The Alliance is a joint entity forged between the region\u2019s two largest nonprofit health systems, CHI Franciscan Health and MultiCare Health System, to alleviate the critical shortage of behavioral health inpatient care in Pierce County. Together they will open and operate a dedicated, 120-bed adult Behavioral Health Hospital at 19th\u00a0Street and South Union Avenue. Womack will join the Alliance and begin her new role on Jan. 15. The Alliance anticipates the hospital will open for patient care in early January 2019.<\/p>\n
Womack brings 20-plus years of executive leadership in the field of behavioral health. She relocates from Arizona, where she served as CEO and oversaw the startup of psychiatric hospital Cornerstone Behavioral Health-El Dorado in Tucson. Her experience includes serving as executive director of Johnson County Mental Health Center in Johnson County, Kansas; Merit Health River Region in Vicksburg, Mississippi (interim), managing a 104-bed psychiatric hospital; and the Norfolk Community Services Board in Norfolk, Virginia\u00a0with oversight of the community\u2019s full continuum of services for mental health, substance use disorders and developmental disabilities.\u00a0Womack also served a decade as president and CEO of Davis Behavioral Health Inc., a nonprofit community mental health and substance abuse center in Davis County, Utah.<\/p>\n
\u201cIncreasing access to behavioral health services in our region is an important part of improving the health of our communities. I\u2019m excited that we\u2019ll have someone of Maureen Womack\u2019s caliber to help us bring this to fruition,\u201d said Bill Robertson, CEO of MultiCare Health System.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are confident that Womack\u2019s experience and leadership will ensure the highest quality care and support are provided to our most vulnerable populations and families,\u201d said Ketul J. Patel, CEO of CHI Franciscan Health. \u201cOur new Behavioral Health Hospital is just one step in our journey to improve the health and wellness of our region and state.\u201d<\/p>\n
Womack\u2019s educational background includes a master\u2019s degree in psychology and dual bachelor\u2019s degrees in psychology and sociology from the University of South Alabama.<\/p>\n
About the Behavioral Health Hospital<\/strong><\/p>\n The freestanding, two-story hospital will be located on the MultiCare Allenmore Hospital Campus in Tacoma. The hospital will employ a staff of about 300 to serve approximately 5,000 patients each year. The hospital will vastly improve the number of adult behavioral health inpatient beds in the Pierce County community, from 2.8 beds to 16.3 beds per 100,000 population. Professional staff of the nonprofit hospital will provide stabilization and recovery for adults age 18 and older and will treat behavioral health and co-existing secondary medical or chemical dependency conditions. Services include a 16-bed crisis stabilization unit that will serve as a behavioral health-focused, 24\/7 receiving site for direct patient transport by law enforcement, ambulance and fire\/medics. This new facility will better serve patients with mental illness or substance use disorders with specialized staff and facilities.\u00a0The new hospital will help serve the one in five adults who will experience symptoms associated with a diagnosable behavioral health disorder this year.<\/p>\n