San Diego, CA – April 11, 2018 – Alvarado Parkway Institute Behavioral Health System (API), 1 of 3 free standing psychiatric and addictive disorder facilities serving the San Diego community for over 30 years, today announced major changes to the Executive Management Team as part of the continued expansion plans for its Behavioral Healthcare System in response to the ever growing demand for services.
Patrick Ziemer, who has served as the company’s CEO for the last 10 years, will be moving into a corporate role as President and Chief Development Officer, leading the organization’s major west coast expansion for Behavioral Health Development and Acquisitions. As part of the Behavioral Health Systems’ work to enhance its continuum of care, Ziemer will head the company’s portfolio expansion plans adding 12 new Crisis Houses (residential treatment facilities offering recovery from mental illness and co-occurring challenges) over the next few years. In addition, Ziemer will lead the planning and acquisition of a new Inpatient Behavioral Health Hospital, development of Psychiatric Urgent Care clinics, Tele psych services and expansion of Outpatient Clinics throughout the west coast.
Megan Montgomery-West, who has served as the Executive Director Regulatory Affairs and a number of other executive leadership positions within the Hospital including Chief Operations Officer, will assume the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Montgomery-West will be responsible and accountable for managing all administrative and behavioral health care activities for the hospital. As CEO, she will provide overall leadership and direction for all professional, administrative, technical and clerical employees, ensuring the delivery of high quality behavioral health care and supporting ongoing quality improvement efforts. Montgomery-West is known as a pragmatic, results oriented leader, whose success has been in her commitment to identifying practical, quantifiable systems to promote continuous quality improvement. Montgomery-West will focus on improving and expanding patient centered care throughout the Hospital and Intensive Outpatient Programs.
“Megan Montgomery-West brings a wealth of experience and leadership from her career as a health care administrator at API,” said Patrick Ziemer, outgoing CEO at API. “Megan’s demonstrated leadership, expertise and success in behavioral health care policy and management will be invaluable assets as we carry out our mission of Improving Mental Health and Quality of Life by Helping People Maximize their Potential. It is beyond exciting to step into my next role and lead the Behavioral Health System’s expansion. The need is great, but so is the opportunity and API is poised to expand to meet the need in our community of San Diego and beyond.”
“Patrick Ziemer has been a part of the Behavioral Healthcare community here in San Diego for over 30 years,” said Andrew Noorollah, PhD. “Ziemer’s knowledge of the unique challenges facing our San Diego Behavioral Healthcare and Addiction Disorders community has positioned him well to take on the corporate level role as President and Chief Development Officer and successfully expand our continuum of care and service offering to those living in San Diego and beyond. I’ve worked with Megan Montgomery-West since 2003. She’s professional, organized, confident and extremely bright. She has high standards and high expectations for patient care and customer service. We are privileged to have her expertise and leadership as CEO.”
Josh Tolman, Chief Administrative Officer for Mountain View Hospital, Idaho Falls, ID., who serves on API’s Board of Directors said “We’ve seen the need for accessible mental health and addiction services expand exponentially over the past 20 years. We see the devastating results of the unmet need on the nightly news, social media, in our schools and in practically every aspect of our society. As 1 of only 3 free standing psychiatric and addictive disorders facilities in San Diego county, we are eager to invest in expanding our reach to meet the behavioral health and addictive disorder needs within our communities in central San Diego, north county, east county and to grow throughout California and beyond. We are confident that with Megan Montgomery-West as CEO and Patrick Ziemer as President and Chief Development Officer, our team of behavioral healthcare professionals at API will deliver excellent care to those who are in need.”
“It is a true honor to be selected as the next leader of API,” said Montgomery-West. “It is a great institution with a long history of excellence. Working together as a team, I know in my heart that API’s best days lie ahead, and together with our great physicians, clinical and non-clinical staff, we will achieve API’s full potential as the #1 behavioral healthcare system, delivering accessible, excellent patient-centered care.”
About API:
Alvarado Parkway Institute Behavioral Health System is focused on meeting the needs of the whole patient by providing a Continuum of Care. The current system includes a 66-bed inpatient hospital, Partial Hospitalization and Outpatient services, three Intensive Outpatient facilities, Jackson House, a short-term Crisis residential treatment program, Promontory, an In-home Healthcare practice and 4Front Pharmacy, a full-service pharmacy with a emphasis on behavioral health and addictive disorder needs. For more information on API visit https://www.apibhs.com.