AHA’s Committee on Behavioral Health names 2024 chair, chair-elect and new members

Mar 08, 2024 - 03:11 PM
board_decision_900x400.jpg

Jill Howard, R.N., senior consultant, Sheppard Pratt Solutions, is the 2024 chair of AHA’s Committee on Behavioral Health. Zelia Baugh, executive vice president, behavioral health, JPS Health Network (Texas), will serve as the 2024 chair-elect; and Arpan Waghray, M.D., CEO, Well-Being Trust | Providence (Washington) will serve as the 2024 past-chair.  

Joining the committee as members are Leslie Simmons, R.N., executive vice president and chief operating officer, LifeBridge Health (Maryland); Kelly Barton, president, Spring Harbor Hospital (Maine); Archana Kumar, M.D., medical director, Cone Health Behavioral Health Hospital (North Carolina); Susan Parisi, M.D., chief wellness officer, Geisinger Health System (Pennsylvania); Thomas Saggio, R.N., director of behavioral health operations, St. Louis Children’s Hospital (Missouri); Mary Sparks Thompson, R.N., president, Trilliam Place, a Carle Health affiliate (Illinois); and Jennifer Wahkinney, R.N., chief nurse executive, Lawton Service Unit, Indian Health Service (Oklahoma).  

The committee advises AHA on policy and advocacy and provides a forum for strategic discussion of issues important to behavioral health providers and the field. For more information on AHA’s work on behavioral health, click here.

Related News Articles

Headline
District court pauses 8 provisions from 2027 notice of benefit and payment parameters final rule
The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland July 16 enjoined eight provisions from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ 2027 notice of…
Headline
ASHE to host Health Care Facilities Innovation Conference in August
The AHA’s American Society for Health Care Engineering will host the Health Care Facilities Innovation Conference in Minneapolis from Aug. 2-5. The conference…
Headline
Forum on hospital capacity management set for July
The inaugural Hospital Capacity Management Leadership Forum, tailored to hospital and health system leaders responsible for hospital flow, will be held July 11…
Headline
AHA files amicus brief in case challenging HHS, CMS on provider taxes 
The AHA drafted and filed an amicus brief June 17 in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a case regarding Medicaid financing and provider taxes filed by…
Headline
AHA files amicus brief in appeals court supporting dismissal of online tracking case
The AHA May 27 filed an amicus brief in the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals supporting the dismissal of an online tracking lawsuit against a member hospital…
Chairperson's File
Chair File: Leadership Dialogue — The Role of Advocacy in Advancing Health Care with AHA Executive Vice President Stacey Hughes
Public
We’re at a watershed moment in health care, which gives us opportunities to strengthen how we serve patients and communities. Health care leaders must help…