Saint Simons By-The-Sea Welcomes New CEO from Psychiatric Solutions' Sister Facility

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. - (April 28, 2010) - Saint Simons By-The-Sea is proud to welcome Mike Ham as the new chief executive officer of the full-service behavioral health facility. Ham returns to his Georgia roots at By-The-Sea, a Psychiatric Solutions, Inc. (PSI) facility, having served most recently as the CEO of Heartland Behavioral Health, another PSI facility in Nevada, Mo.

Beginning his healthcare career 30 years ago in Atlanta, Ga., Ham has held executive positions with national behavioral health companies in Savannah, Atlanta and Wichita, Kan. Throughout his career, Ham has cultivated a passion for providing quality mental healthcare. Believing that part of quality care hinges on specialized training for its practitioners, Ham developed a nationally recognized employee training program which he will be implementing at By-The-Sea. Since mental health and substance abuse treatment is a highly specialized field and requires specialized training, the program provides direct care workers with the tools and training they need to meet the specific needs of their patients.

"I am excited to be a part of the Saint Simons By-The-Sea family, and I look forward to leading this team of people to be the experts in the field of psychiatric care." said Ham. "I believe our patients will benefit from working with employees trained and motivated to be the best they can be."

Likewise, Scott Kardenetz, PSI division president overseeing Saint Simons, agrees that both Ham and his training program will be a great addition to By-The-Sea.

"Knowing Mike through his previous role at Heartland Behavioral Health, he has proven himself a strong leader among the Psychiatric Solutions family of hospitals, and we look forward to him joining the staff at Saint Simons By-The-Sea," said Kardenetz. "As was evidenced at Heartland, Mike's employee training program made both the staff and patients feel confident about the facility's ability to provide high quality care while fostering a strong patient-staff relationship."

About Saint Simons By-The-Sea
Saint Simons By-The-Sea Hospital is a 101-bed psychiatric and addictive disease hospital that has served Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and the remainder of the Southeast since 1982. The facility treats adults and adolescents with mental health issues and has developed specialty programs to meet the unique needs of patients who are dually diagnosed with mental health issues and co-existing substance abuse disorders. For more information, please visit www.ssbytheseamediapsi.com

About Psychiatric Solutions, Inc. (PSI)
Psychiatric Solutions, Inc. offers an extensive continuum of behavioral health programs to critically ill children, adolescents and adults and is the largest operator of owned or leased freestanding psychiatric inpatient facilities with more than 11,000 beds in 32 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. PSI also manages freestanding psychiatric inpatient facilities for government agencies and psychiatric inpatient units within medical/surgical hospitals owned by others. For more information, please visit www.psychiatricsolutionsmedia.com

Jennifer June
(o) 615-780-3316
(c) 615-419-8000
jennifer.june@dvl.com

Kristin Hampel
(o) 615-780-3365
(c) 615-275-7926
kristin.hampel@dvl.com

209 Seventh Avenue North
Nashville, TN 37219

This release was published on openPR.