Monte Nido Names New COO; Cerebral Appoints Chief People Officer

Monte Nido hires new COO

Giulia Peterlongo has begun her new role as the chief operating officer at eating disorder provider Monte Nido & Affiliates.

Before joining Monte Nido, Peterlongo worked for DaVita Kidney Care for almost seven years, recently serving as division vice president. She previously served as a health care specialist at McKinsey & Company and a senior consultant at Matrix Insight.

Founded in 1996, Monte Nido & Affiliates offers inpatient, residential day treatment programs and virtual care. In August 2022, private equity firm Revelstoke purchased the company from Levine Leichtman Capital Partners. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The company has several new leaders, including its CEO, Cassie McLean, who joined the organization in late 2022.

Acadia appoints new general counsel

National behavioral health provider Acadia Healthcare (Nasdaq:ACAD) has appointed Brian Farley its next executive vice president and general counsel.

The new appointment is effective on July 26, according to public filings. Farley currently serves as the chief legal officer and corporate secretary at health care at GoHealth (Nasdaq: GOCO), a marketplace for Medicare plans.

His resume also includes a seven-year tenure at Allscripts, where he held several positions, including executive vice president, general counsel and chief administrative officer.

Chris Howard, Acadia’s current general counsel and secretary, will retire from the position at the end of the month but remain on to provide transition advisory services until February.

Tennessee-based Acadia Healthcare is the largest pure-play behavioral health provider in the nation. At the end of 2022, it operated 250 facilities with about 11,000 beds in 39 states and Puerto Rico.

Bend Health promotes Dr. Amit Parikh to CMO

Pediatric behavioral health provider Bend Health has promoted Dr. Amit Parikh to chief medical officer. Parikh is tasked with leading the development and scaling of its virtual mental health services in this new role. Additionally, he will be responsible for implementing a pediatric collaborative care model.

He will take the reins from Dr. Monika Roots, who will continue to serve as co-founder and president of the company.

“As a physician leader, Amit is well-versed in identifying and implementing data-driven solutions that promote patient-centered care for children and teens,” Kurt Roots, co-founder and chief executive officer Bend Health, said in a statement. “His experience in clinical care and care operations will help us enhance our services and accelerate access to pediatric behavioral care for even more families in need.”

Before joining Bend, Parikh served as a sports psychiatrist at Mental Fitness Clinic. He was also a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Ventura County Medical Center as well as the associate psychiatric medical director at HealthRIGHT 360.

Bend Health is a digital behavioral health platform that treats children and adolescents. It recently announced a $32 million funding.

Cerebral taps BCG vet as its next chief people officer

Digital behavioral health company Cerebral has named Kevin Oliveria Callender its new chief people officer.

Callender started working at Cerebral in January 2022 and was promoted to CPO earlier this month.

Callender joins Cerebral from Boston Consulting Group, where he served as a partner leading the organization’s people and organization practice. He has previously founded Eli Data Consulting, a “boutique student-led company specializing in providing affordable data analysis solutions to academics, small business and nonprofits.”

Founded in 2019, Cerebral provides virtual behavioral health services. The company has raised about $462 million in venture funding, and its Series C funding round brought its valuation to $4.8 billion.

It offers various virtual behavioral health services treating conditions including depression, anxiety, and some serious mental illnesses. However, the company has come under fire for its prescribing practices of ADHD medication Adderall in recent years. The company has since stopped prescribing the medication.

Talkspace CMO leaves to lead VR startup

Dr. Varun Choudhary has joined autism-focused virtual reality company Floreo as its chief medical officer, according to Linkedin.

Choudhary previously served as CMO of virtual mental health company Talkspace (Nasdaq: TALK), and according to his Linkedin, continues to serve as a consulting specialist for the company.

His resume also includes two years as senior vice president and behavioral health chief medical officer at Magellan Health, and a year as the chief medical officer at Good Neighbor.

Floreo’s VR platform aims to teach neurodiverse learners social, communication, emotional regulation and independent living skills. The Washington, D.C.-based company closed a $10 million Series A funding round in 2022, bringing its total raise to just over $12 million, according to Crunchbase.

Baymark names business development executive

Substance use disorder provider Baymark Health has named Vaughn Bell its new vice president of business development for residential treatment services.

Bell has worked at some of the largest SUD providers in the country. She previously served as the chief business development officer at Landmark Recovery and senior vice president of business development at Pinnacle Treatment Centers.

Before coming to Baymark, Bell served as the senior vice president of growth strategy at Speranza Therapeutics.

Lewisville, Texas-based BayMark Health is focused on treating substance use disorder. It has over 400 treatment facilities in 37 states and three Canadian provinces. It claims to be the largest opioid use disorder treatment service in North America.

SAMHSA names new division director

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has named Captain Christopher Jones its new director of the Center of Substance Abuse Prevention.

Jones previously served as the director for the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. His previous work at the CDC included a position as deputy director for the Injury Center and as associate Director for strategy and innovation.

His resume also includes serving as the first director of National Mental Health and Substance Use Policy Laboratory at SAMHSA.