New Year! New…Org?

This is such an extraordinary milestone to have met along our journey to fully implementing our vision of a unified team advancing mental wellness in Grant County and beyond.

GBMH and FSSI have been working closely with an independent consultant over the past 12 months to assess each organization’s operations, management, and programming to identify synergies. What we have discovered is potentially an incredible benefit to clients, our employees and the communities we serve.

Armed with that knowledge, we have formed a strategic partnership that begins with FSSI entering into a Memorandum of Understanding with GBMH. Specifically, FSSI will become a GBMH subsidiary under the agreement terms. This agreement will allow our organizations to join forces to share top leadership in order to reduce overhead for both FSSI and GBMH while maximizing our ability to serve the most vulnerable as we finalize long-term relationship details.

The fundamental goal of this partnership is to expand access and opportunities to improve community mental wellness. As a first step in this process, we will consolidate the senior level leadership team. The GBMH board of directors named me as chief executive officer of the organization effective Monday, January 24. (I’m so excited I’m still pinching myself to see if it’s real!)

With the FSSI board’s blessing and encouragement as GBMH’s new CEO, I’m now leading the best path forward to retain each organization’s identities while coming together as partners to increase and strengthen our community value.  The intention and goal is for me to lead both organizations under one leadership umbrella that is still being designed.

My presence at FSSI will continue, but it is significantly reduced. The FSSI board of directors unanimously selected Susan Miller to serve as senior director of FSSI operations and run the show. Susan and I continue to work closely together as the new partnership is evolving.

Ultimately, our guiding light is for FSSI and GBMH to partner in a way that preserves the unique missions of each organization while leveraging the strengths of each to provide the best possible experience for those we serve.

This is a wonderful opportunity for both of our organizations to do what we do best – to provide exceptional care and support for our clients and our community.

I discovered some time ago that my life’s purpose is to reduce suffering.  The teams at both FSSI and GBMH are aligned to do just that for our mental health, each and every day.  Together, we are preparing to change even MORE lives for GOOD!