Denise Dugas, Executive Director of Mental and Behavioral Health for Our Lady of the Lake, has been selected for the American Hospital Association’s (AHA) Section for Psychiatric & Substance Abuse Services National Advisory Council. In this role, she will provide valuable input and participate in the advocacy and public policy development processes of the AHA.
Dugas, who has more than 25 years of experience as a senior level executive in integrated healthcare organizations and freestanding behavioral health facilities, will also take an important role in identifying and tracking issues of special interest to behavioral health providers and patients. Council members serve as field experts in behavioral health, and use their experience and expertise to influence AHA policy positions impacting all Americans.
“Denise is highly regarded as an expert in the mental and behavioral health community, at the local, and state level,” said K. Scott Wester, president and CEO of Our Lady of the Lake. “She has an excellent grasp of mental and behavioral health policy, and implications of policy changes on local, state, and federal initiatives. She has a mission driven attitude, and her level of commitment to the mental and behavioral health community in making sure Our Lady of the Lake delivers the highest quality of care possible to those she is privileged to serve.”
Throughout her career, Dugas has been appointed by governors and senators for various task forces and commissions focused on behavioral health care. She is a member of the Louisiana Hospital Association Behavioral Health Statewide Constituency Group, and successfully chaired four two-year terms. She is a current member of Med BR, under the Mayor’s Healthy City Initiative/Behavioral Health Group, and is a strong proponent of primary and behavioral healthcare integration. Additionally, Dugas is on the Board of Directors for the Baton Rouge Mental Health Association, and is also on the Board of the Baton Rouge Bridge Center, that is dedicated to treating the mentally ill with the dignity they deserve.
At Our Lady of the Lake, Dugas is responsible for strategic planning, business development, finance accountability, quality control, and community integration and representation for mental and behavioral health services. Our Lady of the Lake combines the latest medical information with compassionate care to treat those dealing with mental illness, addiction, or emotional vulnerability.
The AHA’s Section for Psychiatric & Substance Abuse Services represents more than 1,660 providers, including psychiatric services provided in general acute care hospitals, as well as freestanding adult, child, and adolescent psychiatric hospitals, and alcohol and drug hospitals.
Dugas’s three-year term on the council begins Jan. 1, 2018.