Syracuse Behavioral HEalthcare gets new leader

CNY Business Journal (1996+), Jun 02, 2006 by Tampone, Kevin

SYRACUSE - A major area alcohol and drug-addiction and behavioral -health treatment organization has a new president and CEO.

Jeremy Klemanski took over the reins of Syracuse Behavioral Healthcare - on May 25. Klemanski had been serving as interim president since Feb. 26.

The organization's previous president, Richard Kinsella, left to pursue other interests in the rehabilitation field.

Klemanski joined SBH in January 2005 as its vice president and chief operating officer. His professional career has been spent mainly in the nonprofit sector.

Prior to SBH, he worked for the Salvation Army as director of its Mohawk Valley-area operations and later ran its Syracuse Adult Rehabilitation Center, a I 100-bed treatment facility.

He says his background will be a major strength in his new role as SBH president.

"I think I have an understanding of the need to deliver a superior clinical product and a superior offering to our patients. mixed with need to keep an eye on the development of our resources, both financial and our [information-technology] structure," Klemanski says.

Klemanski graduated from the State University of New York Institute of Technology in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in public administration and business management. He earned an MBA from Syracuse University in 2003.

SBH employs 160 and has an annual budget of $6 million to $7 million in a typical year, Klemanski says. The organization has 13 facilities in the area including office space, program space, and residential -treatin treatment facilities.

Its administrative headquarters is at 770 James St.

The group runs two residential treatment centers. One is an 18-bed detoxification and evaluation site where patients generally stay for one to 12 days. The other is a 40-bed rehabilitation center where patients usually stay for four to six weeks.

The organization also runs numerous outpatient-rehabilitation programs that draw 30,000 patient visits annually. Klemanski was not sure how many people the inpatient facilities serve annually, but says they are in high demand.

"There are no problems filling the beds," he says.

SBH was founded in 1920, and in 1959 began focusing on treating alcohol addiction. Today, the organization provides treatment for a wide variety of addiction problems and other behavioral health issues.

About one-third of the group's funding comes from state and county dollars, The other two-thirds is a combination of Medicaid, private insurance, self pay, and government contracts.

One of the biggest challenges facing SBH is its relationship with private insurers. Klemanski says its becoming harder to get many health plans to pay for the services SBH provides.

"That's not something that's unique to us," he says. "The challenge for us is to become stronger in our negotiations with those systems. We just want to be able to help people to access those services."

Klemanski also says he plans to focus on maintaining the strength of SBH's clinical expertise.

"In all the programs we develop, we want to make sure they are focused on our patients and our clients," he says.

SBH's board of directors conducted a national search for a new president.

"In the final analysis, the board felt it already had the right person for the job serving as its interim president," Debra Gallagher, the search committee chairwoman and board vice-chairwoman, said in a statement on Klemanski's selection.