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Stephens retiring as CEO of CMHC, Inc. -- Talbot selected to succeed as Executive Director of Center
June 23, 2010
After a career spanning 40 years in mental health services in Indiana, more than half of which was spent as executive director of Community Mental Health Center, Inc. in Lawrenceburg, Joseph D. Stephens will retire as CEO of the Center on June 30.
Stephens, who joined the staff of CMHC in July 1988, will be succeeded as Executive Director by Tom Talbot, currently CMHC’s Director of Performance Improvement & Information Management. Talbot, who has been with the Center since January 2000 – when he was recruited to help foster CMHC’s nascent organizational performance improvement efforts – was named Stephens’ successor by the Center’s Board of Directors after a nationwide selection process in the latter months of last year.
Stephens and Talbot have been working on the transition process for about six months, with Stephens sharing his wealth of knowledge of the mental health services system in Indiana and Talbot stepping up to fill roles he will assume on July 1.
Stephens has helped navigate CMHC through heady waters during his 22 year tenure, a time in which philosophies, methodologies and services in behavioral health have seen a tremendous amount of change, from the local level all the way to the federal level.
During Stephens’ tenure, CMHC has grown to encompass about 20 facilities in the five counties of the Center’s service area (Dearborn, Franklin, Ohio, Ripley and Switzerland). In the last couple of years, relationships have been developing, as well, in Decatur, Jennings and Rush counties as the result of a federal Systems of Care initiative which is being administered by CMHC.
Stephens, a 1964 graduate of St. Meinrad College in St. Meinrad, Indiana, served as a Captain in the United States Air Force. He earned a Master’s of Health Administration from the Indiana University School of Medicine in 1973, the same year he became Executive Director of the Mental Health Center of St. Joseph County. He was appointed Deputy Commissioner of Mental Health for the State of Indiana in late 1981 by Governor Robert Orr. He is recognized as one of the early architects of the state’s mental health services system and continues to garner respect for his knowledge and wisdom and his willingness to share them.
An eventful 22 years at CMHC saw Stephens confront a number of challenges related to changes in how mental health services are provided, administered and funded. As well as addressing day-to-day operational matters over that time, Stephens shepherded the Center through a tornado in 1990 and flooding in 1997 which damaged offices in Lawrenceburg.
Throughout his career, he has served on a number of committees, including the Severe Mental Illness Advisory Group and the Strengthening Primary Care Providers to the Poor Advisory Group of The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati, an organization with which Stephens has helped CMHC establish a strong relationship in the last several years. On June 1, 1990, he was appointed by Governor Evan Bayh to chairmanship of the Discharged Mental Health Patient Study Committee, a committee created by the Indiana General Assembly to make recommendations to improve community services to patients discharged from state hospitals for the mentally ill. He was a founding member of the Indiana Council of Community Mental Health Centers and served as a member of its Board. He is well-known in the state for his passionate advocacy for quality mental health services.
He received a Board of Directors Appreciation Award from the Dearborn Community Foundation in 2000. He was recognized in 2006 with the Elizabeth “Cookie” Williams Award for Volunteerism and Advocacy by Community Services for the Deaf in Cincinnati. In 2007, he was given a “Heroes in the Fight” award in the Individual Community Supporter category by Mental Health America of Indiana.
Stephens is a long-time member of the Batesville Kiwanis and is a member of a local barbershop singing group. He served for several years as a member of the Board of Education of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. He and his wife, Joan, reside in Batesville. In recent years, they have spent much time in Arizona, where Mrs. Stephens has family. The Stephens have five adult children.
“I am grateful for the opportunities I have had throughout my career to work with many outstanding professional staff members, community representatives and board members and to be a supportive partner to clients who strive to live fully productive lives,” said Stephens.
Talbot came to CMHC after a 23-year behavioral healthcare career, mostly hospital-based in Cincinnati. Talbot is a registered nurse and has a Masters degree in Management, Health Care Administration. Talbot also served as a Captain in the U. S. Air Force. He was president for 10 years of the Ohio Psychiatric Advisory Council. Since joining CMHC, Talbot has fostered the Center’s participation in quality improvement activities which has helped CMHC survive and thrive in a tumultuous era for mental health services. He has recently helped direct formation of the East Indiana AHEC and has been a key participant for CMHC in critical incident stress management efforts and has functioned as the team leader for disaster and mental health response in Southeastern Indiana. Along with Stephens, Talbot has maintained a close relationship with The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati, a key partner for CMHC.
Working to direct and manage ongoing organizational performance improvement has made Talbot intimately familiar with the various aspects of operations at CMHC. The Center currently has four clinical divisions – Community Support Services, Inpatient Services, Intensive Youth Services, and Outpatient Services – and a number of programs within those divisions. In addition, the Center administers the regional Systems of Care initiative mentioned earlier.
Talbot looks forward to carrying on the work of Stephens in maintaining the reputation of CMHC as a leading provider of mental health services in Indiana and the Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio Tri-State region.
“I value the opportunity to lead an organization which I know has tremendous employees. We will meet the challenges ahead of us, now and in the future, and we will continue to provide quality evidence-based services for our clients and their families,” said Talbot.
