Sheppard Pratt recently announced that its consulting and management services division, Sheppard Pratt Solutions, has entered into a management agreement with St. Mary’s Health System, a member of Covenant Health, in Lewiston, Maine. This partnership will help improve and expand access to St. Mary’s Health System’s behavioral health program. Sheppard Pratt Solutions offers consultation, management, and development services at a programmatic or facility level, and it was launched in response to the increased demand for behavioral health services and a burgeoning need to make care more accessible nationwide through strategic partnerships with hospitals and healthcare systems. Sheppard Pratt is recognized and respected as a national leader, with an unmatched breadth and depth of knowledge, clinical expertise, and the most comprehensive continuum of programs in the behavioral health field. Sheppard Pratt Solutions is leveraging expertise in operating high-quality behavioral health services at scale to work with partner organizations to improve and expand mental health services in communities across the nation.
“We are pleased to partner with St. Mary’s Health System and extend Sheppard Pratt’s knowledge, clinical expertise, and resources in behavioral health to serve communities in Maine,” says Harsh K. Trivedi, MD, MBA, president and CEO of Sheppard Pratt. “The need for behavioral health services is tremendous and that need is felt in every community across the nation. Sheppard Pratt Solutions offers the ability for health systems to address local community needs by partnering with a national leader who shares a commitment to providing high-quality, evidence-based, compassionate behavioral health services. St. Mary’s Health System is among the first in a series of agreements to expand the impact of Sheppard Pratt across the nation.”
Sheppard Pratt has hired Michael Abbatiello, MPPM, FACHE, to serve as vice president of behavioral health for St. Mary’s Health System and executive director, behavioral health for Covenant Health. In this role, Abbatiello will provide operational and financial oversight of the behavioral health services. He has more than 30 years of expertise in healthcare, and prior to this role, served as senior vice president of operations and chief financial officer for Sweetser and Maine Behavioral Healthcare.
“This is an exciting time for St. Mary’s as we work with Sheppard Pratt to transform one of our key service lines,” says St. Mary’s Health System president, Steve Jorgensen. “By partnering with Sheppard Pratt and utilizing the best practices of Sheppard Pratt Solutions, we build on our reputation of excellence and provide the very best in behavioral healthcare for our patients.”
In addition to supporting the management of the behavioral health service line, the agreement gives St. Mary’s Health System employees access to Sheppard Pratt’s resources, including a continuing professional education platform, as well as subject matter experts for case consultations and specialty services.
Launched in 2021,Sheppard Pratt Solutions has engagements in more than 20 states to provide consultation, management, and development services.
About St. Mary’s Health System
St. Mary’s Health System, a member of Covenant Health, was founded in 1888 by the Sisters of Charity of Saint-Hyacinthe. Today, it is an integrated medical system comprised of a 233-bed acute care community hospital, an employed group of primary care and specialty providers, urgent care and emergency department, an extensive complement of behavioral and mental health services and outpatient specialty practices. St. Mary’s Health System also includes d’Youville Pavilion, a senior care community that offers a rehabilitation center, long-term skilled nursing care and memory care. We combine talented and compassionate caregivers with state-of-the-art medical technology to meet Androscoggin County’s health care needs.
About Sheppard Pratt
Sheppard Pratt is the largest private, nonprofit provider of mental health, substance use, developmental disability, special education, and social services in the country. A nationwide resource, Sheppard Pratt provides services across a comprehensive continuum of care, spanning both hospital- and community-based resources. Since its founding in 1853, Sheppard Pratt has been innovating the field through research, best practice implementation, and a focus on improving the quality of mental health care on a global level. Sheppard Pratt has been consistently recognized as a top national psychiatric hospital by U.S. News & World Report for more than 30 years.