Highland Rivers Health board elects officers
Gilmer County member Leland Johnson was elected chair of the 12-county Highland Rivers Health governing board.
His one-year term began July 1, the start of the agency’s 2022 fiscal year.
Johnson worked for the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities for nearly a decade before his retirement in 2017. He became a board member for the Highland Rivers Foundation the next year and joined the Highland Rivers Health governing board in 2019.
Other officers elected for FY22 are Chris Mosley, CEO of Cartersville Medical Center, as vice chair; Rockmart Mayor Sherman Ross as treasurer; and Steve Grimsley, Paulding’s deputy county clerk, as secretary.
Highland Rivers Health CEO Melanie Dallas said the board “was absolutely critical” in helping the agency navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s one of the few with its own accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Rehabilitation Facilities.
“We are very pleased to have Lee Johnson bring his considerable knowledge of behavioral health as chair of our board, leading what is once again a top-notch slate of officers,” Dallas said.
Johnson took the helm from longtime Cherokee County representative
Chantel Adams, who remains on the board.
Highland Rivers’ governing board has a representative from every county in the agency’s service area — two each from Floyd and Polk counties. They are appointed by each county’s board of commissioners and serve three-year terms.
The board meets every other month, six times each year. All FY22 meetings will be held at Highland Rivers’ ROC Clubhouse, 1 Goodyear Ave., in
Cartersville, beginning at 10:30 a.m. The meetings are open to the public.
Dates for this fiscal year are Aug. 25; Oct. 27; Dec. 8; Feb. 23, 2022; April 27, 2022; and June 22, 2022.
One of the state’s largest public safety net providers, Highland Rivers Health provides comprehensive treatment and support services for adults, children, families and veterans affected by mental health disorders, intellectual developmental disabilities and addictive disease.