As I wind down my tenure as CEO at Beacon Mental Health, I’ve taken a few moments to reflect on all that’s happened in the last 11.5 years. I started at Beacon Mental Health, formerly Tri-County, in early January 2014. At that time, we had less than 100 staff on payroll and our annual budget was $14 million. We now have 215 staff on payroll and an annual budget for FY’26 more than $30 million. That is some kind of growth. But what goes with that growth are all the experiences, projects, challenges and successes. Here are a few:
• Becoming certified as one of the first Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, or CCBHCs, in the country in 2017. We’ve been re-certified twice since then and have become a mentor and guide to other organizations on their CCBHC journey.
• Persevering through COVID, lockdowns, and sheltering in place, while still making key services available to individuals and our community.
• Purchasing the Human Services Building in 2022 and remodeling the common areas and many suites to make the facility more customer friendly and welcoming for all who enter.
• Re-branding Tri-County as Beacon Mental Health in 2023 and utilizing the new brand to promote our services and response teams available for our community.
• Enduring the unexpected death of our long-time Medical Director Dr. Piepergerdes in the fall of 2024 and witnessing our medical staff rally to provide excellent med services despite their grief and loss.
• Growing our partnerships in the community with schools (larger school-based team), law enforcement (community behavioral health liaison team), health departments (therapists on site), hospitals (hospital liaison), and many others.
I’m sure there are many more things to note, but mostly I am just grateful. Grateful for the time shared with dedicated, talented individuals who let our mission be their guide and who never tire of helping others in need and making our community a better place. Who could ask for more?
Tom Petrizzo
