Brian R. Sims, MD, Joins Conmed Healthcare Management, Inc. As Senior Director of Mental and Behavioral Health
Conmed Healthcare Management, Inc. (OTCBB:CMHM), a leading full service provider of correctional facility healthcare services to county detention centers, today announced that Brian R. Sims, MD, has joined the Company as Senior Director of Mental and Behavioral Health, effective February 18, 2008.
Dr. Sims is a Board Certified Psychiatrist with more than 20 years of experience in clinical care and program leadership for incarcerated patients with serious psychiatric illness, and brings to Conmed a wealth of knowledge and experience in all areas of psychiatry with an emphasis on psychopharmacology, substance abuse and psychiatric trauma management.
Most recently Dr. Sims was Physician Supervisor, Noyes Unit, Spring Grove Hospital Center, Catonsville, MD, where was responsible for a 31 bed Forensic inpatient unit and he where he was also Acting Division Director, Intermediate and Special Care Services, Spring Grove Hospital Center. During this time, he was a Trauma Informed Care Lecturer at NTAC/NASMHPD (National Technical Assistance Center, and the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors). Prior to that, he was a Consultant Psychiatrist for Second Genesis Co-Occurring Unit, a 27-bed unit, in Crownsville, Maryland. He has also been in private practice and has served as an outpatient and staff psychiatrist for several other facilities in Maryland. He consults with state and other governmental agencies on a variety of psychiatric and Trauma Informed Care programs, is a frequent workshop presenter and his work is widely published and well-known throughout the behavioral health services industry.
“The most recent survey by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, indicating that 79 percent of mentally ill inmates in local jails have prior convictions, reinforces what we’re being told by the administration at the jails we serve — that they’re looking to improve and expand their mental and behavioral health programs to help reduce this recidivism,” commented Richard W. Turner, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer, Conmed Healthcare Management, Inc. “The ability to offer comprehensive high quality and cost effective behavioral health care services not only gives us the opportunity to provide improved services to our existing accounts, it also aligns perfectly with the current and future needs of the correctional market at large. Adding Dr. Sims to the Conmed team gives us the opportunity to better analyze the market situation and potentially differentiate ourselves in a marketplace where improved mental health services are being sought by virtually every correctional facility. By offering quality behavioral health care services to facilities currently contracting with other providers of general medical services, we see the opportunity to initiate a relationship with these accounts that will differentiate Conmed and ultimately significantly expand our presence in the market,” concluded Mr. Turner.
About Conmed
Conmed has provided correctional healthcare services since 1984, beginning in the state of Maryland, and currently services detention centers and correctional facilities in twenty-two counties in five states, including Washington, Oregon, Kansas, Virginia, and Maryland. Conmed’s services have expanded to include mental health, pharmacy and out-of-facility healthcare services.
Forward Looking Statements
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