Geisinger Names CEO of Behavioral Health Center Northeast

Geisinger and Acadia Healthcare Company have named Jenna Pacini as chief executive officer for Geisinger Behavioral Health Center Northeast, a new 96-bed inpatient behavioral health hospital being built through a joint venture partnership between Geisinger and Acadia in Moosic. In her new role, which she begins on Aug. 15, Ms. Pacini will oversee the development of the facility including staff recruitment and training, clinical programming design and oversight of all key functions leading to the opening of the new hospital.

“I am honored to be selected for this role,” said Pacini. “This is a tremendous opportunity build an organization that brings the best of both joint venture partners to meet the need for quality behavioral healthcare in this area of Pennsylvania. I look forward to building a culture of compassion and clinical excellence, with an unwavering commitment to caring for our patients.”

According to data from the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 1 in 5 U.S. adults experience mental illness each year and over 1.8 million adults in Pennsylvania have a mental health condition. Geisinger anticipated the need to offer behavioral health services for its patients needing care. As further evidence of the need for additional inpatient capacity, 26% of adult discharges and 62% of pediatric discharges are patients that are leaving their home communities within Geisinger’s service area to seek inpatient behavioral health care. This is even more important with the recent news of closure of community capacity for inpatient psychiatric services.

Geisinger Behavioral Health Center Northeast is the first of two hospitals that the joint venture plans to build to bring high-quality inpatient behavioral health services in central and northeastern Pennsylvania. The second new freestanding inpatient behavioral health hospital – Geisinger Behavioral Health Center Central – will be constructed Danville, Pennsylvania. Both hospitals will serve adult and pediatric patients.

“Jenna’s appointment as CEO is an important step in the ultimate success of this hospital to make better health easier for all those we serve,” said Megan Brosious, chief administration officer of clinical operations for Geisinger’s central region. “As the demand for behavioral health services within our communities continues to grow, Jenna will help to ensure our patients are receiving the best care possible. We are pleased that through our partnership with Acadia, we were able to find an executive of Jenna’s caliber with roots in Pennsylvania to lead the next phase of this hospital. And once Moosic is operational, we will have a strong leader and a blueprint to open Danville.”

Ms. Pacini, SHRM-SHP, served as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Belmont Behavioral Health System in Philadelphia, a 252-bed inpatient behavioral health hospital and the largest freestanding psychiatric teaching hospital in the region. She joined Belmont in March 2011 and assumed the role of Director of Human Resources in 2015, Director of Operations in 2020, and Chief Operating Officer in 2021. As Director of Operations and as COO, Ms. Pacini was responsible for support service departments across all locations. She also led for the replacement facility project at Belmont, where she worked with both the construction project management team, the general contractor, and the architecture firm to ensure that the replacement facility will meet the needs of the Belmont community and coordinate a safe and timely transition.

Prior to joining Belmont, Ms. Pacini worked in various Human Resources positions of increasing responsibility at major health systems such Catholic Health East and Mercy Health System. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Business from Penn State University and her Master of Science Organizational and Strategic Leadership from Neumann University.