The Bridge Center has selected Charlotte Claiborne to serve as executive director of the behavioral health crisis stabilization center, the board announced today.
Her first major task in the role: Overseeing the opening of the center by RI International, an Arizona-based provider selected by the Bridge Center to run the first such facility in Louisiana.
“We picked Charlotte because her mix of business and health care skills fit our need to not only start a new service but to make sure it grows and matches the needs of people with mental illness and substance abuse challenges,” says Kathy Kliebert, board chair.
Previously, Claiborne served as director of the Louisiana Behavioral Health Agency, where she was charged with expanding the organization into new areas of the state. She also worked for 17 years at Entergy, where she managed multi-million-dollar contracts, worked as a department representative of a health program that encourages physical and mental health among employees, and served as a budget analyst and manager on several special projects.
In a prepared statement, Claiborne says her goal is to “create a model facility that will address the gap in behavioral health and substance abuse services,” helping thousands of people.
“Bridge will also work to reduce the stigma of mental illness in our parish,” she says.
The announcement comes one year after East Baton Rouge Parish taxpayers voted to fund the 30-bed facility—estimated to serve up to 5,000 people annually—with a $6 million tax. Currently, the Bridge Center and RI International are searching for a location, eyeing a spring 2020 opening date.
