(HOLYOKE, MA) – Kimberley Lee has been named Chief of Creative Strategy and Development at MiraVista Behavioral Health Center. A communications specialist well-known for her decades of work in the nonprofit sector, Lee stepped into the newly created role August 29th as part of the behavioral health care organization’s senior leadership team.
Mark Paglia, MiraVista’s Chief Operating Officer, said “We are incredibly excited to have Kim join our exceptional team of leaders who are committed to creating a premier behavioral health center in Western Massachusetts. Kim brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to support our mission to provide compassionate effective care for those challenged by emotional distress and substance misuse so they are empowered to lead fulfilling lives.”
Located on what was the former campus of Providence Behavioral Health Hospital, MiraVista opened its doors in April 2021 with inpatient adult psychiatric treatment. The hospital had closed inpatient services in June 2020 and Health Partners New England and GFI Partners bought the facility from Michigan-based Trinity Health in early 2021. A for-profit, independent hospital with a sister facility, TaraVista Behavioral Health Center in Devens, MiraVista has since opened an adolescent inpatient psychiatric unit for ages 13 through 18, and expanded substance use disorder services. It has logged 14,000 inpatient days since opening, and recorded close to 220,000 opioid treatment and outpatient visits.
“I am truly so very excited to join the life-changing staff at MiraVista whose combined efforts are making recovery possible for so many who live right here in our community,” Lee said. “MiraVista is taking the opportunity across its programming to examine and reimagine the care it provides to those who are welcomed through its doors.” Lee called mental health and substance use “very real challenges which continue to affect the overall well-being of children, youth, adults and seniors.” “I look forward to contributing my energy and genuine enthusiasm in all the many ways that I can to further the mission and impact of MiraVista,” Lee said.
Lee has been Vice President of Resource Development and Branding at the Mental Health Association since July 2018. The Springfield-based nonprofit serves the developmentally disabled, those in recovery with substance use disorders and mental health conditions, the chronically homeless and individuals with acquired brain injury. During her four years at MHA,
Lee helped the organization secure city, state and federal funds to expand residential recovery services, including a program for those who identified as LGBTQ+ and diagnosed with substance use disorder and-or mental health conditions, outpatient therapy services, and navigation services to assist young adults homeless or at risk for homelessness secure supportive housing.
Other initiatives included launching MHA’s You Matter! Award for employees and community members. Her work on MHA’s signature yearly fundraiser, its Wellness Classic golf tournament held in September at the Country Club of Wilbraham, raised more than $115,000 in 2021, the largest amount in its 23 years. Other Springfield-based positions Lee has held include Vice President of Development at the Center for Human Development; Vice President of Advancement at Square One in Springfield; Senior Director of Marketing at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame; and Vice President of Marketing at United Way of Pioneer Valley. Lee’s community work has included with the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District, Safe and Healthy Schools Coalition; the Western Mass Regional Women’s Correctional Center Advisory Council, the board of the Public Health Institute of Western Mass., and most recently, the Hampden County Commission on the Status of Women and Girls.
A graduate of the former Classical High School in Springfield and Westfield State University with a degree in communications, Lee has taught communications and marketing at Western New England University in Springfield.
About Mira
MiraVista Behavioral Health Center opened in Spring 2021 to address the critical need for additional inpatient and outpatient behavioral health services in Western Massachusetts. Located on the grounds of the former Providence Behavioral Health Hospital in Holyoke, MiraVista offers psychiatric care services for both adults and adolescents, as well as an array of recovery rehabilitation programs including Acute Treatment Services (detox), Clinical Stabilization Services (post-detox), and outpatient services such as the Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP), court-ordered services, and outpatient Medication Supported Recovery. Mira Vista cares for thousands of individuals from throughout the Western Mass region each year.
MiraVista, along with its sister facility, TaraVista in Central Massachusetts, are part of Health Partners New England, a leading provider of behavioral health care in New England for more than 20 years.
Care. Reimagined.
MiraVista Behavioral Health Center was built on the premise of person-centered care. We maintain an organization of thoughtful, empathic, energized team-members committed to creating and maintaining a warm, welcoming, and effective culture of care. Our purpose is to provide compassionate, effective, inspiring care for those challenged by mental health and substance use so they are empowered to lead fulfilling lives.