Addiction-treatment center Fairbanks names new CEO

Fairbanks, an Indianapolis not-for-profit that focuses on treating alcohol and drug addiction, has changed its leadership again, just a year after bringing in a new executive from Ohio.

The organization said this week it has named Barbara B. Elliott as president and CEO of Fairbanks and Hope Academy. She succeeds Kent L. Brown, who left the organization.

“Due to employee confidentiality, we cannot discuss Kent Brown’s departure,” Fairbanks spokeswoman Molly Burns said in an email. “However, there were no ethical violations involved in his leaving.”

Brown declined to comment on his departure in an emailed response to IBJ. He joined Fairbanks in July 2015 and brought more than 25 years of experience as a health care administrator, including stints as chief operating officer of Northside Medical Center in Youngstown, Ohio, and CEO of Rogue Valley Medical Center in Medford, Oregon.

Elliott joined Fairbanks in 2007 as chief financial officer, and has more than 30 years of health care experience at St. Vincent, Howard Community Hospital, and Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Indiana. She is a member of Executive Women in Healthcare and is on the board of Partners in Housing.

Fairbanks, founded in 1945, has about 240 employees. The Fairbanks treatment center near East 82nd Street and Shadeland Avenue offers programs for people with substance abuse disorders, including  detox, education, supportive living, outpatient and residential treatment. Hope Academy is a tuition-free, Indiana public charter high school for students in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction.

The organization says it served more than 20,000 people last year.

Fairbanks said Elliott will focus on developing and expanding programs and services, increasing the group’s visibility and addressing regulatory and reimbursement barriers “that make it challenging for those living with addiction to seek the treatment they need.”