Note: The following announcement was provided by Highland Rivers Health for posting. – KtE

DALTON – Highland Rivers Health has been named Georgia’s Behavioral Health Provider of the Year by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD). The award was presented during DBHDD’s annual Behavioral Health Symposium, which this year took place virtually the first week of October. 

“This is a very special award, and I think particularly meaningful this year because it recognizes the tremendous efforts we put forth to maintain services and support individuals in our communities during the worst of the pandemic,” said Melanie Dallas, CEO of Highland Rivers Health. “While I was honored to be the person who accepted the award, it really belongs to our more than 650 staff members – we persevered during the past year because of the compassion, care and dedication of every single member of our team, and I am extremely grateful to them.”

According to DBHDD award criteria, the Behavioral Health Provider of the Year Award is bestowed upon the behavioral health provider that has demonstrated outstanding performance, innovative practices, and significant community impact. To be considered for the award, a provider must achieve passing scores on all state program audits – Highland Rivers routinely receives scores of 90% and above – while also demonstrating exemplary performance, excellence in service, outstanding creativity and a recovery orientation in all services. 

“The Behavioral Health Provider of the year award is always the most difficult award to bestow upon an organization as we receive nominations from across the state and have to really evaluate and come to a consensus about the award winner,” said Monica Johnson, Director of DBHDD Division of Behavioral Health. “I am proud of the hard work of the Highland Rivers team across their entire behavioral health service continuum. Under the leadership of Melanie Dallas, they find ways to say yes, are innovative, and roll up their sleeves to work with their communities for the people we serve. Congratulations to the Highland Rivers Team for this recognition,”

In 2018, Highland Rivers Health was recognized as DBHDD’s Region 1 Outstanding Provider of the Year, and earlier this year received renewed accreditation from the Commission on the Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) International.

Over the past two years, the agency has also received exemplary audit scores from the state Administrative Services Organization (ASO) for outpatient core services, intellectual and developmental disability programs, and community-based and transitional support programs.