Chris Roussos Named CEO of Sequel Youth and Family Services

HUNTSVILLE, Ala., June 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Sequel Youth and Family Services today announced that Chris W. Roussos has been appointed the Company's Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Roussos brings nearly two decades of experience building and leading healthcare organizations with vibrant service-oriented cultures, having successfully run companies providing services in pediatric home healthcare and therapy, autism therapy, community care, rehabilitation therapy, urgent care, hospice and fitness. Additionally, Mr. Roussos served for 11 years in the U.S. Army, completing his service as a Company Commander. John Stupak, Sequel's previous CEO, is now serving as Chairman of the Company's Board of Directors.

Since joining Sequel on April 1, Mr. Roussos has hired a world-class team of industry executives to serve in four newly created C-level leadership roles. Samantha Lee, RN, CHC, has been appointed Chief Compliance and Ethics Officer; Diane McCullom, BSN, RN, has been appointed Chief Clinical Officer; Jason Cagle has been appointed Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Financial Officer; and Samuel Vaill, has been appointed Chief Growth Officer. These executive additions will complement a strong existing leadership team that has led the company over the past 20 years.

"I am thrilled to have joined the extremely dedicated team at Sequel, a leader in serving behavioral health clients, with 20 years of proud history. We have an enormous opportunity to build on this success and accelerate our growth to build a full behavioral health continuum of care. The talented executive leadership team that we've assembled is uniquely equipped to identify opportunities for Sequel to be a more effective provider and grow the services necessary to meet and exceed our clients' needs. Since joining, we have been touring our facilities, listening to families, clients, staff and regulators, to better understand our clients' journeys and improve our services," commented Mr. Roussos. "I want to thank John Stupak, a highly respected behavioral health industry leader, for his continued commitment to and advocacy on behalf of the organization, and for the strategic support he has provided during this transition."

In his first 90 days as CEO, Mr. Roussos has partnered with the team to establish an initiative focused on recruiting U.S. military veterans to work for Sequel. In his previous executive leadership roles, Mr. Roussos has been instrumental in implementing programs responsible for hiring and employing over 11,000 U.S. veterans. This program is part of a broader strategy for Sequel to become an employer of choice for people interested in a high energy, passionate and mission-driven company.

Mr. Roussos continued, "We will be building upon Sequel's strong foundation by making additional investments in our people and culture to ensure our team has the resources they need for success. I believe in creating a broad, diverse and performance-oriented team to build a culture where clients and staff thrive! We're trusted with serving clients across the country and take that responsibility with the utmost respect and a relentless focus on serving their needs. We are also investing in structure, systems and processes to support our existing operations and accelerate our growth."

New Sequel Executive Leadership Team

Chris Roussos, Chief Executive Officer
Before joining Sequel, Mr. Roussos was Chief Executive Officer of 24 Hour Fitness. Previously, he served as President and CEO of Epic Health Services, the first-ever national pediatric continuum of care serving 33,000 medically fragile children in need of life-sustaining home health care services. At Epic, Mr. Roussos revitalized the organization by investing in enhancements to clinical training and education across the company; implementing new systems, such as an enterprise-wide electronic medical record platform to improve clinical coordination of care and compliance; and establishing a "Voice of the Customer" program to call each family every 90 days to ensure service exceeded client expectations and identify areas of opportunity. Prior, Mr. Roussos was the Chief Operating Officer of Harden Healthcare, an $800 million post-acute healthcare services company. Previously, Mr. Roussos was Chairman, President and CEO of Orthodontic Centers of America (OCA), formerly a $1.6 billion publicly traded company. Other prior experience includes serving as President at Beverly Enterprises, a $2.1 billion healthcare services company, as well as various management positions with PepsiCo , Rubbermaid and 11 years in the U.S. Army. Mr. Roussos earned his BS from Clarkson University, MBA from the University of Phoenix, and attended Harvard Business School's Advanced Management Program.

Samantha Lee, RN, CHC, EVP, Chief Compliance and Ethics Officer
Ms. Lee has an impressive background in healthcare compliance and possesses the skills to assess, interpret, and incorporate applicable regulations that enhance the quality, service, and care an organization provides. Prior to joining Sequel, Ms. Lee served as the Chief Compliance Officer at South Dakota Human Services Center. Previously, she served at Epic Health Services for over 10 years, most recently as VP Regulatory Affairs and Compliance Officer. Throughout her career, she has orchestrated compliance programs in numerous post-acute settings as well as an inpatient psychiatric hospital and chemical dependency treatment facility. Ms. Lee is a registered nurse and graduate of Dakota Wesleyan University. Ms. Lee also holds a certificate in healthcare compliance from the Compliance Certification Board.

Diane McCullom, BSN, RN, EVP, Chief Clinical Officer
Ms. McCullom is a clinical nurse with over 25 years of industry experience working at corporate offices of home health care and hospice agencies. She is responsible for leading Sequel's efforts in quality and outcomes measures. Ms. McCullom's efforts have been critical in instituting a culture of clinical excellence and superior patient care everywhere she has worked. She previously served as Senior Vice President of Clinical Operations for Epic Health Services, Regional Vice President of Operations for Premier Home Care Services, Executive and Area Director at SeniorBridge, and Regional Vice President of Operations for Patient Care. Ms. McCullom began her nursing career in the cardiac surgical intensive care unit at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital. She has a BS in Nursing from The Sage Colleges - Russell Sage College.

Jason Cagle, JD, EVP, Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Cagle brings extensive executive experience to Sequel as part of the management team that grew United Surgical Partners International, Inc. from an organization with 44 facilities and $30 million in earnings, to one with nearly 400 facilities and approximately $800 million in earnings in 16 years. During his tenure at United Surgical, Mr. Cagle led an organization of 500 people with direct responsibility for  the finance functions, IT, business intelligence, managed care and revenue cycle, and supply chain. He led United Surgical through the IPO process and its acquisition by Tenant Healthcare Corporation. He began his career as an attorney in the corporate department at Vinson & Elkins. Mr. Cagle received his J.D. from the University of Oklahoma College of Law and his B.B.A. from Oklahoma State University in Accounting and Finance.

Samuel Vaill, MBA, EVP, Chief Growth Officer
Mr. Vaill is responsible for leading and managing Sequel's strategic growth plan across multiple channels, including mergers & acquisitions; organic, de novo site openings; and real estate expansion. He has extensive experience building healthcare growth companies through both acquisition and organic growth. Prior to joining Sequel, he served as Chief Development Officer at U.S. Acute Care Solutions, a multi-site healthcare company focused on outsourced emergency medicine and hospitalist management, growing the organization from $300 million in revenue and 60 sites to over $1 billion in revenue and 225 sites. Mr. Vaill's prior experience includes investment banking with MHT MidSpand and Provident Healthcare Partners. He received his MBA from the Olin School of Business at Babson College and a BA from Tufts University.

About Sequel Youth and Family Services
Founded in 1999, Sequel Youth and Family Services is a leading national behavioral health organization that develops and operates a broad continuum of treatment programs for children, adolescents and adults with behavioral health, emotional and physical challenges.  Sequel programs are designed to equip our clients with the tools, motivations, life skills and education necessary to lead successful lives. Sequel serves a client population struggling with behavioral, addiction, psychiatric, emotional or conduct disorders, as well as autism and other comorbidities.

Sequel's mission is to serve and care for our clients with excellence and prepare them to lead responsible and fulfilling lives through mentoring, education and support within a safe, structured, dynamic environment — whether on one of our campuses, in a community or school setting, or in their own homes. We are passionate about what we do and delight in providing excellent programs that instill permanent, positive changes in the lives of the the individuals we are privileged to serve. For more information, visit www.sequelyouthservices.com.

Contact:
Rachel Russell
[email protected] 
or
KWM Communications
Kellie Walsh
914-315-6072
[email protected] 

SOURCE Sequel Youth and Family Services

Related Links

http://www.sequelyouthservices.com