RELEASE: June 20, 2000

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Department of Human Services Commissioner Michele K. Guhl announced today that Gregory Roberts, the chief executive officer at Ancora Psychiatric Hospital in Camden County, will take over as chief executive officer of Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital. on July 17.

Greystone's current CEO, Michael Greenstein, has been named a special assistant to the director of the Division of Mental Health Services, Alan Kaufman.

He will be assisting in the current system-wide assessment of patients in the state psychiatric hospitals and working on such issues as standardizing clinical practices in the state hospitals.

Both Roberts and Greenstein will retain their current annual salaries of $95,000.

Roberts, who took over as top executive at Ancora in June 1998, was formerly CEO at Marlboro Psychiatric Hospital and oversaw the closing of the hospital, which spanned 1995-1998.

"We are moving ahead with the closing of Greystone, and this endeavor requires a special kind of administrative leadership and expertise," said Commissioner Guhl. "Greg Roberts has that expertise.

"In private industry there are executives who specialize in taking companies public, turning firms around, and overseeing the breakup of companies. Greg is a specialist in his own right and we need him to bring his expertise to Greystone now, " she said.

Roberts, 49, of Bordentown, has a 27-year career in the human services field, with 18 of those as an administrator in the mental health system. He started at Marlboro in 1981 as assistant hospital administrator and rose through the ranks to become chief executive in June 1994.

When the Marlboro closing was announced in 1995, the population at the hospital was 776 patients and there were 1,180 staff. The three-year closing involved assessing all of those patients, developing appropriate placements and programs for them in other institutions or in the community. The closing also involved a gradual downsizing of the institution while maintaining staffing and quality care for the remaining patients.

"Greg did an outstanding job with that closing," said Alan Kaufman, director of the department's Division of Mental Health Services. "There can be upheaval that goes with the closing of an institution. But Greg worked tirelessly with staff, families and outside provider agencies to make sure all Marlboro patients got the best possible care."

La Tanya Wood El, 43, section chief of Holly Hall at Ancora, and an 18-year employee at the hospital, will take over as acting CEO to replace Roberts.

Commissioner Guhl said Greystone's outgoing CEO Michael Greenstein had accomplished much during his tenure.

She cited the affiliation between Greystone and UMDNJ to provide professional training to psychiatrists, nursing and rehabilitation personnel; the creation of the Behavioral Modification Unit for patients requiring more intense psychiatric intervention; the development of two fast track cottages to expedite discharge of patients to return to community living; and the development of a specialized program for Spanish-speaking men delivered by Spanish speaking staff .

"Michael did many good things at Greystone," Guhl said. "but closing a hospital requires a different set of skills and I felt at this time we needed someone with Greg's specialized expertise."

In accepting his new responsibilities, Roberts said: " I know from personal experience that when a closing is announced, the dynamics at a hospital change dramatically. It does require a shift in focus and there is a lot of concern from families, patients and staff. It is important that everyone be involved and everyone is brought into the process."