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Tennessee Commissioner of Mental Health Doug Varney, Former Frontier CEO, Receives Meritorious Service Award from Business Journal’s Health Care Heroes
By the Business Journal of Northeast TN/VA
JOHNSON CITY, TN—Tennessee Commissioner of Mental Health E. Douglas Varney received the Meritorious Service Award from the Business Journal of Tri-Cities Tennessee / Virginia Health Care Heroes for his nearly 36 years of service leading Frontier Health as President and CEO and helping to build a continuum of services in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia, forging coalitions that stretch through two states and addressing issues head-on in Nashville, Richmond and Washington, D.C., before becoming the Tennessee Commissioner of Mental Health.
“The impact of E. Douglas Varney to behavioral health care is immeasurable but the evidence of growth, change and quality behavioral health care that is provided is obvious,” Frontier Health’s current President and CEO Charles E. Good said.
The nomination notes, “Doug Varney’s impassioned influence is visible by the people’s lives he touched, the services he helped initiate, the team of like-minded individuals and organizations he nurtured, and the regional organization he helped foster. Now that influence and passion for the needs of our state and our most vulnerable citizens is felt from Nashville east and west.”
Commissioner Varney’s unique ability to work together to unite organizations and individuals toward a common goal is key to his success. Varney worked from the onset of several mergers that resulted in the extensive network of services that represents Frontier Health’s behavioral healthcare continuum today.
In 1993, Commissioner Varney led the merger with Bristol Regional Mental Health Center to create Central Appalachia Services, headquartered in Kingsport. A later merger with Bristol Rehabilitation Services further expanded services for job placement and training that is also now part of Frontier Industries. Central Appalachia Services then merged with Watauga Mental Health Services and Nolachuckey-Holston Mental Health Services as he worked with the leaders of the two other organizations to pool resources and provide a full continuum of behavioral health, alcohol and drug, and intellectual and developmental disabilities services. Each merger he helped bring together had the primary goal to better utilize funding, improve services, and provide a greater continuum of care for individuals by providing an umbrella of administrative and professional services.
Commissioner Varney was a member of the Tennessee Association of Mental Health Organizations from 1979 through 2010. He was one of the longest serving members of the board, served as President of TAMHO twice, Secretary/Treasurer, Executive Committee, Chairman of the Legislative Committee, and a member of the Finance Committee. He received the 2004 TAMHO Dorothea Dix Professional Service Award. He was recognized by his peers for working tirelessly with a, “strong commitment to TAMHO and the publicly-funded behavioral health system in Tennessee.” He was honored for going beyond what would be reasonably expected and demonstrating, “highly effective leadership in a very complex and ever-changing field.”
Throughout his career, his involvement in behavioral health care is far beyond just providing internal leadership; he has given countless hours of consultation with his peers across two states and throughout the nation. His dedication to remaining on the cutting edge of both technological and clinical developments is demonstrated by his working relationships with many organizations, government and community agencies. He has provided leadership on boards for more than 30 state and local agencies, not-for-profits and coalitions.
From his nearly 36 years at the helm of Frontier Health precursor agencies and now as Tennessee Commissioner of Mental Health, Varney’s leadership continues to shape behavioral health care for tomorrow. Through his deep commitment and understanding of people’s needs, Varney helped weave relationships with other providers and organizations to strengthen the services available for those needing behavioral health care.
