River Valley Counseling Center Names Rosemarie Ansel Executive Director

HOLYOKE — River Valley Counseling Center (RVCC), a member of Valley Health Systems and affiliate to Holyoke Medical Center, announced the appointment of Rosemarie Ansel as executive director.

Ansel’s executive leadership includes demonstrable experience in leading administrative, fiscal, and clinical functions in the community outpatient setting.

“Rosemarie is a skilled senior executive who brings a proven track record in clinical, educational, and medical programming to this important role. Her strong working relationships at the state and national levels will help RVCC enhance the delivery of quality mental-health services to the communities we serve,” said Spiros Hatiras, president and CEO of Valley Health Systems and Holyoke Medical Center.

Added Ansel, “I am honored to join the River Valley Counseling Center, which is dedicated to providing a wide range of compassionate, community-centered care to individuals and families in our region. Under the Holyoke Medical Center umbrella, we have a strong and pervasive sense of community. This carries over into our team of clinicians and staff, who are second to none when it comes to providing mission-critical services on a 24/7 basis.”

Ansel will lead RVCC, a multi-service agency serving Hampden County for 62 years. Its community-focused outpatient mental-health services include psychiatric day treatment programs, school-based services in Chicopee, teen clinics and school-based health centers in Holyoke, individual and group-based therapy offered in Spanish as well as English, HIV/AIDS support for both men and women, intensive case management, and recreational therapy for 8- to 16-year-old children at risk of hospitalization or residential placement, as well as employer-assistance services through site training, assessment, counseling, and referrals. The center provided 144,000 treatment services across all programs in 2013.

In her most recent role as deputy director of Community Services and director of Operations at the Columbia County Department of Human Services and Mental Health Center in Hudson, N.Y., Ansel oversaw the administrative, fiscal, and clinical components of a community outpatient mental-health clinic. Her leadership resulted in a 23{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} increase in direct client contacts by the end of the first fiscal year, a 46{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} increase in clinic-based revenue in 16 months, an increase in the client average daily census by 600 individuals in four years, as well as a 61{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} increase in co-payments. Prior to her success in this role, Ansel served as deputy for Administration at Berkshire Farm Center and Services for Youth in Canaan, N.Y. and executive vice president at Hillcrest Educational Centers in Pittsfield.