Lake County Health Department looks within to find new behavioral health director

The Lake County Health Department hired from within to fill the role of behavioral health director, the county announced Friday.

Sam Johnson-Maurello takes over as director after serving as associate director of behavioral health since 2012, according to a county news release. He has served the agency as a direct care provider and an administrator for behavioral health programs for more than 25 years.

"I'm excited to be a part of the work the Health Department is doing to build a community where every person who needs help with a mental health or substance use issue can get that help," Johnson-Maurello said in the release. "I believe that recovery is possible. There is hope."

In his previous role, Johnson-Maurello oversaw many of the department's programs, including outpatient mental health, primary care behavioral health, drug court and the crisis care program. He managed two Assertive Community Treatment teams and the two health department drop-in centers associated with the Williams Consent Decree program, which moves individuals with mental illness from state-funded facilities to independent living communities.

Recent areas of focus for Johnson-Maurello and the department include increasing capacity for behavioral health services, responding to the opioid crisis, collaborating with law enforcement and launching the countywide Mental Health First Aid initiative, a program to spread knowledge on how to help those during a mental health crisis.