Gateway Rehab in Big Search to Replace Renowned CEO

Addiction Industry Founder

That Ramsey has established himself as among the pantheon of key industry players who founded addictions treatment as we know it today there is no doubt. When he took over Gateway Rehab, which is especially dominant in the Pittsburgh area market, the operation was struggling. “A lot of people at the time told me I should just give the place its Last Rites and move on and get a real job,” Ramsey told Treatment Magazine. “But I didn’t agree and I stayed on.” From an outfit that could barely take care of the 100 or so clients that represented census when Ramsey took over the reins over 40 years ago, Gateway Rehab has grown into what Treatment Magazine would without any hesitation endorse as among the very top, highest quality treatment enterprises in the nation, an example and model for other smaller centers that also get much of their funding from public sources.

Unusual Payor Mix

And even though Gateway Rehab is relatively unusual in that it has for a long time gotten large revenue flows from both private insurers and public government sources, it is even more unusual in that the public portion of that has increased dramatically at a time when public funding flows have been squeezed due to widely deteriorating state budgets throughout the nation. “We used to be about 60 percent to 70 percent private insurance in terms of payor mix,” says Ramsey. “We are now about 50/50 public private.” A tiny 3% to 4% of Gateway is private pay client out-of-pocket, with Ramsey saying “we are not really in the amenities side of things here.” A $50M a year institution now, Gateway Rehab has dozens of locations and programs that run the gamut from residential to outpatient and sober living halfway houses, with 75 percent of its daily 1,700 adult and adolescent clients doing some version of outpatient care.

Key Talent Search

According to Ramsey, the search for his replacement is just now getting underway. A committee of the Gateway Rehab board has been formed, led by board member Dick Grace, who as former HR chief for Pittsburgh area financial services powerhouse PNC has key experience in search and personnel matters. Executive search firm Vantagen, which has a highly regarded non-profit specialty practice, has been retained. Who ever replaces Ramsey will be working closely with brand new Gateway Rehab board chair Paul Sweeny, whose family controlled Tri-County Management is one of the most successful McDonald’s franchise operations going back to the days of Ray Kroc and the founding of McDonald’s. Sweeney succeeds Jim Rogal, the hugely successful and wealthy founder of cable operator Century Communications, LLC.

read our in-depth Special Report: Addiction Treatment’s Generational Leadership Shift 

POST YOUR COMMENTS BELOW..start a debate!

GOT ADDICTION INDUSTRY NEWS? tell us…