Hackensack Meridian Health announced Joseph Miller, vice president for Behavioral Health Care Transformation Services, has been named the 2019 chair of the American Hospital Association’s Constituency Section for Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Services.

“Our network has made an unwavering commitment to transform behavioral health services. Thanks to Dr. Miller’s leadership, we are changing the game in treating addiction and mental Illness,” said Robert Garrett, chief executive officer of Hackensack Meridian Health in a statement.

“The American Hospital Association values and looks forward to Dr. Miller’s leadership of the 18-member advisory Council,” said Rebecca Chickey, director of field engagement for the Section for Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Services of the American Hospital Association in a statement. “Under his guidance, the Council’s strategic discussions will help shape the future of access, coverage and delivery of behavioral health across the country.”

“It is such an honor to serve as chair of the most prestigious group of behavioral health care leaders, hospitals and health systems in the nation,” said Miller in a statement. “There has probably never been a more transformative time for behavioral health and substance use disorder care in our country’s health care history, and I am proud to be on the front line to advocate on behalf of behavioral health issues.”

Dr. Miller is a nationally-recognized behavioral health expert with more than three decades of experience as a clinician, educator and leader. He currently serves as an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Health at the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University and is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Rutgers University, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.