Learn About Hazelden Betty Ford
Center City, Minn. (Sept. 19, 2022) – Experienced health care leader Sarah Held has been named chief nursing and quality officer of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, the nation's leading nonprofit system of addiction treatment, mental health care, recovery resources and related prevention, education and research services.
Held has worked in health care for more than 25 years and will be responsible for ensuring consistent, quality patient care across Hazelden Betty Ford's continuum.
"I am excited and honored to join the team at Hazelden Betty Ford and be part of a mission that brings healing and hope to so many families and communities," Held said. "As Hazelden Betty Ford grows in pursuit of our vision to empower recovery and well-being for all, I look forward to working with our chief medical officer to ensure a foundation of world-class care that is seamless, exceptionally compassionate and effective."
For the past 17 years, Held has been a process-improvement-oriented nursing leader in Minnesota. Most recently, she served as the system director of nursing practice and clinical excellence for multiple areas at M Health Fairview. Prior to that, she supported three HealthEast Care System hospitals as the group director and the model unit director of surgical services. Her experience also includes leadership roles at Allina Health and Methodist Hospital.
"In addition to being tremendously experienced, Sarah is a passionate, supportive and engaging leader with a commitment to delivering best practices that put patients and families first," said Hazelden Betty Ford Chief Medical Officer Alta DeRoo, MD. "I know she will lead with heart as she focuses on growing our team and improving patient care."
Held will direct the overall operations of nursing and quality, with a focus on quality patient care, infection control, execution of quality improvement methods, recruitment and retention of nursing staff, nursing staff training, and installation and monitoring of operational best practices. Her role includes ensuring compliance with patient care quality standards related to licensing and accreditation requirements.
Held earned her doctorate in nursing practice at the University of Minnesota, specializing in health innovation and leadership, with an additional certification in health care design. She also has a master's degree in business administration, with an emphasis in health care administration, from Argosy University and a bachelor's degree in nursing from Briar Cliff University.
The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is a force of healing and hope for individuals, families and communities affected by addiction to alcohol and other drugs. As the nation's leading nonprofit provider of comprehensive inpatient and outpatient addiction and mental health care for adults and youth, the Foundation has treatment centers and telehealth services nationwide as well as a network of collaborators throughout health care. Through charitable support and a commitment to innovation, the Foundation is able to continually enhance care, research, programs and services, and help more people. With a legacy that began in 1949 and includes the 1982 founding of the Betty Ford Center, the Foundation today is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion in its services and throughout the organization, which also encompasses a graduate school of addiction studies, a publishing division, an addiction research center, recovery advocacy and thought leadership, professional and medical education programs, school-based prevention resources and a specialized program for children who grow up in families with addiction.