🔒Hospital for Behavioral Medicine names fourth CEO in six years

Six months after she assumed the role of interim CEO of the Hospital for Behavioral Medicine, Rachel Corus has dropped her interim tag, making her the Worcester hospital’s fourth permanent CEO in six years. “I am honored and privileged to say that I have been chosen to be the CEO for the Hospital for Behavioral Medicine! What a team we have! So excited to see the great things we are going to do for our community!” Corus wrote in a Thursday post on her LinkedIn profile. Carus first joined the Hospital for Behavioral Medicine in April 2024 as chief clinical officer, according to her LinkedIn profile. She moved on to the role of chief operating officer/assistant administrator in October of that year, and became the hospital’s interim CEO in May. Neither Carus nor the hospital immediately returned WBJ’s request for comment. Previously, she worked for Horizon Health, a Texas-based company that works with hospitals to improve their behavioral health care programming. She ended her eight-year tenure with the company as director, behavioral health. Carus graduated with her bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University in New Jersey and an MBA from Rutgers Business School. She also earned two master’s degrees from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City.

Carus replaces the hospital’s previous CEO Evelyn Alsup, who left the position in early 2025 after assuming it in January 2024. During Alsup’s short tenure, the hospital was investigated by both state and federal agencies, according to public records sent to WBJ. An investigation launched in August 2024, prompted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, concluded the hospital failed to provide care in a safe setting to two out of 13 patients sampled. An on-site follow up on Jan. 2 found all deficiencies had been corrected. A Sept. 23, 2024 investigation by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, prompted by compliance concerns, found no deficiencies. Alsup had previously served as CEO of Strategic Behavioral Health in Garner, North Carolina. Under her leadership, the hospital was shut down by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, with the agency determining Alsup incompetent to manage the facility, according to an article published by The News & Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina. As of Wednesday morning, Alsup’s LinkedIn profile was deactivated. Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.