Tennessee Mental Health Commissioner set to retire in October

E. Douglas Varney, with the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, talks during an editorial board meeting at the Times Free Press in February 2016.
E. Douglas Varney, with the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, talks during an editorial board meeting at the Times Free Press in February 2016.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Mental Health Commissioner Doug Varney intends to retire Oct. 21, Gov. Bill Haslam said Thursday.

Varney, who oversees the state's mental health and substance abuse services, became the department's chief after Haslam became governor in 2011.

"Doug's passion for helping those with mental health and substance abuse issues has made a tremendous impact on the state," Haslam said in a news release. "As a member of my Public Safety Subcabinet, I especially appreciate all he has done to help fight prescription drug abuse and expand and strengthen drug recovery courts in Tennessee."

The governor said Varney "has helped change the lives of some of our most vulnerable citizens, and for that I am grateful."

Under Varney's leadership, the department completed a major transformation in the mental health system in East Tennessee. In June 2012, the state closed Lakeshore Mental Health Institute in Knoxville. That hospital provided mental health services for Middle and Upper Tennessee for 126 years.

Services were pushed into the community, which officials and advocates argue allow people with mental health issues to live better lives while requiring less expensive treatment.

The Haslam administration said the department also has improved the medical and business operations of the four remaining state hospitals, including the Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute in Chattanooga, and made significant progress in addressing the prescription drug epidemic.

Officials say Varney helped lead efforts to triple federal discretionary grant funding to help veterans; increased suicide-prevention efforts; strengthened adult and children crisis services and established best-practice guidelines for mental health and substance abuse.

Varney called his term as commissioner an "honor and privilege."

"I am proud of our many accomplishments and feel we have made great strides for those Tennesseans struggling with mental health and substance abuse issues," he said. "Looking back on my time with the department, that is what matters most to me."

Before serving as commissioner, Varney spent his professional career with Gray, Tenn.-based Frontier Health, a community mental health center serving families and individuals affected by behavioral health, substance abuse and intellectual deficit issues.

He worked his way up from psychological examiner, counselor and therapist to president and CEO.

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