Don Parker
Donald J. Parker, a licensed clinical social worker, is president and chief hospital executive of Hackensack Meridian Health Carrier Clinic, the largest nonprofit behavioral health system in New Jersey, and president of Hackensack Meridian Health Behavioral Health Care Transformation Services/Integrative Medicine. In business for more than a century, Carrier Clinic operates an acute care mental health hospital, a residential treatment center for adolescents, a fully accredited special needs school for students grades 7 through 12, and the Blake Recovery Center, an inpatient unit focused on addiction recovery.
Parker can offer unique insights into:
- The 25 percent rise in suicide rates across the United States
- Industry challenges, including the battle against opioid abuse
- The latest industry practices
- Emerging urgent care services in addiction and behavioral health
- Hospital and mental health center mergers
- Behavioral health center redesigns: a new functionality
Professional Background
Prior to joining Carrier Clinic in 2013, Parker served as the vice president for physician services and ambulatory care at St. Joseph's Health System, Paterson, N.J. Previously, Parker was appointed as president/CEO of Atlantic Mental Health for 15 years and subsequently merged into the AtlantiCare Health System. At AtlantiCare, he served in multiple leadership roles, including vice president of business development and president of AtlantiCare Health Services, where he developed and provided leadership to more than 20 ambulatory businesses with 42 locations. Parker’s capstone achievement at AtlantiCare was his participation on the leadership team of the health system as it earned and was awarded the Malcolm Baldrige Award, a presidential recognition for quality and achievement. He was also the chief operating officer and a partner for a health care consulting firm, Carlisle and Associates.
Public Service
Parker serves as a board member on The National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems, New Jersey Hospital Association, the Somerset County Business Partnership, and the Atlantic Cape Community College board of trustees. He also has served on numerous public and private boards, chairing the New Jersey Association of Mental Health Center’s panel for two terms, serving as a founding member and chair of Gilda’s Club of South Jersey, and chairing a New Jersey Supreme Court Committee responsible for rewriting divorce regulations for the state. He was recently honored by the Boy Scouts of America with The Toast of Scouting Award, presented for outstanding community service and leadership.
Special Recognition
Parker was named by NJBIZ magazine to its 2017 and 2018 Power 50 Health Care list, a prestigious roster of those people judged to be the most important, influential, successful and powerful individuals creating and influencing change within the health care industry in the state of New Jersey.
Parker can offer unique insights into:
- The 25 percent rise in suicide rates across the United States
- Industry challenges, including the battle against opioid abuse
- The latest industry practices
- Emerging urgent care services in addiction and behavioral health
- Hospital and mental health center mergers
- Behavioral health center redesigns: a new functionality
Professional Background
Prior to joining Carrier Clinic in 2013, Parker served as the vice president for physician services and ambulatory care at St. Joseph's Health System, Paterson, N.J. Previously, Parker was appointed as president/CEO of Atlantic Mental Health for 15 years and subsequently merged into the AtlantiCare Health System. At AtlantiCare, he served in multiple leadership roles, including vice president of business development and president of AtlantiCare Health Services, where he developed and provided leadership to more than 20 ambulatory businesses with 42 locations. Parker’s capstone achievement at AtlantiCare was his participation on the leadership team of the health system as it earned and was awarded the Malcolm Baldrige Award, a presidential recognition for quality and achievement. He was also the chief operating officer and a partner for a health care consulting firm, Carlisle and Associates.
Public Service
Parker serves as a board member on The National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems, New Jersey Hospital Association, the Somerset County Business Partnership, and the Atlantic Cape Community College board of trustees. He also has served on numerous public and private boards, chairing the New Jersey Association of Mental Health Center’s panel for two terms, serving as a founding member and chair of Gilda’s Club of South Jersey, and chairing a New Jersey Supreme Court Committee responsible for rewriting divorce regulations for the state. He was recently honored by the Boy Scouts of America with The Toast of Scouting Award, presented for outstanding community service and leadership.
Special Recognition
Parker was named by NJBIZ magazine to its 2017 and 2018 Power 50 Health Care list, a prestigious roster of those people judged to be the most important, influential, successful and powerful individuals creating and influencing change within the health care industry in the state of New Jersey.
