Patricia Rehmer Receives Distinguished Alumna Award From Saint Joseph College

Patricia Rehmer, state commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services, has been chosen to receive the Mary Rosa McDonough Award from Saint Joseph College. Ms. Rehmer, who was in the College’s first master’s program in Nursing, will receive the alumnae/i award April 27 with four others who have distinguished themselves in their fields.

Ms. Rehmer was working at the Institute of Living in Hartford when it decided to send a group of nurses to Saint Joseph College for an advanced degree. Her education gave her a new perspective when the private mental health hospital merged with Hartford Hospital. She said the merger “got me thinking about systems.”

She spent 17 years at the Institute of Living, ultimately becoming clinical director, responsible for child, adolescent, adult and geriatric clinical services. She became chief executive officer at Capitol Region Mental Health Center, an agency coordinating private and publicly funded mental health services. In 2003, Ms. Rehmer joined the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, where officials asked her help restructure the agency. One of her projects was establishing the Clinical Cabinet, a group of clinical experts from state-funded and state-operated facilities who provided expertise in treating mental health and substance abuse.

In 2004, she was appointment deputy commissioner. During the tenure of Gov. Jodi Rell, she became commissioner, then was reconfirmed in the administration of  Gov. Dannel Malloy. Her responsibilities include oversight of behavioral health care for 90,000 people annually.

During her tenure she has fostered strong collaborations with other state agencies, including working with the Department of Children and Families to establish a program for children moving into the adult mental health system.

More recently, she has been working with the Institute for Autism and Behavioral Studies at the College to identify ways her agency and the College might work together to increase knowledge, expertise and best practices in the behavioral management of Autism.

Ms. Rehmer earned a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing from Skidmore College in 1981 and a master of science in Nursing from Saint Joseph College in 1988. She lives in West Hartford.

The award dinner is Friday, April 27, at the Wampanoag Country Club, West Hartford. For tickets, contact the Alumnae/i Relations Office at 860.231.5323. 

Saint Joseph College, founded in 1932 by the Sisters of Mercy to provide higher education opportunities for women, is a comprehensive institution serving women from diverse backgrounds and religious traditions. More than 22 majors and six pre-professional programs are available plus accelerated bachelor’s to master’s degrees. Responsive to the evolving educational needs of the community, the School of Graduate and Professional Studies offers both women and men graduate degree programs including: management, counseling, education, and nursing  along with online programs in biology, biochemistry and nutrition. In addition, the undergraduate Weekend Program for Adult Learners, professional certificate programs relevant to today’s workforce and other continuing co-educational learning opportunities are available. In the fall of 2011, the Saint Joseph College School of Pharmacy, the first doctoral program in the College’s 79-year history, welcomed its first class to Hartford 21 on Trumbull Street in downtown Hartford. View our Web site at www.sjc.edu.

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