NEWS RELEASE
June 13, 2006

For more information, contact:
Russ Hagen, CEO at (309) 827-6026

CHESTNUT CEO ELECTED TO INTERNATIONAL EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE ORGANIZATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Russ Hagen, CEO of Chestnut Health Systems, was elected to the Board of Directors of the Asia Pacific Employee Assistance Roundtable (APEAR.) Mr. Hagen attended the annual roundtable in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as both a participant and a trainer. He co-presented with Chestnut Global Partners’ staff, Matthew Mollenhauer, Director of Operations, and Dr. Daolong Zhang, Medical Director, on the use of standardized clinical assessments in international EAP.

Mr. Hagen is the Chief Executive Officer of Chestnut Health Systems, a Bloomington-based not-for-profit behavioral healthcare organization that offers chemical dependency treatment and prevention, mental health treatment and housing, applied behavioral research, consulting, training and publishing and employee assistance and workplace services. He is also CEO of Chestnut Global Partners, a wholly owned subsidiary of Chestnut Health Systems, that offers employee assistance and workplace services both domestically and internationally. In addition, Mr. Hagen is the Vice Chairperson of the Board for Psychcn-Chestnut Global Partners, Inc., headquartered in Beijing, China. Psychcn-Chestnut Global Partners (Psychcn-CGP) is the first Sino-American joint venture company to provide EAP services in mainland China. The joint venture combines the strengths of its Chinese and American investors.

In response to his appointment to the APEAR Board of Directors Mr. Hagen said, “I think it is an important aspect of our organizational mission to advance the knowledge and awareness of the benefits of EAPs and to share what we have learned about the implementation of these programs in a global environment with others in the field.”

Mr. Hagen is also currently President of the Board of the McLean County Chamber of Commerce, Board Member and Treasurer for the National Association of Addition Treatment Providers (NAATP), and Board Member and Secretary of the Illinois Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Association.

Employee Assistance is the work organization's resource that utilizes specific core technologies to enhance employee and workplace effectiveness through prevention, identification, and resolution of personal and productivity issues.

APEAR is a not-for profit organization that runs regional forums for the promotion of the highest standards of practice and continuing development of Employee Assistance professionals, providers and services.The group’s objectives are to:

• Present the business case for Employee Assistance and mental health at work programs to Human Resources, Occupational Health and business leaders with a focus on how to maximize employee performance through EAP,
• Promote better understanding of the clinical practice and application of employee assistance provision,
• Develop regional guidelines for employee assistance as well as a Code of Ethics for employee assistance practitioners and providers and
• Continue the professional exchange and dialogue regarding employee assistance in the Asia Pacific and with other employee assistance organizations.

To learn more about the organizations identified in this article visit their websites.