February 25th, 2016
Excelsior Youth Center, one of Spokane’s largest behavioral-health nonprofits, has changed leadership, transitioning to a new chief executive officer for the first time in the 34 years since its founding.
Robert Faltermeyer, founding CEO of Excelsior Youth Center, retired as top executive there at the end of last year, after serving in that position since 1982, but agreed to stay on for two more months in the role of organizational consultant to assist his successor, Andrew Hill.
“It is somewhat difficult to let go of something I’ve invested so much of my energy into, but it’s really been an incredible journey,” Faltermeyer says.
One thing he says hasn’t been difficult is passing the torch to Hill.
“I have confidence that Andrew will take this agency to the next level,” he says. “This type of succession planning is something many nonprofits struggle with but we developed a plan that’s worked out pretty well.”
Located at 3754 W. Indian Trail Road, Excelsior Youth Center provides comprehensive behavioral health services, primary and specialty medical services, and education services to at-risk adolescents and young adults, ages 10 to 21, and their families. Services include an onsite licensed medical clinic as well as fully accredited junior and senior high schools to address youth’s medical and educational needs.
The 55,000-square-foot center sits on a 34-acre site that includes an arboretum, outdoor courtyards, sports fields, gardens, recreation courts, a swimming pool, a gymnasium, and hiking trails.
The center employs a full-time staff of 110 people, plus 40 part-time pool workers, and each year admits an average of about 430 young people. Length of stay varies according to program, with the average length of stay being about 121 days for residential units, and 180 days for outpatient services. It is estimated that Excelsior has worked with around 3,500 families from 1982 to 2015. …
In his 34 years working for Excelsior, Faltermeyer says he has seen the center transition from a child welfare agency to a fully-fledged facility providing mental health and substance use services, primary and specialty medical services, and education services.