About Beacon Behavioral Hospital in Luverne, AL

About

Vision

Beacon Behavioral Hospital makes a daily commitment to improve our patients’ lives by using a patient centered collaborative approach to provide high quality care addressing both the mental health and physical wellbeing of our patients.

Values

At Beacon Behavioral Hospital, our staff is committed to improving the lives of those impacted by mental illness. Our patient promise is at the core of everything we do:

Compassion
Accountability
Respect
Empowerment

Beacon Behavioral Hospital is in the quaint city of Luverne Alabama located approximately 45 miles from Montgomery, 120 miles from Birmingham and 90 miles from Ft. Walton Beach. Beacon Behavioral Hospital is a family centered treatment environment designed to treat the acute mental and behavioral health needs of children ages 6-18 years old by providing a bright and comfortable setting to help with healing and transformation.

Hear from the CEO

On Behalf of our team at Beacon Behavioral Hospital, we are proud of our programs and services for children and adolescents. Beacon Behavioral Hospital is committed to delivering the highest quality treatment in a secure, therapeutic environment with compassion and respect.

We work together with our patients every day to earn their trust and deliver exceptional care. Our team uses best practices to provide superior care in providing hope and transforming lives of those we serve. I welcome you to contact us today with any questions or obtain more information on the programs offered. Our team looks forward to guiding your child through any current crisis or behavioral matters they are experiencing while proving education, emotion regulation skills and empowerment to secure a brighter future.

Sincerely,

Shannon Hudson, RN

Chief Executive Officer

- Shannon Hudson, RN
  
  Chief Executive Officer
  
  Shannon worked as an LPN for a rural health pediatric office and went on to Lurleen B....
  
  Shannon worked as an LPN for a rural health pediatric office and went on to Lurleen B. Wallace Community College where she earned her license as a registered nurse. She has always had a passion working with children from dancing at Disney to teaching classical dance and now making an impression on young children’s lives. Shannon has worked her way up through several positions at Beacon Behavioral Hospital and is now in charge of linking patients and families from our community to the treatment provided by her staff. Shannon thrives on watching a child understand that mental health is not a handicap but a continued part of them and witnessing her team interact with kids in a positive, non-judgmental, educational way. Shannon enjoys spending time with her family, antiquing, traveling and is involved with her local Pilot club.
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- Dr. Saeed Shah
  
  Medical Director
  
  Dr. Shah has been practicing psychiatry for over 20 years. He graduated from King Edward...
  
  Dr. Shah has been practicing psychiatry for over 20 years. He graduated from King Edward Medical College in Lahore, Pakistan. He continued with his internship and residency in psychiatry at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Dr. Shah went on to Columbia at the University of New York with a fellowship in psychiatry. Dr. Shah is a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Dr. Shah is passionate about working with children and helping them become more stable, develop disciplines and become goal oriented in order to lead successful and contented lives. When he is not working with his patients, Dr. Shah enjoys gardening, exercising and hiking.
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- Sandy Kent
  
  Director of Business Development
  
  Sandy recently joined the Beacon Behavioral Hospital management team and has worked in...
  
  Sandy recently joined the Beacon Behavioral Hospital management team and has worked in marketing and business development for over twenty years. Ms. Kent also has her license as a respiratory therapist. In her position, representing the facility to the community it is important to her to help raise awareness on how to find mental health resources for providers, families and patients. Watching the children interact with the therapists and medical staff is very rewarding. To Sandy, family time is everything.
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- Lisa Colvin, MSN, RN
  
  Director of Nursing
  
  Lisa’s journey to Beacon Behavioral Hospital started when she was on a mission trip...
  
  Lisa’s journey to Beacon Behavioral Hospital started when she was on a mission trip working as tech. She recognized she could help more by becoming a nurse. She went on to complete her LPN and RN at Lurleen B. Wallace Community College. She worked in the emergency room setting for the past several years. While there, Lisa treated many patients who dealt with mental health disorders and decided to make a change to behavioral health. She loves seeing the positive changes in the children’s faces when the discharge from the facility. Lisa likes to renovate her home with her husband when she is not helping children and likes to read, kayak and hike.
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- Sherry Merrill, RN
  
  Director of Assessment and Referral Services
  
  Sherry entered the nursing field after losing her daughter in a car accident, she felt it...
  
  Sherry entered the nursing field after losing her daughter in a car accident, she felt it was her calling. She went through a Paramedic program at Lurleen B. Wallace Jr. College and then to Jefferson Davis School of Nursing in Brewton, AL where she received her nursing degree. She has worked in the operating room and as a travel nurse until she landed at Beacon where she has been for the past six years. The drive for Ms. Merrill every day is making a difference in a child’s life and seeing a child smile before they discharge. When she is not working, she likes to do woodworking, especially making shelves, painting, and fishing.
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- Amy Norris, LMSW, ICADA
  
  Director of Social Services
  
  Amy has been a social worker in the mental health field for over seven years. She...
  
  Amy has been a social worker in the mental health field for over seven years. She graduated from Troy University with a bachelor’s degree in social work and went on to the University of Alabama where she received her master’s degree. Amy is a licensed social worker and is also licensed in alcohol and drug treatment. Amy enjoys engaging with our children and working with the interdisciplinary team at Beacon Behavioral Hospital to provide patients with the tools they need to be successful. Amy also finds great pride in being able to advocate for the rights of the children. Amy is a lover of nature and spends as much time as she can with friends and family.
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- Julie Shiver, BSN, RN
  
  Director Quality and Risk Management
  
  Julie has numerous years of experience in healthcare working as a Labor and Delivery Nurse...
  
  Julie has numerous years of experience in healthcare working as a Labor and Delivery Nurse, on the Med-Surg floor, in Hospice, as a unit nurse, in referrals and assessments as well as utilization review. Julie received her degrees from Troy University and is currently over quality assurance, infection control, employee health and education for Beacon Behavioral Hospital. Julie is a clinical instructor for Auburn University Nursing students and is a certified instructor in CPI. She enjoys being part of a team that helps children recognize their worth and likes helping her peers recognize the importance of standards, policies and procedures. Julie enjoys her time with family, crafting, traveling and retail therapy.
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- Maple
  
  Therapy Dog
  
  Maple has joined the staff at Beacon Behavioral Hospital as our Pet Therapy Dog in order...
  
  Maple has joined the staff at Beacon Behavioral Hospital as our Pet Therapy Dog in order to help our patients in a very unique way; Maple will participate in Animal Assisted Activities and provide Animal Assisted Therapy. Animal Assisted Activities- is the integration of animals into activities to facilitate motivation, education, and recreation, encouraging casual interaction without following a specific set of criteria or goals. The main focus is companionship and comfort to our patients. Maple makes daily rounds and sees all patients and greets them with a smile and a wagging tail. Animal Assisted Therapy-is intentional and therapeutic, whereby the animal’s role is integral in assisting with mental health therapy and augments the therapy that is being conducted by a licensed therapist. In this setting, Maple might be used when a therapist is leading a group discussion. There will always be a specific goal for the use of Maple in these groups in order to help our patients thrive. Maple is quite official - she has a staff badge, job description and has an employee file with all her health information and documentation
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