Former health commissioner to lead West Central

LEBANON — Lori Shibinette will take the helm of West Central Behavioral Health as its fourth president and CEO in August.

She will replace Alexander J. “AJ” Horvath, who stepped in as interim president and CEO in October of last year, following the departure of Roger Osmun, who had held the office since 2019.

“I am honored to be joining such a team that has built a legacy caring and advocating for the mental health community in New Hampshire,” Shibinette said in a news release. She starts on Aug. 19.

Shibinette, 51, served as CEO of New Hampshire Hospital in Concord before becoming commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services in 2020. She helped lead the state through the COVID-19 pandemic. 

A native of Nova Scotia, Canada, Shibinette lives in Northfield, N.H., has worked in health care in the Granite State since her first job as a nurse at New Hampshire Hospital in 1995. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of New Hampshire and an MBA from Franklin Pierce University.

West Central Behavioral Health is a nonprofit community mental health center serving Grafton and lower Sullivan counties with locations in Lebanon, Claremont and Newport. It has 125 employees and provides outpatient, emergency, case management, residential and continuing care services for people who struggle with mental health and behavioral disorders.