Commissioner Names New Director of Health Services

Commissioner : Brian Owens

Director of Public Affairs : Joan Heath

Tom McElhenney Promoted

Forsyth, GA. — Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) Commissioner Brian Owens announced the promotion of Tom McElhenney as Director of the Office of Health Services (OHS) effective December 1, 2014. As Director, McElhenney will be responsible for overseeing the required constitutional level of health care in an efficient, cost effective and humane manner for the Department of Corrections.

“Tom’s 21 years of knowledge and experience within the Department of Corrections is invaluable,” said Commissioner Owens. “The skills he has attained throughout his career will serve him well in his new role.”

McElhenney began his career with the Department in 1993 as a Counselor Assistant of Mental Health at the Georgia Women’s Correctional Institution. He was promoted, in 1995, to Counselor of Diagnostics at Baldwin State Prison and later to Counselor of General Population in 1996. McElhenney was then promoted to Senior Counselor of the same facility and in 1998 was promoted to Chief Counselor at Putnam State Prison. In 2001, he was promoted to Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment at Scott State Prison. McElhenney was promoted to Program Development Consultant of Audits and Compliance in 2003 and then in 2004 served in the same capacity in the Facilities/Probation Operations division. In 2012, he was promoted to Manager of Offender Administration, where he most recently served.

McElhenney earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Georgia College and is currently working on his Master of Science degree in Psychology. McElhenney has completed Basic Counselor, Basic Mental Health, Hostage Negotiations, Art of Exceptional Customer Service, Performance Management, Basic Management Training, Pre-Command Training and Corrections Leadership Institute.

The GDC has one of the largest prison systems in the U.S. and is responsible for supervising nearly 55,000 state prisoners
and over 160,000 probationers. It is the largest law enforcement agency in the state with approximately 12,000 employees.

For more information on the GDC call 478-992-5247 or visit https://gdc.georgia.gov.