Hazelden Betty Ford's Alta DeRoo elected to board of American Society of Addiction Medicine

Center City, Minn. (January 25, 2023) –Alta DeRoo, MD, chief medical officer of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation—the nation's leading nonprofit system of addiction treatment, mental health care, recovery resources and related prevention and education services—has been named a 2023 at-large member of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) Board of Directors.

Dr. DeRoo has been involved with ASAM for years in Virginia, Minnesota and nationally. She recently has served as part of the Steering Committee of the Coalition for National Clinical Criteria, which collaborates with ASAM leadership to provide oversight and revision to The ASAM Criteria, the most widely used and comprehensive set of guidelines for placement, continued stay, transfer, or discharge of patients with addiction and co-occurring conditions. Many states across the country use The ASAM Criteria as the foundation of their efforts to improve the addiction treatment system. The final publication of the first volume of the new 4th edition—to be published and distributed by Hazelden Publishing, a part of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation—is slated for fall 2023.

"We are proud that Dr. DeRoo is serving on the ASAM board and can represent our organizational experience and knowledge with the physician community nationally," said Joseph Lee, MD, president and CEO of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. "ASAM is doing critical work to impact the entire health care system, and I'm excited about the contributions Dr. DeRoo will be able to make during her term. She is a great ambassador for our mission and the thousands of individuals, families and communities we serve." 

Dr. DeRoo is a former Naval flight officer, and board-certified addiction medicine physician and obstetrician-gynecologist (OB/GYN) who is a prominent national expert on treating pregnant patients who have substance use disorders. Recognized in 2022 by the American Medical Women's Association for her inspirational leadership, vision, integrity, collaboration and service, she is the first woman to serve as chief medical officer of Hazelden Betty Ford, where she leads all clinical operations.  

Dr. DeRoo also holds an MBA and is a Distinguished Fellow of ASAM, a member of the American Association of Addiction Psychiatry, and a Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Prior to her civilian career in medicine, she served for 24 years in the U.S. Navy, where she led 40 missions and was the first woman assigned to her combat squadron.

ASAM is a professional medical society dedicated to increasing access and improving the quality of addiction treatment, educating physicians and the public, supporting research and prevention, and promoting the appropriate role of physicians in the care of patients with addiction.