SalusCare’s Wallace Neal Earns Clinician of the Year Award
August 14, 2014 - News & Press
Wallace Neal, Director of Adult Residential Programs of SalusCare, Inc., was honored as the “Clinician of the Year” for Florida’s Suncoast region by the Florida Alcohol & Drug Abuse Association (FADAA).
Wallace received the award August 7 at the statewide annual conference of FADAA and the Florida Council for Community Mental Health in Orlando. More than 1,000 professionals attended the conference.
The Suncoast Region includes Lee and 13 other counties along the western and central sections of Florida.
Also nominated for awards were Director of Outpatient Business Services Keri Riedel for “Administrator/Supervisor of the Year” and Clinician Kate Ramtahal for “”Direct Service Provider of the Year.”
Neal was selected for the honor by vote of his peers in FADAA and the Florida Council for Community Mental Health.
Neal is an 18-year veteran of the mental health and substance abuse field since earning his Bachelor of Science degree in human services in 1996 and Master of Science degree in social work in 2001. He became a Certified Addiction Professional in 2004.
Neal has worked in all areas of treatment, acting as case manager and intake assessor, then working his way through clinical roles and into supervisory positions. He began work at SalusCare, Inc., as Clinical Director of Adult Residential Programs and now serves as Director of Adult Residential Programs.
During this time, he also taught at the Florida Addiction Institute, helping students obtain their educational hours toward substance abuse certification. He also serves on the advisory board for the Lee County Coalition for a Drug-Free Southwest Florida and works closely with the School of Social Work at Florida Gulf Coast University supervising several interns each year.