Hazelden is one of the most famous addiction-treatment programs in the U.S., but its top executives have been leaving in droves despite the program's apparently good fiscal health, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported May 11.

President and CEO Ellen Breyer departed Hazelden, following five other top Hazelden officials to have left the company. Observers say that Hazelden is attracting more patients and donors than ever, and continues to grow, but Breyer has been both praised and vilified for focusing the Minnesota-based treatment provider on the bottom line.

Hazelden has long been known for its charity care, and though the days when high-profile celebrities chose the program when they wanted to get clean are gone, it has maintained an excellent reputation. Breyer was hired to help the program deal with the challenges of managed care and a more competitive treatment market, and brought more of a corporate mentality to Hazelden than previous presidents.

Among Breyer's major accomplishments was signing a deal with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, which now accounts for 30 percent of Hazelden's patient revenues. Observers say the move made it harder for high-end patients to get into treatment, and charity care also declined. However, Hazelden treated a record 10,754 patients in 2007, and raised $12 million from donors.

Breyer also approved the use of more pharmaceutical drugs in treatment, and focused more on academic credentialing of staff, which rankled some members of the traditional, recovery-oriented treatment community. "Hazelden used to be looked at as the mother ship, the mecca," said Dan Cain, president of the Minnesota treatment program RS Eden. "That level of awe, of deference, has diminished significantly."

"There's the recovery movement, and there's the AA movement. Then there are organizations, Hazelden being one of them, trying to provide services to people in these movements," said Breyer. "We are not exactly the same ... Sometimes people think we should match up."

Breyer was named administrator of the year in 2006 by the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers, but as she worked to change the culture at Hazelden, a number of other top officials departed, including Hazelden's general counsel, director of research communications, chief medical officer, chief financial officer, and market development chief.

William Cope Moyers, Hazelden's public policy leader, called the changes made by Breyer "necessary, challenging and inevitable," but added, "I knew it was going to be hard to get resources for things other than our bottom line."

Soon after announcing that Hazelden would move from its longtime headquarters in Center City to downtown Minneapolis, Breyer resigned. The treatment provider is now looking for a new CEO, chief medical officer, and chief financial officer.