James F. O’Dea, Ph.D., MBA

Senior Vice President, Behavioral Health Network

Email: James.ODea@hhchealth.org

James O’Dea is a clinical psychologist and has been employed at Hartford HealthCare since 1989.  He holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology and an MBA from the University of New Haven. A collegiate graduate of Rutgers University, he earned both a Bachelor’s degree in Arts in Psychology and a Bachelor’s degree of Science in Microbiology/Immunology in 1982.   

Dr. O’Dea came to Backus Hospital in 1989 to practice clinical psychology in the Department of Psychiatric Services.  He assumed his first administrative position at Backus Hospital in 1997, assuming leadership of the department.  In the subsequent years, Dr. O’Dea has held a number of different positions within the organization in program development and operational leadership.  He was instrumental in the development of the hospital’s bariatric surgery, heart failure, stroke and peripheral vascular programs.  In collaboration with other leaders, he was responsible for the development and maturation of the Primary Care Behavioral Health (PCBH) initiative.  At Backus, Dr. O’Dea was also involved in patient safety and quality initiatives, heading up the Patient Safety and Quality Department for several years, as well as the administrator for the hospital’s Level III Trauma program. 

In 2008, Dr. O’Dea was named the Regional Director for Cancer Services for the Hartford HealthCare East Region and assisted in the development of the strategic and operational charter affiliation with Memorial Sloan-Kettering (MSK), one of the premier cancer programs in the world.

In 2015, Dr. O’Dea was named Vice President of Operations for the Hartford HealthCare Behavioral Health Network, the largest integrated behavioral health network in New England.    The network includes the Institute of Living, Rushford Center, Natchaug Hospital and its many ambulatory locations, and the behavioral health services at Backus Hospital, Windham Hospital, The Hospital of Central Connecticut, MidState Medical Center and Charlotte Hungerford Hospital and St. Vincent’s Medical Center.

In January 2022, Dr. O’Dea was named Senior Vice President of the Behavioral Health Network.