Doug Leonardo
About Doug Leonardo
Doug Leonardo is the CEO of the TGH Behavioral Health Hospital, one of the first and only freestanding academic medical behavioral health hospitals in Florida, which is set to open in 2025. In 2024, the Florida Legislature passed legislation establishing the TGH Behavioral Health Hospital as one of the state’s first four behavioral health teaching hospitals.
In his role, Leonardo oversees behavioral health services across Tampa General’s health system. He manages the day-to-day operations of the TGH Behavioral Health Hospital in collaboration with Lifepoint Behavioral Health (a business unit of Lifepoint Health). Here, physicians with the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine will provide a full range of inpatient and outpatient care in specialized units for pediatrics, adolescents, adults and geriatrics. Additionally, Leonardo leads the behavioral health service line for the academic health system and works to integrate behavioral health across all service lines enterprise-wide.
Leonardo has more than 25 years of experience in behavioral health, having developed and implemented strategies to increase access to care, improve the cost of care and develop services in new markets. He has successfully integrated behavioral health care services at 12 hospitals and emergency departments in Florida’s largest metropolitan areas.
Before joining Tampa General Hospital and Lifepoint Health, Leonardo served as the vice president of Medicaid Behavioral Health at Humana. Prior to working with Humana, Leonardo was senior vice president of operations at Chrysalis Health, a large provider organization. He has also served as executive director for BayCare Behavioral Health.
Leonardo is a highly respected leader in the field of behavioral health. He has held positions such as chair and president of the Florida Behavioral Health Association Board. Currently, he is a member of the Florida Hospital Association’s Behavioral Health Council and has also served as president and chairman of the council. In 2021, Florida’s Senate President appointed him to serve on the Florida Commission on Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders. Additionally, he played a key role in shaping the state’s approach to mental health issues as a member of Governor Ron DeSantis’ transition team in 2018. In 2015, Governor Rick Scott appointed him to the Florida Drug Policy Advisory Council.
Leonardo is widely known across the state for his work with veterans and their families. He often speaks and presents at conferences on integrating behavioral health with primary care. Leonardo has been honored with several awards, including the Leadership Award from the statewide Office of Drug Control in 2010 and the Leader of the Year Award from the Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association in 2014.