Hugh Sage is an esteemed clinician and administrator in the field of ID and a Board Member of the National Association for the Dually Diagnosed (NADD). Since joining Liberty in 1999, Hugh has directed a specialized, 52-bed treatment facility and four-bed group home for persons with co-occurring ID and mental illness and challenging behavior. Hugh has served as an expert clinical consultant for Liberty by assisting several state programs improve services for individuals with ID, mental illness, and intensive behavioral needs.
Prior to joining Liberty, Hugh spent 15 years as superintendent of a 512-bed ICF/IID in Nebraska and served as Commissioner of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities for Kansas. Hugh closed one psychiatric hospital and one developmental disabilities facility through the development of community-based alternatives; implemented Kansas’ 1995 Developmental Disabilities Reform Act; eliminated community waiting lists by better leveraging the state’s General Fund dollars through expansion of the HCBS-MR/DD waiver option; and led the design of the Kansas Mental Health Children’s Initiative, which implemented a HCBS-SED waiver to fund community alternatives to institutionalization.
Hugh earned a doctor of philosophy from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Pittsburgh State University.
