BANGOR – The Acadia Hospital’s interim chief executive officer, Dottie Hill, has been selected to take over the job permanently, Eastern Maine Healthcare announced Thursday.

Hill has served as The Acadia Hospital’s vice president of patient care services since 1992 and was part of the team that created the 100-bed hospital almost 10 years ago. Acadia offers both inpatient and outpatient treatment of mental illness, behavioral disorders and chemical dependency.

Hill, 54, said during a brief interview her vision is “to move our services forward in the state.”

She said the hospital’s beds are almost always full, but “we don’t have a motivation to add beds.” Instead, there are ongoing discussions with other organizations and providers in the state to find ways to improve the ability of existing facilities to help more patients, she said.

The appointment to the position was made by EMH CEO Norman Ledwin and approved by Acadia’s board of trustees Monday, according to a press release issued by EMH on Thursday morning.

Hill has practiced psychiatric nursing for more than 30 years and is past president of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association. She said nursing issues would continue to be important to her as CEO.

Carol Carothers, executive director of the Maine chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, a patient advocacy group, praised the choice of Hill.

“She has a good clinical background and she certainly understands the territory up there,” Carothers said.

Carothers said the importance of a clinical background to a CEO is that it helps inform decision-making on policies related to patient safety and other concerns. Carothers also said she believes that “promoting from within makes sense.”

The CEO position has been vacant since last June when Ali Elhaj stepped down after two years on the job. He took a position overseeing a psychiatric hospital and treatment center for children in Reno, Nev.