Director of Behavioral Health

Washington, DC, United States

REPORTS TO:  Vice President of Population Health  – Unity Health Care

INTRODUCTION

Under the supervision of the  Vice President of Population Health ,  the  Director of  Behavioral Health is responsible for further developing  and  monitoring  the success of a behavioral health program that is fully integrated with Unity’s medical practice . The Director of Behavioral health  sets the overall strategic direction and alignment for behavioral health and substance use  disorder services at  Unity and is responsible for  the management and  oversight for Behavioral Health  and  P sychiatry  services at all Unity Health Care community health center s  and homeless sites . They collaborate  closely with the  B ehavioral  H ealth team at  the  Department of Corrections  to ensure strategic alignment . Additionally,  they serve  as  Unity Health Care’s  primary liaison with key  external stakeholders . As a clinical leader, the Director of Behavioral Health  maintains  an active clinical practice in Integrated Behavioral Health (IBH) at Unity  Health Care .

MAJOR DUTIES/  ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Supports the organization in contributing to the quadruple aim: improving health outcomes, improving patient experience, supporting care team well-being and the financial sustainability of the organization

Health Outcomes

Develops and implements  an  IBH  model throughout Unity  including engaging and educating members of the medical practice

Supervises Behavioral/ Mental Health providers to assure accuracy and quality in their work.

Serves as subject matter expert and organizational champion for integrated behavioral health

Serves as a subject matter expert on behavioral-health related workflows in the medical practice including screening for depression and drug and alcohol use

Collaborates with Medical Director for Addiction Treatment to ensure that substance use disorder treatment is well-integrated in behavioral health services

Identifies , implements, and supervises the clinical delivery of best-practice behavioral health care.

Periodically  monitors  psychiatric and mental health records, provides  appropriate feedback , and, when necessary, takes corrective action; and oversees peer review of Behavioral/ Mental Health providers . This includes reviewing provider charts at around 45 and 90 days upon hire and re-evaluating those charts that do  not meet the  minimum  standard .

Participates fully in all aspects of Unity's continuing quality improvement efforts ,  and in the process of outside agency evaluation and accreditation review.

Responsible for creating and updating policies related to  b ehavioral  h ealth

Develops a patient centered and integrated approach to behavioral health

Ensures each patient has  a treatment or care plan and encourages providers to develop strong, trusting therapeutic relationships , models the same

Reviews patient experience data and  provides  feedback to team members

Investigates patient complaints, particularly those with  quality-of-care  concern s  or  those that relate  to providers . P rovides  feedback,  counseling,  or  other  action s including documentation and remediation  when  appropriate .

Participates effectively with the Medical Directors and health center leadership to  provide  leadership and ensure coverage for all Unity sites and services.

Actively recruits and hires appropriately trained and competent (including culturally competent), mission driven providers

Coordinates patient schedules to ensure access to patients in the centers and coverages for absences.

Researches  and suggests novel care models as needed to improve access and  meet the needs of patients and staff.

Care team well being

Assures that Behavioral/ Mental Health providers are fully trained in all aspects of their work and especially in  the IBH model,  crisis intervention and suicide prevention

A ssures that all Behavioral/ Mental Health providers function collaboratively with the other health and human services offered at Unity Health Care.

Assures that all personnel of the Department are fully compliant with the administrative policies and procedures of Unity Health Care.

Assures that all Behavioral/ Mental Health providers carefully  observe  HIPAA and other local and Federal compliance regulations.

Assists  in assessing opportunities, via grants and billing reviews, to increase reimbursement for mental health services.

Monitors the productivity  of providers and  identifies  opportunities to improve access and  utilization

Creates and implements strategy in conjunction with VP of Population  Health  to ensure behavioral health visits meet productivity, financial and quality standards

Collaborates with the behavioral health program manager to  identify  grant opportunities and implement  funded grants

Monitors grant deliverables and  work s  with program managers to ensure budgets are managed responsibly

Other  duties

Collaborates with Fellowship Director of behavioral health fellowship to ensure training and curriculum are designed to train clinicians adept at providing IBH services

Participates effectively as a representative of Unity with D.C. Departments of Behavioral al Health ,  other officers of the District of Columbia, and with local and national community/advocacy groups.

Establishes collaborations and partnerships with mental health providers and agencies within the District of Columbia and with national networks of Community Health Centers.

Assists  in preparing testimony on mental health policy, and, when  requested , testifies on behalf of Unity Health Care.

Communicates with providers and staff regularly about broader organizational initiatives, site initiatives and processes, procedures, and policies.

Collaborates with other members of the leadership team, including participating in monthly Medical Directors’ meeting and the Unity wide QI meeting.

Serves on committee(s) as assigned by the CMO.

Performs or has performed clinical duties of a Mental Health Clinician.

Performs other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

L icensed mental health professional P h .D.  Psychologist ,  Psychiatrist , or Psychiatry NP preferred ; LIC S W-Licensed to practice indepen dently in DC will also be considered.

10 + years of senior management experience  required .

3 years of related experience with chronically mentally ill.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES REQUIRED

Familiar with standard concepts, practices, and procedures within the field , including integrated behavioral health models

General knowledge of  psycho-pharmacology

Expert knowledge of  team work , team intervention models and the ability to work in multi-disciplinary settings

Ability to  provide  supervision, performance evaluations, and the ability to work in multi- disciplinary settings.

Ability to  determine  appropriateness to transferring inmates to and from the mental health units to general  population as clinically  indicated .

Ability to provide comprehensive clinical psychological services to inmates and those inmates who have severe mental illness.

Ability to conduct psychological assessments, if needed and the incumbent is a psychologist.

Skill in conducting individual and group psychotherapy, and ability to provide supervision to the behavioral health team.

Ability to make sound decisions and act quickly in critical circumstances.

SUPERVISORY CONTROLS

The  Senior  Director  of  Behavioral Health has Behavioral/ Mental Health Providers reporting to them.

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