JOB TITLE: Senior Director of Behavioral Health

FLSA: Exempt

GRADE: 15

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

INTRODUCTION

Under the supervision of the Vice President of Population Health, the Senior Director of Behavioral Health sets the overall strategic direction and alignment for behavioral health and substance use disorder services at Unity. The Senior Director of Behavioral Health is responsible for the management and oversight for Behavioral Health and Psychiatry services at all Unity Health Care's community health center and homeless sites and collaborates closely with the Behavioral Health team at the Department of Corrections to ensure strategic alignment. Additionally, the Senior Director of Behavioral Health serves as Unity Health Care's primary liaison with key external stakeholders.

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

• Supervises Behavioral/ Mental Health providers to assure accuracy and quality in their work.
• Develops and implements our behavioral health model of care (e.g., behavioral health integration, trauma-informed approach) throughout Unity.
• 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.

Patient Experience

• 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
• Reviews patient experience data and provides feedback to team members
• Investigates patient complaints, particularly those with a quality of care concern or as it relates to providers and provides feedback, counseling, or other action 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

Care team well being

• Assures that Behavioral/ Mental Health providers are fully trained in all aspects of their work and especially in crisis intervention and suicide prevention assures 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.

Financial Health

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

Other duties

• 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

* Licensed mental health professional Ph.D. Psychologist, Psychiatrist, or Psychiatry NP preferred; LICSW-Licensed to practice independently 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.
• 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.
• Knowledge of the major mental illness specialty area of psychology and expert knowledge of diagnostics based on DSM-5.

SUPERVISORY CONTROLS

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