Tag: behavioral health

HCA to Launch Education Offering: Building a Behavioral Health Program

Behavioral Health Brochure header

In response to community need and member interest, HCA will launch in January 2016 a twelve-month training program for home health agencies interested in creating and sustaining a program to provide behavioral health services under the Medicare home health benefit. Based on work originally piloted at the VNS of New York, this project will provide learning and tools to put in place both the clinical competencies and administrative infrastructure. The project will feature onsite clinical training for at least five nurses per participant agency as well as diagnosis specific care guide and implementation manuals.

The objectives of this training are as follows:
• Learn how to provide Behavioral Health Home Care and get staff trained.
• Allow your agency to provide Behavioral Health Home Care during the year of the project
training.
• Improve patients care for clients with mental health conditions
• Improve overall patient outcomes, including re-hospitalization, ER utilization and compliance.
• Enhance your position in your service area, provide a new Niche of care and grow revenue.

For additional information, see the Behavioral Health Brochure, or view this recorded webinar*. Agencies interested in participating in the project should contact Megan Fournier at mfournier@thinkhomecare.org for contracting information.

*View webinar handouts here 

We Need Your Opinion!

To compete and succeed in tomorrow’s home health marketplace, agencies need highly-skilled clinicians and thoughtful, visionary leaders.  To help our members prepare for that future, HCA of MA is considering two in-depth, extended training programs for the coming year.  We need to assess member interest before we proceed.  The two programs we are considering are Building a Home Health Behavioral Health Program and Emerging Leaders in Home  Care.

The Behavioral Health Program would be a 12-month program that would provide participating agencies the clinical training and administrative guidance necessary to launch a behavioral health program that is compliant with current Medicare home health regulations. The program would provide a comprehensive operational manual, in-person and webinar-based clinical trainings for as many as five staff per agency, diagnosis-specific care  guides and monthly teleconferences to guide participants on a path towards success in terms of enhanced agency capabilities and revenues and better care for a now underserviced population. Cost per agency inclusive of all on site meetings, manuals and 12 training webinars (for multiple staff) would be approximately $6,700.

HCA is also considering whether to repeat the popular Emerging Leaders in Home Care certificate program with Suffolk University.  This program, which commits a person to a full day per week, over the course of nine months (with short breaks in between classes) provides next generation leaders in-depth graduate-level education in marketing, finance, policy and human resources, all specifically designed for home care agency managers.  Graduates of the program will be able to apply four course credits toward several Master’s Degree Programs at Suffolk University, including the new Master’s Program in Community Health.  Cost per person for the Emerging Leaders Program will be approximately $2,400, depending on the number of students.

We understand that these programs are higher in cost than most of our programs.  We would like to hear from you to determine if there is enough interest among our membership to present them (but please note that your response to this survey does NOT obligate you in any way at this time!) 

Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback to us.

Click HERE to take our survey!

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