Adult & Child Health CEO Allen Brown Announces Retirement
Indianapolis, IN – After nine years working devotedly as the President and CEO for Indiana integrated healthcare provider Adult & Child Health (A&C), Allen Brown is set to retire at the end of March 2024. During his tenure as CEO, Brown has led A&C through many projects and positive changes that will continue to have a profound impact on the Indianapolis community and the organization’s 600 employees. Brown joined A&C in December 2014 with a vision to be the state’s leading provider of whole-person healthcare and played a crucial role in the organization’s growth as a prominent safety net organization in central Indiana. A&C started providing primary care services in 2016, earned FQHC look-alike designation in 2017, and currently operates four integrated healthcare clinics in the south Indianapolis area. A&C services have also expanded in the areas of mental health counseling, addictions treatment, and housing resources for persons experiencing homelessness. Under Brown’s leadership the organization has nearly doubled its annual revenue and has tripled the number of people served each year. Brown also championed A&C’s early adoption of the Certified Community Behavioral Health Center (CCBHC) model, which is designed to increase access to care and crisis services for the community’s most vulnerable residents. A&C has been at the forefront of this movement in the state of Indiana and was recently selected as one of eight Indiana community mental health centers to serve as a proposed pilot site in the Division of Mental Health and Addictions (DMHA) application for a federal CCBHC Demonstration Project. Additionally, A&C plans to open a Behavioral Health Crisis Center at the organization’s south Indianapolis clinic in late March of 2024. Under the CCBHC model of care, crisis centers located within the community play a prominent role in assuring individuals have timely access to services when urgent needs arise, helping to decrease unnecessary emergency room visits and jail incarcerations. “Allen is a skilled team builder and has had a knack for finding ways to help our organization achieve its goals,” said A&C Board President Tom Gaunt. “He has led our organization into a new era with a masterful vision for how we can be more effective moving forward, which is a win-win for Adult and Child and the people we serve. He will be dearly missed.” While a CEO successor has not yet been named, A&C has forged a partnership with Missouri-based Brightli, Inc. – the nation’s fourth-largest nonprofit behavioral health organization by total revenue. The partnership will significantly increase financial and system support resources available to Adult & Child Health, for the benefit of underserved persons with behavioral health and primary care needs. The partnership has been approved by each company’s board and is anticipated to be finalized in coming weeks pending regulatory approval. A public signing and press conference will be announced upon partnership closing, which is expected in Spring 2024. “I am going to miss Adult and Child Health and I’m deeply grateful for the support, trust, and collaboration I’ve received. It has been an honor to serve as CEO and I know even greater things lie ahead for this remarkable organization,” said Mr. Brown.
Increasing Access to Care: A&C Clinician Spearheads New Intro to Therapy Groups
CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING RESULTS IN INTRO TO THERAPY GROUPS A&C is now connecting its clients with a therapist more quickly after their initial intake. “We have increased access to care in a big way,” said Michelle Kalogeros, Lead Access Clinician (pictured). The need for mental health resources and treatment has risen significantly in the United States in the years following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the 2022 “Community Mental Health Needs Assessment Report for Marion County,” an estimated 66% of Marion County residents who needed treatment for serious mental illness did not receive it. “A conversation started with the safety and the ethical issues with seeing a client with mental health needs—maybe a client who is presenting at risk, having thoughts of wanting to harm themselves or severe depression—then having them wait six to eight weeks for an individual therapy session,” Michelle said. Having been an intake clinician for three years, Michelle also saw some of her peers wanting to grow professionally. Looking at the massive numbers of intakes being completed, a shortage of available appointment slots with outpatient therapists, and a fully-staffed intake team that is trained in therapy, she thought to herself— “How can we repurpose our staff to do both?” CBT: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy CBT is a form of psychological treatment that involves learning better ways of coping with psychological problems, which can relieve symptoms and help individuals become more effective in their lives. Strategies may include using problem-solving skills to cope with difficult situations, facing one’s fears instead of avoiding them, and learning to calm one’s mind and relax one’s body. Source: The American Psychological Association, APA.org In May of 2022, Michelle assembled a curriculum and created a proposal for Intro to Therapy, a short-term group led by intake clinicians that would offer basic CBT concepts to help patients with grounding techniques and to help prepare them for individual therapy. She took the proposal to her supervisor, Laura Barrett, Director of Behavioral Health Services. “She was a big advocate; she helped me feel really empowered to get started and just jump in,” Michelle said. Michelle’s next step was to meet with the rest of the intake clinicians to explain what was being created and to ask if anyone would be interested in leading a group. Four clinicians— Natalie Raab, Kate Curtis, Courtney Markland, and Tonya Small— stepped up to join Michelle in leading group therapy. This team then developed a schedule that would allow a new group to kick off each week: five groups at different locations and different times with staggering start dates. This involved extensive behind-the-scenes work to determine which rooms would be available with the appropriate capacity, then to adjust the staff’s intake schedules accordingly to allow them to lead the group and complete the documentation and case management that went along with it. Michelle and the team ensured that all loose ends were tied; everything from determining how to assess risk and how to ask for assistance when it is needed, to creating a risk diary card and informational handouts, all the way down to making signs for doors that said “group in progress.” “There were lots of details and lots of things involved in creating the group other than just creating the curriculum, but it all came together pretty beautifully in a short amount of time,” Michelle said. “After the creation, it was a really big group effort to figure out what was working and what needed improvement. Group leaders really came together well to figure out what worked and how we could better it.” PARTNERS IN HEALTH: INTRODUCING CLIENTS TO INTRO TO THERAPY Group therapy may not be the first thing that comes to clients’ minds when they picture their road to healing. Fortunately, there was extensive thought and care put into this new program— including how to authentically encourage clients to feel comfortable and engaged. “First and foremost,” Michelle emphasized, “we want you to be safe. We want you to have a therapist that you can check in with until we have a therapist available for your individual therapy.” Intro to Therapy group puts clients in front of a therapist weekly. If the client is at risk, they’re able to meet with the therapist one-on-one after group. This is where the risk diary cards come in. A physical diary card is printed out and set in front of each client as they arrive for group. Each client can document their impression of their current status and place the card face down. After collecting the cards, the therapist determines whether anyone is presenting with risk and then holds those clients at the end to individually assess and complete a safety plan if needed. The second important aspect of Intro to Therapy is that it helps clients determine their own goals and work toward meeting them in therapy. “This information can be helpful in understanding what you can learn in therapy and how you can be successful,” she said. “If they would say ‘well, I’ve already been in therapy,’ then I would say ‘Great! Then you’ll be an expert and a great encourager for the group.’” WHAT IS AN OPEN ACCESS INTAKE CLINICIAN? Intake Clinicians complete comprehensive diagnostic intakes. This involves information gathering through client report and record review, risk assessment, clinical documentation, diagnosis, writing a treatment plan, and determine which treatment team can best meet a client’s needs. They then refer clients for appropriate behavioral health services within the organization – to outpatient therapy, outpatient addictions, school-based services, or community-based services. Internal referrals can also include psychiatric medication management. This position requires a master’s degree and an associate’s license. HOW DOES OPEN ACCESS WORK? Each Access client is scheduled with an intake clinician for an hour-long, face to face appointment. This is followed by roughly an hour for the clinician to write up the comprehensive intake. Intake clinicians work with a clinically licensed Team Leader as well as a psychologist who can help support intake clinicians with clinical diagnosis and client
Preparations for NEW Behavioral Health Crisis Center Underway at Adult & Child Health
In an effort to decrease unnecessary emergency room visits and jail incarcerations, integrated healthcare provider Adult & Child Health (A&C) will use its recently awarded Vitality Grant of $500,000 to implement a Behavioral Health Crisis Center at the organization’s Indianapolis clinic. This crisis stabilization program will provide adults experiencing a mental crisis with a safe, comfortable, monitored care environment, and access to an array of mental health, addictions, and primary care services, including an on-site behavioral health prescriber. The launch of A&C’s crisis center aligns with Indiana’s plan to implement the SAMHSA Certified Community Behavioral Health Center (CCBHC) service continuum statewide. A&C was one of eight Indiana community mental health centers recently selected to serve as a proposed pilot site in the Division of Mental Health and Addictions (DMHA) application for a federal CCBHC Demonstration Project. In the CCBHC model of care, crisis centers in the community play a prominent role in assuring individuals have timely access to services when urgent needs arise. Located at 8320 Madison Avenue in Indianapolis, the new program is scheduled to open in March 2024. Services will be available to immediate walk-ins, persons brought by family or friends, and those referred by healthcare providers, mobile crisis teams, and/or law enforcement officers, who are often first on the scene when a mental health crisis occurs. Hospital emergency rooms, where patients often experience long wait times, historically have been the only available option for those experiencing a mental health crisis – most crises happen during evenings and weekends. A&C’s Behavioral Health Crisis Center will be open during these hours, providing access to care when it is most needed while alleviating pressure on local emergency rooms. “Time is always critical in a mental health crisis, and the quicker we can intervene, the better,” said Lauran Canady, Vice President of Integrated Health. “We know our hospitals are there should we need them, but this program will be a tremendous benefit for persons in need of a more appropriate level of care.” Utilizing a “Living Room” approach to assessment and stabilization, persons treated at the Crisis Center will receive individualized support and services from a peer recovery specialist, masters-level therapist, and an APRN who can prescribe medication, if necessary, in a calming therapeutic setting. Individuals also will have access to the entirety of A&C’s services, including aftercare to ensure services continue after discharge. “On behalf of Adult & Child Health, I would like to thank Mental Health America of Indianapolis and the City of Indianapolis for the Vitality grant that has allowed us to build a crisis receiving and stabilization program – this is a desperately needed resource in our community and one we are so grateful to be able to develop,” said Chief Medical Officer Dr. Christine Negendank, A&C.
Adult & Child Plans to Join Brightli Behavioral Health System
The Boards of Directors for Indianapolis-based Adult & Child Health and Springfield, Missouri-based Brightli, Inc. have signed documents expressing the companies’ intent to create a formal partnership between the two nonprofit organizations. Under the agreement, Adult & Child Health (A&C), a state-designated Community Mental Health Center (CMHC), would join nearly a half dozen other behavioral and community health providers as member organizations of Brightli, the nation’s fourth-largest nonprofit behavioral health organization by total revenue. The partnership has been approved by each company’s board and is anticipated to be finalized in coming weeks pending regulatory approval. A public signing and press conference will be announced once the partnership closes, which is expected in early 2024. The partnership will significantly increase financial and system support resources available to Adult & Child, for the benefit of those with behavioral health needs in central Indiana. “To expand services in our communities, we need altogether new and different approaches,” said A&C President and CEO Allen Brown. “With Brightli we’ve found a tremendous partner who is willing to dream big, and I know they feel the same way about Adult & Child.” Indiana is one of 10 states selected to participate in the second round of the federal Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) demonstration project, beginning next year. Missouri was part of the first cohort of demonstration states in 2017; CCBHC has since become state law. In coming months, the Indiana Department of Mental Health and Addiction is expected to announce which Community Mental Health Centers will be part of the state’s first round of CCBHC demonstration agencies. “The CCBHC approach for community mental health is exactly what’s needed, and the time is now. Effective implementation and optimization of the CCBHC model truly changes the trajectory of what is possible in the behavioral health space,” Brown added. Brightli’ s existing member organizations include multiple CMHC/CCBHCs, including the second largest CCBHC in the country, Burrell Behavioral Health. In the first five years under CCBHC in Missouri, Burrell’s total revenue grew by 125%, clients served grew by 163%, and it added 1,000 employees to its statewide workforce. Dr. C.J. Davis is CEO of Brightli. Davis previously served as CEO of an Indiana CMHC from 2012 to 2017. “I have never stopped caring about Indiana or following the progress of the behavioral health industry here,” Davis said. “To be able to return, and to do so through a company with the legacy and respect that A&C carries in this community, is a dream come true. Brightli shares the commitment to mission this team lives out every day, and I am truly excited to see what we can do together.” “The fact that Indiana is such a forward-thinking state, with strong leadership at the very top, will only aid our efforts to recruit top-of-field providers to the Hoosier State,” Davis added. Upon approval, A&C will retain its board of directors and continue to operate under the Adult & Child Health name, serving its existing area of downtown Indianapolis, greater Marion and Johnson counties, and the surrounding region. As a Brightli affiliate, A&C will be positioned within a family of systems, able to receive significant resources and support from the parent organization. Adult & Child Health joins Burrell Behavioral Health, Preferred Family Healthcare, Southeast Missouri Behavioral Health, and other subsidiaries under the Brightli umbrella. Burrell and Preferred Family each have various subsidiaries and affiliates, providing a full behavioral health (CMHC) and community health (FQHC) continuum, including dental services, as well as significant developmental services operations. Brightli currently serves more than 100,000 individuals in four states. With the addition of A&C, Brightli would employ some 5,500 individuals with total revenue of more than $500 million. “The landscape for mental health care is changing. A&C could not be more excited to be at the forefront of that change with Brightli as our long-term partners in Indiana,” Brown said. About Adult & Child Health:Adult & Child Health, a Joint Commission accredited community mental health center and Federally Qualified Healthcare Center Look Alike (FQHC) in Central Indiana, strives for equitable, caring communities where all people can live healthy, purposeful lives. Services include behavioral health, primary care, social services, and addictions treatment, all of which are designed to provide quick, affordable, and efficient access to high quality care. Please visit adultandchild.org for more information. About Brightli:Brightli, Inc.’s subsidiaries include Burrell Behavioral Health (including Comprehensive Mental Health Services), Preferred Family Healthcare and Southeast Missouri Behavioral Health. While these organizations operate independently and are governed by separate board of directors, their operations and services benefit from this parent-company model, which allows them to collaborate, share resources and system supports, increase recruiting and retention efforts, increase access to specialized care, and meet the growing demand for behavioral and addiction recovery care. Alone, organizations may be able to navigate the current tumultuous healthcare environment, but we believe that together we can do so much more than survive. Our communities need us now more than ever, and by working together we are ready to answer their call for years to come. In all, Brightli member organizations total more than 5,000 employees in four states, with annual revenues of nearly $450 million.
