In Kansas we are seeing a growing rate of mental health issues

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In Kansas, we are seeing a growing rate of mental health issues. Yet, many people report they are not getting the help they feel they need. Most report they do not seek help because they lack financial resources to afford care. Some have also reported that they are not sure who they should seek care from. Therefore, the Kansas Mental Health Institute (KMHI) is being built. KMHI is a multidisciplinary behavioral health facility that will offer mental health and substance abuse services to the communities of Kansas. We will also utilize telemedicine to reach those in rural areas. Our effort is to provide cost-effective, quality inpatient and outpatient treatment to all of Kansans in need. Kansas has recently passed a mental health equality bill that will become effective in month one. The bill requires insurance companies to develop benefits for biologically based behavioral health disorders like those provided for health disorders. This should help sustain the anticipated projected growth. The key to success for this project includes: an ability to transfer existing hospital behavioral health contracts to the institute, have clinicians credentialed in a timely manner, contract with clinicians using reasonable rates, develop and implement a successful billing and collection system, listen to all customers and attempt to meet their needs and use state of the art telemedicine software to reach rural areas. Our mission is to better the lives of those suffering with serious mental illness as well as to create, promote, and maintain a positive customer relationship with our clients, local hospitals, payors, associates and staff, and the community. We want to promote the well-being of the individuals, and their families by providing accessible, quality mental health and substance abuse/addiction care for children, adolescents, adults, and their families using a service system that stresses trust, respect, privacy, and compassion. We are devoted to quality mental health care that is provided in a collective effort with customers’ overall health strategies and a range of medical services. Additionally, we are dedicated to the thinking that we exist for the customer. Our vision is that those with a serious mental illness will accomplish the fullest recovery possible and be integrated into the community. We have three goals to accomplish. The first goal is to continuously develop, strengthen, and improve the services offered by the institute. To reach this goal, we will utilize standardized assessments to assess customer outcomes annually, or more frequently if needed. We will collect and monitor individual outcome data and organizational outcome data. We will utilize evidence-based practice when developing customer goals as well as research-based skill gaining procedures and behavior reduction procedures. Our providers will ensure skills are age appropriate for the customers’ treatment plan. Our providers will also have access to resources to provide care to customers that may be nonverbal. Finally, the providers will determine treatment based on their professional judgment, research and the standard of care. The second goal is to strengthen the institutes’ commitment to excellence by enhancing customer service by offering in-service trainings related to the customer satisfaction with treatment, accessibility, and staff-client interactions. To reach this goal, we need to know the current satisfaction rating to establish a baseline for improvement. We will make the commitment to reach at least 75% of our customers and encourage them to fill out the customer satisfaction surveys. Customer feedback is valuable and will allow us to see where we can improve. We will also, not only rely on customer feedback, but we will encourage the staff to provide feedback on how the institute can improve satisfaction. Gathering information from several sources and several viewpoints will allow us to have a better sense for overall satisfaction that goes beyond the paper and electronic surveys.The final goal is to utilize telemedicine to offer services in underserves areas. To reach this goal we will use the latest best telemedicine software available. We will contract with these underserved areas to help them obtain the software and equipment needed to use telemedicine. Utilizing telemedicine will reach a larger market of customers, it will increase flexibility for customers, decrease no-show visits, improve customer satisfaction, increase efficiency and will show improved customer outcomes. The Kansas Mental Health Institute is a for-profit behavioral health facility located in Wichita, Kansas. It was started by the sale of an existing mental health center that was part of a local hospital. The transfer of customers from their previous mental health center was done in an effort to deliver uninterrupted, quality services and increase the network of providers to ensure further growth. KMHI has not only hired physicians who specialize in mental health, but we utilize Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN), Physicians Assistants (PA), Registered Nurses (RN), Social Workers, mental health technicians, and security officers. The building is 3,200 square feet, and a two-story brick building that has four separated units for inpatient care. Each unit is for clients with specific needs, such as one unit is for children ages 11 to 17, one adult unit is for those individuals that do not appear to be in danger of causing harm to themselves or others, one unit will be for those clients with abuse issues and the last unit will be for those clients that could potentially be dangerous to themselves or others. The building will also have locked outdoor common areas that can be accessed from each unit except for the unit on the second floor. There is also full functioning cafeteria and will serve three meals every day. There is an indoor gym for physical activity, an art room for activities, a room set up like an apartment to assist those individuals on how to care for themselves, an outpatient room for outpatient therapy, therapy rooms for each unit and several offices for staff. All doors are locked and require badge to enter and exit. The facility also has security cameras throughout the building and staff wear safety buttons that they can push in case of an emergency that will alarm the location of the staff and allow security to come help. KMHI will provide quality mental health and substance abuse/addiction inpatient, outpatient and telemedicine services to individuals, couples, and families. Services included are psychopharmacology, group and individual therapy, substance abuse programs, and mental health services. Staff will provide quality treatment for mood disorders, anxiety disorders, attention deficit disorders, behavioral disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders, stress management, substance abuse disorders, and gambling addiction disorders in all ages. KMHI services will be easily assessable. We will promote and communicate the mission of the Institute to our customers in a meaningful and understandable manner. We will not be able to compete by doing “business as usual.” Our approach will be customer focused. Our customers will be able to distinguish our intangible, as well as our tangible, benefits. Our dedicated focus on all our customers will place us ahead of our competitors. When compared to our competitors, KMHI stands out in several areas: environment, marketability, value-added client contact, location, and ease of access to the facility, promotion, self-assessment, and integrated delivery system. Regarding environment, we are a managed-care friendly facility, we provide prompt and accurate information as well as good communication. We have a shared treatment philosophy and our services are accessible and cost effective. For marketability, we market our services to managed-care companies and preferred organizations, we take into consideration their needs. For example, group vs individual treatment, family vs individual treatment, after hours accessibility, access on weekends, use and tracking outcome measures, and customer satisfaction. For value added customer contact, we provide free phone, face to face or telemedicine contact with therapists prior to treatment as a means of introducing a therapeutic trusting relationship. The facility is easily accessible as it is centrally located in Wichita. It has a private entrance thatprovides confidentiality. It is also accessible to the physically challenge and there is plenty of free parking. Our customer-first philosophy will help attract new customers and maintain existing ones. A major push is to continuously self-assess our mode of operations in order to evaluate how user friendly the Institute is for customers, referral sources, payors, staff and associates, and others. Finally, for the integrated delivery system, KMHI has familiarity, understanding, and willingness to work closely with other health care providers. We are associated with a unified health and behavioral health care system encompassing inpatient, partial, outpatient, and telemedicine services. If KMHI is going to survive and grow, we must market our services aggressively. Our referral base is largely driven by managed care companies, Medicare and Medicaid, protection products and self-payors. Within the Wichita geographical area, HMOs have approximately 51% of the covered lives. There will continue to be change within the behavioral health industry, but change will be less dramatic than the health care revolution of the 1980s and 1990s. Managed care companies will continue to impact fee structures and restructure the provider network. With the initiation of mental health equality in Kansas, operation rates and reimbursement rates should improve. Under the mental health equality law, insurance companies are not allowed to cap mental health services for biologically based mental health disorders. Co-payments cannot escalate during treatment for these disorders. Managed care organizations are beginning to review provider compensation packages with the purpose of increasing compensation rates. Rates have been flat for the past ten years. The market division can best be understood from an examination of the clinical services being offered. Presently, three services are offered: therapy, pharmacology, and substance abuse/addiction treatment. When KMHI begins its operations, an additional two services will be implemented: behavioral health contracts and telemedicine. Contracts telemedicine are different from the previous three divisions in that the services are provided offsite at another facility. All services are offered to all age groups, with methods of treatment that include individual, couple, families, and group. Some customers will use only one service at a time, while others will use a mix of the services at the same time.KMHI will focus its market activities on three market areas: the communities of Wichita, Haysville, and Newton. Services will include therapy, psychopharmacology, telemedicine, and substance abuse/addiction services. The target customers are the clients of mental health services (i.e., individuals, couples, families, and groups). The structure breakdown is approximately 50% adults and 50% children, adolescents, and families. The second target customer are the payors. They are an essential piece of this project. The payors are basically the gatekeepers for referrals and authorizations.The total amount needed to start this project is $115,000. Once the Institute is established, year one expenses are estimated to be about $185,000 with an estimated net profit of $27,000. By year three the net profit is estimated to increase to about $95,000.