ValueOptions® and North Shore-LIJ Health System Partner to Strengthen Public Behavioral Health Services for Long Islanders

NEW YORK, Dec. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) and the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) have jointly selected Long Island Behavioral Health Management (BHM) to serve as Long Island's first Regional Behavioral Health Organization (BHO).  The statewide initiative is an outgrowth of the Governor's Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT) which was charged with making recommendations to improve the efficiency and quality of behavioral health services across New York State through the establishment of 5 regional BHOs.  Other BHO regions include New York City, the Hudson River Valley, Central NY and Western NY.

BHM is a partnership between ValueOptions, the nation's largest independent behavioral health and wellness company, and the North Shore–LIJ Health System, the nation's second-largest, non-profit, secular healthcare system. Combining the expertise and experience of two best-in-class healthcare organizations, BHM offers state and county health and human services leadership superior systems development, data analysis and decision support.

BHM introduces experienced and responsive care management leadership to the Long Island Region for the treatment services and support required by Medicaid-eligible adults with serious mental illnesses and substance use disorders whose behavioral health needs are not covered by NYS Medicaid Health Plans, as well as children and youth diagnosed with a serious emotional disturbance.

The initial focus of the BHO initiative will include monitoring and improving the efficiency of inpatient services, and providing support and assistance to reduce avoidable readmissions and improve rapid linkage with required outpatient services post-discharge.  Simultaneous efforts will be made to reduce regional service fragmentation through active outreach and communication with all components of the inpatient and outpatient behavioral health service delivery system.  Additionally, data will be collected and analyzed to assist OMH and OASAS in better understanding, quantifying and addressing barriers to care and treatment, and gaps in the regional delivery system. 

Systems advocacy efforts will include a focus on peer wellness and navigation services, particularly for high risk individuals who have fallen out of care and are at risk for emergency hospitalization or incarceration. BHM will also incorporate suicide prevention protocols into all aspects of clinical care management operations. 

"The North Shore–LIJ Health System has a long history of outstanding clinical leadership in the downstate region behavioral health system," said Heyward Donigan, President and CEO of ValueOptions. "They are clearly on the cutting edge of practice change and systems reform, and will continue to provide the leadership required to strengthen the public behavioral health system in Long Island and the entire State of New York."

"We are pleased to embrace this opportunity to take behavioral healthcare in this region to the next level through this partnership with ValueOptions," added Michael Dowling, North Shore–LIJ Health System President and CEO. "ValueOptions has a strong track record in delivering responsive care management to Medicaid-eligible populations. Working together, we'll be able to provide Long Islanders with the support and treatment they need to capitalize on their resiliency and stay on the right path to recovery."

John Kane, MD, North Shore-LIJ's vice president of behavioral health and chair of psychiatry at The Zucker Hillside Hospital, added, "North Shore-LIJ's successful record of combining translational research into our behavioral health clinical programs puts us in a strong position to pursue new models of care in collaboration with ValueOptions and expand patient access to these services."

About North Shore-LIJ Health System

The nation's second-largest, non-profit, secular healthcare system, North Shore-LIJ delivers world-class clinical care throughout the New York metropolitan area, pioneering research at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research and a visionary approach to medical education, highlighted by the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine. The winner of the National Quality Forum's 2010 National Quality Healthcare Award, North Shore-LIJ cares for people at every stage of life at 15 hospitals, including nationally renowned children's and psychiatric hospitals, long-term care facilities and more than 200 ambulatory care centers throughout the region. As an integrated, academic health system, North Shore-LIJ's 110 residency and fellowship programs serve as a training ground for more than 1,400 future physicians, many of whom hone their skills at North Shore-LIJ's Patient Safety Institute – the nation's largest patient simulation center. As evidence of its commitment to community health and patient-focused research, Feinstein Institute scientists and North Shore-LIJ physicians enroll more than 1,200 people every year in clinical research studies. North Shore-LIJ's owned hospitals and long-term care facilities house about 5,600 beds, employ more than 10,000 nurses and have affiliations with more than 9,000 physicians. Its workforce of about 43,000 is the largest on Long Island and the ninth-largest in New York City. For more information, go to www.northshorelij.com.

About ValueOptions^®

ValueOptions, the nation's largest independent behavioral health and wellness company, manages publicly-funded and employer benefit programs that cover more than 30 million individuals nationwide. Maintaining a national network of over 127,000 provider locations, we partner with national and regional health plans to deliver superior behavioral health care management for their members. When working directly with employers, we are an industry leader, managing mental health and substance abuse services, employee assistance programs and a wide variety of wellness benefits for organizations of all sizes – including more than 10% of the Fortune 500. We also serve both military and civilian employees of the Federal government with innovative programs that positively impact daily life. And, we hold public sector contracts in 14 states, providing care management services and an array of cutting-edge, community-based programs to Medicaid-eligible populations. At ValueOptions we help our clients build a Culture of Health. We help members move down the path to wellness and embrace recovery and resiliency in their daily lives. We help people live their lives to the fullest potential. Visit www.valueoptions.com for more information.

SOURCE ValueOptions