When it comes to behavioral health, health systems should be looking at opportunities to collaborate, not compete, with their peers.
Carson Felkel, MD, system medical director of behavioral health at Bon Secours Mercy Health, said health system leaders shouldn't be afraid to collaborate with other systems doing behavioral healthcare well.
"This is not an area, necessarily, to compete on patients in the community. There are more than enough patients suffering that really need care," Dr. Felkel told Becker's.
Cincinnati-based Bon Secours Mercy Health has a partnership, the Healthy State Alliance, with Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center, focused on improving community care in Ohio. Dr. Felkel, the co-chair of the partnership's addiction committee, said great learnings around integrating addiction treatment into the care continuum resulted from the partnership.
Forming partnerships around behavioral health is an easy win, Dr. Felkel said, but addressing burnout among staff is a different challenge.
Bon Secours Mercy Health believes in comprehensive integration of not just behavioral health, Dr. Felkel said, but combining physical, behavioral, and social needs in primary care and community prevention — and this extends to staff.
"We see behavioral health as being this horizontal service that should be able to integrate into every element of care, also including our own associate well-being," Dr. Felkel said.
The system's Caring for Colleagues program pairs employees who need support with peer providers at Bon Secours Mercy Health. Some employees who are looking for anonymity might connect with a colleague in another market, Dr. Felkel said.
"People don't always need someone to tell them what to fix. They just need someone to acknowledge their stress and create that trusting relationship," he said. "We want everyone to feel cared for and supported."
The secret to promoting better mental health among healthcare workforces is creating a culture that allows providers to be human at work, Dr. Felkel said.
"You begin to create a culture where people are optimized, can thrive and support each other, and that flows into better care," he said.