Get to Know Our Community Research Partners: BestSelf Behavioral Health

BestSelf Behavioral Health, Inc. is one of the largest community-based behavioral health organizations in Western New York and serves over 40,000 children, youth, and adults in over 70 locations. Its mission is to provide innovative, evidence-based, accessible, and family-focused behavioral health services to promote health, hope, recovery, and an enhanced quality of life.  

“BestSelf provides easy access to a full continuum of person-centered, trauma-informed behavioral health services,” explains Jillian King, Director of Grants Management in BestSelf’s Marketing and Development Department.

Programs include mental health and substance use disorder treatment; 24/7 after-hours supportive care; homeless outreach and supportive housing services; health home services for Medicaid recipients; vocational services and supported employment; school-based services, including social emotional learning; a child advocacy center for child victims of abuse; and an in-patient substance use disorder recovery program for pregnant or parenting women and their children.

King recently answered some questions exploring BestSelf’s research interests and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the article, check out some tips and resources for navigating the holiday season provided by the BestSelf team. 

Why did BestSelf become a partner in research?

Recognizing that high-quality behavioral health care does not occur in a silo, BestSelf prioritizes community partnership to best serve our communities. As such, we have served as a partner in research in several projects through the years. We do this to help focus on health disparities in underserved populations. We believe that by incorporating “whole person health,” we can improve outcomes and help decrease burdens on emergency room use for basic healthcare needs, which leads to better outcomes for all.

What kind of research initiatives have you collaborated on with UB?

Perhaps our most significant research partnership with UB has been though our Primary Behavioral Health Care Integration (PBHCI) Project. Kim Strong Griswold, MD, MPH, RN, Professor of Family Medicine, Psychiatry, and Public Health and the Health Professions, Department of Family Medicine, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, worked with BestSelf to write and implement a five-year grant through Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to develop the PBHCI project using a reverse co-location model serving an adult inner-city population including refugee and immigrants.

Our reverse co-location model demonstrated that positive health outcomes were achieved by use of evidence-based interventions and that sustainable funding streams are needed to secure future stability of this model.

The PBHCI program is an interdisciplinary, collaborative, integrated clinic designed to engage individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) in care that is person-centered and addresses both medical and behavioral healthcare needs. The majority of the clients served by the PBHCI program did not previously have a primary care provider and had mainly used hospital emergency rooms for any medical treatment. The co-location of the primary care clinic in a location where clients are already comfortable receiving behavioral health services has proven to be a successful strategy for engaging clients diagnosed with SMI in primary care. As a result of the complexity of the medical and behavioral health needs of the population served, clients are seen for longer and have a higher no-show rate than in traditional primary care. This requires additional staff time to meet the needs of the target population.

For many individuals with SMI, navigating multiple complex healthcare systems is an insurmountable challenge that leads to a lack of chronic disease management. The PBHCI program solves the problem of lack of engagement in primary care for individuals with SMI in the following ways:

• Makes preventative care and disease management accessible through the co-location of behavioral health and primary healthcare
• Blends the expertise of behavioral and primary healthcare providers which meets the total needs of the individual in one location
• Provides specialized training in the provision of services to individuals with SMI
• Enhances the consumer experience of care including quality, access, and reliability
• Improves health and behavioral healthcare outcomes for enrolled individuals
• Reduces ER utilization rates, thus reducing/controlling the per capita cost of care

SMI interferes with individuals’ ability to link to traditional primary care, which often has providers that are unfamiliar with SMI and do not tolerate lateness, high no-show rates, or the behavioral issues that can be associated with SMI. Specialized primary care services for individuals with SMI is difficult to sustain because of the low cost reimbursement for Medicaid clients.

How has COVID-19 impacted your efforts, and your goals now and in the future?

BestSelf is an essential agency that continues to meet the behavioral healthcare needs of WNY throughout the enduring impact of the pandemic. In March 2020, we transitioned the majority of our workforce to a telemental health model; however, our clinics remained open for high-risk clients whose needs could not be met virtually. In addition to providing clinic services via telemental health, staff continued to go into the community to meet with high-risk clients to ensure they stay engaged in services and had their basic needs met.

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted our clients. Many are seeing an increase in behavioral health symptoms while initially experiencing a reduction in the availability of services and supports. Though we have been working toward transitioning our clients back to in-person visits, some are reluctant because of fear and other barriers related to the pandemic.

We have seen that the availability of virtual treatment has decreased barriers to care for some individuals, and as such, we will continue to provide this service to clients who benefit as long as our licensing bodies approve. For the clients who are better suited for in-person care, we continue to work with them through the transition while maintaining safety for all.

For more information on BestSelf, call (716) 884-0888, email info@bestselfwny.org or use the live chat at bestselfwny.org. Customer service representatives can answer questions, schedule an appointment, connect you to a counselor, or link you to the appropriate program. And to learn about BestSelf career opportunities, visit bestselfwny.org/careers-join-our-team.