REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF THE COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO
AND RECORD OF ACTION
June 8, 2021
FROM
VERONICA KELLEY, Director, Department of Behavioral Health
SUBJECT
Title
Affiliation Agreement with Loma Linda - Inland Empire Consortium for Healthcare Education for Residency/Fellowship Training
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve residency/fellowship training affiliation agreement with Loma Linda - Inland Empire Consortium for Healthcare Education for their psychiatry residents/fellows to obtain clinical experience with the Department of Behavioral Health, in the amount not to exceed $2,418,532, for the period of July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2026.
(Presenter: Veronica Kelley, Director, 388-0801)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Create, Maintain and Grow Jobs and Economic Value in the County.
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
Pursue County Goals and Objectives by Working with Other Agencies.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This item does not impact Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) will reimburse Loma Linda - Inland Empire Consortium for Healthcare Education (LLIECHE) for the salary and benefits of four psychiatry resident/fellow positions. The recommended total reimbursement amount of $2,418,532 ($424,778 in 2021-22, $452,388 in 2022-23, $481,794 in 2023-24, $513,110 in 2024-25, and $546,462 in 2025-26) will be 100% funded with Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) Workforce Education & Training (WET) funding. Adequate appropriation and revenue will be included in DBH’s 2021-22 recommended budget and future recommended budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
LLIECHE provides DBH with psychiatry residents/fellows that need to obtain clinical experience. Under the terms of the affiliation agreement, psychiatry residents/fellows from LLIECHE work in DBH clinics to provide them an opportunity to experience and consider mental health employment in the public sector as a career choice. Per industry standard, the placement site (DBH) pays the residency-training program, LLIECHE, for the resident’s/fellow’s time at the placement site. The agreement will fund four Full Time Equivalent (FTE) positions annually at an average of $120,926 per FTE.
Both a “resident” and “fellow” are physicians training to become a specialist in a particular field of medicine, with fellows having completed their residency and furthering their training within a specialty. The recommended affiliation agreement with LLIECHE will allow up to four residents and/or fellows at a time, to rotate through DBH monthly clinical assignments, with a maximum of 48 monthly rotations available each year. The assignments can occur in any combination of residents and/or fellows within the DBH system of care, allowing DBH to highlight an array of clinical experiences and multiple physicians to maximize their time spent within DBH.
DBH is mandated, as the Mental Health Plan for the County, to provide a qualified network of psychiatric providers to ensure timely access to mental health services. Per California Department of Health Care Services, DBH is required to maintain a qualified provider panel of psychiatrists sufficient to provide adequate medication support services, as specified in California Code of Regulations, Title 9, Sections 1810.225 and 623. Since 2013, DBH has maintained an affiliation agreement with LLIECHE to support these requirements.
The County has experienced a severe shortage of psychiatrists with future projections of increased shortages indicating an ever growing need for additional residents/fellows. One of the objectives listed as a County Workforce Education & Training component of the MHSA Three-Year Program and Expenditure Plan is to increase the number of psychiatrists in the public mental health field. This program allows recruitment from the current residents/fellows at LLIECHE which will strengthen recruitment for DBH’s system of care which is in need of psychiatrists, by maximizing the participation of residents/fellows in the training program.
PROCUREMENT
N/A
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by Behavioral Health Contracts (Natalie Kessee, Administrative Manager, 388-0869) on April 27, 2021; County Counsel (Dawn Martin, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on April 15, 2021; Purchasing Department (Bruce Cole, Supervising Buyer, 387-2148) on April 20, 2021; Finance (Christopher Lange, Administrative Analyst, 386-8393) on May 21, 2021; and County Finance and Administration (Tanya Bratton, Deputy Executive Officer, 388-0332) on May 21, 2021.