ValueAdded

In this Issue:

Virtual Functional Behavior Assessment Training ....................................................... 2

IBHS Updates .............................................. 2

Upcoming Member Trainings ..................... 3

Webinar Series: Become a

Tobacco-Free Provider ............................... 4

Suicide Risk Assessment ............................ 5

The Stigma of Mental Health ....................... 6

Phobias ....................................................... 7

August 2020

1 Beacon Health Options ValueAdded August 2020

From the Desk of Our Medical

Director: Beacon Health Options

COVID-19 Guidelines in Congregate

Care Settings

At Beacon Health Options of Pennsylvania (Beacon-PA) we strive to

share the most up-to-date COVID-19 guidelines to support our

provider community in the delivery of valuable services to those we

all serve. While you do not have to adopt this exact protocol, we

expect that providers will have policies in place that are similar to the

guidelines presented in the alert listed below.

Through the following guidelines we hope you find a clearer state of

how to ensure public health safety when serving population in a

congregate care setting. Programs currently have widely varying

policies and procedures for determining the presence of COVID-19

and its potential spread within their facilities. As a result, Beacon

Health Options Pennsylvania is unable to determine which programs

may present an unacceptable risk of infection to Beacon members

referred to those facilities.

Beacon Health Options COVID-19 Guidelines:

Congregate Care Settings

Beacon Health Options ValueAdded August 2020 2

Virtual Functional Behavior Assessment Training

This training focuses on assessment and replacement of challenging behaviors using a Functional Behavioral

Assessment (FBA), as well as the development of a treatment or behavior support plan that can be used

across settings. The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has released an updated virtual version of the

required FBA training. The new FBA virtual course is interactive and self-paced and replaces the existing 13-

hour face-to-face training curriculum facilitated by BAS-approved FBA Trainers.

The virtual Train the Trainer Course is now closed, and no new trainers will be authorized. Current approved

trainers may continue to facilitate the in-person training through July 31, 2020. The online FBA post-test will

only be available until September 30, 2020.

Any person who has taken the face-to-face FBA Training facilitated by a BAS-approved FBA trainer will have

until September 30, 2020 to take the online FBA post-test. The post-test will be closed and no longer available

after September 30, 2020.

This web-based training will build capacity, ensure content comprehension and retention of training material,

and ensure a level of competency of clinicians who are conducting FBAs with a focus on assessment and

replacement of challenging behaviors using a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) as well as the

development of a treatment or behavior support plan that can be used across settings.

It is expected that all clinicians who conduct FBA’s should have a FBA certification regardless of level of care

or distinct billing. If you currently have the FBA certification you do not need to re-take this new version of the

training. This training is for those who are not yet certified.

IBHS Updates OMHSAS issued the Medical Necessity Guidelines for IBHS

as of their July 13, 2020 Bulletin. See the links below for

details.

Bulletin OMHSAS-20-05

Attachment 1

Attachment 2

Attachment 3

Beacon is hosting our quarterly IBHS summit on August 11,

2020, at 9:00 a.m. via Zoom. Please be sure to attend, as we

will be discussing provider procedures for referrals,

authorizations and codes. Beacon will also host an additional

training for specific IBHS billing guidelines in September.

Additional details to follow.

Beacon Health Options ValueAdded August 2020 3

Upcoming Member Trainings

Providers, please share with your members.

Beacon’s Prevention, Education and Outreach Department will be hosting several upcoming virtual trainings for

members. These trainings will take place beginning in August 2020 and continue throughout the fall. Details and

registration information can be found on the homepage on Beacon’s website at pa.beaconhealthoptions.com. Our

August and September trainings are as follows:

Safely Stepping Back Into the Community— Friday, August 14, 2020, 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Presented

by Self Advocates United as I, Inc. The mission of SAU1 is to support the self-advocacy of people with disabilities for

positive impact in our communities and in people's lives.

Surviving and Thriving Change— Friday, August 28, 2020, 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Presented by previous

Leadership in Recovery Awardees who will discuss maintaining recovery through life’s changes.

Tips for Your Toolkit for a Successful Return Back to School— Monday, September 1, 2020, 1:00

p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Presented by Dr. Kathryn Poggi, Educational Consultant, PaTTAN, who will discuss returning

to school during the COVID-19 pandemic for our children with Individual Education Plans (IEP).

Human Trafficking: What is It and What Resources are Available to the Victims— Friday,

September 11, 2020, 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Presented by Joanna Dragan, Supervisor of Sexual Violence

Services, SPHS CARE Center STTARS Program.

Suicide Prevention and Awareness— Friday, September 25, 2020, 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Presented by

Dave Delvaux, Clinical Liaison for Clarion Psychiatric Center.

Beacon Health Options ValueAdded August 2020 4

The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services requires all HealthChoices Behavioral Health Managed Care

Organizations to have a comprehensive tobacco cessation work plan. One of the expectations of this work plan is to

support the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services’ goal to become tobacco-free within our community

behavioral health system in Pennsylvania.

Beacon Health Options of Pennsylvania (Beacon) has developed a work plan that includes goals and objectives to

assist providers with becoming tobacco-free. Beacon recognizes that many providers already prohibit the use of

tobacco products or smokeless tobacco products within their buildings; however, they do allow tobacco use on their

facility grounds. As the state hospitals in Pennsylvania have become completely tobacco-free, it appears that the

expectation for other providers receiving state funding will be required to follow suit.

Beacon is pleased to announce that we have partnered with Katie Hartman from Tobacco Free Southwest to offer a

series of “lunch and learn” webinars for providers. These sessions are designed for providers’ management staff who

are the catalysts to make the decisions to become a tobacco-free provider. These sessions will offer guidance, ideas

and resources to help your organization be successful. The webinars occur on the fourth Thursday of each month.

Please view the current schedule for dates and the registration link.

Webinar Series: Become a Tobacco-Free Provider

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We are constantly updating document links on our website. Have you had any trouble viewing

new information on our website? Try a refresh! When you access links on the Web sometimes

you may see an old document even though that particular link is updated. That’s because that

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browser and allows you to see the most up-to-date information. Depending on the internet

browser you are using, there are different methods to refresh. For a list of tips, click here.

Beacon Health Options ValueAdded August 2020 5

Suicide Risk Assessment The purpose of suicide risk assessment (SRA) is to identify treatable and modifiable risk and protective factors

that informs the patient's treatment and safety management. Conducting an accurate SRA can be quite difficult.

Relying only on one's clinical intuition when determining risk for suicide is dangerous and irresponsible. The

individual, clinical, situational, demographic, and interpersonal circumstances present for each patient must be

included. The importance of the SRA cannot be understated.

Suicide risk assessment has been identified internationally, as a basic safety issue among health care

organizations. A lack of information on and documentation of suicide risk has been identified as a common

issue in reviews of cases where persons have died by suicide in inpatient mental health settings (Mills, Neily,

Luan, Osborne, and Howard, 2006).

Conducting an accurate SRA is no simple task. There are a number of factors that influence an individual's

level of suicidality and his/her willingness to share this information. It is so important that providers obtain a

systematic approach to conducting and documenting the foreseeability that a patient will commit suicide.

Practitioners must identify and evaluate warning signs as well as risk and protective factors. They must also

explain why certain demographics like age and sex are excluded as risk factors. Providers should discuss

issues such as mental illness and chronic suicidality that compound risk assessment. Several principles guide

the assessment process, such as the following:

• The therapeutic relationship

• Communication and collaboration

• Documentation

• Cultural awareness

The focus of SRA’s is not to predict suicide but appreciate the basis for suicidality and allow for a more

information intervention: https://www.patientsafetyinstitute.ca/en/toolsResources/SuicideRisk/Documents/

Suicide%20Risk%20Assessment%20Guide.pdf

Resource: Mills PD, Neily J, Luan D, Osborne A, & Howard K. (2006). Actions and implementation strategies to

reduce suicidal events in the VHA. The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety. 3, 130 – 141.

Beacon Health Options ValueAdded August 2020 6

The Stigma of Mental Health We have all heard the word stigma, but do we really know what it means when talking about mental health? The

word stigma in simple terms is a mark of disgrace about something or someone. Stigma is when someone views

you in a negative way because you have a property or trait that is so different. That difference is enough to put you

into a group by itself, which is a disadvantage.

Negative beliefs toward people who have a mental health illness are common. Some people are called names and

blamed for their illness. Their symptoms are referred to as a phase or believe that they can control their illness.

Stigma causes individuals to feel ashamed for something that is out of their control. It may even stop them from

getting the help they need. Stigma can also lead to something called discrimination. Sometimes it is obvious, like

someone making a rude comment about your illness. On the other hand, it may be subtle, such as someone

avoiding you because they think you are unstable or violent. You may even judge yourself.

Effects of stigma can be:

A lack of understanding by family or friends

Less chances to find work, school or social activities

Bullying, harassment or physical violence

Health insurance that doesn't fully cover your mental illness treatment

Some ways to stop stigma are:

Get treatment

Don’t let stigma create self-doubt or shame

Don’t isolate yourself

You are not your illness

Join a support group

Speak out against stigma

Let us stop stigma from happening today.

Resource: https://www.nami.org/blogs/nami-blog/october-2017/9-ways-to-fight-mental-health-stigma

Providers, please post in an area accessible to your members.

Beacon Health Options ValueAdded August 2020 7

Some people do not like certain things like spiders or dogs, but they are able to see or be around these

things without much problem. Other people are afraid of certain objects or situations. When they are

around them, they feel dizzy, may sweat, and feel sick to their stomach. These people have a phobia,

which is a type of anxiety. It is a strong groundless fear of something that poses little or no danger. The

fear can be caused by the seeing the object or situation or thinking they may see the object or

experience the situation. Anxiety caused by fear can cause panic. Some common phobias are:

Fear of the dark

Fear of heights

Fear of closed spaces

Fear of germs

Some people will do anything to avoid any situation that might make them feel anxious. When faced

with their fear they may feel like they are choking, have chest pain, feel sick, dizzy, or have shortness

of breath. Researchers say that phobias may be inherited and people may have relatives with the

same fears. More women suffer from phobias than men. These fears often begin in childhood or

trauma and stress can trigger a phobia. About 10% of the U.S. suffer from a form of phobia. If your fear

is causing you stress, you can cope with therapy or medication. Talk to your doctor if you suffer from a

phobia.

Resource: https://athealth.com/topics/phobias-2/

Providers, please post in an area accessible to your members.