1) You.
· My name is Vanessa Rodriguez, and I transferred to
UF to complete my B.S in Business. Most people describe me as a “do it all”
type of person, so I haven’t found my “niche” yet; why limit myself? I guess I
can say I’m extremely well at learning and training/managing staff. Also, I
manage many projects in my current position and have held lead roles which have
gained me a spot in the Employee Advisory Committee as an advocate for my
colleagues. Moreover, I have been in healthcare for about five years now, so
I’m also a patient advocate. I started at the Moffitt Cancer Center as an
Accounts Receivables Representative, and now I am at Premier Community Health
Care Group as a Patient Service Representative. Both positions have enabled me
to gain a lot experience within healthcare, insurance, billing, and government
funding. While I am still learning a lot about funding and the difference
between profit, nonprofit, and not-for-profit organizations, I am well versed
in how to seek the funding that I need for my business, and well aware of the
need in my community for mental health and drug treatment centers.
2) What are you offering
to customers?
· I will be offering
behavioral health and drug/crisis rehabilitation services.
o
Medical Institutions (doctors or hospitals) will be able
to refer their patients to the appropriate facility for treatment. They will no
longer have to worry about assessing needs that aren’t within their scope or
area of specialty.
o
Patients will have access to treatment whether by therapy
or medication. Examples of these include psychotherapy, case management,
support group, and complementary/alternative medicine. Patients will first be
in-take and assessed for their concerns. After the first visit, the
determination of whether the patient needs accelerated services or if they will
have to be further evaluated before therapy or medication begins will occur.
3) Who are you offering
it to?
· My services will be
offered to adult and pediatric patients, so my targets are broad. By
researching, I have found that anxiety and depression is the most common
illness within both age groups, so my facility will start treating illnesses as
early as age three. The services will be offered to families or individuals
with or without health coverage; low or high income families.
· In terms of behavioral
health and rehabilitation services, both the physicians and patients care about
the services I am offering because there aren’t many institutions available that
offer the combination of these services.
o
For the doctors or hospitals, I am meeting their unmet
need because they will be able to refer their patients to my institution
without worry of a patient being turned away due to lack of insurance or an
extensive waiting list. Also, because my facility will be credentialed with
most major insurances, patients with insurance can also be referred with ease.
o
For patients, I am meeting their unmet need because I am
making it easier for them to seek care for both services instead of having to
travel to different offices for services. In addition, by offering a sliding
scale service, in addition to, a drug assistance program I am making it easier
for patients to afford care and treatment.
· In Hernando County
Florida, there is a great need for both mental health services and drug
treatment centers. This is not only since the waiting lists are long, but many
specialists do not offer sliding scale services to their uninsured patients so
that they are able to afford services. Because I will be offering sliding scale
services for uninsured patients, and my facility will also be credentialed to
accept major insurances, I would be able to aid the influx of patients that
struggle within these criteria at other facilities. In addition, I will have
two Psychiatrists and Psychologists on staff, which many facilities do not have
to ensure proper treatment; other institutions offer therapy when they do not
prescribe medications which does not help patients that suffer with severe
disorders. Moreover, my facility will not be limited to servicing adults, but
will offer pediatric services as well.
Ø I believe that the
services that I’m offering and the combination of experience I have acquired
over the years ties greatly with what I want to achieve, however, I am mainly
concerned with funding. The average salary to have a Psychiatrist on staff is
$230,000, whereas, the average salary for a Psychologist is $100,000. While
having both on staff will give me an advantage, this means I would have to
apply for grants outside of the government and possibly seek a partnership to
help mitigate expenses. This has however, opened a new perspective. For
example, instead of having a Psychiatrist on staff full time, I can have one
part-time or on certain days; this will of course increase wait times but is an
avenue I will have to explore. Overall, I think that everything is possible
given the funds.
Vanessa,
ReplyDeleteI love that you picked a topic because of an opportunity you saw through your job. You seem like a very "do it all" person, just by how detailed you are in every post you do.
When I was first getting into researching my topic, I was trying to pinpoint my target market but found it was so broad. I agree that depression and anxiety are some of the most common mental health issues. Mixing mental health services and drug centers is important, as many drug issues could be caused by a mental health issue and vice versa.