Rural Hospital Behavioral Health Consulting Firm

Schafer Consulting assists rural and community hospitals start and improve Behavioral Health services. Our team helps health care systems in rural communities plan and open inpatient psychiatric units, substance abuse treatment and outpatient mental health programs.

Rural Hospital Behavioral Health Consulting Firm

Schafer Consulting assists rural and community hospitals start and improve Behavioral Health services. Our team helps health care systems in rural communities plan and open inpatient psychiatric units, substance abuse treatment and outpatient mental health programs.

Rural communities often do not have enough mental health and addiction treatment resources. Psychiatric patients experience long boarding times in emergency rooms waiting to find an inpatient psychiatric bed. Access to mental health or addiction treatment professionals for assessment and care can be extremely limited. Police, courts, and first responders in rural communities are challenged by the high and complex needs these patients can present.

To address these issues, we have collaborated with hospitals and their stakeholders to research, plan, and start new or expanded mental health and substance abuse treatment services.

Behavioral Health consulting projects completed with rural and community hospitals include:

  • Feasibility Studies for new inpatient psychiatric units, residential treatment, intensive outpatient, outpatient and partial hospital mental health and addiction treatment programs
  • Compliance with CMS regulations, state licensing rules, Joint Commission, and DNV standards including physical plant ligature reduction requirements
  • Operations start up planning, staffing and implementation for mental health and substance use treatment services
  • Emergency Department wait and boarding time reduction for psychiatric patients
  • Telehealth for mental health and addiction treatment crisis evaluations and therapy
  • Central access programs to more quickly connect patients and providers
  • Mobil Crisis services
  • Primary care integration

If we can be of assistance, please contact us for more information.