Steve Willis
Mesa,AZ
Summary
Accomplished behavioral health clinician and executive with over 30 years of experience. Known for strong interpersonal and community relationship building skills. Solid track record as an executive improving efficiencies, patient care, revenues, expense management, and employee satisfaction. Mental health professional driving effective patient care and support systems, adept at team collaboration and achieving impactful results with strong assessment and counseling skills.
Overview
24
24
years of professional experience
Work History
PSYCH ASSOCIATE
NAPHCARE
07.2024 - 04.2025
- Managed residential program Arizona State Prison; provided care extremely violent, psychotic patients; performed assessments; wrote treatment plans; coordinated care; admissions; managed census; suicide watches; individual and group counseling; member of multi disciplinary team with security; ensured documentation 100% compliant.
MENTAL HEALTH COORDINATOR
CORE CIVIC
09.2019 - 06.2024
- Suicide watches; assessments; trained staff; case coordination; managed 5000 bed facility solo on Saturdays for mental health; multi disciplinary team with security; treated adolescents; treated adults; treated patients women and men's units; treated patients with severe trauma; managed cases with psychiatrist continuously; provided counseling male and female units; treated patients from a multitude of nations, cultures with a multitude of languages
- Improved client outcomes with evidence-based therapeutic interventions tailored to their unique needs.
- Streamlined referral processes, expediting the connection between clients and appropriate resources.
- Coordinated care between psychiatrists, primary care physicians, and other providers to ensure seamless service delivery for clients.
- Mentored new hires as they acclimated to their roles within the multidisciplinary team setting.
- Established a supportive environment for clients by providing individual and group counseling sessions.
- Encouraged clients to express feelings and discuss what was happening in day-to-day life in order to help each person develop insight into personal experiences and relationships
- Observed and monitored client behavior and responses to treatment.
- Guided clients in effective therapeutic exercises integrated from Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
GILA RIVER HEALTH CARE
04.2010 - 04.2018
- Managed over 85 licensed behavioral health professionals and over 110 staff in total. Oversaw day-to-day behavioral health operations, including assessments, case management, outpatient counseling, and crisis services. Managed RTC program when director position open in addition to overseeing entire behavioral health program. Provided counseling. Assessed, diagnosed, and treated children and adults with mental disorders. Managed psychiatric hospitalizations, court ordered evaluations, and court ordered treatment. Member of the Tribal Law and Order Act work group.
- Added 30 additional revenue generating positions through hiring and acquisition.
- Increased number of patients receiving services from approximately 1,600 to 2,500 through acquiring an organization and increasing referrals.
- Maximized revenue in capitation and fee for service systems.
- Elevated revenue by more than $7M annually through adding positions, acquisition, increasing referrals, effectively managing productivity and schedules.
- Maximized cost savings and effectiveness of vendors through effective management, building strong relationships, and effective negotiation.
- Generated significant revenue by elevating productivity standards, managing productivity standards, and effective scheduling.
- Consistently ensured compliance with Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA), rules and regulations, policies and procedures.
- Managed multiple electronic health records.
- Spearheaded the transition to paperless and successfully implemented a new electronic health record.
- Utilized the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th edition) to prevent, assess, diagnose, treat, and measure outcomes.
- Successfully restructured personnel and management policies to enhance profit margin and increase productivity.
DIRECTOR
ARIZONA HEALTH CARE
12.2000 - 10.2009
- Supervised 14 outpatient and 11 residential facilities for the seriously mentally ill; assessed and treated mental disorders of 141 patients. Managed facility operations, including information systems, managed care, human resources, Regional Behavioral Health Authority relations, and regulatory compliance departments. Provided assessments, treatment plans, documentation, and individual and group counseling. Wrote corrective action plans, and policies and procedures.
- Spearheaded numerous quality initiatives to ensure continuous improvement throughout the organization.
- Increased productivity by developing and managing budgets and enhancing policies and procedures.
- Restructured organization to maximize efficiency and enhance quality of care by phasing out approximately 10 percent of staff.
- Improved patient services by developing music therapy program, forgiveness program, and identity and value program.
- Opened numerous outpatient and residential facilities.
- Ensured compliance with Regional Behavioral Health Authority contract, statutes, rules and regulations, ordinances, policies and procedures.
- Successfully recruited, hired, trained and supervised behavioral health professionals and technicians to provide care in outpatient and residential settings.
- Ensured collaboration between all stakeholders in treatment of behavioral health patients (integrated care).
- Developed high-performing teams by providing mentorship, guidance, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Enhanced team collaboration through regular communication, goal setting, and performance evaluations.
- Established a culture of continuous improvement by fostering open communication channels and empowering employees to voice their ideas.
- Analyzed healthcare trends to inform policy decisions and adapt strategies for improved service delivery.
- Ensured compliance with regulatory requirements, maintaining high standards of patient safety and quality care.
- Managed budgets effectively to ensure optimal use of resources while maintaining financial stability.
- Strengthened internal controls by reviewing existing policies and procedures, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements.
- Optimized staff performance by designing comprehensive training programs tailored to individual needs.
- Increased company revenue by streamlining processes and implementing cost-saving measures.
Education
Master of Education (M.Ed.) - Educational Psychology
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ08.1994
Bachelor of Arts - Political Science
Arizona State University
Tempe, AZ08.1990
Skills
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
- Suicide Assessments
- Support healing relationships with trauma-affected patients
- Healthcare Administration
- Fiscal Management
- Compliance management
- Process engineering expertise
- Employee training
- Talent acquisition and development
- Organizational design
- Team communication facilitation
- Comprehensive patient management
- Clinical mentorship
- Technical systems management
- Clinical record management
- Analysis of patient outcomes
- EHR management
Timeline
PSYCH ASSOCIATE
NAPHCARE
07.2024 - 04.2025
MENTAL HEALTH COORDINATOR
CORE CIVIC
09.2019 - 06.2024
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
GILA RIVER HEALTH CARE
04.2010 - 04.2018
DIRECTOR
ARIZONA HEALTH CARE
12.2000 - 10.2009
Master of Education (M.Ed.) - Educational Psychology
Northern Arizona University
Bachelor of Arts - Political Science
Arizona State University