Compliance Corner, Jan. ’22

By Jaimee McGuire, DNP, NP-C, CHPSE, CHC, VP/Deputy Compliance Officer 

Good changes are happening to modernize our Compliance Department, starting with new and different roles for some of our team members and further developing a robust, effective program that falls in line with the Department of Justice’s Seven Elements of an Effective Compliance Program.  

Each of the Seven Elements requires us to make internal revisions to some existing processes.  The biggest change to occur is the Compliance Department’s decreased involvement in operational monitoring. While we will no longer own some of the processes historically assigned to this team, please know that we are still functioning in roles of oversight and risk mitigation and we will continue to serve as resources for the organization for compliance-specific topics. 

Processes and terminology 

During our transition, we will introduce you to new and revised processes and changes to terminology. For example, designations will be made between compliance as a noun and as the name of the department. As a noun, it means to ensure day-to-day treatment center operations are in compliance with regulatory body requirements. As a department, its purpose is to ensure team members follow the BHG Code of Conduct and the identification, prevention and mitigation of risks to the organization. These tasks are developed and completed through our annual risk assessment and subsequent work plan. 

New roles for team members 

With the Compliance Department’s decreased operational monitoring responsibility, several team members are currently transferring to department-specific monitoring roles. We’re providing support and training to ensure a seamless hand-off of duties. The breakdown of current Compliance team members and those who have moved to other departments is as follows: 

Marlin Martin, Sr VP, Chief Compliance Officer 

Jaimee McGuire, VP, Deputy Compliance Officer 

Beth Buchanan, Compliance Billing and Coding Auditor 

Megan Holly, Compliance Associate 

Heath Haddock – Former Compliance Specialist, now Operational Monitoring Specialist (no longer in Compliance) 

Audra Darlington – Former Compliance Specialist, now Medication Management Specialist (no longer in Compliance) 

Jessica Wright – Former Compliance Specialist, now Medication Management Specialist (no longer in Compliance) 

The Accreditation team continues to be led by Ronald Robinson and is transferring to Operations where he will report to Julie Koenig, RN, COO. The Licensing team remains under the supervision of Marlin Martin, but is no longer considered part of the Compliance Department. 

We’re also excited to share that we have a new National Director of Pharmacy Management, Terri Steinbacher, who reports to the Operations team. You’ll learn more about her in a future newsletter story.

Over the next seven months of this newsletter, I’ll take a deeper dive into each of the Seven Elements to educate and inform you as best as possible. Thank you all for being great teammates during these good changes as we evolve together in strengthening BHG’s leadership in addiction recovery.