We at Cenpatico can look forward to 2010 with the benefit of another year’s worth of experiences and lessons learned that continue to allow us to provide our stakeholders, providers and members with the best possible managed behavioral healthcare.

From new acquisitions to new innovations, Cenpatico’s various experiences ran the gamut in 2009. In association with Centene, our parent company, and our affiliated health plans, 2009 has seen us begin to offer services in three new markets, and we now serve members in all of our markets with an improved, more wide ranging array of services than ever before.

“We were very busy this past year. We did a platform migration in Ohio, fully implemented Florida and implemented in South Carolina and Massachusetts,” said Cenpatico Chief Operating Officer Len Whyte.  “A lot of effort went into this because of the simultaneous nature of it.

“We had a lot of parallel processes going on at the same time, and I’m really proud of the fact that all of them were done with a high quality and functioned appropriately when we went live,” Whyte added.

A New Addition
Not only did Cenpatico open business in several new markets, we expanded our services to include speech therapy services via an acquisition by Cenpatico in the school-based division, Cenpatico School Products.

As of July 1, Cenpatico acquired InSpeech, Inc., an Arizona-based practice of Speech/Language Therapists who contract with school systems to provide services to eligible student populations under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

“We bought InSpeech really to compliment what we are doing in the schools with our Cenpatico School Products line,” Whyte said. “And yet, it has opened some doors for other opportunities for us.”

InSpeech is a dynamic practice of speech-language professionals who work, learn and grow together while serving the needs of a broad range of clients in a multitude of settings.

“It’s very exciting to have an opportunity with a new product line that expands the range of services we are able to offer,” added Whyte.

Committed to Quality
In every market, Cenpatico worked to maintain and improve the quality of care offered by our provider networks while also expanding access to recovery supporting services for all of our members. In 2009, our Quality Improvement department conducted five quality improvement studies. Three of the initiatives were clinical and the other two initiatives examined administrative processes.

“In each of the five studies, we are happy to report we have achieved a statistically significant improvement in the care and services delivered to our members and providers,” said Suzanne Feay RN CPHQ, Director of Quality Improvement.

Cenpatico is also continuing toward accreditation by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), a year-long process that is expected to conclude in March 2010. Along with the rest of the Cenpatico staff, Feay, who is spearheading the project, knows how vital NCQA accreditation will be for the company’s future.

“It’s a measure of commitment from the organization that we are committed to having quality business,” Feay said. “Accreditation in NCQA will push us to a new level of excellence and commitment to quality in the managed care market.”

While we will continue to look back at these and many other experiences from a successful year gone, we at Cenpatico maintain a sense of excitement at what is to come in 2010, when we will work harder than ever before to provide our members, providers and stake holders with the best possible managed behavioral healthcare.

“I’m so proud that our company is excelling in all operational areas,” said Cenpatico Chief Executive Officer Sam Donaldson, PhD. “We are delivering the most appropriate care and support for recovery to consumers, with high satisfaction rates from consumers, state and health plan customers, providers and our employees. Every day we demonstrate the value of a managed behavioral healthcare company in achieving, supporting and maintaining behavioral health Recovery, Resiliency and Results.”

From all of us here at Cenpatico, best wishes for the New Year.

Jimmy Donovan

Web Administrator

This is the final of three reports in a series detailing Cenpatico’s 2009 Year-in-Review. Please see below for links to the other releases.

Title                                                        Release Date
Part I – Taking the Clinical Initiative — Monday, December 28, 2009
Part II – Improving Provider Relations — Monday, January 4, 2010
Part III – Recovery. Resiliency. Results. — Friday, January 8, 2010

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