Home Subscriber Only 5Q Five Questions With: Richard Leclerc

Five Questions With: Richard Leclerc

By

Katie Castellani

-

09/27/2024

PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY — Richard Leclerc / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

Richard Leclerc | Director, R.I. Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals 1. What are your priorities in your new role? My priorities are to oversee BHDDH and fulfill our mission to ensure high-quality services for individuals who have intellectual and/or developmental disabilities, mental health and/or substance use treatment needs, or conditions that require

Already a Subscriber? Log in

To Continue Reading This Article

Become a Providence Business News subscriber and get immediate access to all of our premier content and much more.

Learn More and Become a Subscriber

Critical RI business news and analysis updated daily.
1 year of print (26 issues).
Unlimited access to all subscriber only content on our website, on any device.
Free email alerts.
Annual Book of Lists Print Edition.
All special issues produced during subscription term.

Click Here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article

PBN Branded Content

How the Fastest Growing and Most Innovative Companies Utilize Technology for Their Success

As the Managing Director of RIHub, Rhode Island’s Innovation Hub, I have the privilege of…

Learn More

No posts to display

LEAVE A REPLY Cancel reply

Richard Leclerc | Director, R.I. Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals

1. What are your priorities in your new role? My priorities are to oversee BHDDH and fulfill our mission to ensure high-quality services for individuals who have intellectual and/or developmental disabilities, mental health and/or substance use treatment needs, or conditions that require care in our state facilities; represent and be a voice for our system of care and the people it serves; ensure a successful implementation of Rhode Island’s Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics on Oct. 1. 2. How do you think your experience as CEO of Gateway Healthcare and project director at Newport Mental Health informs your work with BHDDH? My work for these providers has helped me to learn about the inner workings of our behavioral health system and the significant financial and workforce issues faced by community providers. I also better understand the challenges facing people who seek or need services. 3. You helped the state transition to Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics. How will these clinics change access to mental health care in Rhode Island? These clinics will provide coordinated care for individuals of all ages who need it, regardless of their ability to pay. By increasing access and coordinating outpatient care, this change will reduce the need for emergency room visits and hospitalizations and improve the functioning and quality of life for people experiencing mental health or substance use challenges. 4. What are the pressing issues facing Rhode Islanders’ access to behavioral health care, and how do you plan on addressing those? Provider staffing shortages are a major concern. Our investment in CCBHCs can help, by raising wages to maintain current staff, increasing the level of training and attracting more staff for our system. 5. How have you seen the state’s behavioral health landscape adjust in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic? The pandemic resulted in social isolation and less face-to-face contact when people sought behavioral health care. It also created staffing shortages. Our system continues to recover, using federal dollars, the governor’s investments in CCBHCs and the most recent rate review, which will increase rates to our providers starting on Oct. 1. … These investments will put us in a better place than we were in five years ago.