Plains Area Mental Health Center receives CCBHC

On January 15th, 2025, Plains Area Mental health, Inc. received formal notice of successful certification for designation as a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) from Iowa Health and Human Services. “Our dedicated staff and Board of Directors have been working tirelessly to achieve this certification for over a decade”, commented Kim Keleher, CEO of Plains Area. “Words are not enough to express how grateful we are to each member of our team for their hard work and dedication to improving the quality of services Plains Area is able to provide to our communities!”

Brenda Miller serves as Plains Area’s CCBHC Project Director. When asked about the certification, she had this to say, “As the CCBHC Project Director, I am thrilled thatPlains has received this prestigious certification. The ability of Plains’ staff to work together to achieve this huge goal is a testament to the quality of the individuals who work here. It took teamwork, dedication and years of hard work to make it happen.With this certification, Plains has proven itself as an agency that works diligently to provide vital services in our communities and that monitors what we do through a lens of continuous improvement.”

This is an enormous milestone for Plains. As a CCBHC, Plains will be able to provide new services, to improve upon our current services, to hire additional staff to serve more clients in our communities, and to serve clients regardless of their ability to payor their place of residence.

These criteria establish a basic level of service at which a CCBHC should operate, and fall into six key program areas:

1. Staffing – Staffing plan driven by local needs assessment, licensing, and training to support service delivery. 

2. Availability and Accessibility of Services – Standards for timely and meaningful access to services, outreach and engagement, 24/7 access to crisis services, treatment planning, and acceptance of all patients regardless of ability to pay or place of residence. 

3. Care Coordination – Care coordinate agreements across services and providers(e.g., Federally Qualified Health Centers, inpatient and acute care), defining accountable treatment team, health information technology, and care transitions. 

4. Scope of Services – Nine required services, as well as person-centered, family-centered, and recovery-oriented care. 

5. Quality and Other Reporting – Required quality measures, a plan for quality improvement, and tracking of other program requirements.

6. Organizational Authority and Governance – Consumer representation in governance, appropriate state accreditation.

We are committed to improving our communities day in and day out! Our staff, who we are ever grateful for, are ready to hit the ground running with all of these exciting changes. Be sure to keep up to date with Plains Area Mental Health Center through our website or social media channels!