It became obvious early on that it would be difficult to have 10 independent Member Centers to agree upon the same things at the same time for the sake of consolidation of functions or cost saving measures. Each Member Center has different circumstances and reasons why some things will work and some things will not work at different times. In the past, we had an “all or nothing” plan that forced all Centers to agree before moving forward. To combat that barrier to progress, we developed what we call the “Menu Option Plan”. This plan is simple in that if any two or more Centers want to consolidate a function or develop a new function together, we believe that there is a cost savings to be found. This plan has proven to be very successful. Some of the menu plan options that have been developed so far include:

• Medical Director (5 out of 10 Centers participating)
• Regional Clinical Authorizations (8 out of 10 participating with another coming up soon)
• Wide Area Network (8 out of 10 participating with 2 coming up soon)
• Sharepoint (10 out of 10 participating with ETBHN Sharepoint and most developing this technology at their own Center)
• CFO (3 out of 10 Centers are in the development stage)

Other programs under consideration and planning for FY10:

• Fund Development (a regional approach)
• Waiting List Management
• Certain annual staff trainings
• Child Psychiatry from the region by telemed to the Centers
• Quality Management (oversight and audit capability)
• Continuity of Care for consumers in State Hospitals
• Back office billing (accounts payable and receivable)

We believe the menu options will continue to grow and the region will (and has) benefited from a united effort, not only with cost efficiencies, but will standardization of practices.