Future Leader: Bonnie Anderson, Senior Director of Learning and Development, firsthand

The Future Leaders Awards program is brought to you by Behavioral Health Business, a WTWH Media health care brand. The program is designed to recognize up-and-coming industry members who are shaping the next decade of behavioral health, home health, hospice, senior housing and skilled nursing care. To see this year’s Future Leaders, visit https://futureleaders.agingmedia.com/. Bonnie […]

PE Wary of Serious Mental Illness Investment, But Venture Capital May Be Ready to Pounce

While private equity investors continue to look for new opportunities in behavioral health, there is one area that is still relatively uncharted: serious mental illness (SMI) care. Caring for the SMI population can be very challenging and requires a multipronged approach, as well as a robust patient engagement plan. Due to these challenges, SMI care […]

Top Behavioral Health Stories of 2023: Bankruptcies, ‘Ghost Networks’ Shake the Industry

2023 has been a tumultuous year for the behavioral health space. Macroeconomic headwinds, including rising interest rates plus unrest in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, has slowed dealmaking. Additionally, many providers have struggled to raise more capital as investors tighten their purse strings. At least two major companies in behavioral health care have filed […]

firsthand’s Approach to SMI Care Prioritizes Trust, Engagement

Samir Malik, the CEO of firsthand, and Marie Hannah, a recovery peer for the company based in Nashville, know that those in the greatest need of behavioral health treatment are often the hardest to reach. The New York City-based startup uses a field-work-heavy approach to peer support work as part of a value-based care partnership […]

Podcast: Samir Malik and Marie Hannah of firsthand

The 1st episode of the Behavioral Health Business Perspectives podcast is now available! For this episode of BHB Perspectives, we caught up with Samir Malik, the CEO of firsthand, and Marie Hannah, one of the company’s peers. During the conversation, Malik and Hannah discussed the value of peer-support models, firsthand’s momentum and more. Listen to […]

Standardized Credentialing, Reimbursement Clarity Could Accelerate Use of Peers in Behavioral Health Care

Years into a national behavioral health workforce shortage, many provider organizations are now seeking to leverage peer specialists. Advocates argue that peers could be a crucial part of expanding behavioral health access and supporting patients holistically in their recovery. Yet reimbursement challenges and varying state licensure requirements have historically created barriers for providers utilizing the […]

5 Mental Health Companies to Watch in 2023

With macroeconomic headwinds leading to declining valuations and less M&A activity, the mental health space is at a crossroads. The notoriously fragmented industry is still prime for maturation, but many companies are facing growing pains. Several companies that came onto the public market during the 2021 boom year are struggling to keep up with investor […]

How Value-Based Care Could Transform Serious Mental Illness Treatment

It’s no secret that patients with serious mental illnesses (SMIs) are costly to care for and have significantly worse outcomes than their peers. But value-based care models could enable providers to get creative in caring for these patients, leading to better outcomes and lower costs. Specifically, the value-focused model could allow providers to use wrap-around […]

Google Ventures Invests $28M in Serious Mental Illness Company firsthand

GV, previously Google Ventures, has invested $28.1 million in serious mental illness-focused startup firsthand. New York-based firsthand is trying to forge trust with patients with serious mental illness (SMI) while boosting the population’s engagement with the health care system and community resources. According to the CDC, only 64.5% of adults with SMI received mental health […]