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Smoky general information
All Smoky departments and staff can be reached at 828-586-5501.
Administrative headquarters
Smoky Mountain LME/MCO
200 Ridgefield Court, Suite 206
Asheville, NC 28806
Provider questions
Call 1-866-990-9712, send an email to
or contact your account specialist
Confidential Compliance Hotline
(To report suspected fraud or abuse): Report online or call 1-866-916-4255, 24 hours a day
AlphaMCS technical support
Call 828-586-5501, ext. 1500, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday
Incident reporting
More information
Visit the Smoky website for more about:
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Welcome to the Smoky Mountain LME/MCO Provider Network Bulletin. This monthly bulletin features news you need to know as a provider in the Smoky network and information you need to do business with Smoky.
Smoky manages public funds for mental health, substance use and intellectual or developmental disability services in 23 counties in western North Carolina. It is our pleasure to work with you to serve the needs of our local residents. |
With the holiday whirlwind past, January brings a natural sense of renewal and restoration. For many, that turning point is marked by a traditional New Year's resolution. In last week's News You Can Use, Smoky CEO Brian Ingraham shared our organizational resolution for the coming year: to respond and adapt as we create a new system to serve some of our state's most vulnerable residents. Smoky's successful track record in navigating similar transitions, like the implementation of the 1915 (b)/(c) Waiver, affords the wisdom and agility necessary to survive--and thrive--as we learn more about the state's path to reform in the coming year.
Last week, Ron Manderscheid, Executive Director of the National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors, shared a year-end review of key topics, issues and celebrations in our field. As you reflect on your own successes of 2015, I offer the following questions to consider in building upon your strengths and refining your organization's resolution for the New Year: - Do you have an electronic health record?
- Are you investing and/or using technology to enhance or support your services and supports?
- Are you engaged in whole person collaborative care?
- Are you engaging peer support specialists or family partners across all disability systems?
- Does your organization have a membership with at least one national organization?
- What are your plans to continue the fight against stigma?
- How are you engaging with other community partners?
- Are you developing an expertise to be competitive?
- Are your ready for "pay for performance" contracts?
- Has your agency set a goal to decrease ED visits or crisis this year?
At Smoky, we are committed to keeping our providers, community partners and individuals we serve informed and up to date on developments in our state, and my articles this year will focus on the business of strategic thinking, planning and implementation as it relates to those developments. Thank you for your support, and we look forward to working with you in the coming year
Smiling to your heart,
Christina
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UPDATES:
PROVIDER ADVISORY
COUNCIL
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Smoky's Provider Advisory Council is representative of different types of providers practicing throughout our 23-county catchment area. To find out more, view Council meeting minutes and get information about upcoming events, go to the Council's page on the Smoky website.
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UPCOMING TRAININGS & EVENTS
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For professionals in Human Services only Tuesday evenings 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.
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Visit these sites for additional training opportunities:
Click here to view the NC Council of Community Programs calendar
Click here to view the MAHEC calendar
Click here to view the Northwest AHEC calendar
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We want to hear from you! Help us improve healthcare services in WNC
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 Be on the lookout in January for your chance to help Smoky improve healthcare services for people living throughout western North Carolina.
Each year, Smoky conducts a survey to find out what various types of individuals think about the state of services for mental illness, substance use disorder and intellectual/ developmental disabilities. The Community Needs Assessment Survey gives participants the opportunity to report any services currently needed in their community, as well as other related topics, throughout the 23-county region where Smoky operates.
The 2016 survey will be available from Monday, January 11, through Friday, January 22. Provider Network Bulletin subscribers will receive an email in early January with a link to the survey webpage. This link will also be featured on the Smoky website at www.smokymountaincenter.com.
For help with any questions, send an email to GapsandNeeds_Survey@smokymountaincenter.com or call 828-586-5501, ext. 5904. Access the survey flyer online.
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Is your organization interested in participating on Smoky's Provider Advisory Council? |
The Smoky Provider Advisory Council (PAC) provides valuable input, feedback and guidance to Smoky from the service provider's perspective. Representing providers throughout Smoky's 23-county catchment area, the PAC is composed of 32 voting members as well as non-voting participants, including representatives from provider agencies, hospitals, CCNC and Smoky, licensed independent practitioners and members of the Consumer and Family Advisory Committee (CFAC).
The PAC meets the third Wednesday of every month from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. January, March and April 2016 meetings will be held at the Western Carolina University campus in Biltmore Park Town Square off I-26 near Asheville.
In addition to the PAC, four Regional Provider Councils (RPCs) meet monthly at localized sites. These RPCs represent counties as follows:
| Northern Region | Central Region | Western Region | Highlands | | Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Watauga, Wilkes counties | Alexander, Caldwell, McDowell counties | Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Swain counties | Buncombe, Henderson, Madison, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania, Yancey counties |
Next month, the PAC will start sharing meeting information and council-related business through MyCommittee.com. Members may also request agenda items directly through the website.
Currently, the PAC and Smoky are working to upload names and email addresses of:
- voting members of the PAC;
- individuals who have signed in to PAC and RPC meetings over the course of the past year;
- executive-level individuals from contracted Smoky providers who have contact information loaded into AlphaMCS.
Thank you,
Duncan Sumpter (Chair)
Jeanne Duncan (Vice Chair)
Carson Ojamaa (Secretary)
Please note: Beginning in February 2016, all PAC communications will be distributed via the PAC's MyCommittee.com account.
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Clarification of Individual Placement and Support-Supported Employment (IPS-SE) funding streams and target populations
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Joint Communication Bulletin #J168 released by the Division of Medical Assistance (DMA) and the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services (DMH/DD/SAS) provides clarification on IPS-SE funding streams and target populations. Smoky has provided further clarification below regarding "blended funding" or braided funding mentioned within the bulletin for IPS-SE providers who are both Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) vendors and LME/MCO providers.
While receiving milestone payments for VR, an IPS-SE provider can also bill the LME/MCO for the following services for dually-enrolled individuals:
- Intake
- Career profile, person centered plan and/or employment plan development
- Case management
- Clinical and medication management
- Clinical and employment team meetings
- Travel
- Benefits counseling
- Maintenance (Long Term Vocational Support) services
Some providers have both a traditional SE contract as well as an IPS-SE contract with VR.
If such a provider is serving an eligible SE client with IPS services, the VR IPS-SE contract must be used. For further clarification call the main VR office at 1-919-855-3500.
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Smoky Mountain LME/MCO manages publicly funded services for mental health, substance use and intellectual and developmental disabilities in the North Carolina counties of Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Caldwell, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes and Yancey.
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For immediate help in a crisis, information about services, screenings and treatment referrals, call 1-800-849-6127, 24 hours a day,
seven days a week (TTY: Call Relay NC 711). Visit us online at www.smokymountaincenter.com.
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