BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SYSTEMS, INC.
BIRMINGHAM, AL

Behavioral Health Systems, Inc. (BHS) was formed in 1989 as a privately held corporation headquartered in Birmingham, AL. Its ownership reflects the founding efforts of Deborah L. Stephens, its Chairman and CEO, with the support of private individuals representing business and industry. BHS created and administers a national preferred provider organization (PPO) of behavioral health-related hospitals, physicians and professionals through which BHS administers the mental health/substance abuse (MHSA) and employee assistance program (EAP) benefits on behalf of employers nationwide. BHS employees oversee the care provided through this network and process all claims between the employer-client and BHS providers. Since inception, Deborah and the BHS executive team recognized the need to offer a full range of complementary behavioral health-related products and services. Therefore, programs such as Safety First® (drug testing administration), Behavioral Comp Management® (psychiatric workers comp), Behavioral Rx Management® and Wellness First were developed. The sole endorsement of three regional business coalitions (1991- present); The highly successful and complementary product line, Safety First®, has quadrupled in sales growth since 2002; An (open) preferred provider organization model (20,000+ providers) which ensures maximum freedom of choice; Mission & Philosophy BHS’ mission is to provide comprehensive behavioral health services to employers and their beneficiaries which are high quality, cost effective, uniformly accessible, and managed within a least restrictive treatment approach. BHS accomplishes this mission through three primary business objectives: To reduce employers’ medical benefit costs through access to negotiated provider rates, expert problem identification and treatment planning, referral to optimal treatment settings, and continuous care management; To build and maintain an exclusive network of providers representing a complete range of treatment settings and specialties across a broad geographic area, who render uniformly high quality care at reasonable rates, share common treatment values and performance standards, and who are responsive to the needs of the purchaser. Deborah L. Stephens is Founder/Chairman/ CEO of Behavioral Health Systems, Inc. Since 1989 BHS has provided a comprehensive range of Mental Health/Substance Abuse services to business and industry nationally, including a specialized 17,000+ member PPO, care management thru carve-out plans, employee assistance, drug testing, education & training, wellness, et al. BHS covers over 500,000 persons. Patterson has been with the company since 1992 and has over 40 years’ experience in the medical field specializing in psychiatric conditions. Patterson is double board certified in psychiatry and neurology. Cooner is President, Safety First, a division of Behavioral Health Systems, Inc. He has been with the company since 1996. Cooner’s 40 years of experience include 19 years working for a national reference laboratory in various management-level positions. He was the Regional Director for LabCorp America, specializing in medical technology. Gordon has been with BHS since 2005 and has more than 25 years’ experience in healthcare finance. At BHS, he is responsible for oversight of all financial aspects of the company including corporate reporting, claims processing, billing, accounts receivable, contract analysis, investments, client reporting, audits and divisional budgets. He has oversight responsibility for the Data Processing and Finance divisions. Gordon has a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration/accounting from State University of New York at Oswego. Covington has more than 25 years’ experience as an information technology executive. At BHS, he oversees all information technology aspects of the company including system administration as well as programming and development, eligibility maintenance and technical support. He is the original author of many of the systems that BHS uses today and continues to make enhancements to better support BHS clients. He manages and writes all interfaces between BHS and its clients and is responsible for all data integrity for the various systems BHS utilizes. Before re-joining BHS, Covington managed system development for all U.S. government-funded clinical trial and drug research at Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD), a leading clinical research organization. Vice President, Business Development Braswell has been in the field of behavioral health since 1992. She was hired by BHS in 2004 to implement and coordinate new and current education and training services under the division of BHS A.S.S.I.S.T., which provides EAP services as well as wellness, CISD and education and training. In 2010, Braswell assumed the responsibilities for business development and sales activities. She is responsible for strategic business development for continued expansion of BHS across the U.S. She also contributes to publications and serves as a speaker on issues regarding benefits, compliance and regulations, and employee assistance programs. Previously, Flanagan served in various advertising and public relations roles at Luckie & Company and the Zimmerman Agency. She has a bachelor of science degree from Florida State University. Millican has been with BHS since 2008 and has more than 20 years of experience in administration. At BHS, she is responsible for all aspects of BHS administration including office operations, human resources and payroll. In addition, she also provides administrative support to the CEO. She oversees the clinical administration support division as well as the provider credentialing division. If you’re interested in a position with Behavioral Health Systems, Inc., please email your cover letter and resume to Behavioral Health Systems, Inc. (BHS) was formed in 1989 as a privately held corporation headquartered in Birmingham, AL. Its ownership reflects the founding efforts of Deborah L. Stephens, its Chairman and CEO, with the support of private individuals representing business and industry. BHS created and administers a national preferred provider organization (PPO) of behavioral health-related hospitals, physicians and professionals through which BHS administers the mental health/substance abuse (MHSA) and employee assistance program (EAP) benefits on behalf of employers nationwide. BHS employees oversee the care provided through this network and process all claims between the employer-client and BHS providers.