Page 27 - Healthcare Heroes 2022

HEALTHCARE HEROES OF WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS
Leah Martin Photography
followed was a ramping up to open an adult inpatient psychiatric unit, he went on, adding that this was achieved 10 days after the acquisition, with a second unit added
in June, followed by a detox unit and then an adolescent inpatient psychiatric unit, a clinical stabilization service unit, and other substance-use addiction services.
Overall, MiraVista has expanded inpatient bed capacity from 36 at opening to 101 today. This includes 50 acute-care psychiatric beds in separate units for adults and adolescents, 30 detoxification beds
in its acute-treatment unit for substance- use disorders, and 21 beds in post- detoxification for individuals transitioning to outpatient care. And it is staffing up for the opening of another unit, a substance- use program. Meanwhile, planning and preparation continue for the opening of what Paglia called the most challenging unit — a child psychiatric facility — with an anticipated opening date of February 2023. Overall, MiraVista has gone from one employee, Paglia, to roughly 350 team members in just over 16 months —
again, in the middle of a pandemic and a workforce crisis. In a word, he described this as an “extraordinary” accomplishment, adding that “we are midway through our journey
to hire the very best staff to reach an expected 650 employees.”
Equally impressive, he said, is the number of
visits from the Joint Commission on Healthcare Accreditation that the facility and its team have
endured on its way to accreditation.
“Typically, an organization has one visit every three years for their accreditation,” he explained. “Because we had different lines in different units
“I picked up quickly a long
time ago that when someone is passionate about what they’re doing, they have their own i”nternal motivation to be successful.
open at different times, we had four surprise Joint Commission visits where they did a complete audit and survey, and I’m incredibly proud that we passed all four with deeemed status, which gives us the opportunity to qualify for our CMS-contracted services with Medicare and Medicaid, which is a difficult achievement. To do all that in one year is pretty extraordinary.”
He credits all that MiraVista has achieved to date to the team of leaders he has assembled.
“I attribute a lot of it to the leaders that we
were able to bring in to create the foundation for this organization,” he said. “I’m blessed to work with some of the most passionate, committed, extraordinary leaders ... it’s a joy to come to work every day.”
Paglia
Continued on page A37
MiraVista Behavioral Health Center is appropriately lit up for September, which is Recovery Month.
Congratulations to the 2022 Healthcare Heroes for your commitment to our communities!
At MHA, we help you live your best life. We offer access to therapies for emotional health and wellness; services for substance abuse recovery, developmental disabilities and acquired brain injuries; housing and residential programming services and more.
Backed by our support and with access to our resources, you can live life to your full potential, in your community, every day.
MHAINC.ORG 844-MHA-WELL (844-642-9355)
2022 HEALTHCARE HEROES
2022 A27