DATE: January 28, 2025
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Susan Holt, Director, Department of Behavioral Health
SUBJECT: Salary Resolution Amendment
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve Amendment to the Salary Resolution deleting one Medical Records Coordinator and adding one Senior Staff Analyst effective February 3, 2025 as reflected on Appendix C.
REPORT
Approval of the recommended action will replace the Medical Records Coordinator position with an additional Senior Staff Analyst position due to the historically challenging nature of recruiting for Medical Records Coordinator. This position oversees the management of the Department’s medical records including electronic health records, administers Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and is housed within the Department’s Health Information Technology and Privacy Management Division. Due to the critical oversight of this position within the daily client service output of DBH with HIPAA oversight, this position is more closely aligned with the salary and job specifications of a Senior Staff Analyst.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Should your Board choose not to approve the recommended action, the amendment to the Salary Resolution would not be implemented and the Department would continue to struggle in its efforts to recruit a qualified candidate to oversee the Department’s medical records and administer HIPAA. The Behavioral Health Division Manager over the Department’s Information Technology and Privacy Management Division would continue to provide such oversight in addition to their regular duties.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. The maximum salary for Senior Staff Analyst is $109,226 and the maximum salary for Medical Records Coordinator is $88,842. The difference in salary of $20,384 will be covered during the current fiscal year through salary savings from vacant positions.
DISCUSSION:
The Department of Behavioral Health (DBH), headed by the Director of DBH, is responsible for administering a comprehensive multidisciplinary system of mental health and substance use disorder services. An essential portion of daily DBH services falls under clinical operations and the essential maintenance of medical records and electronic health records. While these responsibilities currently fall under the supervision of the Medical Records Coordinator classification, the Department believes that these responsibilities would more appropriately fall under the Senior Staff Analyst classification.
This position, reporting to the Director of DBH or his/her designee, plans, develops, coordinates, and supervises medical records activities and staff. Responsibilities include planning, developing, implementing, and evaluating goals, objectives, standards, and procedures.
Persistent difficulties in recruiting and retaining qualified staff for the current Medical Records Coordinator position have resulted in long periods of vacancy for this position. Within the past seven (7) years, no single recruitment effort has yielded more than ten (10) qualified candidates. Within the past three (3) years, the longest period in which this position was filled was no longer than seven (7) months.
The ongoing recruitment challenges along with the critical nature of the work performed by this position indicate that the job specifications and salary more closely align with that of the Senior Staff Analyst classification.
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Salary Resolution Appendix C
CAO ANALYST:
Ronald Alexander