BHEC’s Executive Director Darrel Spinks Says…
We had a very special guest at our Supervisor Refresher Workshop Friday, LIVE! Executive Director for BHEC, Darrel Spinks. That was so much fun!!
We asked Darrel three questions and the one I'd like to focus on right now was the third one: "What can we as LPC's and LMFT's do for Darrel Spinks to help you (him) get your (his) plans for BHEC and the boards in place as quickly as possible?" (The faster he gets his plans and solutions in place, the sooner all the back-logged licensing and complaint issues will be resolved. A speedier implementation for Darrel and The House of BHEC is a win for the counselor community.)
He gave us a 2-part response. First, spread the word to everyone that they really need to take a few minutes and get familiar with the totally new BHEC website. Answers to most of the questions people are asking are already on the website and that will go a long, long way towards reducing the problem presented in the second part of his reply. Which was....
BHEC is an organization being built from the ground up including the hiring and training of most of the administrative staff which did not make the employment transfer from DSHS. BHEC is staffed now but they're still swamped with the backlog they inherited from the DSHS regime from Day 1. So what?
So, if we backlog them even further with update request emails and spam every email address on the website hoping to get a response from someone, (emails sent to the wrong department get deleted, btw) we've created another, endless pile of work for staff to deal with which only distracts them from catching up on the backlog you're inquiring about.
It becomes a vicious circle so be patient a little while longer and know that they understand that everyone has been waiting on...everything!...for far too long. Their highly-targeted effort right now is to get the backlog caught up. But it can't happen if they have to answer
1200-2400, "request for status", emails every week.
Yes, it's very frustrating but demanding answers will only delay your desired outcome. Let 'em do their job and you'll get the answers you're after sooner than you would otherwise.
Next week I'll share a little more about our conversation with Darrel Spinks. Until then, .....
Plan Smart. Be Safe. Serve Others.
Kathleen Mills, LPC-S, CEAP
