Rural Rotation

Interns will provide PCBH services in our outpatient family medicine residency clinic (CWFM) and our outpatient rural clinic (Naches Medical Clinic [NMC]), As with the Pediatric rotation, interns will be available for immediate, same day referrals (i.e., warm-handoffs) from primary care providers. They will also consult with the primary care team regarding behavioral health concerns. Interns will also spend one clinic per week with CHCW’s Connect Program, which provides Medical Assistant Treatment (MAT) for substance use disorders. By the end of the year, interns are expected to function as independent BHCs and see on average 4-5 patients per clinic and 1.5 patients per hour.

Example Schedule

CL = CWFM clinic; NMC = NMC clinic; PPW = Projects/Self-directed Journal Review/Paperwork; SUP = Individual Supervision; EL = Experiential Learning/Group Supervision; GRP = Group; PAIR = Paring with medical provider; MAT = Connect Program

Site schedules are a general guideline and interns may be required to make themselves available at other times as needed.

Yakima Neighborhood Health Services

Yakima Neighborhood Health Services (YNHS) is a Community Health Center in Central Washington State and an affiliate member of the consortium. As an affiliate member, YNHS will not match directly with interns, but rather serves as a rotation experience for CHCW. YNHS serves mostly low income and disadvantaged individuals and families, with a special emphasis on the homeless as well as migrant and seasonal farm worker populations.

Teams at YNHS include pharmacists, behavioral health consultants, public health nurses, nutritionists, outreach workers, housing specialists, case managers, access (eligibility) specialists, dentists, dental hygienists, and a cadre of support staff.

YNHS is also a member of the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) loan repayment program.

Interns with CHCW will spend one 16-week rotation at YNHS. Intern clinic hours will be shared primarily between two clinics, with possible experience at two others.

• YNHS Main Clinic (3-5 clinics: CL): Interns will provide four clinics per week of PCBH services at YNHS. During these clinics, interns will be available for warm-handoffs, same-day consultations to patients and the medical providers. The interns will be present in the medical clinic and work with the medical team to provide same day access to patients. Also, during this time, the interns will provide brief interventions to scheduled patients and complete follow-up visits. When interns do not have patients scheduled on these days, they will be expected to seek out warm-handoffs from the medical team or cold-crash appropriate medical appointments.
• Connections/The Depot (up to 2 clinics: CN): Interns may have the opportunity to provide PCBH services at YNHS Connections and Depot program that specifically serves Yakima’s homeless population.
• The Space (2 clinics per week: SP): Interns will provide brief interventions at YHNS’ The Space, which is a safe space for LGBTQ youth (11-23 years old).  If there is limited need at The Space during this time, interns will return to the YNHS main clinic to provide PCBH services.

Example Schedule

CL = YNHS main clinic; CN = Connections/Depot; SP = The Space; EL = Experiential Learning/Group Supervision; SUP = Individual Supervision

Site schedules are a general guideline and interns may be required to make themselves available at other times as needed.

Example supervised experiences (as listed by APPIC):

The most commonly seen diagnoses/supervised experiences that interns can expect to be working with at this location include, but is not limited to, depression, anxiety, trauma, sleep concerns, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, substance use, adjustment disorders, and pediatric behavior concerns/parent training.

In 2015, 15.8% of CHCW clients were elderly, 38.9% were adults, 8.6% were adolescents, 36.7% were children, 29.2% were Latin, 12.5% were migrant and seasonal agricultural workers, 11.2% were limited English proficient, 3.8% were veterans, and 44.5% were below poverty level. As a CHC, CHCW provides exposure to diverse individuals.

Example patient populations (as listed by APPIC):

Regional Training Director for NPTC-Cascades

Dr. Bauman is a licensed psychologist and is the Behavioral Health Education Director at Community Health of Central Washington, where he also is a core faculty member of the family medicine residency.  He also practices as a behavioral health consultant at CHCW’s Central Washington Family Medicine clinic. Dr. Bauman is the Regional Training Director for the NPTC-Cascades and assists with overseeing the HealthPoint and CHCW doctoral internships. Dr. Bauman is passionate about the Primary Care Behavioral Health model/philosophy, as well as contextual behavioral approaches (e.g., Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and fACT) and the delivery of compassionate, evidence based medicine. 

Dr. Beachy, a licensed psychologist, is currently the Director of Behavioral Health at Community Health of Central Washington (CHCW) where she leads a team of 11 Behavioral Health Consultants (BHC). She is also a behavioral health faculty member and BHC at CHCW’s Central Washington Family Medicine Residency. Dr. Beachy completed both her internship and fellowship within the PCBH model of services and regularly presents around the country and globe on PCBH and contextual behavioral approaches to common concerns seen in primary care. She values training future psychologists to work seamlessly and effortlessly within fully integrated primary care teams.

 Dr. Ruth Olmer is a Behavioral Health Consultant at CHCW, since 2017. She earned her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Forest Institute of Professional Psychology in 2015. She spent her internship at Otis R. Bowen Center, a Community Mental Health Center, and her residency at VA Black Hills Healthcare System, a Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Dr. Olmer’s research interest include Neuropsychological screening within the PCHB model; effect of group treatment access on frequency of primary care utilization; couple and parenting interventions within the PCBH model. Her theoretical orientation is Systemic and Solution-Focused.

*Supervisor at Yakima Neighborhood Health

Dr. Steven Olmer is a licensed psychologist and is the Director of Behavioral Health for Yakima Neighborhood Health. Dr. Olmer is a 2014 graduate of The School of Professional Psychology at Forest Institute He spent his internship and residency in Community Mental Health Centers, with an emphasis on psychological testing and individual/group/family therapy. His Theoretical Orientation is Family Systems; CBT; Solution Focused, and he has research interest in how medical conditions impact family relationships, and psychological assessments/testing relevant for primary care.

CHCW does require a background check prior to internship. This background check is the Washington State Patrol background check. If there is a history of criminal activity on the background check the site would then request additional details of the situation from the individual. After receiving those details they would make a determination as to whether they could proceed with employment based on the relevance of the criminal activity to the job, if there is repeated history and what the potential risk is to employ them. In addition they take into consideration the amount of time between the conviction(s) to the present. Past criminal history does not immediately disqualify an individual for employment.

All interns are also required to be drug tested on their first day. The outcome of this test could potentially cause issues with the intern start date and/or match.

All intern applicants will be considered for placement, though receipt of a master’s degree is required at this site (rather than education-equivalent). Licensed or license-eligible applicants are preferred. Candidates are expected to have skill sets commensurate with applicants at the pre-internship level. A successful candidate will be one who is interested in working in a challenging and innovative setting of primary care. Applicants that have past experience working in integrated care teams, primary care or other medical centers, and rural and underserved areas are preferred. An intern can be successful at CHCW regardless of theoretical orientation, however experience with 1st or 3rd wave behaviorism and providing brief interventions for a variety of concerns is beneficial. Candidates should also be willing and able to work successfully on an integrated care team, be self-motivated, and have high energy to meet the demands of primary care. They are expected to be dependable, prepared, curious, non-defensive, and open to constructive feedback.

Interviews may be conducted over the telephone or by teleconferencing. However, it is preferred that interviews take place face-to-face so that interns and the training site can determine the best fit. Candidates will be invited to interview at the NPTC interview day in Springfield, MO and/or at CHCW in January. Location of interview will not influence selection of interns. Those candidates not invited to interview will be notified by letter.

In order to reduce the travel expense associated with interviewing, all participating NPTC sites participate in a Universal Interview day in Springfield, Missouri. It may be possible to arrange interviews at other times, places, and via video call. Please be aware that on-site tours are not a part of this interview process. However, some sites may approve a site tour at a later date if requested by the prospective intern. The ability or inability to attend a site tour at another time will not impact match rankings and this is not an option available at all locations.