Integrating Behavioral Health—A C-Suite Imperative: Insights from Becker’s CEO + CFO Roundtable

At Array, we define integration as continuity: the same team, the same data, and a measurement-based plan following the patient from hospital to home. Our interoperable, Epic-based platform connects acute, outpatient, and at-home care, ensuring seamless transitions. 

Brad Meyer’s experience at Bluestem Health underscored that integration is also about culture and resilience. After an early partnership with a grant-funded behavioral health organization faltered due to billing and culture misalignment, Bluestem rebuilt from within—embedding psychologists, therapists, and pharmacists directly into their clinics. Their focus on career training, ADHD testing, and social determinants of health shows that integration is as much about people and process as it is about technology. 

Tom Shanley at Lurie Children’s Hospital described integration across four domains: primary care, specialty care, community, and workforce. By embedding psychologists and psychiatrists in complex care teams, Lurie achieved measurable improvements in patient outcomes and staff experience. Tom’s emphasis on upstream investment (schools, resiliency, early intervention) and philanthropy highlights the broader ecosystem required for sustainable behavioral health integration.

All panelists agreed: technology is a critical enabler. At Array, our custom Epic instance allows clinicians to be embedded in partner systems, supporting unified workflows and data-driven outcomes. Our Care Pathways standardize treatment and enable stepped-care models, ensuring the right care at the right time. 

Lurie’s population health pilots in underserved Chicago communities, powered by CMMI grants, demonstrate how data and technology can drive accountability and track outcomes for conditions like asthma, diabetes, and obesity—often in tandem with behavioral health needs.

The move toward value-based care is underway, but each organization is at a different stage. At Array, we’re in-network with commercial and Medicare Advantage payers, and we’re seeing early movement from payers on access and quality incentives. Bluestem is embedding behavioral health in value-based contracts, while Lurie leverages new CMS state-directed payments to offset Medicaid shortfalls. 

The consensus: sustainable integration requires financial models that reward outcomes, not just volume.

Behavioral health workforce shortages are a universal challenge. At Array, we’ve made a deliberate choice to build a fully employed, W-2 clinician model, rather than rely on contractors. This approach is foundational to our quality, culture, and ability to scale.  

Our W-2 model means clinicians are part of a true practice—not a gig network. We offer: 

• Competitive compensation with performance-based earning potential and full CME coverage (no out-of-pocket costs). 

• A remote-first, flexible work environment, with opportunities to practice across multiple care settings (acute, outpatient, at-home). 

• Robust onboarding, ongoing training, and continuous professional development, supported by expert medical leadership and targeted quality guidelines. 

• A clinician-first culture that values collaboration, accountability, and clinical excellence. 

This structure enables us to maintain high standards, ensure continuity of care, and foster a sense of belonging and purpose among our clinicians. It’s why we attract and retain top talent. 

Bluestem’s approach—building internal capacity —demonstrates the importance of growing the workforce from within. Lurie’s focus on career pathways and staff experience further reinforces that people are at the heart of integration.