June 2024 FYI Newsletter

Cortica FYI Newsletter

June 2024

InThisEditionofFYI

FrontandCenter:

BigNewsinBite-sizedPieces

NewTeammate Spotlightson LinkedIn

Check out our newest teammate spotlights on LinkedIn! We recently profiled Vera Brooker, MA, RBT and Amber McCracken, MS, BCBA.

Cortica pediatric neurologist and area medical director Dr. Gaurav Yadava, MD, recently spoke with “USA Today” about autism’s symptoms, causes, treatment options, and more. We appreciate Dr. Yadava providing his expertise for the article!

Cortica CEO Neil Hattangadi, MD, MSc and manager of learning and development Michelle Hascall, MA, BCBA, LBA teamed up with Floreo on an Augmented World Expo® presentation exploring our research partnership and experiences with the FDA approval process. Click here to learn more.

Cortica’s treatment for client distress or injury protocol outlines the steps teammates should take if a client is in acute distress (e.g., due to a seizure, loss of consciousness, head injury, or shortness of breath) during an in-center session. Click here to learn more, and contact your supervisor with any questions.

As a reminder, Cortica’s new Caregiver Resource Guide provides our families with information on what to expect during their Cortica journey, our approach to care, patient resources, information on our disciplines, and more. Please share this guide with your families as needed!

FrontandCenter

CongratulationstoSocialMediaContestWinner JeannetteGuerra!

During the month of May, Cortica hosted a social media contest inviting teammates to answer the question, “What’s strong with me?”

Our teammates submitted compelling entries showcasing their strengths, interests, passions, and milestones, and we invited teammates to vote on those entries and select their favorite.

Congratulations to Irvine behavioral interventionist Jeannette Guerra, who won with an entry describing how she challenged herself by taking a sculpt yoga class! Jennette’s entry resonated with teammates, and we are grateful to her for inspiring others by sharing what’s strong with her.

Next month, as part of our leadership team’s ongoing efforts to gather teammate feedback, Cortica will be participating in the Great Place to Work (GPTW) survey program. During the survey period, you’ll receive an invitation to share your thoughts on Cortica’s teammate experience, culture, and more.

GPTW, a third-party firm, will administer the survey and share the aggregate responses with our leadership team; individual teammate survey responses will not be shared with Cortica leaders. We hope you’ll take this opportunity to provide your candid feedback! More information on this survey program is coming soon.

FrontandCenter

ComingSoontoCortica:Area5

Given our ongoing expansion in New England, we are creating a new area for Cortica: Area 5, which will encompass our five Massachusetts centers. We are opening a role for a Massachusetts area director who will oversee Cortica’s five sites in the state. This new area director will report to head of regional operations Kyle Gravel, MS, LMFT, BCBA, CCATP-CA, ASDCS.

Post-transition, Lexi Brilmayer will continue to serve as area director for Area 4, which will include our centers in Connecticut and Warren, NJ.

Thank you to all of our teammates for making this continued growth possible!

CEONeilHattangadi,MD,MScSelectedas ConferencePanelist

Our CEO, Neil Hattangadi, MD, MSc has been selected as a presenter at the inaugural Behavioral Health Business Autism & Addiction Treatment Forum in Chicago on July 18, which will highlight trends shaping these two distinct areas of behavioral health. Neil and his fellow “Autism C-Suite Outlook” panelists will explore workforce, payer, and operational trends, strategies for ensuring continued clinical quality, and other topics.

Scenic Quincy, MA, home to a soon-tobe-launched Cortica center in Area 5

ELTQ&ARecap

On May 29, Cortica’s executive leadership team hosted a Q&A session and responded to teammate-submitted questions. Click here to view the full presentation slides, and see below for highlights.

1

Howdowedecidewheretoexpand,anddowe takecaregiverrequestsforexpansioninto account?Whatareourcurrentexpansionplans?

We decide where to expand based on several main factors: Whether a state has a health plan that will engage in a whole-child, valuebased care partnership. This allows us to invest in our teammates and other infrastructure needed to be sustainable.

Caregiver requests

Within a state, we also look at talent availability, patient demographics (number of families within 30-minute peak drive time), real estate availability, and other factors.

Our current expansion priorities are adding North Carolina as our 8th state this month, going deep in other states (especially those with value-based care), and exploring value-based care partnership opportunities in Florida, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Washington.

2

ArethereanyplanstoincreaseBIwagesona company-widelevel?

Cortica has increased BI wages every year for at least the last five years. Every year, we review market compensation levels as well as our expected insurance reimbursement increases and determine the maximum increase. This year, the minimum adjustment to our BI step rate pay scale was 4%. We are fully committed to increasing BI compensation whenever possible based on the reimbursement we receive from our payer partners.

ELTQ&ARecap,Cont’d

3

Someofoursiteshavelengthywaitlists.Wouldwe considerpausingenrollmentatcertainsitesinstead ofplacingfamiliesonawaitlist?

Our waitlists exist primarily for direct services in the afternoon. Even when we have waitlists, we can provide enrolled families with resources and support, including medical care, counseling, ABA and DT evaluations and assessments (which provide important information that can be used by our medical clinicians), groups, and parent training.

We are actively working on several initiatives to recruit and retain ABA therapists and provide timely access to services, including expanding the guaranteed hours program, redesigning the onboarding process, and increasing training and development.

4

HowcanaBImoveupinthecompanyifthereare noopenpositionsavailableatthecurrentlocation andsurroundingareas?

Many of our BIs have advanced their careers at Cortica, both clinically and administratively. As Cortica continues to grow and expand our value-based care contracts, we will continue to:

Hire additional BCBAs to meet patient demand

Offer opportunities through our L&D ABA team

Support the personal and professional growth of our BIs and encourage them to work with their BCBA manager if they would like to develop specific skills

Explore other development avenues for BIs, including pivoting admin hours to include opportunities for clinical growth

ELTQ&ARecap,Cont’d

5

Besidesreducingre-evaluationsandmonthlynotes, whatisbeingdonetosupportDTretention?

The DT Committee and Cortica leadership are working on the following:

Collaborating closely with the scheduling team on guidelines to ensure that clients are shared across fewer teammates and that we prioritize meeting full recommendations for clients

Addressing time management strategies, supports, and techniques to streamline care

Building better EMR systems to minimize documentation time

Expanding our mentorship training

Providing specific training for new graduates on clinical skills development

Creating a clinical and operational manual for all teammates

Creating documentation support for main goal areas including activities for caregivers and resources for therapists

Generating guidelines for session planning

Increasing clinical and decision-making support training

6

Howimportantisinvestingintheteammate experience,particularlytoaddressburnoutand retention?

Investing in the teammate experience, including compensation, benefits, PTO/holidays, efficient processes and technology systems, well-being and balance, clinical training, culture, recognition, and teammate events are all priorities for us at Cortica. We invest as much in teammates as we possibly can, while trying to run a sustainable organization. We are continuing to nurture existing value-based care partnerships and pursue additional partnerships so that we may use reimbursements to make even more investments in our teammate experience.

ABADepartmentUpdates

Cortica’sGuaranteedHoursProgramforBIs: EnrollingSoon!

AbouttheProgram

We’re excited to invest in our BIs, support their career growth and development, and encourage them to build rewarding, long-term careers at Cortica. That’s why we offer BIs an option to enroll in our guaranteed hours program once per quarter! BIs who apply for and are accepted into the program:

Receive consistent hours and pay

Receive a direct rate for all hours worked (including drive time, admin time, and training time, among others)

Have the option of working a full-time (32 hours weekly) or part-time (15 or 20 hours weekly) schedule

May enroll in Cortica benefits, if their schedule is full-time

RequirementsforParticipation

Maintaining shift availability during specified ho Holding an active BCAT or RBT certification

Driving anywhere within the clinic’s in-home AB service area

Accepting any sub session as deemed clinically appropriate

Being in good standing, with no active performa issues

Achieving a passing score on the BI Checklist

Other area-specific requirements, as applicable

The program is open for new BI enrollees every quarter. If you ' re interested in learning more, please contact your ABA site manager for details.

ABADepartmentUpdates, Cont’d

UpcomingContinuingEducationUnit(CEU)

OpportunitiesatCortica

Our ABA Committee has been working to deliver CEU opportunities, and we are excited to announce the following events. All sessions will take place at 11 a.m. Pacific/12 noon Mountain/1 p.m. Central/2 p.m. Eastern on the dates noted below:

Caregiver Support Roadmap: June 25

Encouraging Productive and Professional Caregiver Support Meetings: July 25

BCBAClinicalLadder:NowAcceptingApplications

Applications for our BCBA clinical ladder, designed to provide advancement, professional development, and mentorship opportunities for teammates, are due August 1. Any BCBA certified in 2022 or years prior may participate. Click here for a program overview. If you have any questions, please contact your supervisor.

ShippingDelaysforiPadCasesandKeyboards

Due to vendor inventory issues, there is a shipping delay affecting the delivery of new iPad cases and keyboards for our newly hired BIs at each center. We understand that teammates are excited to try this upgraded equipment and we apologize for the inconvenience. At this time, we do not believe that these inventory issues will affect our originally stated timelines for the equipment rollout to all existing BIs in Areas 3 and 4 (starting in Q3) and in Areas 1 and 2 (starting in Q4).

ABADepartmentUpdates, Cont’d

CorticaSummerCampsandGroupsataGlance

Burlington

July-August: PREP Camp

Carlsbad

July-August: PREP Camp and Movement and Mindfulness Camp

Glendale

June-August: PEERS Social Skills Group for Teens

July-August: PREP Camp

Irvine

July-August: PREP Camp, PREP Sibling Camp, and School-aged Camp

LagunaNiguel

July-August: PREP Camp and School-aged Camp

Marin

July-August: PREP Camp

Naperville

July-August: PREP Camp

Plano

July-August: PREP Camp

SanDiego

July-August: PREP Camp, PREP Sibling Camp, and Preteen Camp

TheWoodlands

July-August: PREP Camp

Torrance

June-August: PREP Camp, PREP Sibling Camp, and School-aged Camp

June-September: PEERS Social Skills Group for Teens

Virtual

July-October: PEERS Social Skills Group for Teens

Warren

June-August: School-aged Camp

July-August: PREP Camp

Westchester

July-August: PREP Camp

WestlakeVillage

May-August: PEERS Social Skills Group for Teens

June-August: PEERS Social Skills Group for Pre-Teens

July-August: PREP Camp

FYI Newsletter

InformationonDr.Goh’sClinicVisits

Cortica co-founder and chief medical officer Dr. Suzanne Goh, MD, BCBA is coming to a Cortica center near you! During Dr. Goh’s site visits, teammates have the opportunity to explore Cortica resources, discuss their clinical successes and challenges, learn from Dr. Goh’s expertise, and enjoy a delicious lunch with their fellow teammates.

UpcomingVisitSchedule

6/26-6/27

Glendale and Westlake Village, CA

San Diego, CA

8/14

8/26-8/29

Westchester and Naperville, IL

“MagnificentMinds”Updates

Thank you for your continued support of Dr. Goh’s new book, “Magnificent Minds”! As a reminder, copies are available at each clinic for teammate checkout and ongoing reference.

Thanks to support from our teammates, caregivers, autism professionals, and others, the book will soon be available for sale in the UK and will soon be translated into Chinese and Spanish! We’ll share more details when they become available.

If you ’ ve read the book, we hope you’ll consider writing a review on Amazon. We ask that you write your review from the perspective of a general reader, NOT a Cortica teammate. We also recommend that you share something you ' ve learned from the book in your review!

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Updates

CelebratingPrideMonth

From branded Pride Zoom backgrounds to Pride spirit days, pins, local event meetups, resources, and more, our pride in Pride Month is on display everywhere at Cortica! Click here to learn how we ’ re celebrating all month long.

On June 12, our Pride Group co-leads Nancy Vong, OTD, OTR/L (she/her) and Arin Solar, BCAT (he/him) led a training that explored the importance of LGBTQ+ inclusivity, how teammates’ language and behavior can help create a more inclusive environment, Cortica resources and supports for our LGBTQ+ teammates, and more. If you missed the training or would like to rewatch it, click here to view the recording (it is listed as lecture 12).

Juneteenth:ACelebrationofFreedomandEquality

Cortica is proud to honor Juneteenth! Click here to read about expansion project manager and BIPOC Group colead Sasha Harding’s experiences with Juneteenth, discover how our centers celebrated Juneteenth through food, learn about our virtual fitness sessions hosted by Black-owned fitness companies, explore resources, and learn how to get involved in our BIPOC Group!

Teammates in Dedham (and all other Cortica centers) enjoyed a selection of foods created by Black-owned businesses on Juneteenth

DrivingSafety:Preventing SlipsandSlides

Whether or not you drive as part of your Cortica role, skidding can create significant hazards for you on the road. Factors that can cause skids include loose dirt or gravel, ice, water, oil slicks, worn-out tires, and high-speed driving.

MaintainingControlwhileSkidding

If your vehicle begins to skid:

Take your feet off the pedals. Do not brake or accelerate. Turn the steering wheel in the direction you want to go

As the vehicle turns back, steer in the opposite direction of the skid to stop turning and return to your original path of travel

Do not jerk the wheel, as it may cause you to skid in the opposite direction

If you start to skid in wet conditions, take your feet off of the pedals and do not brake or accelerate. Then, turn the wheel in the direction you want to go and return to your original path of travel once you ’ re regained control of the vehicle.

In icy conditions, once again, take your feet off of the pedals and do not brake or accelerate. Then, turn your vehicle in the direction of the skid. For example, if the back end of the vehicle is sliding left turn the wheel to the left. Do not try to overcorrect the steering wheel. Once the vehicle is straight, return the wheel to center.

DrivingwithYourBrakeTypeinMind

If your vehicle has an anti-lock braking system (ABS), keep your foot on the brake pedal and apply pressure as needed. This allows the system to automatically pump the brakes for you and helps keep control of the vehicle. If your vehicle does not have an ABS system, slow down but do not slam on the brakes. Pump the brake pedal until you can get the vehicle under control. Consult your owner ’ s manual for information on your brake type.

June 2024

SuperstarsoftheMonth

Alyssa Abbott, front office administrator, Westchester

Jaquecline Alcantara, occupational therapist, San Diego

Aqila Armstrong, clinical program manager, HQ

Elina Arriaza, occupational therapist, Westlake Village

Ira Cruz, ABA site prep lead, Carlsbad

Laura Cursi, occupational therapist, Warren

Alyssa Ercolini, substitute behavioral interventionist, Burlington

Mariah Finnerty, behavioral interventionist, West Springfield

Zayra Gomez, substitute behavioral interventionist, Laguna Niguel

Melody Gonzalez, behavioral interventionist, Naperville

Natalie Gyulnazaryan, behavioral interventionist, Irvine

Lynnette Henderson, scheduling team coordinator, HQ

Ellie Hirahara, behavioral interventionist, Glendale

Maria Jimenez, ABA associate site manager, The Woodlands

Chrystal King, speechlanguage pathologist, Glendale

Rosario Lopez, behavioral interventionist, Carlsbad Candice McGuire, behavioral interventionist, Shrewsbury

Criquette Morales, ABA supervisor, Plano

Monica Ortiz, behavioral interventionist, Marin

RecentPromotions

Eugenia Clark, ABA supervisor

Hannah Hopke, speechlanguage pathologist

Felika Poblah, behavioral interventionist, West Hartford

Rachael Powers, ABA supervisor, Dedham

Courtney Redmond, ABA assistant supervisor, San Diego

Mari Rhodes, front office administrator, Laguna Niguel

Sophia Rhyins, behavioral interventionist, Ridgefield Kaylin Ross, lead behavioral interventionist trainer, Irvine

Danielle Sanchez, behavioral interventionist, Westlake Village

Amy Stabinsky, lead behavioral interventionist, Trumbull

Ari Wilks, occupational therapist III, Marin

Anna Pascual, scheduling team services supervisor

Maria Pendleton, revenue cycle lead authorizations associate

Megan Tarvydas, site prep lead BCBA

Maria Zamudio, revenue cycle lead AR associate

WhatCorticaFamiliesAreSaying

Marin

“I thought everyone I spoke to regarding initiating care at Cortica for my son was warm, caring, and friendly. Getting evaluations set up for him was easy to do and everyone was well-spoken and clear about what the process would look like. They provided me with the support I needed and I feel that my son will be well cared for.”

Warren

“The staff are incredibly kind and understanding and accessing services is easy. I was expecting to wait a long time for services, but they schedule my son very soon after requesting services. I would highly recommend!”

SanDiego

“Good communication with scheduling. The BIs who are working with my son, who has complex needs, are both hardworking and compassionate.”

Burlington

“Everyone was very welcoming and my son felt comfortable during his assessment due to the friendly manner of the staff.”

SavetheDatesforOur2024

We encourage teammates to join these sessions live if possible, but recorded versions will be available for later playback in Schoox

Hourly teammates will receive paid time for attending these meetings live OR watching their recorded versions on Schoox!

Allmeetingstakeplacefrom8:15-9a.m.Pacific/9:15-10a.m. Mountain/10:15-11a.m.Central/11:15-12noonEastern

1/24

Click here to watch: Dr. Goh presents on Cortica’s whole-child model and “Magnificent Minds,” part 1

Click here to watch: Dr. Goh presents on Cortica’s whole-child model and “Magnificent Minds,” part 2

Special edition All-Brains Meeting: Dr Goh presents on Cortica’s whole-child model and “Magnificent Minds,” part 3

Click here to watch: Dr. Goh presents on Cortica’s whole-child model and “Magnificent Minds”

ELT Q&A: Click here to view the meeting in Schoox and click here to view the presentation deck

Special edition All-Brains Meeting: Let's Talk! Communicating with Clients in Cortica's Whole-Child Approach

All-Brains Meeting

All-Brains Meeting: Click here to view the meeting in Schoox and click here to view the presentation deck 1/31 2/28 3/27 4/24 5/29 6/26 9/25

Cortica

HelpDesk

Payroll Calendar

Visit helpdesk.corticacare.com for assistance with IT, HR, payroll, UKG, credentialing, marketing, and learning and development functions.

View our payroll calendar on the Cortica SharePoint homepage at ccanta.sharepoint.com/sites/Cortica, or in UKG under Myself > My Company > Company Info.

Corticais

Hiring!

To view all open positions, visit our Internal Job Board.

Click here to refer a friend and earn a referral bonus $250 or more! Review the “View Referral Program” link on the page for full details.

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