“You are the power of change”

Rami Sleiman, COO, FHE Health, believes it is in healthcare that hope becomes healing. FHE Health is an institution that delivers quality, medically integrated, personalized treatment for those with addiction and mental health issues like depression, anxiety, PTSD, and mood disorders.

Rami Sleiman, MBA, CHC, is dedicated to giving excellent service. He is calm, steady, knowledgeable, skilled, and organized with a big vision. He understands the technical details of operation and compliance. Rami is proactive in overseeing compliance, utilization review, billing, and everyday facility operations.

Rami knows he must motivate and lead his team to victory. Allowing teams to make decisions increases employee buy-in, says Rami, who also believes in servant leadership. He gained firsthand experience throughout the outbreak. He thinks that great leaders manage risk by taking steps to protect patients, workers, and the community, instead of shutting down operations during any uncertainty.

When the outbreak began, considerable changes were needed in regulations, processes, people, resources, and infrastructure. We needed to design new infection control rules, train workers, equip workplaces with PPE, keep quarantine spaces clean, and continue contact tracing, says Rami. The protocol required staff and patients to adopt these high-level activities as part of their normal routine. Rami offered monthly updates on new policies, state and local happenings, and care accountability.

Rami has written for various business and non-industry journals on themes like managing a private healthcare provider during a pandemic. The "Hope for Healing Scholarship" is already in its fourth year, and FHE is known for training student interns from area colleges and universities. Some of those mentored went on to work in healthcare administration.

According to Rami, criticism can be useful, especially when striving for perfection in care. He believes growth and innovation are impossible without criticism.

Rami wants to know whether a patient has concerns about their treatment plan—to assure compliance and/or ethical business practices. Rami encourages staff to use the organization’s formal channels to voice their criticisms and concerns without fear of retribution.

Rami has used AI to improve care delivery, administrative efficiency, and patient outcomes at FHE Health. For example, an AI-powered tool like Salesforce can collect, sort, and evaluate massive amounts of data acquired during therapy, so that determining how to improve service and treatment outcomes is much easier.

Our holistic approach targets the fundamental causes of behavioral health disorders and utilizes an integrated strategy to treat psychiatric behaviors, says Rami. He has hired medical and clinical professionals who together care for the whole person, providing comprehensive treatment. This integrated care model is one way that FHE distinguishes itself in the behavioral health industry.

Keeping FHE Health open during the epidemic allowed us to continue providing essential mental health and addiction services, says Rami. Above all, the challenges of COVID pushed teams to think creatively and innovate. Some of these new approaches worked so well that they stuck. Rami was a nominee for the Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce's "Excellence in Healthcare" and "COVID-19 Response" awards.

With the help of its neurotherapy director, FHE Health conducted a 16-month study on the effects of neurostimulation on recovery outcomes. The study looked at changes in brain function as well as improvements in symptoms like insomnia and anxiety. Neurostimulation decreased anxiety, depression, and sleep in patients.

The treatment had no serious negative effects, and those who received neurostimulation showed improved brain health and function.

We are actively educating communities to support first responders. People suffering from PTSD and addiction were helped by a combination of proven neurotherapeutics, trauma-based therapy, and social support.

FHE raises public awareness about addiction, suicide, and other concerns by sponsoring and presenting at conferences and trainings. (FHE was invited to help plan the upcoming event "Breaking the Chains" in Falmouth, Massachusetts.)

FHE is also planning a community fundraiser that will raise funds to train a second therapy dog for Broward County firefighters. Therapy dogs provide invaluable support in the field and in treatment for PTSD and other mental health issues but are expensive to train (around $25,000). FHE will host a First Responder Paws Luncheon Friday, October 28, at the Ritz Carlton, Fort Lauderdale Beach. Event proceeds go to non-profit 501(c)(3) ShieldUs to acquire and train therapy dogs in Broward County.

FHE Health is expanding its campus and services to better serve patients. For example, FHE's new Wellness Center now offers gym and yoga sessions, among other holistic supports. FHE has evolved from a sober living facility to a national behavioral health program. Today it treats primary mental health diagnoses and specialized needs (like those of first responders), as well as drug and alcohol use disorders. Under Rami’s leadership, FHE will continue to develop and enhance its integrated care model and keep improving its programs, services, and community involvement.