Lenette Kosovich, Rimrock
What is your name and the name of the organization you represent?
My name is Lenette Kosovich. I am the CEO at Rimrock.
Where can we find your website?
https://www.rimrock.org/
Where in Montana are you located?
We are headquartered in Billings, MT.
Tell us a bit about your organization, and the sort of work it does?
Rimrock is the longest established and largest Substance Use Treatment and Mental Health Center in the Region. Rimrock provides the entire continuum of Adult Behavioral care from the most acute, Detoxification in a sub-acute hospital setting, as well as Inpatient, Residential, Outpatient Services, Women with Children Recovery Home, Treatment Courts, and Mental Health Center services. We also are a CCBHC expansion site with a PACT team. We have nearly 200 employees
Doing the kind of work you do can be both rewarding and challenging. What are some of the biggest ongoing challenges your organization faces as it works to accomplish its goals?
Hands down, the biggest challenge now is recruiting employees to work in behavioral health. There are so many people needing services and the unemployment level in Montana is a concerning factor.
Respecting the privacy of any individual(s), can you relay to us a story (or two or three!) about a time or situation that had a personal, positive impact on you in the course of doing your job?
There is hardly a week that goes by that I don’t hear a “You Saved My Life” story. Recently when I was cleaning out some files, I found a cashier’s check receipt, and I remembered the story…Our receptionist called me to tell me a gentleman was in the lobby and wanted to talk to me. So I went out and met him. As he handed me this receipt, he told me that it was from the money he paid to bring his wife for treatment with us for long term alcohol abuse. He said she stayed sober the remainder of her life and they spent another 28 wonderful years together. He brought the cashier’s check receipt to me to tell me that she had recently passed away and to thank us for giving her back to him, so many years before.
What are some pros and cons to working in behavioral health in Montana?
The stigma surrounding addiction and mental illness continues to get in the way of people seeking help. We need to stop whispering about this disease and treat it like any other physical disease that gets attention.
Thinking of the population you serve, and the areas of behavioral health you are most involved with, if you could snap your fingers to make one change, what would it be?
Undoubtedly, I would increase the number of people entering this line of very satisfying work.
If you had to give a shout out to another BHAM organization for doing exceptional work, what org would it be? Why?
The members of BHAM are a rare breed. The level of commitment and collaboration to make positive change in our state and advocate for the patients is unapparelled. It’s too hard to single out a single organization. The work through BHAM has truly demonstrated that we are better together.
Any other shout-outs or kudos for Montana’s behavioral health heroes?
Mary Windecker – I don’t know if she every imagined that she would lead an organization like BHAM, but she proved very early on that she had the heart and mind for this work and in her tenure has lead us to recognition that we can be proud of.
What else would you like the world to know about your organization?
Rimrock is most excited about entering into the biggest thing that has ever happened to us. We are embarking on building a $24M campus. We will be consolidating all our satellite facilities along with our main facility onto a nearly 5 acre site. This state-of-the-art facility will increase our inpatient capacity 25% and double our outpatient capacity. This is exciting for our patients, our employees and the region we serve. We anticipate occupying the new facility late 2023.
To learn more about Rimrock, and to see what they have going on, check out their website:
