Barbara Bugella, RN, MSN, MBA

Barbara Bugella, RN, MSN, MBA holds the position of Senior Consultant with Yale Behavioral Health Consulting Services. In this capacity, her primary focus is assisting psychiatric hospitals and behavioral health organizations across the United States in attaining and upholding Joint Commission accreditation as well as CMS compliance. Her consulting experience includes training programs, mentoring, organizational assessments, conducting simulated surveys, and offering technical assistance pertaining to Joint Commission, CMS standards and survey process, restraint and seclusion reduction, utilization management, and policy development.

With an impressive career spanning over 35 years, Ms. Bugella has a wealth of experience within both the public and private sectors of Behavioral Healthcare. Her most recent role as Chief Operating Officer of a State Mental Health and Addiction Services Agency entailed overseeing the operations of six state-operated Local Mental Health Authorities and a large psychiatric hospital totaling over 600 inpatient beds. These facilities also provided services such as withdrawal management, residential care, Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) teams, Mobile Crisis response, Community Support, and outpatient services. Additionally, she was a founding member of an interagency partnership to reduce the use of restraint and seclusion in healthcare, correctional and school settings.

Ms Bugella has been instrumental in assisting start up organizations or those who have acquired new programs to design workflows, develop and implement policies, train staff, and achieve accreditation and/or licensure in multiple states. She possesses extensive expertise in program design, project management, and leadership development. Her regulatory acumen encompasses the management of a Department of Justice Settlement agreement, readiness for The Joint Commission, CMS regulatory compliance, and state licensing requirements.

She has also authored a number of peer-reviewed publications, including a focus on restraint and seclusion, school shootings, and the importance of workforce transformation in Connecticut.