We were lucky to catch up with Robert L Jamison, PhD, CCM, BH-C recently and have shared our conversation below.

Robert, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What was your school or training experience like? Share an anecdote or two that you feel illustrate important aspects or the overall nature of your schooling/training experience.

Experience and Professionalism

Alternative Healthcare LA founder Robert L. Jamison, PhD, CCM, BH-C completed his medical training in surgery in March 1989 at World Class Healthcare system called Baptist Memorial Hospital located in the Medical District near Downtown Memphis which is a University of Tennessee Training facility. He completed a fellowship in cardiovascular, neurology, orthopedic, general, GYN, and plastic surgery. He worked 20 years as a (Surgery First Assistant) after he transferred to Baptist Memorial Hospital East Memphis and worked (6) years as a Fellowship Trained Physician Assistant for Dr. ED Garrett, MD and his Peripheral Vascular Surgery Group. He subsequently obtained a P.h.D. in Behavioral Health and started a new journey as an entrepreneur he founded a company called Intravenous Nurses, Inc. and went into private practice.

In 2007, physician assistant Robert L. Jamison and 4 registered nurses were featured in the Memphis Business Journal after starting a company called Intravenous Nurses, Inc. They applied for a Certificate of Need with the state of Tennessee to start a home health agency and PICC Line clinic, also known as Intravenous Therapy. A peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC), also called a PICC line, is a long, thin tube that’s inserted through a vein in your arm and passed through to the larger veins near your heart. Very rarely, the PICC line may be placed in your leg.

In 2010, Robert Jamison relocated to Los Angeles CA and founded a company called Alternative Healthcare LA, which is an Integrated Physician Medical Group. In 2013, he completed his training in hyperbaric medicine at LA Medical Care Hyperbaric Clinic located in the heart of East LA in Bolye Heights and later received a certificate at the American College of Hyperbaric Medicine. For the past 8 years, I have been a Behavioral Health Director and consultant alongside Dr. Steve Lower, Ph.D., a Board-Certified Psychologist at Psychology Associates.

Exhibiting 10 years’ experience as a Clinical Research Assistant (CRA) for Type 2 Diabetes Robert has demonstrated significant leadership in his field of study working as a Diabetes Clinical Research Assistant at Alternative Healthcare LA and Medical Consultant for Juan P. Frias, M.D. a Board-Certified endocrinologist and medical director at National Research Institute (NRI). February 29, 2015, Robert was appointed Director of The San Miguel Foundation Diabetes Program with AHC Executive Administrator KJ Laessig. Together, they developed one of the best diabetes treatment and prevention programs in LA. Supported by Dr. Mahfouz Michael and The San Miguel Urgent Care Clinic located near Downtown Los Angeles CA. He subsequently started working as a Chronic Care Management Provider and expanded Alternative Healthcare throughout Southern California

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Robert is a dedicated and accomplished doctoral-prepared healthcare executive, with demonstrated leadership in complex operations over multiple departments in developing, implementing, and achieving improvement in evidence based patient care practice. Expert at management development, delegation and promotion; ensuring collaboration with physicians and nurses in continuing improvement in delivery of quality patient centered care in a cost-effective manner; while implementing the philosophy and administrative objectives of large and small organizations as applied to nursing services. Highly developed interpersonal and strategic planning skills, complemented with advanced education in corporate fulfillment, ethics, workplace regulation, patient safety and advocacy, accreditation, compliance, and licensing. Progressive nurse staffing leadership experience at leading hospital organizations nationwide. Developed an approved (NHA) phlebotomy technician curriculum and former CPR/AED BLS instructor for healthcare providers, hospital staff, and nursing school students.

Currently serving as Chief Executive Officer in a Corporate recognized rural community healthcare systems while serving as a national board member for Alternative Healthcare LA and completing a course in Hyperbaric Medicine and earning his (HBOT) Certificate at the American College of Hyperbaric Medicine. In 2007 Dr. Robert L. Jamison and four nurses were published by the Memphis Business Journal for applying for a Certificate of Need and starting a multi-faceted business for IV management (PICC Line) company in Memphis, Tennessee. A (PICC Line) is a thin, flexible tube called (Peripherally inserted central catheter) that is inserted into a vein in the upper arm and guided (threaded) into a large vein above the right side of the heart called the superior vena cava. It is used to give intravenous fluids, blood transfusions, chemotherapy, and other drugs..

Dr. Jamison oversees our Behavioral Health Assessments (BHA) Program and Chronic Care Management Department in Northern and Southern California

With years of experience, our medical team will assess you and create a custom recovery plan that’s right for you. We understand the importance of educating you on the most effective ways to take care of your body so that you can heal quickly. In 2010, Robert L. Jamison, Ph.D. A 35-year healthcare professional created a company called Alternative Healthcare LA. A Behavioral Health and Chronic Care Management Practice in association with Psychology Associate, PA. It was established to assist practices in remote locations with their medical and psychiatric needs. One of their available tools is a Behavioral Health Assessment (BHA). This assessment helps identify trauma (PTSD), Depression, anxiety, Suicide, substance abuse, and Bipolar disorder and tracks the individuals’ progress over time. The test is secure, HIPAA is compliant, and it takes about ten minutes to complete. The results are provided to the individual and the appropriate management team for evaluation to take the next steps to get you the professional assistance they require. The unique aspect of this BHA program is that we will provide you with your own personal report, including a Patient Care Plan, at the time your findings are determined. The only thing you need to get started is a one-time $55 Behavioral Health Consultant fee to identify that there is a problem.

Monitoring Symptoms using RPM Mental illness signs and symptoms may vary, depending on the disorder, circumstances, and other factors. Mental illness symptoms can affect emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. The most common signs and symptoms are loneliness or sadness, confusion or lack of concentration, excessive fears and worries, extreme feelings of guilt, withdrawal from friends and family members, fatigue, delusions or hallucinations, significant change in eating habits, extreme anger or violence, suicidal thoughts, and even physical pain such as stomach pain, back pain, headaches, or other unexplained aches and pains. Many of these signs and symptoms can be tracked by Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM). RPM uses sensors and wearable devices to measure patients’ physiological data. It then transmits these data to a cloud database, where providers may access anytime and anywhere. RPM allows providers to continuously and remotely monitor their patients and adjust their treatment plan if needed.COVID-19 is changing everything. Our healthcare system is overloaded. Patients with chronic diseases can be subjected to high risk of cross-infection. Care delivery models are abruptly changed to remote care services. The COVID-19 entailed a complete paradigm shift in how health care was delivered, enabling exponential usage in telehealth and RPM for acute disease monitoring. Unfortunately, with so many virus strains that are spreading worldwide, including in the United States, COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths are on the rise in nearly all states as of this writing, thanks to the B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant, which is far more contagious than the previous variants of the virus.

AHC Behavioral Health Assessments are scheduled by Appointment Only. If you’ve been hurt at work, or if you’ve developed a condition or disease that affects your daily life, there are disability-related resources that may help you. Many of these require a disability evaluation by an accredited physician. Dr. Robert Jamison and the healthcare professionals at Alternative Healthcare LA, with offices on Washington Blvd and Vernon Ave in Los Angeles, can provide you with referrals for the medical examination as well as pairing you with other medical professionals as necessary. Book an appointment online, or call one of the offices today. It may be that you may require unemployment benefits, and this recommendation will be made if you are determined to not be disabled.

Our objectives are to determine if there are any life-threatening conditions demanding immediate treatment and if returning to work is safe for you and for your co-workers. We understand that job stress can lead to severe anxiety, panic attacks, and depression. We have specialists and strategic partners locally and out-of-area to assist with your recovery. There are jobs with exceedingly high physical demands that may trigger or precipitate back pain, neck strain, and joint dysfunction. We work with providers who offer treatment at discounted rates for patients without health insurance and have limited incomes.

What is a disability examination?

When you’ve suffered an injury or impairment for which some level of benefits are available, that disability or impairment is often confirmed by a physician. The benefits could be paid by the government, such as for Social Security or workers’ compensation, or through private insurance, so there’s usually an investigative process for which a disability exam is a key component.

A disability examination may not end with your physician’s evaluation, however. often other specialists are involved. For example, if you’ve suffered a work-related injury, an occupational medicine specialist or occupational therapist’s assessment may be requested to determine how your injuries interfere with your work and what accommodations are needed if you are to return to work. Allied Health Solutions works with many other specialists in the Los Angeles area, so referrals are easy and, in some cases, close to one of the Alternative Healthcare LA locations.

As your BHC, our providers begin with recording your chief complaint, history, and performing a Behavioral Health Assessment and developing an assessment and treatment plan, including referrals.

Alternative Healthcare LA may connect you with therapists or with specialists as needed in consideration of your diagnosis, such as seeing a psychiatrist or psychotherapist if you’re experiencing job stress. We may also refer you to an orthopedist, rheumatologist, or Pain Management Specialist depending upon the medical issues. Primarily, our goal is to get you back to work as soon as possible. We understand that it is potentially more damaging to be off of work. A lack of employment will result in severe financial hardships and could have a psychological impact. For job stress, a psychotherapist would focus on the development of effective coping mechanisms. The requirements for the examining physician may change from case-to-case as well. For example, if Dr. Payne, M.D. is your Primary Care Physician, some agencies may request their own contracted doctor or an impartial third-party doctor. However, in many cases, using your Primary Care Physician is acceptable.

Medical Staff Who Care
Not only will our doctors treat your existing conditions, but we also work to maximize your prevention strategies. We strive to help you improve your quality of life, achieve your wellness goals, and support your best possible life.

Alternative Healthcare LA Behavioral Health Director Robert L. Jamison, PhD,CCM, BH-C, bridges the gap between mental health and Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM). A telehealth company that is turning smartphones into a patient-centric and connecting health platforms to enable continuous, real-time physiological data monitoring for chronically ill patients in acute care, skilled nursing, and hospital settings.

As a psychological support tool with the Alternative Healthcare LA’s Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) program, our nationally recognized, peer-reviewed, and clinically validated Behavioral Health Assessment, measures seven different dimensions. (depression, anxiety, trauma, bipolar, addictions, suicide, a functional level) Patients can take the assessment on any web-enabled device in under five minutes. Clinicians receive clear results that measure and monitor patients for the best possible care. Medicare and most commercial insurance reimburse for these services. When the patient’s test positive for depression, additional assessment for other psychological problems, such as anxiety, bipolar, trauma (PTSD), substance abuse disorders and suicide should be undertaken These additional assessments are important, as 20% of primary care patients who screen positive for depression suffer from bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, and substance use disorders. Our multidimensional assessment is one-stop shopping. One in five people in this country has a diagnosable mental health condition. Mood & Anxiety disorders are the most common psychiatric disorders seen in primary care offices. Yet most end up undiagnosed and not treated. Patients do not have to suffer in silence any longer.

BHA Benefits:

1. The BHA has been proven to reduce non-diagnosis, misdiagnosis, mistreatment, and delays in treatment.
2. The BHA patient-rated screen and longitudinal monitoring facilitate the patient’s collaborative participation in their treatment.

3. The BHA encourages patients to feel that, for any life problem, they can bring it to their doctor.
4. Better mental health care to patients who may otherwise receive none.
5. Reduce overall insurance costs via early identification of problems due to the fact that the survey results will provide early intervention when needed.

In summary, the Behavioral Health Assessment is SIMPLE for patients to take, EASY to administer is CONVENIENT and BENEFICIAL for patients. It PRODUCES measurable results within 5 minutes.

AHC consists of physicians and behavioral health providers from multiple disciplines, including primary care, internal medicine, psychiatry, psychology, social work, marriage/family therapy, and counseling specialties. Our Medical & Behavioral Health specialists are independent practitioners who practice Telephonically, Virtually and face to face in their own offices.

AHC provides secured consultations for those consumers wishing to use these modalities to communicate with our medical & and behavioral health experts. Confidentiality and safeguarding a patient’s personal information is our primary ethical commitment. By utilizing this resource, practices can provide better patient diagnosis and care.

Alternative Healthcare LA technology is a leader in massively scalable, continuous, real-time. Remote Patient Monitoring solution for Chronic Disease Management, Acute Care, Post-Operation, and Hospital Care At Home.

Remote patient monitoring (RPM) was once thought to be one of the most successful approaches in monitoring disease progression or improvement for hypertension, diabetes, and other chronic conditions. RPM captures and sends patient health data to clinicians via linked devices outside of a traditional clinical care setting. These devices keep track of a wide range of vital signs, such as blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygen saturation levels.

Mental illness had been an alarming issue among Americans, fueled by feelings of loneliness and isolation when the pandemic struck in March. The 2021 State of Mental Health in America report states that mental health in the United States continues to deteriorate, that many states are unprepared to deal with the crisis, and that the government is called out to act immediately. In the said report, 19% of adult Americans experienced mental illness from 2017 to 2018. There was an increase of 1.5 million people based on last year’s dataset. Moreover, the percentage of adults in the U.S. who are experiencing severe thoughts of suicide increased to 0.15% from 2016-2017 to 2017-2018 or an additional of 460,000 people from last year’s dataset.

Mental illness chooses no age. In fact, in the above-mentioned report, from 2017 to 2018, 9.7% of adolescents in the United States experienced severe major depression. Additionally, 60% of these adolescents were not able to receive mental health therapy. Even in states with the highest availability of resources, many of their residents were left untreated. Today, with the fast-growing advancement in technology, experts are routing for RPM to help in treating and understanding more patients with mental illness.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Despite coming from a low-income housing community better known as the projects, I was born and raised in Shelby County TN in the heart of Midtown Memphis Tennessee. At the age of 12 my mother moved us to low-income housing community call Lamar Terrace Projects

Thats where I learned how to survive and craft a new way to live and under the most unusual set of circumstances. Most critics say that if you come from the hood that you can’t become successful. But I am your example
Fact: If you don’t separate yourself from distractions, your distractions will separate you from your goals.Trust the process, never give up!

I pray that someone sees this article and decides not to give up. I am telling my story for every individual just fighting to get an opportunity. My message is not just about me bc I was strong enough to to walk away from everyone that was plotting to hurt me and when I relocated to California I was patient enough to wait for the blessings that I deserved. In fact: I supported others until it was my turn.

As a Prominent Healthcare Provider, Songwriter, Playwright, Music Producer, an IMDb credential Flim/TV, Stage Actor a Film/TV Movie Executive Producer,and Published Author of the book titled The Turning Point, I made significant sacrifices and earned trust and respect from the general public.

In 2009, the deck was stacked against me, I fought like hell to knock down barriers to achieve higher goals and become successful. I struggled with the fact knowing that I had a purpose in my life. After 3 years of scrutiny while facing some undeniable disappointments & and adversity, I proved to myself that I was unstoppable. In 2010, I started a new journey in LA building from the ground up. I made an informed decision to relocate to California and surrender my burdens to God.Then I promised myself that no matter how hard it got, I would never give up on my dreams. I made myself unavailable for everything that wasn’t in alignment with my purpose to strive to the next level. The struggles were real, and yes, it taught me a valuable lesson, which made me so much smarter and wiser.

My faith in God showed me a new perspective on life. I’m not Bitter at anyone, simply because I was determined to stay focused and continue moving in the right direction. Then I became a “Better” Man. It showed me how to be grateful to those who have betrayed me. I’m talking about the ones who thought that they were just stabbing me in my back. The truth to the matter is that all they were doing was cutting me free from their poisonous life. The gossip and their reckless behaviors were irritating, and for that reason, I had no choice but to continue ignoring them & believing in myself.

Truth: when I forgive people. It doesn’t mean that I accept their behavior and trust them again. It just means I forgive them for me so I can move on to higher goals. So when I say that I’m blessed, I don’t mean having money or materlistic things. It simply means that I survived the situations that I had to go through, which was sent to destroy me or make me lose my mind. The only reason why I am still standing is because none of the bs they did to me came close enough to touch my soul. I trusted the process and used them as my stepping stool.

Some people think because they don’t support you, that it’ll hold you back…… Oh, but let me tell you the truth. God will put total strangers in your path to get you where you’re supposed to be. “Believe me,”I’m living. Proof that Team work make The Dream work. Blessed & highly Favored in My work Flow!

Most importantly, I am extremely honored and appreciative of being a proud member of The Unite California Medical Network by the LA County Department of Mental Health and Veteran Affairs. I also want to acknowledge LA County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, LA County Mayor Eric Garcetti, Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez, also my amazing team of Behavioral Health Professionals and the Veteran Peer Access Network (VPAN) including my behind the scenes team as my success is a result of your belief in me and commitment to making LA County community better for all people & their families members affected by Mental health problems.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

A great influence in my life growing up is my Beloved mother Mary V. Lewis who passed away on September 6, 2012. My mother death was painful for our entire family. After a long and emotionally wrenching struggle with stage 4 lung cancer and the setting of many of her health conditions played a significant part of my success in health care.

After coming back and forth to California since 2010 on December 12, 2012 I up and relocated to Los Angeles, CA. this is where I was force to live and survive from hitting rock bottom, this is where I live life to the fullest without any regrets. It’s where I learned the most, I can say now. I have experience and something to offer. December 27th 2012 is when I started my acting career with the help of my best friend actor “Stephane Solar from the Movie Midnight Warrior and Speak of the Devil. Stephane, transformed me from a health care professional to one of Hollywood’s newest upcoming actors and I never looked back.

For those of you who know me.. you know that my passion is to always give back and to build platforms for others to shine. My work has always and will always provide opportunity for the underprivileged, unsung talent in my community and beyond, making dreams come true. Now I want to use my past acting experience to inspire new upcoming actors and provide them with resources on how to jump start their acting careers by working closely with me and some of the people I have close ties too. Such as casting directors,, movie directors, executive producers, film makers and set production crew members .

“Surviving Tough Times” is a gripping story about (Me) a Memphis Healthcare Professional going through the hardships of life through abuse, addiction, heartache, death, & homelessness with a quest for redemption. Surviving Tough Times is a Film written by me Robert L Jamison.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.alternativehealthcarela.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/dr.rjai?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dr.rjamison?mibextid=ZbWKwL
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rljamisonphd?trk=contact-info
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@5starsmusicgroupconcertser110?si=mRByPmMfPCf22al–
• Other: www.5starsmusicgroup.com www.stage32.com/derjai https://m.imdb.com/name/nm7855246/

Image Credits
Photo Provided by Robert L Jamison