Our Experts
Back to all ExpertsErin Booker, LPC
Chief Bio-Psycho-Social Officer
Expertise & Research Interests
- Behavioral Health
- Community Health
- Strategic Collaborations
- Community Education
- Community Partnerships
- Community Medicine
- Social Care
Education
- M.S., Mental Health Counseling, Nova Southeastern University
- B.A., Social Work, Utica College of Syracuse University
Erin Booker, LPC
Chief Bio-Psycho-Social Officer
Erin Booker, LPC, is the Chief Bio-Psycho-Social Officer. In this role, Booker is responsible for developing strategic community partnerships, creating and implementing a portfolio of innovative programs and evidence-based initiatives to advance the health of the community, and overseeing ChristianaCare community benefit activities.
With the Office of Health Equity, she works to implement population health strategies to reduce the incidence of disease and improve health outcomes, advance prevention, respond to ChristianaCare Community Health Needs Assessment priority areas, and address the social determinants of health and health disparities, including a focus on infant mortality.
Booker is a Licensed Professional Counselor, with a special focus on trauma and recovery.
Multimedia
Experience
How ChristianaCare Overhauled its Behavioral Health Referral Process
What’s more likely, the stakeholders found, is the patient will become frustrated with the process and leave before getting treatment. And it’s that very outcome that’s hampers overall patient wellness in various Medicaid populations across the country.
The Medicaid Transformation Project, launched two years ago by former CMS head Andy Slavitt and health tech firm AVIA, sought to change that and other healthcare problems. The project aims to address the most pressing social health needs for vulnerable patient populations, beginning with the Medicaid population.
New Castle County Police, ChristianaCare pair up for Behavioral Health Unit
Six caregivers: a mental health professional, two case managers, a license clinician, a registered nurse, and a child victim advocate will begin teaming up with NCCPD this fall.
Their lead tasks will be centered on aiding the mental health and substance abuse disorder issues in the county, according to ChristianaCare Vice President Erin Booker.
"The police department has seen increased calls for psychiatric crisis needs, so this really arms them with more support to go out and give the community really what they need and get them connected into treatment and ensure that their mental health and substance use disorder needs are being met."
Booker said these issues have come into the forefront as pandemic-related restrictions continue to affect people in all aspects of their lives.
"We know that in COVID there has been a significant increase with depression and anxiety. We've seen increases in overdoses. We know there is a very large impact because of isolated, and these types of diseases become exacerbated in isolation."
ChristianaCare takes opioid crisis response to the homefront
ChristianaCare was already working to get overdose patients into treatment through its emergency department program Project Engage. But Booker says there were still gaps in care.
“So this program was specifically designed to be that next step for the patients who say no, because very often they’re just not in the place in the ED to say yes," said Booker. "They’ve just had an overdose. They’re certainly not feeling well and they leave.”