2021 Health Care Champions Administrator: Angela King

Psychologists are known as good listeners, and Angela King’s ears are particularly in tune with the needs of her community. As a licensed clinical psychologist, she provides a comprehensive perspective as vice president of outpatient services and executive vice president of operations at Burrell Behavioral Health. Empathy and compassion are more than just an occupation to King. It’s a lifestyle.

“The skills of listening and expressing openness and empathy are skills I often use both in and out of work,” King says. “My advocacy for underserved and marginalized populations does not stop when I leave my job. It is important to me to try to remove the stigma around behavioral health by having open conversations and showing support and acceptance.”

In the past fiscal year, King says patient reach at Burrell has increased by 32% and access time by 19%. For that progress, she cites the creation of Burrell’s Connection Centers that provide walk-in and same-day care, and she says establishing the resource is her most proud accomplishment.

“Over the past few years, we have made many exciting developments in these areas in order to ensure that our clients have access to our services at the moment they need them,” she says. “Making the decision to get help can be a very difficult decision, and we are constantly striving to improve our access services and wait times to ensure we are able to engage those individuals the moment they reach out.”

King began her career as a clinical psychologist at Midwest Assessment and Psychotherapy Solutions PC, also serving as director of operations through 2018. She also worked as regional training director for the National Psychology Training Consortium, 2013-17, and continues as project manager for a consortium grant that supports doctoral interns. King has worked at Burrell since 2018 and, though many of her duties are administrative, she holds active licensure as a clinical psychologist.

“I feel privileged to work on projects that help to improve the behavioral health services within our community and am proud to serve as an advocate for underserved, marginalized populations,” she says.

King was involved in orchestrating Burrell’s COVID Response Workgroup, handled crisis debriefing following the Branson Ride the Ducks fatal boat sinking in 2018 and provided programming to better equip emergency departments when screening patients in a behavioral crisis. She’s also worked on Burrell’s RecoverED eating disorder treatment program and its Our Networks Engaged Initiative.

“That’s what drives me. Being able to serve more clients, improve our access times and see positive outcomes as a result of the services we offer is incredibly rewarding to me,” King says. “I am passionate about increasing access to care and helping to reduce the stigma around behavioral health services. I recognize how difficult it can be to make the decision to seek help and I see it as an honor when someone chooses to receive services at Burrell.”