Rina Bernandez
Rina Bernardez, MSW is originally from Honduras, Central America, and moved to the United States when she was a child. She is the Family Care Partner Lead at Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) for the new Child and Adolescent Mental Health Integration Program in Primary Care (CAMHI). She completed her Master’s in Social Work and training at Wheelock College in Boston. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Services from Lesley University, with a specialization in counseling and certified as a medical interpreter. She has worked in the field of health and human services for more than 15 years.
In her current role, Ms. Bernardez covers four CHA sites (Broadway Care Center, Malden Family Medicine, Revere Care Center, and Everett Care Center), providing support, coordinating services and engaging in systematic screening of children and adolescents for mental, behavioral and developmental health conditions including depression, unhealthy alcohol and drug use, using evidence-based screening forms and interventions. In addition, she leads training and onboarding for new CAMHI staff, provides mentorship to peers in a leadership capacity, and contributes significantly to program planning and development. . Her sophisticated approach to clinical coordination, evidence-based interventions, patient navigation, and advocacy for systems change on behalf of families serves as a model for her family care partner colleagues and for the program as a whole.
After completing her social work training, Ms. Bernardez joined CHA in 2015 as one of the first Mental Health Care Partners in Primary Care Behavioral Health Integration (PCBHI), based at the Broadway Care Center. In this role, she served as a liaison between patients, the primary care team, and the CHA community; and this optimized her communication, cultural humility and systems navigation skills. Ultimately, Rina’s leadership helped create specific strategies to support staff in their workflow for depression screening. She was recognized by CHA e-Beat for her work to help a Spanish-speaking patient get the help she needed to leave an abusive relationship.
Prior to joining Cambridge Health Alliance, Ms. Bernardez pioneered the breast oncology Patient Navigator role at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. While in this role, she worked with women at high risk or in treatment for breast cancer; and facilitated services to address their psychosocial stressors such as housing, education and nutritional needs influencing their medical outcomes. In addition to supporting this patient population, Rina proposed and initiated the first Spanish speaking support group for Latinas in treatment at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. While in completing her graduate degree, she worked as a Patient Access Representative for three years at Mass General Hospital
Ms. Bermardez is a driven, outspoken and tireless advocate for families, for social justice and human advancement. Her passion for equality inspires her work in integrated care to promote cultural awareness and improve the behavioral health experience for youth and their families. She incorporates these values into her clinical work and leadership activities, which are building a valuable new program for CHA.
