LSUHSC-NO BEHAVIOR INTERVENTION TEAM (BIT)
The LSUHSC-NO Behavior Intervention Team (BIT) provides caring, supportive, and early
intervention to current students, faculty, and staff.
BIT endeavors to identify and support individuals in distress to reduce an individual’s
risk, increase safety, and prevent violence.
Your voice can help to keep our LSUHSC community safer and support one another.
The BIT Team is a multidisciplinary team of professionals engaged in responding to
individuals who may need assistance and connecting them to resources.
The team includes members from Campus Police, CAP, Community & Behavioral Health,
Compliance, Disability Services, Human Resources, Psychiatry, and Title IX.
Frank Wasser (Chair)
Compliance & Privacy Officer
Rahn K. Bailey, MD
Chairman, Department of Psychiatry
Margaret Bishop-Baier, MD
Medical Director, Campus Assistance Program
Richard Blackman, III
Chief, Campus Police
Scott Embley
Director, Campus Assistance Program & Drug Testing Program
Jill Fragoso
Chief Human Resources Officer
Stephen Phillippi, Jr., PhD
Chair, Behavioral & Community Health Sciences
Director of the Institute for Public Health & Justice
Caesar Ruffin
Director of Campus Security
Leigh Smith-Vaniz
Director of Student Services & Title IX Coordinator
Janet Southerland, DDS, PhD, MPH
Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs
The Behavior Intervention Team (BIT) is a multidisciplinary team of professionals engaged in responding to individuals who may need assistance and connecting them to resources.
The purpose of the BIT is to provide caring, supportive, and early intervention to individuals whose behavior is disruptive or concerning. The BIT endeavors to identify and support individuals in distress to reduce the individual’s risk, increase safety, and prevent violence. The team addresses behavior with a nexus to campus (regardless of where it occurs) for current students, faculty, and staff. This holistic approach helps LSUHSC-NO campuses enhance safety, retain students, and promote an individual’s aptitude for success.
The team receives referrals and addresses concerns including, but not limited to, disruptive or concerning behaviors; difficulty accessing resources; academic distress; personal, emotional, and/or psychological difficulties; or potential harm to self or others.
Behaviors/experiences that should be reported:
| Bizarre/Disjointed Thoughts | Concerns of a Missing Individual | Cutting Behaviors |
| Depressed Appearance/Persistent Sadness/Unexplained Crying | Disheveled/Unkempt Appearance | Disturbed Eating Behaviors |
| Disturbing Written Materials/Discussion | Emotional Outbursts/Rage | Excessive Anxiety/Worry |
| Extreme Mood Swings | Excessive Tardiness/Lateness | Family Stress |
| Financial Stress | Food Insecurity | Housing Insecurity |
| Inappropriate Sleeping Behavior | Lethargy | Loneliness/Isolation |
| Obsessively Suspicious/Paranoid | Personal Loss | Property Damage |
| Suicidal Ideation | Suicide Attempt | Threatening/Violent Behavior |
| Visible Injuries |
Referrals shoud include specific and observable facts regarding an individual.
Submit an Individual of Concern Report Form.