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Authors Posts by Richard Edley

Richard Edley

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Dr. Richard Edley is the lead executive for RCPA and is responsible for all aspects of operations and direction for the association. His professional career began in 1988 and most recently he was president and CEO of PerformCare/Community Behavioral HealthCare Network of Pennsylvania, Inc., a national, full-service, behavioral health managed care organization.

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Image by succo from Pixabay

Please join RCPA in supporting this important legislation.

Message from Michael Gamel-McCormick:

Senators Casey, Wyden and Schumer, along with Senators Murray, Duckworth, Brown and Hassan, and Representatives Dingell, Pallone, Schakowsky and Matsui will soon introduce the bicameral Better Care Better Jobs Act. The Better Care Better Jobs Act will make President Biden’s bold vision to expand home and community-based services (HCBS) infrastructure, a key component of the American Jobs Plan, a reality.

  • The one-pager and section-by-section can be found here.
  • The legislative text can be found here.

If your organization would like to be listed as a supporting organization of the bill, please email: josh_kramer@aging.senate.gov.

For questions about the policy, contact Liz Dervan, Keith Miller, Michael Gamel-McCormick, Tim Huebner, or Rick Van Buren.

We hope that your organization will support this transformative piece of legislation. Thank you.

Michael Gamel-McCormick
Disability Policy Director
Special Committee on Aging
Sen. Bob Casey, Chair

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RCPA Members are invited to attend this FREE webinar Thursday, June 17 at 1:00 pm EST offered by Beacon Health Options and Anthem. Register here.

As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, it is becoming more and more evident that it is taking a toll on our nation’s mental health and wellbeing. To learn more, Anthem Inc. and its affiliated health plans issued a report based on behavioral health claims analysis. The report’s broad takeaway is that there is a disconnect between self-reported distress and diagnoses in 2020, which could have implications for the nation’s long-term mental health.

Speakers:

  • Neil Leibowitz, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Behavioral Health
  • Cheryl Perkins, Chief Clinical Officer, Behavioral Health
  • Rowland Pearsall MD, Staff VP, National Behavioral Health Medical Director, Commercial Business Division
  • Shantanu Agrawal, MD, Chief Health Officer, Anthem, Inc., Moderator of the session

Join them for a virtual discussion on Thursday, June 17 at 1:00 pm EST as their expert behavioral health panelists provide insights about the findings of this inaugural report, State of the Nation’s Mental Health. The webinar will provide a national context to help healthcare organizations and other stakeholders make decisions at the local level. Attendees will learn about the populations most and least affected by the pandemic, the dominant diagnoses, and what these findings suggest we do to improve behavioral health services in post-pandemic years.

Register here today.

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RCPA’s Jim Sharp, Rep. Schlegel Culver, and Rep. Mehaffie received awards

HARRISBURG (June 9, 2021) — The Rehabilitation and Community Providers Association (RCPA) congratulates the recipients of the ABA in PA Initiative’s 2021 award recipients. The ABA in PA Initiative is a nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to changing the future for all children in Pennsylvania with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) by ensuring access to Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy via Medical Assistance. Each year, the organization recognizes several individuals who have gone above and beyond for the autism and special needs children’s community. The 2021 award recipients include distinguished legislative advocates as well as the director of RCPA’s Children’s Division.

The ABA in PA Initiative today recognized the following award recipients:

  • RCPA Children’s Division Director Jim Sharp received the Pioneer and Key Collaborator Award;
  • Representative Lynda Schlegel Culver (R–Northumberland) received the Advocate for Excellence Award; and
  • Representative Thomas L. Mehaffie III (R–Dauphin) received the Champion for Behavior Analysts of Pennsylvania Award.

You can view the full press release here.

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RCPA members are invited to join the next Member Update Webinar on Friday, June 25, 2021 from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm. We are pleased to offer a presentation on Cybersecurity in Health Care, sponsored by Lockton Companies. The presentation will provide members with a better understanding of the FBI’s perspective on nefarious cyber techniques and trends targeting the health care industry, and discuss how health care industry employers can streamline and improve the training and skills of their employees to protect the organization from cyber-attacks.

Cybersecurity in Health Care
In October 2020, the FBI warned that the US health care system is urgently vulnerable to cyber-attacks to an unprecedented magnitude. While COVID cases continue, the US health care sector saw a 71 percent increase in ransomware attacks in October, compared to September. At the same time, a 2020 study by Emsi, a national labor analytics firm, found that the demand for cybersecurity professionals is twice as great as the supply in the job market. Because of this shortage, the study recommends that employers focus time and money in training and promoting current employees within the organization to best protect the business from cyberattack.

Presenters include:

  • Paul Bingham, Associate Dean in the College of IT and Academic Program Director for the Western Governors University (WGU) cybersecurity degree
  • Cerena Coughlin, FBI Special Agent, Employment Recruiter and Applicant Coordinator for the Philadelphia Field Office
  • Al Wilson, Information Security Specialist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
  • Caroline Chapman, Assistant Vice President, Account Manager and member of the Cyber Technology Practice within Lockton Financial Services

Please register here to attend this webinar. We look forward to your participation!

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Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash

RCPA is pleased to announce that the Ability Network of Delaware (A.N.D.) will be joining our 2021 Annual Conference. This is in addition to our previous announcement that the Community Behavioral Health Association of Maryland (CBH) would also be part of the Conference. We are all working in conjunction with both of these organizations to develop a unique collective approach. Leading in 2021: Hope, Help, Heal is set to take place from September 28, 2021 through September 30, 2021.

We are currently working out details of this event, but it is assumed that it will be a primarily virtual event with concurrent planning for a hybrid event if possible. We are working to maximize some in-person conference events that will take place at the Hershey Lodge in Hershey, PA. More to come on that aspect of the event.

RCPA is excited to have this opportunity to work with A.N.D. as well as CBH. This will highlight our ability to share ideas and best practices across state borders and will further enhance the Conference experience for our members. Additional information will be made available as conference planning continues.

We look forward to your participation.

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RCPA would like to officially announce that Jack Phillips, RCPA Director of Government Relations, has accepted a new position as Director of Government Affairs at Novak Strategic Advisors in Harrisburg, PA. Jack will be continuing his work with RCPA while assuming this new role. In most ways, members should see no change; presence at division meetings, updates at general meetings, oversight of the government relations meetings/calls, and lobbying activities at the Capitol will continue as before.

What this does offer is an opportunity for Jack to expand his reach in Harrisburg, and he has worked closely with RCPA on this transition to make this as seamless as possible. RCPA will also have access to other resources at Novak as needed. Please offer your congratulations to Jack on this new endeavor.

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Pennsylvanians ages 16 and older who want a vaccine are urged to get one 
Harrisburg, PA – The Wolf administration, in coordination with the COVID-19 Vaccine Joint Task Force, announced today that mitigation orders except masking will be lifted on Memorial Day, Monday, May 31 at 12:01 AM.

The current order requiring Pennsylvanians to wear masks will be lifted when 70% of Pennsylvanians age 18 and older are fully vaccinated. Face coverings are required to be worn indoors and outdoors if you are away from your home. In accordance with the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance, fully vaccinated Pennsylvanians are not required to wear a mask during certain activities.

“We continue to make significant progress in the fight to stop the spread of COVID-19 and as more Pennsylvania adults get vaccinated and guidance from the CDC evolves, we can continue to move forward with our reopening efforts,” ​Department of Health Acting Secretary Alison Beam said. “I encourage Pennsylvanians to take the critical steps needed to put this pandemic behind us by getting vaccinated, follow through with both doses if you receive the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines, and continue to take steps like masking, frequent hand washing and sanitizing and social distancing.”

Requirements such as testing and reporting ​new cases will remain in place for hospitals and long-term care facilities. Maintaining requirements for hospitals and long-term care facilities wi​ll allow Pennsylvania to continue to closely monitor COVID-19 spread while lifting other restrictions.

The Department of Health recommends that Pennsylvanians refer to CDC guidance and recommendations regarding ongoing COVID-19 safety measures and procedures.

These updates will not prevent municipalities and school districts from ​continuing and implementing stricter mitigation efforts.

“With millions of Pennsylvanians getting vaccinated, it’s time to plan the transition back to normal,” said Sen. Art Haywood. “Hospitalizations and deaths are down. This action today is a key step forward.”

“While the restrictions that were put in place at the outset of the pandemic have been a major source of frustration for many Pennsylvanians and businesses, it is the collaborative work of this bipartisan Task Force that is allowing us to finally roll back the restrictions and get back to normal life,” said Sen. Ryan Aument.

“I’m thrilled after more than a year that we are able to lift these restrictions so that we can move to more normal life,” said Rep. Tim O’Neal. “This will help grow our economy and assist our small businesses that have sacrificed so much due to COVID-19. Thank you to Pennsylvanians who have chosen to be vaccinated. Your efforts have helped us arrive at today.”

“I am proud of the progress we have made with vaccinations throughout Pennsylvania,” said Rep. Bridget Kosierowski. “Lifting mitigation orders on Memorial Day and announcing that masking orders will be lifted once 70 percent of Pennsylvania’s adults are fully vaccinated are all benefits from following the scientific medical research and data. Many sacrifices had been made over the past year while we waited for help. The help is now here in the form of a vaccine and we must do everything we can to encourage everyone to receive their vaccination so we can overcome this pandemic. Let’s follow the science, because it’s the path to us all returning to normalcy.”

The governor’s Proclamation of Disaster Emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic remains in place.

All Pennsylvanians ages 16 and older are eligible to schedule a COVID-19 vaccine. The provider map is available on the Department of Health’s website. Pennsylvanians with questions about the vaccination process can call the Department of Health hotline at 1-877-724-3258.

More information is available on the COVID-19 Data Dashboard.

MEDIA CONTACT:  Barry Ciccocioppo

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Photo by Markus Winkler from Pexels

Dear Board Members:

In just a few hours, NatCon21 will officially kick off, uniting thousands of health care professionals online to learn, network and raise their voices. They will also witness an important moment in our history, one you helped shape through your leadership, feedback and support. On May 5, as we close NatCon21, we will officially announce our name change to the National Council for Mental Wellbeing.

As you know, a lot of time, research and consideration was put into selecting this name. We wanted one that holds true to our history, reflects our role, acknowledges change and honors the contributions of the hard-working members who are the foundation of the National Council. We believe we’ve found it. Our new name more aptly reflects the work we do, ensures greater inclusivity, helps us reach more people in new ways, and better articulates our impact and aspirations.

“Mental wellbeing” makes a powerful statement that summarizes our passion and purpose. It means thriving regardless of a mental health or substance use challenge. It represents resilience, strength and recovery. It’s a phrase that promotes the importance of preventive care and the need to increase access to life-saving services. And it’s a powerful reflection of who we are and what the proud members of this organization do daily.

Moving forward, with your ongoing support, we will own this phrase. We will embody it through our actions. We will build the narrative behind it. And we will commit to making mental wellbeing a reality for everyone, everywhere. That means ensuring equitable access to care, building capacity for mental health and substance use treatment organizations and continuously promoting mental wellbeing as a core component of health and health care.

We are excited to be on this journey with you, and we are grateful for your support as we welcome a new era at the National Council together. For new brand resources, please visit our webpage.

Regards,

Chuck Ingoglia
President and CEO
National Council for Mental Wellbeing
TheNationalCouncil.org

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