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Mental Health

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Photo by Larry Crayton on Unsplash

Family-Centered Care: One Organization’s Revolutionary Approach to Include Families in All Aspects of Care

Monday, April 20, 2026
11:00 am – 12:00 pm EDT; 10:00 am – 11:00 am CDT;
9:00 am – 10:00 am MDT; 8:00 am – 9:00 am PDT 
Register Here

Donna Provenzano, Director of Family-Centered Care

Donna Provenzano is the Director of Family-Centered Care at Children’s Specialized Hospital. She has thirty-nine years of experience in working with children, adolescents, young adults, and their families at Children’s Specialized. Donna serves on several hospital leadership committees and councils and provides administrative and operational management of Family-Centered Care and Volunteers. She supervises and partners with Family Faculty staff and coordinates with the Family Advisory Council. Donna has presented both nationally and internationally on Patient- and Family-Centered Care. Under Donna’s leadership, her department received the IPFCC Family-Centered Care Partnership Award for Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) in 2022. Donna has received additional leadership certifications from the Harvard Business School. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Therapeutic Recreation from Ithaca College.

Linda Waddell, Family Faculty Manager

Linda Waddell is the Family Faculty Manager at Children’s Specialized Hospital. She has been employed at the hospital as a Family Faculty since June of 2008 and a member of the Children’s Specialized Hospital’s Family Advisory Council since 2014. On behalf of the hospital, Linda has presented with her team on Patient- and Family-Centered Care at regional, national, and international conferences. Most recently, Linda was a member of a panel that presented at the 2024 RISE Summit “Addressing Social Determinants of Health (SDOH): A Look into Children’s Specialized Hospital’s Program in NJ and Beyond.” Linda participates in various hospital committees and is also a member of the IPRC Steering Committee, where she provides a family member’s perspective for discussions and decision-making.

Linda was the 2019 recipient of the Lester Z. Lieberman Humanism in Healthcare Award and received the IPFCC 30th Anniversary 2022 Partnership Award on Social Determinants of Health. Linda received her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from Kean University. Linda’s first experience with Children’s Specialized Hospital began in 1999, receiving multiple services for her newborn, medically fragile baby. She became an expert in the experience of pediatric rehabilitation through caring for her daughter with medical complications.

Family Faculty at Children’s Specialized Hospital are paid positions held by parents and family members whose children have received or are still receiving services at Children’s Specialized Hospital Inpatient, Outpatient, or Long-Term Care sites. Their own day-to-day experiences provide a unique perspective, understanding, and empathy for families going through similar situations. Family Faculty partner with staff and families to build a respectful and understanding relationship by listening, providing insights, and encouraging positive communication between staff and families.

Objectives: At the end of this session, the learner will identify strategies to:

  • Embed Patient- and Family-Centered Care into your organization;
  • Cultivate respectful partnerships and collaboration with leadership, staff, and families;
  • Include families in education and training of staff at all levels; and
  • Engage families and staff in creating valuable resources.

Audience: This webinar is intended for all interested members of the rehabilitation team.

Level: Beginner-Intermediate

Certificate of Attendance: Certificates of attendance are available for all attendees. No CEs are provided for this course.

Complimentary webinars are a benefit of membership in IPRC/RCPA. Registration fee for non-members is $179. Not a member yet? Consider joining today.

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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the final rule that implements requirements of the Administrative Simplification subtitle of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, enacted on March 30, 2010.

Specifically, this final rule adopts standards for health care claims attachments transactions, which will support health care claims transactions and a standard for electronic signatures to be used in conjunction with health care claims attachments transactions.

The final rule will slash wasteful spending and antiquated paperwork by swapping out faxing and mailing for streamlined electronic transactions. This action lets providers spend less time on administrative hassle and more time caring for patients and is projected to save the healthcare industry approximately $781 million on an annual basis.

The final rule will be published in tomorrow’s (March 24, 2026) Federal Register and will become effective on May 19, 2026. Covered entities must comply by May 19, 2028.

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The Mental Health Safety Net (MHSN) Coalition is a group of stakeholders participating in a joint advocacy effort to protect and preserve our mental health service delivery system. The Coalition’s first advocacy bulletin discusses the critical areas of funding for the FY 2026/27 budget, including community mental health, school-based services, crisis intervention services, Behavioral HealthChoices programs, and impacts associated with the implementation of H.R. 1.

The full letter can be read here.

RCPA invites all members, non-members, and systems-wide behavioral health stakeholders to participate in the Mental Health Safety Net Coalition meetings that will be occurring throughout the budget season. These meetings will serve to update the group on strategy, activities, and engagement opportunities.

Also note that the Mental Health Safety Net Coalition will also be participating in the RCPA Capitol Day on Wednesday March 25, 2026, with the event starting at 10:00 am in the Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg.

Please contact Emma Sharp with any questions or if you would like to join the Coalition.

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The Pennsylvania Department of Education, Bureau of Special Education, is pleased to announce the following training opportunity: From Questions to Confidence: Connecting Students and Families to Benefits Counseling. As students with disabilities plan for life after high school, questions about how employment impacts public benefits can create uncertainty and hesitation for students and their families. Benefits counseling plays a critical role in helping individuals understand how work, earnings, and career advancement interact with benefits such as SSI, SSDI, Medicaid, and related programs, supporting informed decision-making and reducing fear around employment. This session will combine a brief foundational presentation with a panel discussion featuring educators and partners who have implemented strategies to connect students and families to benefits counseling in their schools and communities.

Audience:
Special Educators, Transition Coordinators, School Counselors, School Psychologists, Related Service Providers, Administrators, Rehabilitation counselors or professionals working in vocational rehabilitation/transition

Registration Information:
You may register online at PaTTAN’s website.

For content-related information and questions, please contact Hillary Mangis via email or at 412-826-6878.

For general registration information and questions, please contact Roanne Bush via email or at 412-826-6829.

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Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash

As RCPA continues to serve our members’ needs across the behavioral health service continuum, we will be convening an Adult Mental Health Residential Work Group. This committee will be structured and function in a similar manner to our other work groups, with the goal being to address the outlying barriers providers face within the residential services arena.

RCPA is at its best with committed partnership and collaboration; therefore, the committee will be open to all RCPA members. We will tentatively have our first meeting in late April or early May, after we develop our participant list. The early work will include the development of a strategic agenda that begins to address the challenges related to regulations, workforce, program sustainability, and operations.

If you are interested in participating, please contact RCPA COO and Mental Health Policy Director Jim Sharp via email.

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Upcoming Webinar from Our Member, Qualifacts

Data That Drives Growth: A Long-Term EHR Strategy Built for Scale
Date: Monday, March 30, 2026
Time: 12:00 pm CST
Featuring: KindMind Behavioral Health & Qualifacts

Register Here

Scaling a behavioral health organization requires more than adding clinicians or opening new locations. It requires operational consistency, visibility, and systems that can support growth as complexity increases.

In this session, hear directly from Michael Nadhir, CEO of KindMind Behavioral Health, as he shares his experience growing a small, single-service practice into a multi‑location behavioral health organization. Through a candid conversation, Michael will walk through the key decisions that shaped KindMind’s growth journey, including the shift away from manual processes and the creation of an operational foundation designed to support long-term expansion.

Michael will be joined by Ashley Denney, Vice President of Product Management at Qualifacts, who brings a product leadership perspective that helps frame the discussion and connect real-world operational challenges to the technology strategy required to scale with confidence.

Rather than focusing on software features, this webinar centers on the business realities of growth, including maintaining consistent workflows across locations, preserving operational control as organizations evolve, and aligning technology decisions with long-term goals.

Designed for behavioral health leaders and operators, this session offers a practical, experience-driven look at what it takes to build a scalable organization prepared for what’s next.

In this webinar, we will:

  • Explore the operational challenges that emerge as behavioral health organizations grow across locations
  • Discuss how consistent workflows and visibility support sustainable expansion
  • Examine the role of long-term EHR strategy in maintaining control as complexity increases
  • Share lessons learned from a real-world growth journey, grounded in business and operational experience

Featured Speakers

  • Michael Nadhir | CEO, KindMind Behavioral Health
  • Ashley Denney | Vice President, Product Management, Qualifacts
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