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Mental Health

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The week of September 9–15 is recognized as National Suicide Prevention Week, with Monday, September 10 marking World Suicide Prevention Day. According to a recent CDC report (2018), suicide rates have increased across all age groups over the past two decades in almost every state, including Pennsylvania. As such, we need to work together to recognize the role each of us play in suicide prevention. It is our collective responsibility to address the stigma about suicide and help-seeking. We must educate about the warning signs and how to offer support to those that may be struggling. For our youth in particular, we must recognize that as caring adults, we can be one of the most significant protective factors. Yet, we must also model self-care and healthy coping during stressful times.

In Pennsylvania, we want to do our part to help schools and communities recognize the simple steps that can be taken to contribute to these efforts. Activities and events serve as a way to educate and connect individuals, including those who have been affected by suicide. A range of suicide prevention and awareness activities are scheduled throughout Pennsylvania, the nation, and the world during the month of September. A resource document is attached, which includes examples of activities that you can promote or implement in your school and/or community. A copy of this letter, which may be modified and disseminated within your own school and/or community, is also available here.

Media plays an important role in communicating messages of hope and in sharing resources for prevention. Social media campaigns such as Take 5 to Save Lives are a great way to share information within schools and communities, including information about warning signs, reaching out, and self-care. The #BeThe1To campaign, led by the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, encourages 5 action steps for communicating with someone who may be suicidal: ask, keep them safe, be there, help them connect, and follow-up. Consider promoting one of these campaigns or starting your own. Additional ideas, along with sample social media posts, are included in this resource document.

Thank you for the efforts you are putting forth to raise awareness for suicide prevention and mental wellness in your school and/or community, not only during the month of September, but every day #AAS365 #stopsuicide.

Contact Robena Spangler, RCPA Children’s Division Director, with questions.

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The Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) and Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) are holding the quarterly Statewide Positive Approaches & Practices Meeting on Thursday, September 27, 2018, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. The meeting will be held at Selinsgrove Center, 1000 Route 522, Selinsgrove, PA 17870.

Pre-registration is not required. Registration is from 9:00 am to 10:00 am the day of the meeting. The topic for this meeting is Managed Care. For more information, contact Marlinda Smith at 814-932-2233 or Heidi Champa.

Also scheduled is Pennsylvania’s Dual Diagnosis Conference, focused on building capacity to better support individuals with complex needs in the community. The theme is Broadening Understanding, Strengthening Support. The conference will be held Tuesday, November 13 – Thursday, November 15, 2018 at Blair County Convention Center in Altoona.

Keynote and Featured Speakers:

  • Brenda Finucane, MS – Geisinger Health Systems, Autism & Developmental Medicine Institute
  • Dan Dubovsky, MSW – Independent Contractor
  • Beth Barol, PhD – Widener University, School of Social Work
  • Matthew Wintersteen, PhD – Thomas Jefferson University, Department of Psychiatry & Human Behavior
  • Jim Donovan, MEd – St. Francis University

Session Topics Include:

  • Genetic Testing, Diagnosis, and Next Generation Treatment Approaches;
  • Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders;
  • Supporting the Supporters;
  • Suicide Prevention, Assessment, and Brief Intervention ;
  • Finding Solutions Together: Practical Assistive Technology and Tools; and
  • Behavioral Approaches: Functional Assessment and Intervention Planning.

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This year’s Suicide Prevention Conference is on Wednesday, September 12, 8:00 am – 4:30 pm at the Ambassador Hotel and Conference Center in Erie, PA.

The conference theme is First Responders. The keynote speaker, Govan Martin III, retired as a 29-year veteran of the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) in 2012. In his tenure with the PSP, Govan worked in patrol, crime, and the highlight of his career was becoming Manager of the Member Assistance Program (an internal Peer Support/Employee Assistance Program for the Pennsylvania State Police) in 2000. In 2010, Govan helped create legislation for Confidentiality for Law Enforcement Peer Support and Critical Incidents. Along with the FBI, he started the Annual Law Enforcement Employee Assistance/Peer Support Program Conference from 2006 through 2012 for State Police agencies across the country. He has been a keynote speaker for Suicide Prevention, Employee Assistance/Peer Support Programs, and CISM conferences across the country (e.g., American Association of Suicidology, International Employee Assistance Program Association, the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, etc.).

Currently, Govan is the Chair of the Board of Directors for Prevent Suicide PA and serves on the First Responder Committee for the American Association of Suicidology.

Govan lost his brother, Michael, in 1980.

Other speakers include:

  1. Mandy Fauble, PhD, LCSW – Safe Harbor Behavioral Health of UPMC Hamot
  2. Patty Puline, BS, Ed – SafeKids Erie/LECOM Health
  3. Dan Eaton, MSN, RN – Penn State Behrend College of Nursing
  4. Greg Purchase, LCSW and Bill Hollenbeck, MA – City of Erie Fire Department
  5. Ron Bryant, Deputy Warden, Mike Holman, Deputy Warden, and Stacey Petruso – Erie County Prison
  6. Chief Kelly – Cranberry Township EMS
  7. Kurt Hinkle – Retired Firefighter/Paramedic City of Phoenix Fire Department

For more information, please contact Nicole Moore or register at EventBrite.

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The Department of Human Services (DHS) proposes to add Chapters 1155 and 5240 relating to IBHS to Title 55 of the Pennsylvania Code. The proposed rulemaking is published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on August 4, 2018 and can be accessed here.

Written comments, suggestions, or objections regarding this proposed rulemaking may be submitted to the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) at the following address:

Attention: Tara Pride, Bureau of Policy, Planning and Program Development, Commonwealth Towers, 11th Floor, PO Box 2675, 303 Walnut Street, Harrisburg, PA 17105 or by email during the 30-day public comment period, which closes September 4, 2018.

The next RCPA BHRS/IBHS work group will be held on Wednesday, August 15. The work group will compile comments from discussions held over the past year and those offered by the members of the group. We are asking providers who choose to send comments into OMHSAS directly to also send a copy of your comments to Robena Spangler. This is our long-awaited opportunity to provide input into the regulations; we hope that all BHRS providers and ABA professionals are engaged. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at the email address above.

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Contact Tribune-Review

Editorial: Lend your feedback to the Pa. School Safety Task Force

RCPA is encouraging our members to take this opportunity to provide Governor Wolf and Auditor General Eugene DePasquale with input about what state officials and the mental health community should do to improve school safety. The task force, led by Governor Wolf and Auditor General DePasquale, is compiling a report due later this year.

The Task Force’s mission is to evaluate issues such as funding for school safety, access to physical and mental health support, effectiveness of state requirements for training and security, how well safety issues are reported, and whether precautions like anonymous tip tools are in place. The Pennsylvania School Safety Task Force was formed after the Feb. 14 shooting in Parkland, Florida.

Please use this link to submit feedback.

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In preparation for the launch of Community HealthChoices (CHC) in the Southeast region, this CHC Fact Sheet explains the delivery of service coordination through the program. Under CHC, service coordination is a function of the managed care organizations (MCOs). A service coordinator is the MCO’s designated, accountable point-of-contact for each participant receiving long-term care services, their person-centered service plan, and service coordination. Therefore, the Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) sees the service coordinators as part of the MCO under CHC.

In addition to the fact sheets, there are now short, easily digestible overview trainings on CHC that can be found here in order to increase stakeholder knowledge in anticipation of the Southeast rollout of the program.

To assist stakeholders in finding answers to questions more quickly, all FAQs have been consolidated into a single CHC Questions and Answers Document. The new document is in searchable PDF format and contains a table of contents that allows the user to easily move to different sections within the document.

The CHC Questions and Answers Document can be found on both the Participant and Provider sections of the CHC website by clicking on “View CHC Publications” or by following this link.

CONTACT: If you have any questions, please visit the CHC website or submit comments via email.

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Transformational Change Requires Transformational Leadership
National Council for Behavioral Health and MTM Services Webinar Series

The move to measurement-based care as well as the operational, clinical, and financial changes ahead for behavioral health providers require transformational leadership. Get equipped to be successful in this changing world — join David Lloyd, founder of MTM Services, in a two-part webinar where he will revisit his popular NatCon18 presentation, share his insights based on more than twenty-five years of implementing transformational change, and take questions from the audience.

About the Webinars
On Thursday, June 21 at 12:30 pm ET, David will address the biggest challenges facing today’s behavioral health care providers and how to assess an organization’s readiness for change, including strengths and areas of risk.

Then on Wednesday, July 11 at 12:30 pm ET, David will discuss tangible strategies for shifting to a sustained Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) -based change process, including appropriate roles for all team members.

Have a question about one of the topics? Submit your questions at the end of your registration and it will be addressed during the appropriate webinar session.

Register today.

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The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR) is hosting a two-day conference on Wednesday, July 18 & Thursday, July 19, that will provide participants with an opportunity to network and learn about the latest developments in the sexual assault movement. The conference will showcase how different parts of the field are tackling sexual violence. There will be a Prevention track; a track hosted by the PA Chapter of Children’s Advocacy Centers. Other topics include self-care and human trafficking.

Please follow this link for details about registration and contact information for PCAR.

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Please join our friends at the Pennsylvania Children and Youth Administrators (PCYA), an affiliate of the County Commissioners Association of PA, and the Pennsylvania Council on Children, Youth, and Family Services (PCCYFS) as they recognize the dedicated professionals and service providers who work to protect and provide services that support safety, well-being, and permanency for Pennsylvania’s children.

In light of the focus on the child welfare system in PA, RCPA Children’s Division will continue to provide additional advocacy and support of recommendations and activities that lead to comprehensive child welfare systems reform. RCPA children’s services providers are well-positioned to provide a diverse array of services that address child abuse prevention, intervention, trauma treatment, and when necessary, post-placement services.

For more information about the Providers’ Awareness Week and related activities, please contact Jennifer A. James at PCYA.

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On May 11, 2018, the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced a new federal rule that will allow VA doctors, nurses, and other health care providers to administer care to Veterans using telehealth, regardless of where in the United States the provider or Veteran is located. This includes across state lines and outside of a VA facility.

Previously, it was unclear whether VA providers could furnish care to Veterans in other states through telehealth because of licensing restrictions or state-specific telehealth laws. This new rule exercises federal preemption to override those state restrictions, paving the way for VA to expand care to Veterans using telehealth.

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