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Tags Posts tagged with "behavioral health"

behavioral health

Dr. John Petrila, a national expert on mental health law and policy and data sharing, is sharing some of his expansive knowledge on cross-systems data sharing with participants of the PA Stepping Up Technical Assistance Center via webinar on May 24. The PA Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) is pleased to pass along the opportunity to register for the presentation on this relevant and timely subject. The webinar will discuss how counties can work within their federal and state privacy laws to share data across criminal justice and behavioral health systems along the Stepping Up 4 key measures in order to understand the prevalence of mental illness in their jails.

PA TA Center Data Sharing Webinar

  • Date: May 24, 2022
  • Time: 11:00 am–12:00 pm
  • Registration Link
    • There is a text box to provide questions when you register – please type any questions you have on this subject! The presenter has specifically asked for questions so that he can tailor the presentation to be most helpful.

If you have further questions, please contact RCPA Policy Director Jim Sharp.

Due to feedback shared with the Department of Human Services (DHS) regarding the importance of providing behavioral health services in nursing facilities and making sure nursing facilities know how to access these services, DHS has developed a webinar entitled “Behavioral Health Services for the Nursing Facility Population.” The webinars, which all contain the same material being presented, is a joint effort with the DHS’ Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL), Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS), the Behavioral Health (BH) Managed Care Organizations (MCO), and the Community HealthChoices (CHC) MCOs, and it is being hosted by the Pennsylvania Health Care Association (PHCA). Other collaborative partners include the PA Department of Health and LeadingAge PA.

The webinars are as follows:

Tuesday, April 26, 2022
2:00 pm–3:30 pm
1.5 CEUs for SNF
Please register using this registration link.

Tuesday, May 3, 2022
2:00 pm–3:30 pm
1.5 CEUs for SNF
Please register using this registration link.

The first webinar was conducted on April 12, 2022. The webinars will be interactive and are meant for nursing facilities to have the opportunity to ask questions and begin dialogue on how to improve behavioral health services in their facilities. The webinars will also allow the BH-MCOs, the CHC-MCOs, and the nursing facilities to further collaborate on this issue. The webinars will be recorded.

Webinar Presenters:

  • Jamie Buchenauer, Deputy Secretary, OLTL, DHS
  • Kristen Houser, Deputy Secretary, OMHSAS, DHS (April 12 and April 26)
  • Adair, Medical Director/Chief Psychiatric Officer, OMHSAS, DHS (May 3)
  • Kellie Mainzer, Director Western Operations, Bureau of Community and Hospital Operations, OMHSAS, DHS
  • Marjorie Faish, Program Analyst 3, Bureau of Policy Development and Communications Management, OLTL, DHS
  • Duncan Bruce, Director of MCO Integration, Community Care Behavioral Health
  • Rachel Lee-Price, Manager, Behavioral Health Clinical Services, Beacon Health Options of Pennsylvania, Inc.
  • Joe DiMeo, Jr., Behavioral Health Coordinator for Community HealthChoices, Community Behavioral Health
  • Lauren Keane, Magellan Behavioral Health
  • Dan Eisenhauer, Director of Operations, PerformCARE (April 26 and May 3)
  • Brian Gannon, Manager Behavioral Health Programs, PerformCARE (April 12)
  • John McFarland, Director, MCO Integration, Relations & Policy, UPMC CHC
  • Heather Clarke, Director Care Management, Complex Needs and Behavioral Health, PA Health & Wellness (April 12 and May 3)
  • Oliva Martin, Director of LTSS, PA Health & Wellness (April 26)
  • Sara Reitenauer, Manager of LTSS Behavioral Health and Collaborative Services, Community HealthChoices, AmeriHealth Caritas CHC/Keystone First CHC
  • Dyann M. Roth, President and CEO, Inglis
  • Tara Winter, Nursing Home Administrator, Former Senior Center Executive Director, Chapel Manor Genesis HealthCare®
  • Jessica Peacock, Director of Recovery and Community Outreach, Peerstar, LLC
  • Stacy Williams, Social Service Supervisor, Kane Regional-Scott

Questions should be directed to Marjorie Faish, OLTL.

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Thursday, February 17, 2022, 3:00 pm–4:30 pm EST

Hosted by the National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors (NACBHDD) and Optum

Efforts nationwide to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are critical to advancing a more just and equitable society. However, the strategies and approaches to promoting equity can be drastically different given the organizations leading these efforts as well as the regional and cultural contexts in which they occur. Please join NACBHDD and Optum as we explore DEI efforts nationwide from state, local, and corporate partners. Our expert panel will also highlight timely resources to help your organizations promote similar efforts.

REGISTER

Cost: FREE

Speakers include:

  • Introductory remarks by Dan Ohler, Vice President, Public Sector Growth at Optum Health; Former Board Chair, NACBHDD
  • Moderated by Ron Manderscheid, PhD, former President and CEO, NACBHDD; Adjunct Professor at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, and the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, University of Southern California
  • Michelle Cabrera, Executive Director, County Behavioral Health Directors of California
  • Gilbert Gonzalez, Director, Bexar County Department of Behavioral and Mental Health
  • Graham McLaughlin, Vice President of Social Responsibility, Optum
  • Debra L. Wentz, Ph.D., President and CEO, New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies, Inc. (NJAMHAA)
  • Lynda Zeller, Senior Fellow, Behavioral Health, Michigan Health Endowment Fund; former Commissioner for Behavioral Health & Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Administration, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services

Panel Bios

Dan Ohler
Dan has over 25 years of experience working with state and local government in the behavioral health space, including being a past President for NACBHDD. Since joining Optum in 2014, he has worked with state and county government clients in the behavioral space. Dan has a master’s degree in business administration from Xavier University and a Bachelor of Science in business administration from West Liberty State College.

Ron Manderscheid, PhD,
Ron Manderscheid, PhD, is the former Executive Director of the National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors. Concurrently, he was Executive Director of the National Association for Rural Mental Health, Adjunct Professor at the Department of Mental Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, and Adjunct Professor, School of Social Work, University of Southern California. Dr. Manderscheid serves on the boards of the Cosmos Club, the Employee Assistance Research Foundation, the Danya Institute, the Council on Quality and Leadership, the NASMHPD Research Institute, and the National Register of Health Service Psychologists. Previously, he served as the Director of Mental Health and Substance Use Programs at the Global Health Sector of SRA International and in several federal leadership roles at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Throughout his career, he has emphasized and promoted peer and family concerns. He has also authored numerous scientific and professional publications on services to persons with mental illness and substance use conditions.

Michelle Cabrera
Michelle is the Executive Director of the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California, a statewide association representing the behavioral health directors from California’s 58 counties, in addition to the Tri-City (Pomona, Claremont, and La Verne) and City of Berkeley Mental Health Authorities. In addition to her current work, Ms. Cabrera has been appointed to the California Disability and Aging Community Living Advisory Committee and served as an appointed member of Governor Newsom’s Council of Regional Homeless Advisors. She graduated from Georgetown University with a Bachelor of Science degree in foreign service.

Gilbert Gonzalez
Gilbert has more than 30 years of experience in the fields of substance abuse and mental health, crisis prevention, and treatment provision. He currently serves as Director of the Department of Behavioral Health for Bexar County. Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Mr. Gonzales received his bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Trinity University.

Graham McLaughlin
Graham leads the health equity-focused social responsibility program for Optum, a global health services organization with over 175,000 staff members across 150 global offices serving 124 million individuals, 4 out of 5 US hospitals, over 200 health plans, and over 100,000 healthcare facilities. Prior to Optum, Graham launched and led the corporate responsibility program at The Advisory Board Company, a publicly traded health services firm, and has also been a management consultant for Fortune 500 organizations and a wilderness therapy instructor.  Graham graduated Summa Cum Laude from UNC-Chapel Hill with a dual degree in psychology and management.

Debra L. Wentz, PhD.
Debra L. Wentz, PhD, is the President and Chief Executive Officer of NJAMHAA and Executive Director of the New Jersey Mental Health Institute. Dr. Wentz holds numerous board and committee positions and appointments on the state and national levels, including several at the National Council for Mental Wellbeing. She currently serves as the Chair of the New Jersey Governor’s Council on Mental Health Stigma. Dr. Wentz earned a doctoral degree from University of Paris, Paris, France; a second PhD and MA degree from the University of Connecticut; and an executive MBA from the Alternative Careers Program of the Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania. She completed undergraduate work at Goucher College, Maryland. She is bilingual in French and English.

Lynda Zeller
Lynda is the Senior Fellow, Behavioral Health for the Michigan Health Endowment Fund. Prior to this role, she served for seven years as the deputy director for the Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. In this position, Lynda functioned as the State Authority for all community-based mental health, substance use disorder, and intellectual and developmental disabilities policies and services.

As the state’s primary contractor for Medicaid-funded behavioral health (BH) care services (HealthChoices), Allegheny County DHS is responsible for $420M in state-managed care funding to deliver behavioral health services to approximately 260,000 county residents through its contracted partnership with Community Care Behavioral Health.

Historically, as the primary contractor to the state for the HealthChoices program, DHS has delegated its oversight and monitoring functions for this program to Allegheny Health Choices, Inc. (AHCI), and AHCI has done tremendous work helping the county to meet state obligations over the years. Increasingly however, the county has determined that making a structural change to bring monitoring and oversight in-house can streamline those functions and further strengthen the HC program for Allegheny County.

For this reason, the county, together with DHS, has made the decision to transition HealthChoices oversight and monitoring functions from AHCI to DHS, with expected changes to occur in the first quarter of 2023.

See below for further information:

RCPA would like to thank Charles G. Curie, Principal, The Curie Group, LLC; Jennifer Black, Vice President of Business Development, Beacon Health Options; Michael Quinn, CEO, Chestnut Ridge Counseling Services; and Doyle Forrestal, Chief Executive Officer, Colorado Behavioral Healthcare Council, for presenting in Discussing Moving Beyond the Carve-out/Carve-in Debate webinar offered today. The materials from the presentation can be found here.

As a follow-up, RCPA will make available questions asked during the session along with corresponding answers/comments. Please submit any additional follow-up questions to Tina Miletic.

We thank you for your participation. Additional correspondence will be issued in the following week.

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Title: A Panel Discussion: Unpacking the Pediatric Behavioral Health Crisis and Key Steps to Address Short- and Long-Term Needs

Date: Thursday, January 27, 2022
11:00 am–12:00 pm EST

Registration: Attendees can register online for the event and add it to their calendar.

Description: Join us for a panel discussion highlighting aspects of the ongoing pediatric behavioral health crisis, seeking your input, and discussing a path forward for ways to better support children and families. As you likely know from your professional and/or personal experience, far too many children and youth across the country are unable to access timely, quality mental health care. What was a crisis before the pandemic has only worsened. According to the CDC, since March 2020, mental health visits have increased for children (ages 5–11) by 24% and youth (ages 12–17) by 31%. In the first half of 2021 alone, children’s hospitals reported cases of self-injury and suicide in ages 5–17 at a rate 45% higher than during the same timeframe in 2019.

This event will be recorded.

A national campaign, Sound the Alarm for Kids, is bringing together organizations calling on Congress to act now to prevent further unaddressed harm to our nation’s children. Every child in America should have the right to live up to their full potential. The mental health crisis is a national emergency – and we’re in the fight of our lives to end it.