Advancing Public Policies for People with Mental Illness, Chemical Dependency or Developmental Disabilities
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GOW Opioid Task Force honored by NYS Association for Rural Health
The Genesee-Orleans-Wyoming Opioid Task Force has been selected as the Outstanding Rural Health Program of the Year by the New York State Association for Rural Health.
The award was announced at the organization's conference from Sept. 25-27 in Niagara Falls. T
he task force was recognized for its efforts in developing an emergency department screening process used at local hospitals. It helps to identify people using opioids, then connects patients with a Peer Advocate or Recovery Coach in addition to a referral for treatment. Read more here.
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After Prison, Healthy Lives Built On Access To Care And Community
NORTH CAROLINA - Justin Jones got hooked on prescription painkillers after he flipped his truck as a teenager, put his head through the windshield, and fractured his wrist and sternum. When doctors would no longer write prescriptions for him, he began buying-and selling-drugs on the streets of Durham and Hillsborough, North Carolina. His first arrests came before he turned twenty.
At first, he used prescription pills like the Oxycodone he knew, but when they were too scarce or expensive, he turned to heroin. At his peak, Jones says matter-of-factly, he was consuming about $2,000 worth of heroin a day and selling it to feed his addiction. He's lost count of how many times he's been in and out of prison but guesses that it's more than fifteen.
Each time he was released, Jones says, the same thing happened: He'd try to stop but would be using again within two weeks. "I would try to do better, but I didn't have a stable system, I didn't have insurance," he says. Without insurance, his access to doctors or treatment programs was greatly limited. Read more here.
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UPCOMING EVENTS & TRAININGS
Public Health Impact: Cannabis, E-cigarettes and Vaping
October 17, 9 am - 4 pm,
In-Person Workshop
Drug Checking's role in the opioid epidemicCatalyzing Medicaid-Public Health Collaboration to Achieve Mutual Prevention Goals: Lessons from CDC's 6|18 Initiative
October 17, 2 - 3 pm, Center for Health Care Strategies, Inc.
Enable Access to Client-Level Data in PSYCKES
October 17, 3 - 4 pm, OMH
Tackling Opioid Addiction: A Case Study With Shatterproof & Kolmac Clinic
October 22, 12 - 1 pm, PsychU
PSYCKES Mobile App for iPhones & iPads
October 22, 1 - 2 pm, OMH
Using PSYCKES Quality Indicator Reports
October 30, 11 am - 12 pm, OMH
What Matters Most in Driving Cross-Sector Partnerships for Complex Populations
November 5, 3 - 4 pm, National Center for Complex Health and Social Needs
innovaTel - Telepsychiatry: A Year in Review and Beyond and What's to Come in 2020
November 6, 1 - 1:30 pm, National Council for Behavioral Health
A Framework for Evaluating the Return on Investment of Telehealth
November 6, 1 - 2 pm, Manatt Health |
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CLMHD Office Closed - Columbus Day
October 14
CLMHD Children & Families Committee Meeting
October 15: 11:30 am - 1 pm, GTM
CLMHD BH Portal Webinar: Other Resources - The Opportunity Atlas/ Index
October 23: 12 - 12:30 pm, GTM
CLMHD State Agency Day
October 30: 9:30 am - 4 pm, IN-PERSON - Albany
Contact CLMHD for all Call In and Go To Meeting information, 518.462.9422
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CLMHD Tours BestSelf Recovery Community in Erie County with the NYS Assembly Majority Leader
Pictured from left: Michael Ranney, CRC-R LMHC, DCS, Erie County; Courtney David, CLMHD Director of Governmental Relations; Dr. Howard Hitzel, President/ CEO BestSelf Behavioral Health, Inc.; Honorable Crystal Peoples-Stokes; Laura Kelemen, LCSW-R, DCS, Niagara County; Kelly Hansen, CLMHD Executive Director
This week, CLMHD had the privilege to discuss at length with the NYS Assembly Majority Leader the Conference's Executive Budget and Legislative priorities for 2020 and participate in tours of Erie County's BestSelf Recovery Community and the new Lockport Recovery Center in Niagara County.
DCSs, Michael Ranney and Laura Kelemen, provided a fantastic overview from the County Mental Health Commissioners' perspective on the behavioral health system of care and community outreach efforts in place to assist homeless individuals struggling with serious mental illness and addiction, as well as the critical need for increased State Aid funding to support jail-based SUD treatment and transition services in all county correctional facilities.
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Rensselaer County Launches "ER Anywhere" App for Medicaid Patients
Rensselaer County has teamed up with an Albany health insurer and local telemedicine company to provide virtual emergency medical care to its Medicaid population.
Nearly 15,000 residents around the county who receive Medicaid coverage through CDPHP will now have access to a virtual ER service offered by United Concierge Medicine, a Troy company that does business nationwide.
The service, which allows users to connect with an emergency medicine doctor at the click of a button, was designed to reduce the number of unnecessary emergency room visits by giving people access to care and consultation in the home. Read more
here
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New York's Ballooning Medicaid Cost Stems from Poor Budgeting: Watchdog
The rising cost of New York's Medicaid program is tied to poor budgeting, according to two new reports released Wednesday.
Spending totals for New York's program has historically outranked other states, even exceeding the national average.
The Cuomo administration implemented an inflation-based cap on program spending in 2011, which both reports acknowledge to have been effective. But, they also note in 2016, efforts to control costs trended downward overall enrollment plateaued, and individual enrollee costs ballooned. Read more
here.
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MHANYS NYS Mental Health Education Readiness Guide Now Available
The School Mental Health Resource and Training Center has developed assessment tools for educators, administrators and student support services staff to evaluate existing curriculum content in health and other subject areas, as well as school and/or district-wide awareness initiatives that promote a better understanding of student mental health and wellness. To access the guide and tools, click
here.
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National Effort to Address Therapy Quality for Adoptees Reaches New York
Adoptees can face a unique struggle with grief, loss and identity - contrary to how they are often depicted in films like "Annie" or "Superman." But most graduate programs in counseling and therapy rarely explore the issue, or the complexities of the child welfare system, leaving adoptive families nationwide to struggle alone.
An ambitious new program launching in New York aims to address that, the Adoptive and Foster Family Coalition of New York (AFCCNY) announced in an e-mail blast to its members this week.
A Maryland nonprofit called the Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.) developed the Training for Adoption Competency (TAC) program, rolling out in New York this year. It's a rigorous, 11-month post-graduate training program for mental health professionals. Read more
here.
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Allscripts, Northwell Health to Co-Develop New AI-Powered EHR
Northwell Health and Allscripts have inked a new deal under which they'll work to jointly build what they're calling a next-generation electronic health record.
Together, the Long Island-based health system and technology vendor will design, build and test a new artificial intelligence-based, cloud-hosted, voice-enabled EHR, theys say - with close input along the way from clinicians.
Northwell's own IT team and administrators will also work on the project, which Northwell aims to eventually implement across the enterprise.
Allscripts will focus on the systems integration of the new EHR, which will be designed with optimal physician and patient experience as a key goal.
In the meantime, it will continue to support its Sunrise inpatient platform, currently deployed across 19 Northwell hospitals, and Touchworks ambulatory system at 750 outpatient practices across New York. Read more
here.
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For I/DD, The Action Is At The State Level
In our recent review of the field, The 2019 OPEN MINDS National Innovation Survey: 2019 Innovation Adoption Among Specialty Provider Organizations found that new innovations among providers of intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD) services were focused on telehealth use and medication adherence programs. And, this group reported an 18% increase in establishing "center of excellence" contracts with payers.
What new approaches has the market adopted to meet the needs of the I/DD community? It turns out that in 2019, states have been extremely busy adjusting their approaches to serving this population.
Indiana - Following a new state law in Indiana, the state is now developing a series of new programs for consumers with I/DD, including the development of a new statewide crisis assistance system program; the creation of job placement services for individuals with I/DD; and changes to Indiana First Steps program to make it easier for individuals to enter and stay in the program.
Illinois - In Illinois, the Department of Human Services (IDHS) is ramping up to launch new independent service coordination (ISC) contracts (valued at $40 million) with eight provider organizations that will serve as the primary regional connection between consumer of I/DD services and the IDHS Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD). Read more
here.
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