Advancing Public Policies for people with Mental Illness, Substance Use Disorder and/or Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities
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NYS Regional Planning Consortium (RPC) Releases Second Quarter Update
The Regional Planning Consortium (RPC) is proud to share its second " Quarterly Update Report," which highlights activities conducted by the rest-of-state RPC by region during April 1 - June 30, 2020. We would like to thank our more than 800 statewide stakeholders and various State Office partners for their continued participation in and commitment to the RPC.
The RPC is a network of 11 regional boards, community stakeholders, and Managed Care Organizations that work closely with State partners to guide behavioral health policy in the regions to problem-solve and develop lasting solutions to service delivery challenges. Visit www.clmhd.org/rpc for more information.
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New Emergency Mental Health and Addiction Clinic Provides Alternative to ECMC
Right before the pandemic began, Spectrum Health opened the Urgent Health Addictions Care Clinic on Main Street. Spectrum is also a certified community behavioral health center. As Associate CEO of Spectrum Health and Human Services Cindy Voelker explains, that allows them to do integrated services.
"So it's physical health, mental health and substance use, as well as in the community work and office work. And it reimburses us at a rate that we can afford to do that," Voelker said. "That's very different than our old traditional services. So that's something that we've been a part of, and in that model, that's how we came to build out the urgent mental health clinic."
That integrated model is something that has been discussed in the New York State Assembly the past year as something they could use in other parts of the state. It's the first of its kind in Erie County. Read more here.
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Some Alternative Payment Models Are Improving Behavioral Health
Alternative payment models (APMs) are taking steps to improve behavioral health, but the models need more to make large strides, according to a study from the University of Washington and Harvard Medical School. The study from published in JAMA Network Open last week detailed the findings of a literature review on 17 APM implementations in mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) care. The review found that APMs, which ranged from simple infrastructure payments to capitated reimbursements, were associated with improvements in process-of-care outcomes, reductions in mental health and SUD utilization, and decreases in spending.
However, information on whether the alternative payment models were effective at improving mental health and SUD clinical outcomes was largely missing from studies and other evaluations of the models. Read more here. |
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UPCOMING EVENTS & TRAININGS
Psychiatry Perspectives On COVID-19: Impact On Health Care Providers & First Responders And A Path Forward (Part 1 Of 2-Part Series)
August 11, 12 - 1 pm, PsychU
Transform to Teleservices: Part I-Expanding Access to Substance Use Disorder Treatment in Drug CourtsAugust 11, 1 - 2:30 pm, SAMHSA's GAINS Center
August 12, 2 - 3 pm, SAMHSA's GAINS Center
Using PSYCKES for CliniciansAugust 12, 1 - 2:30 pm, OMH
August 13, 12 - 1 pm, PsychU
PSYCKES Access and Implementation
August 18, 11 am - 12 pm, OMH
August 18, 1 - 2:30 pm, SAMHSA's GAINS Center
Addressing Justice System Inequities Head-OnAugust 18, 2 - 3:30 pm, Stepping Up Initiative
National Practice Guidelines for Peer Specialists and Supervisors August 25, 2 - 3 pm, Doors to Wellbeing
Using PSYCKES Recipient Search
August 27, 10 - 11 am, OMH
CIT ECHO: Sustained Mental Health Training and Consultation to Law Enforcement, First Responders and Behavioral Health Partners
August 27, 3 - 4 pm, SAMHSA's GAINS Center
Implementing a Peer Mentor Program: Strategies for Engaging Peer Recovery Support Specialists in Adult Treatment CourtsAugust 31, 12:30 - 2 pm, SAMHSA's GAINS Center
Enable Access to Client-Level Data in PSYCKESSeptember 1, 11 am - 12 pm, OMH
Creating a 'Connections Plan' to Reduce Social Isolation and Reduce Suicide RiskSeptember 2, 12 - 1 pm, NYS Suicide Prevention Coalition Academy
Using PSYCKES for Clinicians
September 10, 2:30 - 4 pm, OMH
Understanding and Addressing Criminal ThinkingSeptember 11, 2 - 3:30 pm, SAMHSA's GAINS Center
PSYCKES Mobile App for iPhones & iPads
September 15, 10 - 11 am, OMH
The Intersection of Farming Culture and Suicide PreventionSeptember 16, 12 - 1 pm, NYS Suicide Prevention Coalition Academy
September 23, 3 - 4 pm, OMH
Breaking Through to the Other Side: A Survivor's Story
September 30, 12 - 1:30 pm, NYS Suicide Prevention Coalition Academy |
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AUGUST 2020
Addiction Services & Recovery Committee (ASR) Meeting
August 13: 11 am - 12 pm, GTM
Children & Families Committee Meeting
August 18: 11:30 am - 1 pm, GTM
SEPTEMBER 2020
CLMHD Executive Committee Meeting
September 2: 8 am
Developmental Disabilities Committee Meeting September 3: 1 - 2:30 pm
Addiction Services & Recovery Committee (ASR) Meeting
September 13: 11 am - 12 pm, GTM
Children & Families Committee Meeting
September 18: 11:30 am - 1 pm, GTM
Contact CLMHD for all Call In and Go To Meeting (GTM) information, 518.462.9422
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CLMHD Youth Mental Health First Aid Instructor Training to be Held Virtually in 2020 - Deadline for Applications Extended
Due to the ongoing pandemic and mandated government restrictions, the Conference has made the decision to move this year's in-person Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) Instructor Training program to a VIRTUAL platform. Upon completion of this training, individuals will be certified to provide the 6-hour YMHFA training to their communities both in-person and virtually!
Interested parties may access the YMHFA training application by visiting the CLMHD website here. Once completed, the application should be sent to the county's Director of Community Services (DCS) to sign and complete the DCS Attestation, and then the application should be submitted via email to
This year, 32 applicants will be accepted to our program and we have scheduled two 3-day VIRTUAL training sessions***, with each session accommodating up to 16 trainees:
- Session 1: Monday, October 26 - Wednesday, October 28
- Session 2: Wednesday, November 4 - Friday, November 6
***Please be sure to indicate your availability for each session in the application - sessions will be assigned according to slot availability***
Candidates will be notified of their acceptance to the training by September 17, and will be sent a link to complete an official registration with the National Council. Additionally, trainees will be given a week to complete 8 hours of pre-course work prior to the 3-day session. For more information, click here.
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How DASH Helps Stabilize Addiction Crises on Long Island
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone had a message during a recent news briefing for residents feeling overwhelmed by substance use, mental illness, and/or other life stressors.
DASH, the New York Metro area's first crisis stabilization center, is there to ensure that anyone in need of addiction treatment has immediate access 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The $4.7 million New York State-funded Diagnostic, Assessment and Stabilization Hub in Hauppauge will provide assessment and referral services at any time - including counseling and medication-assisted-treatment for opioid withdrawal. This saves unnecessary hospitalization and emergency department visits, provides jail diversion services, and manages treatment of coexisting mental health and substance use disorders.
The program features a mobile response team of licensed professionals who come to you, will develop a safety plan, and if necessary, recommend outpatient services or a higher level of care. Read more here.
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HHS Awards Over $101 Million to Combat the Opioid Crisis
Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health and Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), awarded over $101 million to combat substance use disorders (SUD) and opioid use disorders (OUD). The awards support 116 organizations in 42 states and the District of Columbia, with many targeting high-risk rural communities.
HRSA's Federal Office of Rural Health Policy awarded $89 million to 89 rural organizations across 38 states as part of the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program-Implementation (RCORP-Implementation). Each RCORP-Implementation grant recipient will use the funding to enhance and expand service delivery for SUD and OUD in rural communities. Awardees will work with rural communities to implement a set of core SUD and OUD prevention, treatment and recovery activities grounded in evidence-based or promising practice models which can be tailored to communities' unique needs. Read more here.
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CMS Announces a Temporary Policy for Premium Reductions
Today, as part of the agency's efforts to facilitate the nation's response to the coronavirus disease 2019 ("COVID-19") public health emergency (PHE), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a policy that will allow issuers to offer temporary premium reductions for individuals with 2020 coverage in the individual and small group markets. CMS is providing this additional flexibility to help ensure that consumers struggling to pay their premiums can continue to be covered and receive the care they may need during this time. In light of the COVID-19 public health emergency, the Trump Administration is temporarily exercising enforcement discretion to allow issuers, when consistent with state law, to offer premium reductions for one or more months for 2020 coverage. This temporary policy will be in effect until the end of 2020. Issuers are generally prohibited under current federal requirements from changing premiums for health insurance coverage offered in the individual and small group markets after the start of the benefit year. Read more here. |
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Nasal Spray Approved for Treating Suicidal People
Johnson & Johnson's Spravato has been approved as the first antidepressant for actively suicidal people, as doctors are becoming increasingly concerned about COVID-19's effect on the mental health of Americans.
The Food and Drug Administration approval means the quick-acting nasal spray will be available to people with suicidal thoughts and a plan to put them into action, said Michelle Kramer, vice president of J&J's U.S. neuroscience medical affairs unit. That constitutes 11% to 12% of as many as 17 million Americans who have major depressive disorder. Spravato has been used by about 6,000 people for treatment-resistant depression since its approval in March 2019, Kramer said. J&J's decision to study it in depressed people actively contemplating suicide bucks a trend among drugmakers who routinely exclude such patients from trials. Additional articles of interest: Treating Suicidal Patients during COVID-19
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Using Telemedicine to Treat Opioid Addiction
Covid-19 has made life much harder for people with opioid addiction. But the response to the virus has also revealed a way forward that could radically expand effective treatment and reduce overdose deaths.
But the pandemic has made it possible to see a licensed provider from home, and that could make buprenorphine treatment available anywhere.
Michelle (she asked me to not use her family name) is 57, lives near Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and works from home as a customer service representative. Her computer allows her to live a good life - after eight years on heroin that followed many years on other drugs. Read more here.
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Many Psychiatric Units Went Offline During The Pandemic. Healthcare Workers Wonder If They'll Ever Return
In preparation for a surge of coronavirus patients in late March and early April, many New York hospitals repurposed their beds, reassigned personnel from different units, and put most of their other medical services on pause.
Meeting the demands of the pandemic was an all-hands-on-deck effort, so Irving Campbell, a nurse who usually treats psychiatric patients at Brooklyn Methodist Hospital in Park Slope, said he understood when the hospital opted to temporarily convert its two 25-bed psychiatric units into intensive care units. But with coronavirus cases down this summer and hospitals starting to reactivate other services, Campbell and his colleagues are still helping out on other units, rather than treating their usual patients. Read more here.
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BlueCross BlueShield of WNY: Transforming Treatment for Behavioral Health During a Pandemic
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