White House Hopes New Funding Will Deter Clearing Homeless Encampments
As cities and states increasingly respond to unsheltered homelessness with encampment sweeps and laws criminalizing outdoor sleeping, the Department of Housing and Urban Development is pushing communities to invest in other solutions.
HUD announced a package of funding on Wednesday designed to shrink the unsheltered homelessness population in the US by directing assistance to those who sleep outside, in their cars, or in other places not meant for habitation. It includes $43 million worth of housing choice vouchers, which provide recipients with permanent subsidized housing, and $322 million in Continuum of Care homelessness grants. Read more here. |
Healthcare Providers, Advocacy Groups Call for Action at AG James' Mental Health Crisis Hearing
State Attorney General Letitia James and her office heard appeals Wednesday from a litany of health care advocates urging greater action to tackle severe mental illness across the state.
“There is no doubt that New York is in the midst of a mental health crisis that has only worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Attorney General James prior to the hearing. “For decades, New York has seen a decline of short-term inpatient psychiatric beds, which are critical to providing consistent and thorough mental health care in our communities. Read more here.
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Governor Hochul Announces Award of Nearly $3.5 Million to Develop Integrated Outpatient Treatment Programs
Governor Kathy Hochul on Tuesday announced the award of $3,446,865 to 14 addiction treatment providers throughout New York State, which will allow them to develop Comprehensive Integrated Outpatient Treatment Programs. These programs will make it easier for New Yorkers seeking treatment for a substance use disorder to access multiple services in one location.
"Ensuring access to necessary treatment for addiction is an important, ongoing goal of my administration," Governor Hochul said. Read more here. |
HHS Announces Availability of $10 Million for Rural Communities to Expand Treatment in Response to Surging Fentanyl and Other Opioid Overdoses
On June 17, in support of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Overdose Prevention Strategy, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced the availability of $10 million in substance misuse grant funding through the HRSA Rural Communities Opioid Response Program.
Rural communities are on the frontline of the surge in synthetic opioid overdoses, including fentanyl and fentanyl-laced drug overdoses. This funding will help rural communities establish new treatment access points to connect individuals to medication to treat opioid use. Read more here. |
Developing and Strengthening Partnerships with Police, Fire, and EMS: A Q&A with the CAHOOTS Program
As communities are increasingly searching for ways to expand their first response options beyond police officers, fire department staff, and emergency medical services (EMS) personnel, community responder programs—which can be used to provide immediate assistance to people in crisis—are growing in popularity. These programs position health professionals and trained crisis staff as first responders to behavioral health crises and social disturbances, facilitating connections to support services, conducting wellness checks, and more. To support these efforts, The CSG Justice Center and Vital Strategies launched a groundbreaking toolkit, Expanding First Response: A Toolkit for Community Responder Programs, and connected with several programs across the country to learn from their successes and their challenges. Read more here. |
How Social IPAs Can Help Payers Deliver on Social Determinants
As payers and other stakeholders attempt to address the social determinants of health (SDOH), one question, with many answers, remains: how?
Beyond identifying and prioritizing need, allocating investments, and demonstrating ROI, there is the challenge of creating an entirely new infrastructure of contracting, "claims," and reimbursement that involves community-based organizations (CBOs).
In New York, Healthy Alliance is leading these innovations. It has created one of the first social independent practice associations (social IPA) in the nation, taking the traditional IPA model—i.e., allowing independent providers to share resources and gain collective contracting power with payers—and applying it to CBOs instead of medical providers. Read more here. |
Building a Successful Community Information Exchange for SDOH Data
As healthcare organizations look towards community information exchange (CIE) to address social determinants of health (SDOH), community governance and relationship-building are essential, according to officials of HealthierHere, a nonprofit collaborative based in King County, Washington.
HealthierHere comprises over 150 organizations, including hospitals, health systems, community-based organizations, behavioral health providers, federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), social service agencies, tribal organizations, managed care organizations, and government foundations. Read more here.
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6% of Behavioral Health Facilities Use EHRs, Incentives and Guidances Could Move the Dial
When it comes to electronic health records utilization the behavioral health industry is lagging behind physical health facilities. In fact, only 6% of behavioral health facilities and 29% of substance use disorder treatment centers use electronic health records (EHRs). That’s according to a new report from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC), a non-partisan legislative branch research agency. Meanwhile EHR utilization is more than 80% among hospitals. Read more here. |
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‘Untreated’: Patients with Opioid Addiction Could Soon Lose Access to Virtual Care
Thousands of patients turning to online help for opioid addiction could soon lose access to life-saving services that rapidly expanded during the pandemic — even as opioid deaths reach record levels.
A new crop of startups boomed when regulations eased in 2020, allowing patients to see medical practitioners from their homes and skip the in-person visits normally required to get a prescription for buprenorphine, a drug used to treat opioid dependence. Read more here. |
UPCOMING EVENTS & TRAININGS
June 23, 1 - 2:30 pm, CMS
June 23, 2 - 3 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
June 23, 3 - 4 pm, Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts
June 24, 2 - 3 pm, CCHP
June 27, 1:30 - 2:30 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
June 27, 3 - 4:30 pm, SAMHSA's GAINS Center
June 27, 4 - 5 pm, PCSS
June 29, 2:30 - 3:30 pm, HHRC
June 29, 3 - 4 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
June 30, 1:30 - 3 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
July 6, 2 - 3 pm, HHRC
July 7, 1:30 - 2:30 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
July 12, 11 am - 12 pm, OMH
July 13, 10 - 11 am, OMH
July 13, 12 - 1 pm, 2022 SPCNY Suicide Prevention Coalition Academy
July 15, 2 - 3 pm, HHRC
July 18, 10:30 am - 12 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
July 19, 10 - 11 am, OMH
July 20, 10 - 11 am, OMH
July 28, 1 - 2:30 pm, OMH
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CLMHD CALENDAR
JULY
CLMHD Office Closed - Independence Day
July 4
CLMHD Membership Call
July 6: 9 - 10:30 am
Quarterly LGU Billing Staff Call
July 7: 2 - 3 pm
OASAS Agency Day
July 11: 9:30 - 11:30 am
OMH Agency Day
July 12: 9:30 - 11:30 am
OPWDD Agency Day
July 13: 9:30 - 11:30 am
Addiction Services & Recovery Committee Meeting
July 14: 11 am - 12 pm
Mental Health Committee Meeting
July 14: 3 - 4 pm
Children & Families Committee Meeting
July 19: 11:30 am - 1 pm
LGU Clinic Operators Meeting
July 26: 10 - 11:30 am
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