Decreasing inappropriate use of opioids and supporting evidence-based tools to fight the opioid epidemic, boosting integrated mental health treatment and Mental Health First Aid training for police are among the themes of this year’s National Council for Behavioral Health Awards of Excellence.
Last night, at a gala celebration outside the nation’s capital, the National Council for Behavioral Health honored leaders who used technology to overcome systemic problems, pioneers who built unique community behavioral health practices and elected leaders who put aside partisan differences for the good of their constituents.
Eighteen individuals and organizations were honored during the event at NatCon18, the National Council’s annual conference, outside Washington, D.C.
“The Awards of Excellence honor the best and the brightest in behavioral health,” said Linda Rosenberg, president and CEO of the National Council. “We honor the changemakers, the innovators and the visionary leaders. And we honor the advocates, the agitators and the change champions. We honor these leaders because they are not afraid to stand up and say, ‘We will be heard!’”
Award categories ranged from the Change Champion Award given to Born This Way Foundation, the organization co-founded by Lady Gaga and her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, to the Doc of the Year, Christian Moher, who reduced opiate prescribing, and to visionaries across the country.
The Scattergood Foundation and the National Council teamed to bestow an Innovation Award on Kristina Saffran, the founder of Project HEAL, a peer recovery program for people living with eating disorders. Saffran was selected by her peers at NatCon18 through a voting process.
NOTE TO PHOTO EDITORS: Photos of award winners are available on the National Council’s Flickr account at https://www.flickr.com/photos/123875765@N02/. Please contact aaroncohenpr@gmail.com if you have a specific photo request.
About the National Council for Behavioral Health
The National Council for Behavioral Health is the unifying voice of America’s health care organizations that deliver mental health and addictions treatment and services. Together with our 2,900 member organizations serving over 10 million adults, children and families living with mental illnesses and addictions, the National Council is committed to all Americans having access to comprehensive, high-quality care that affords every opportunity for recovery. The National Council introduced Mental Health First Aid USA and more than 1 million Americans have been trained. For more information, please visit www.TheNationalCouncil.org.
THE HONOREES
Change Champion Award, Sponsored by the National Council for
Behavioral Health
Born this Way Foundation, Los Angeles,
California
Co-founded by Lady Gaga and her mother, Cynthia
Germanotta, Born This Way Foundation held Mental Health First Aid
trainings along all U.S. stops of the 2017 Joanne World Tour. All
totaled, 150,000 concert-goers took the training and as part of their
engagement with the Foundation, were urged to create a kinder, braver
world. “Everyone should feel empowered to share their story and discuss
their mental wellness without fear of judgment,” said Germanotta.
“Mental Health First Aid is a powerful tool to help demystify mental
health and break down barriers to treatment.”
Innovation Award, Sponsored by Scattergood
Kristina
Saffran, Project HEAL, Douglaston, New York
Initially created as a
program to raise money for those who could not afford treatment for
eating disorders, Kristina Saffran founded Project HEAL after seeing
firsthand that many clients experienced relapse due to a lack of
inexpensive step-down care from residential or acute programs. In this
gap, Kristina created Communities of HEALing, the first peer mentorship
program for people with eating disorders. This year, Project HEAL is
embarking on a partnership with the Columbia University Eating Disorders
Research Program to study the program in a randomized controlled trial.
The program continues to grow, with plans to replicate in their 40
Project HEAL chapters across the U.S.
Doc of the Year, Sponsored by Envolve
Christian
Moher, Community Partners Integrated Healthcare, Tucson, Arizona
Becoming
aware of his clinic’s and his own high level of prescribing opiates led
Christian Moher to an awakening. Using electronic medical records and an
online pharmacy database, he helped 70 percent of the clinic’s members
on a 120 mg. morphine-equivalent dose decrease of their level of opiate
use and weaned some off completely. More than that, Dr. Moher integrated
nutritionists, pharmacy leaders and peer services to create a wellness
program that resulted in a 65 percent reduction in depression and 72
percent decrease in anxiety. How did he succeed? Dr. Moher said, “I
learned to listen, so that the goals of our members could be heard.”
Excellence in Addictions Treatment, Sponsored by MyStrength
Helen
Ross McNabb Center, Knoxville, Tennessee
The East Tennessee
not-for-profit’s vice president, Mona Blanton-Kitts said, “The largest
barrier to treatment is [mothers] having to leave their babies. We
eliminated this barrier.” Their neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS)
continuum of care program achieved impressive results for pregnant and
parenting women, as well as infants born with NAS. In the first half of
2017, 71 percent successfully completed a program for women who live
with their children for six-to-nine months (the national average is 47
percent) and 80 percent of families were discharged into safe, stable
housing with 87 percent reporting no substance use.
Excellence in Advocacy – Individual Achievement, Sponsored by
Sunovion
Constance Peters, Association for Behavioral
Healthcare, Natick, Massachusetts
When funding for addiction
services in Massachusetts was down and advocates were more like
adversaries, Constance Peters formed a state coalition uniting various
groups around a common purpose. She said, “It truly takes many people,
with a common vision, and speaking with one voice for change to happen.”
The stellar results since 2003 are a 341 percent increase in funding,
increased use of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) and more beds for
patients enduring the rigors of addiction recovery.
Excellence in Advocacy by an Organization, Sponsored by
Sunovion
Florida Alcohol & Drug Abuse Association, Tallahassee,
Florida
With 14 individuals dying daily from opioid overdoses, the
Florida Alcohol & Drug Abuse Association (FADAA) developed an awareness
plan in 2017 because, according to FADAA executive director and National
Council board member, Mark Fontaine, “Mental illness or substance use
disorder is a treatable medical condition deserving appropriate care.”
FADAA coordinated with elected officials and launched their legislative
strategy. Five substantive bills were enacted on comprehensive ethical
marketing and increased funding for MAT. As a result, Palm Beach County
made nearly four dozen fraud and patient brokering arrests and shut down
four unethical “sober” homes.
Excellence in Advocacy by Elected Officials, Sponsored by
Sunovion
Kansas Republican Senator and Majority Leader Jim
Denning and Democratic Representative Kathy Wolfe Moore, Topeka, Kansas
Jim
Denning and Kathy Wolfe Moore formed a bipartisan team to shift funding
from a long-serving, but soon-to-close Kansas City area mental health
center, into a new program. The sobering and crisis stabilization units
for jail inmates with mental illnesses were created and expanded
services for a two-county area that is serving as a model elsewhere in
Kansas. As a result, Denning said, “We have transformed the mental
health delivery landscape in Kansas.”
Excellence in Behavioral Health Care Management, Sponsored by
MHRGG Negley
Mental Health Center of Denver, Denver, Colorado
The
Mental Health Center of Denver’s (MHCD) eclectic Dahlia Campus is more
than just a mental health facility, as it boasts a greenhouse, gardens,
a pediatric dental clinic, a gym and a pre-school – all to increase the
community’s food security, dental health and, of course, mental health
care. “When our ideas about what would be helpful met the heartfelt
vision of the community, it created something beyond imagination,” said
president and CEO, Carl Clark. Results are still coming in, but MHCD
expects to increase preventative services and decrease chronic disease
management expenses.
Excellence in Mental Health First Aid Community Impact, Sponsored
by Mental Health First Aid
The Southern Arizona Mental Health
First Aid Program, Tucson, Arizona
Arrest, use of force and death
were too frequent outcomes when police confront people with mental
illnesses, so the Tucson Police Department and Pima County Sheriff’s
Department took steps to reverse the unsettling trends. Their mantra is,
“Yes to treatment, yes to alternatives to incarceration and yes to care
and compassion,” said Jason Winsky of the Tucson Police. They trained
100 percent of their officers, dispatchers and corrections officers in
Mental Health First Aid, a first-aid-for-the-mind-program taught to
public safety officials and others. But 2,500 First Aiders weren’t
enough, so the Southern Arizona group is now training smaller
departments and members of the communities they serve.
Mental Health First Aid Business Leadership Award, Sponsored
by Mental Health First Aid
Netsmart, Overland Park, Kansas
Netsmart
is a champion of Mental Health First Aid. The company is being honored
for demonstrating a commitment to the delivery of Mental Health First
Aid USA trainings within their organization and beyond. The company
trained more than 500 Netsmart employees in the program and plans to
offer the training to local communities.
Excellence in Technology, Sponsored by Qualifacts
Crisis
Tech 360 LLC, Atlanta, Georgia
RI International was managing its
admissions and discharges using a low-tech, centrally located dry erase
board. RI’s CEO and president, David Covington said, “[To] dramatically
improve access and throughput for our crisis programs … we had to leave
the post-it notes, white boards and voicemails behind.” In partnership
with Behavioral Health Link, they created Crisis Tech 360 and upped
their game considerably. Now RI uses Crisis Tech 360 for
up-to-the-minute census information on its 200 beds and has increased
its occupancy rates without increasing length of stay.
Excellence in Whole Person Care, Sponsored by Envolve
Memorial
Healthcare System, Hollywood, Florida
The South Florida safety-net
provider has close to 120,000 outpatient visits a year and found ways to
improve its quality of care. MAT was adopted last year to combat the
opioid epidemic and behavioral and mental health care were integrated.
As a result, nearly 100 patients have enrolled in MAT, three-quarters of
whom are drug free and integration has resulted in a significant decline
in emergency department admissions. Behind it all, Memorial Healthcare
System’s Joyce Myatt, director, outpatient center for behavioral health,
said, “Stigma and shame should not be an impediment to care. Integrated
health care must continue to evolve. Mental and physical health are
intertwined and cannot be separated.”
Peer Specialist of the Year, Sponsored by Envolve
Emily
Grossman, Organizational Development Specialist, The Jewish Board of
Family and Children’s Services, New York, New York
Emily Grossman
has turned what she calls the “poisonous” condition of bipolar disorder
into the “medicine” that not only healed her but became her life’s work
– peer specialist. In a psychiatric hospital, she heard the voice of her
mother in her head tell her, “Emily, one day you are going to help so
many people because of this experience!” Grossman has written two books,
speaks to colleges, blogs, maintains an active social media presence and
trains burgeoning specialists to disclose their illnesses to help those
they serve. She has reached thousands of people and has helped clients
enter the workforce, go to school and lead productive lives.
Visionary Leadership, Sponsored by the National Council for
Behavioral Health
David Woodlock, ICL, New York City, New York
Through
his book, “Emotional Dimensions of Healthcare,” David Woodlock advanced
the public conversation around integrated treatment, the emotional
impact of trauma (he lost both parents before he was 22) and the social
determinants of health on outcomes and recovery. Woodlock’s unique
perspective led to the development of ICL in East New York where, with
the teamwork of a medical provider, it is working to eliminate health
disparities.
Visionary Leadership, Sponsored by National Council for
Behavioral Health
Howard Hitzel, BestSelf Behavioral Health,
Inc., Buffalo, New York
During 20 years at the helm, Howard Hitzel
has grown BestSelf into the largest non-profit behavioral health
provider in Western New York with a budget that increased by six-fold
during his tenure. BestSelf is involved in seemingly every cutting-edge
development in behavioral health. It is a Certified Community Behavioral
Health (CCBHC) pilot at 12 of its sites, offers same day access for MAT
to curb the cravings for opioid addiction, employs more than 20 peers
and has an intensive residential rehabilitation program for pregnant and
parenting women. As a result of his vision, Dr. Hitzel said, “We are
making measurable differences in peoples’ lives.”
Visionary Leadership, Sponsored by National Council for
Behavioral Health
John Van Camp, Southwest Solutions, Detroit,
Michigan
John Van Camp lives by the belief that, “Community is an
intervention, and when you have community it is so much more powerful
than any government safety-net.” Southwest Solutions, which boasts 50
programs serving 20,000 people a year, is a national model of holistic
services and comprehensive neighborhood revitalization. Manifested in
his belief that reviving Detroit was key to reintegrating people with
mental illness and the homeless back into the community, he built an
entire subdivision and a Federally Qualified Health Center from scratch.
Visionary Leadership, Sponsored by National Council for
Behavioral Health
Terry Crocker, CEO, Tropical Texas Behavioral
Health, Edinburg, Texas
Tropical Texas Behavioral Health (TTBH) was
down to its last dollars when Terry Crocker took over as CEO in 2003 and
created a more viable business model to grow the agency in a sustainable
way. Now, TTBH has quadruple the staff since Crocker became CEO,
increased its number of mental health patients by 181 percent and cut
its cost-per-patient in half. He urged everyone working in the mental
health field to speak up, because, “If we don’t make our voices heard,
people with mental health issues remain in the shadows.”
Visionary Leadership, Sponsored by National Council for
Behavioral Health
Martha Whitecotton, Atrium Health (formerly
Carolinas HealthCare System), Charlotte, North Carolina
Despite a
severe shortage of psychiatric beds in North and South Carolina, 29
counties with no psychiatrists at all, a 41 percent increase in patients
and drastically reduced funding from the two states, Martha Whitecotton
has found ways to make progress for patients because, “through them we
experience how difficult the world is to navigate for those least able
to navigate it.” With her team at Atrium, Whitecotton built a new
behavioral health center, ramped up use of telepsychiatry, created a
patient placement department just for behavioral health care and
contracted with a new transport company to reduce that burden from
police.
The Awards of Excellence are supported by Sunovion, Envolve, Mental Health First Aid USA, Mental Health Risk Retention Group, Inc., Negley, , MyStrength, Qualifacts and Scattergood Foundation.
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