March 2017

We began work in Austin, Texas along with the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute to plan the Engage and Excel Conference for September 2017, bringing together 300 representatives of local behavioral health systems from all over Texas to learn how to improve services for their communities, and also began to develop the Local System Academy, gathering and organizing web-based materials through Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute to help local systems have access to knowledge and resources to apply back home. Stay tuned for more details in coming months.

March 22: We provided an interactive training experience for leaders and change agents at McAlister Institute in San Diego, to help this large forward-looking addiction treatment organization continue to strengthen its progress in using continuous quality improvement to improve welcoming and integrated service delivery in all programs with all staff.

March 16, 21, and 24:  We provided specific follow-up training and technical assistance to change leaders and staff in four regions of Uplift Family Services, as part of our multi-year project to help them develop Whole Person Care to address the needs of individuals and families with complex and co-occurring conditions.   Central Region (Fresno) – March 16;  Los Angeles Region, March 21, Inland Empire Region (San Bernardino) – March 23, and Bay Region (San Jose) March 24.  With the launch of Whole Person Care in the fifth region (Capital) in Sacramento in Jan and Feb, all regions of the agency are now engaged in working with us on this exciting project.

March 28-29:  We will be on site in Tyler, TX, conducting a Behavioral Health System Assessment for the Smith County Behavioral Health Leadership Team,  contracted through Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute.  We helped the Behavioral Health Leadership Team get off the ground in 2015, and now are wrapping back around to help gather information that will help them define specific steps of progress to improve their system of care, particularly in the domains of crisis services, jail diversion, prevention, and primary health/behavioral health integration.

March 30-31: Dr. Minkoff will be in El Paso providing strategic planning consultation to help develop a recovery-oriented and integrated system. He will be working directly with the Recovery Oriented System of Care that has been driven by the addiction peer recovery community, as well as the El Paso Behavioral Health Consortium, which has been supported by the Paso del Norte Foundation to address system mental health needs and helping them to come together. The event will also work to engage primary care providers serving indigent populations, and provide clinic specific consultation to help them expand their ability to deliver behavioral health services in the primary care setting.

 

Coming up next month:

April 3rd: Ken and Chris are presenting at NATCON 17, the huge annual conference for the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare, in Seattle.  The presentation is on how to develop integrated mental health and substance use disorder services in any behavioral health organization, provider, or program.  The name of the presentation is: Developing Integrated Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Services: You CAN try this at home. 

ZiaPartners has recently become an Affiliate of the National Council, and our information is listed on the NATCON website with the other affiliate members. We are proud to be recognized by the National Council for our capacity and contribution.