NJAMHAA and
Cure Alliance for Mental Illness Host David
Meldrum
of
Australia's Progressive, Relatively Stigma-Free Mental Healthcare
System
Please note: Some event details have been modified due to changes
in schedules and availability of the
venue.
New Jersey mental healthcare
providers and advocates are invited to attend an informal meet
and greet gathering with David Meldrum, Chief Executive Officer
of the Mental Illness Fellowship of Australia, Inc. (MIFA), This
event is co-sponsored by Cure Alliance for Mental Illness (Cure
Alliance) and the New Jersey Association of Mental Health and
Addiction Agencies (NJAMHAA). It will be held at NJAMHAA, 3575
Quakerbridge Road, Suite 102, Mercerville, NJ, on September 13,
2013 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.
"This is a rare
opportunity to learn from Mr. Meldrum, who has been a leader in
Australia's mental healthcare system, which serves as a role
model of where America's behavioral health system should aspire
to be. Australia is an international leader in terms of early and
staged interventions and low levels of stigma," said Robin
Cunningham, MBA, Co-founder of Cure Alliance. "Mr. Meldrum is
also interested in learning about our system, which I see as a
terrific honor."
MIFA is a
national organization that advocates with Australia's National
Parliament, State Governments and other organizations on behalf
of providers. Prior to being named CEO of MIFA in 2009, Meldrum
served as the organization's treasurer and as President of the
Mental Illness Fellowship of South Australia," as described in a
press release on the MIFA website (www.mifa.org.au).
Meldrum's "particular passion is for reducing the amount of time
people with a mental illness need to stay in hospital
environments. From 2003 to 2006, as CEO of the Advanced Community
Care Association, he implemented what has become Australia's
largest hospital avoidance program, 'Metro Home Link'."
"This is an
impressive opportunity and I am honored that Robin reached out to
us to co-sponsor the event," said Debra L. Wentz, Ph.D., CEO of
NJAMHAA. "I am eager to share the strengths of New Jersey's
system and gain knowledge and inspiration from Mr. Meldrum to
make our system even stronger. This is especially critical as we
anticipate many significant changes in health care and a major
increase in the number of individuals to serve as a result of the
Medicaid expansion."
Capacity is limited,
and reservations will be honored on a first-come, first-served
basis. Please RSVP by sending your name, title,
affiliations and all contact information to
RSVP@curealliance.org. The RSVP e-mails could also include
questions to share with Meldrum prior to the event. Reservations
will be confirmed by return e-mail.
