There Is No Going Back, We Are Moving Forward in a New Paradigm: NJAMHAA Conference October 13, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic changed many things for behavioral health service providers and the individuals they serve. At the beginning of the pandemic, providers rapidly shifted to provide telehealth services and NJAMHAA has been working to ensure that policy and waivers were in place to support that. With the availability of COVID-19 vaccines and the rise of the Delta variant, one thing is certain: Behavioral health providers cannot simply return to how things were before the pandemic; they must move forward in a new paradigm. Providers can learn what they can do to move forward by attending the New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies' (NJAMHAA's) 2021 Fall Conference, No Going Back, Moving Forward in a New Paradigm, on October 13, 2021.
NJAMHAA is grateful for the generous support of the conference
sponsors: Mutual of America Financial Group, Ocean Partnership
for Children, PerformCare New Jersey, Acenda Integrated Health,
We Work for Health New Jersey, New Jersey Innovation Institute,
Bergen New Bridge Medical Center, HMH Carrier Clinic, Integrity
House, The New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities and
Oaks Integrated Care.
Program highlights include a keynote presentation, The Decade
of 2020: This Is our Moment, by Susan Dreyfus, BA, of Susan
Dreyfus Consulting, and a plenary session featuring Valerie
Mielke, MSW, Assistant Commissioner of the New Jersey Division of
Mental Health and Addiction Agencies, sharing her vision for
services in the future. See more detailed highlights below or
click here for all program details and to
register.
Keynote Launches Conference with Insights into Trends and
Making the Most of Them
A very compelling and fitting start to the conference will be a
keynote presentation, The Decade of 2020: This Is our
Moment, by Susan Dreyfus, BA, of Susan Dreyfus Consulting.
Dreyfus will identify the current trends and issues in the
behavioral health field.
When determining whether a trend is long-standing or a "fad",
Dreyfus watches for three things - the trend's staying power, how
innovative the trend is and how policymakers, influencers and the
media are beginning to discuss it. "If I were a CEO or board
member today, I wouldn't watch trends only to see if they are
real or not. I would begin having generative discussions with my
team, board and other partners now so we can think, plan and move
as adaptively and quickly as possible. Even if the trend doesn't
move forward, there is always something to learn and consider,"
says Dreyfus.
Participants will gain insight into strategies and current trends
to which providers should pay close attention. Dreyfus says
healthcare reform is "the biggest disruptive force to influence
behavioral health for the foreseeable future." She stresses that
disruption is not always negative and can be positive. "If we can
truly get this right as a nation and understand what it is that
creates health beyond primary care, we will not only bend the
cost curve of health care, but we will also have healthier people
and communities through the lens of equity, especially race
equity. This will build our nation's greatest economic resource,
which is our human capital."
Another item that Dreyfus will discuss during her keynote speech
is the eight accelerants of differentiated and influential social
sector organizations. She says that when the eight accelerants
are combined, they create "the combustion to lift [the behavioral
health] field and sector to higher impact." While all eight of
the accelerants are important, the one that Dreyfus says can keep
her up at night and is probably making the 2020s "our moment" is
an organization's board of directors. "I see in too many
organizations 20th-century governance models in a 21st-century
world," she adds.
DMHAS Leader to Share Newly Implemented and Planned
Services
During the plenary session, Valerie Mielke, MSW, Assistant
Commissioner of the New Jersey Division of Mental Health and
Addiction Agencies (DMHAS), will also discuss trends that will
shape the future of mental health and substance use treatment,
including what may be expected of the 1115 waiver and how New
Jersey will implement the 9-8-8 crisis response system, which is
required by federal law to be operational by July 2022. She will
also explore areas that DMHAS might be moving toward, such as
value-based purchasing, recovery services and integrated
care.
Workshops to Provide Variety of Important Knowledge and
Skills
In addition to the insightful keynote presentation and afternoon
plenary, the Fall Conference offers workshops that will further
guide attendees in moving forward. Topics include peer workforce
mentoring, actionable approaches to staff recruitment and
retention, neuromodulation, and integration of primary and
behavioral health care.
Click here for all program details and to register.