A major focus in behavioral health care is the reduction of stigma to help bridge the gap in access to quality care for marginalized communities. Supportive and motivating language is essential for engaging persons already burdened with dealing with the challenges that come from substance use disorders, mental illness, physical disabilities and more. People-first language highlights and respects the individuality, equality, and dignity of people with disabilities. This interactive training will provide a review and practice skills on the use of person-first language which aligns with person-centered care, as an effective means of enhancing the provider-client communication and reducing bias perspectives with racial and ethnic populations, persons with disabilities and other underserved communities. Trainer: Diana Padilla, MCPC, CARC, CASAC-T

The participants who participated in the in-depth leadership development program for emerging and existing behavioral health leaders will gather and reflect on the past 6 months of the program and learn about what's next as an alum. The celebratory ceremony will take place on October 16-17, 2024, in Kansas City, MO. Please note that this is a closed event. If you would like information on the next cohort, please contact Bree Sherry at [email protected].

DESCRIPTION Mental health and substance use disorder impact all aspects of healthcare outcomes, however equity and parity in payment has failed in our current Evaluation & Management. This system failure has disproportionately impacted African American patients and providers thru: (1) structural racism including historical provider under representation, (2) social determinants of health (homelessness, lack of insurance, etc.), (3) criminal disposition of minority populations in lieu of treatment, and (4) payer and regulator algorithms that ignore all of the above. LEARNING OBJECTIVES  Assess the need for the realignment of treatment models that integrate mental health and substance use disorder treatment as key components to health outcomes. Explain how those key components (1) decrease both medical, physical, and mental health morbidity and mortality, and (2) improve patient and provider satisfaction. Describe the impact the key components have on the reduction of medical, criminal, and overall social costs. PRESENTER Edwin C. Chapman, MD, DABIM, FASAM Dr. Edwin C. Chapman has practiced in Washington, DC for over 49 years specializing in Internal Medicine and Addiction Medicine. Over the past 24 years, he has investigated the complex mix of addiction, undertreated mental illness, infectious diseases (AIDS & Hepatitis C), criminal behavior, and chronic diseases in which patients have 20-25 year shorter life expectancies. Dr. Chapman received his B.S. in 1969 and M.D. in 1973 from Howard University College of Medicine. He maintains active memberships in the National Medical Association (NMA), Medico Chirurgical Society of Washington, DC (MED CHI of DC), the American Medical Association (AMA), the Medical Society of the District of Columbia (MSDC) as well as associate membership in the Black Psychiatrists of America. Dr. Chapman is a founding member and secretary of the board of directors of the Leadership Council for Healthy Communities (an inter-faith 501(c)3 organization with 30+ Metro DC institutions) where he is bringing integrated medical care into underserved communities and faith institutions (ACA’s “Accountable Health Community”) using both onsite care and virtual care thru tele-video consultation for social work, nutritional consulting, pharmaceutical reconciliation, as well as psychiatry and primary care.

The Mid-America ATTC (MATTC) is now accepting applications from SUD treatment facilities located in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska that are motivated to move their organization toward becoming trauma informed. This intensive technical assistance project offers implementation facilitation, a multi-faceted process of enabling and supporting individuals, groups and organizations in their efforts to adopt and incorporate innovations into routine practices. MATTC consultants provide information and resources for organizations seeking to understand the processes of TIC and support for the development of the skills needed to help organizations implement innovations in service delivery.

Who are “leaders” in implementation? Implementation leaders may be people in leadership roles, such as administrators, directors, or supervisors, and/or they may be change leaders, also sometimes referred to as “champions” in the implementation field. You don’t need to have an official leadership title or job role to effect change and lead implementation efforts within your organization.

How do you define sustainability? Defining sustainability can be challenging, as it is considered both an outcome (are we delivering and maintaining the intervention/program activities) and a process (are we adapting and continuously monitoring and adjusting so that sustainment is possible) (1). General consensus is that continuing to implement and maintain program activities and adapting to improve performance over time are components of the sustainability definition (1).