In response to the Opioid epidemic, the Central East ATTC partnered with the Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers to provide training and technical assistance (T/TA) to their member network in the implementation of SBIRT. SBIRT is an evidence-based intervention used to help Screen, provide a Brief Intervention and Refer appropriate patients for Treatment related to substance use disorders. Through T/TA, Central East will worked with PACHC members to enhance their understanding, knowledge and skills in the implementation of SBIRT, meeting over a several month period. The goal of the project will be to support agency staff in the development of a realistic Implementation Work Plan.
Five organizations have been chosen from multiple applicants and will work with the Central East ATTC for the next six to nine months on this project.
Provide orientation to the Central East ATTC and our role commitment to workforce development
Describe the partnership between that PACHC and the Central East ATTC
Provide a basic understanding of SBIRT and its implementation in health care settings
Describe the purpose and structure of the Intensive Technical Assistance project, including time investment and timeline.
Answer questions surrounding participation
Holly Ireland, LCSW-C, is the Co-Project Director of the Central East Addiction Technology Transfer Center at The Danya Institute. Holly has 30 years’ experience working in the behavioral health field, beginning her career as a Residential Rehabilitation Counselor while working on her undergraduate degree in psychology at Towson University. She graduated from University of Maryland, Baltimore with a master’s in Social Work with a primary concentration of Clinical and a secondary concentration of Management and Community Organization. During her career, she has provided direct service in outpatient behavioral health and recovery support settings, including individual, group and family therapy for co-occurring disorders, crisis intervention, trauma treatment, Assertive Community Treatment, and advocacy. Holly serves as adjunct faculty for Salisbury University’s Social Work Department, teaching social welfare policy and advanced practice courses. Most recently she provided leadership and administration of Mid Shore Behavioral Health, Inc., a non-profit organization responsible for planning and management of the continuum of services in Public Behavioral Health System in Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot Counties on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Holly joined the MSBH team in 2006, serving as executive director 2010-2017.
A native of Easton, Holly loves the Eastern Shore of Maryland, its culture, its people, and its ecology. When not serving as a clinician, administrator or advocate, Holly enjoys spending time with her family and friends, traveling, being an active member of the community, and being outdoors – basically doing anything that advances health and wellbeing.
Billie Jo Smith, MS, LPC, Billie Jo Smith currently serves as the Program Coordinator for Addiction Medicine’s Center of Excellence at the University of Pittsburgh’s Western Psychiatric Institute & Clinics (WPIC). In this role, she serves as a leader of the therapy team at the program and implements, improves, and adapts concepts, models, and constructs of treatment for application in service delivery to patients. Ms. Smith has worked in the addiction treatment field for more than 10 years, first as a clinician, and later supervisor in various clinical settings including, residential and outpatient treatment facilities. In her role as a supervisor, Billie Jo oversaw various clinical programs, including the Pregnancy Recovery Center. In 2017, WPIC was awarded the state-funded Center of Excellence, where Ms. Smith was responsible for the start-up, implementation and day-to-day operations of intervention services to meet the needs of people with opioid problems in Allegheny County. In addition to her role, Ms. Smith is also a trainer and consultant in the behavioral and physical health field throughout the United States. Ms. Smith has conducted all levels (basic, intermediate, and advanced) of Motivational Interviewing (MI) training as well as MIA-Step (Motivational Interviewing Assessment: Supervisory Tools for Enhancing Proficiency) to a variety mental health and substance abuse professionals. Ms. Smith provides live supervision to addiction medicine staff to monitor MI consistency within the program. She has also assisted in facilitating practice MI sessions with the medical students at the University of Pittsburgh to enhance engagement with patients. Ms. Smith is a trainer for the Addiction Technology Transfer Center’s MIA: STEP Blending Product, SBIRT and Technology-Based Clinical Supervision.
