The ATTC/NIATx Service Improvement Blog - Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) Network

Introducing the "AMERSA People & Passion" Podcast, Sponsored by the ATTC Network

Published: 09/08/2021

AMERSA is proud to announce a new podcast exploring the world of substance use education, research, care and policy! AMERSA People & Passion is a 10-episode series sponsored by the ATTC Network and hosted by executive director Doreen Baeder, featuring subject matter experts across a variety of topics, as well as special guests detailing their […]

Change Project 911: When Your Rapid-cycle PDSA is not Working

Published: 08/26/2021

Mat Roosa, LCSW-RNIATx Coach Rapid-Cycle Plan-Do-Study-ACT (PDSA) is a powerful tool for improvement that can enable a team or organization to achieve its short-term goals and move toward long-term success. But sometimes, PDSA change cycles do not yield the desired results. Here are a few questions to consider when your change project does not achieve […]

Change Project 911: Counting what Counts: Addressing the challenge of incomplete data collection

Published: 07/23/2021

Mat Roosa, LCSW-RNIATx Coach “Help! We don’t know if our change is an improvement!” At the foundation of all quality improvement work lies data. Imagine driving down a twisty road at night and having your headlights turned off for a portion of the journey. That’s what happens when we try to manage a […]

The Treatment Challenge in Jail Settings: Detox and Withdrawal or Continuing Medication?

Published: 06/30/2021

Jessica Vechinski, MSWProject Manager, Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN)Center for Health Enhancement Systems Studies, UW-Madison Opioid use disorder (OUD) is prevalent among people in the criminal justice system—estimates show that as many as 50–65 percent of people entering the system have an OUD or other substance use disorder (SUD). Yet, access to high-quality treatment […]

Change Project 911: The Incomplete Walk-through

Published: 05/24/2021

Mat Roosa, LCSW-RNIATx Coach Understand and involve the customer. This is the first and most important of the five NIATx principles. Much of our NIATx work involves working to understand the customer/client/patient experience—because the customer experience is the critical factor in all service delivery. Strategies to understand and involve the customer can include client interviews, […]

Behavioral Health Resources for Service Members and Veterans

Published: 05/05/2021

The Defense Health Agency’s (DHA) Psychological Health Center of Excellence (PHCoE) provides psychological health expertise to the military community by continuing to improve psychological health care, readiness, and prevention of psychological health disorders. PHCoE utilizes Implementation Science, which helps clinicians implement empirically supported treatments and provides Clinical Support Tools which assist providers in the use […]

Change Project 911: What to Do When the Idea Well Has Run Dry

Published: 04/08/2021

Mat Roosa, LCSW-RNIATx Coach We want to improve, and we have made some changes, but they have not worked. We don’t know what else to do. Generating change ideas requires time and energy. Teams lose momentum when initial change efforts don’t succeed, and then struggle to develop option B (or C) to continue their improvement […]

How do we Successfully Implement SUD Screening and Referrals in Title X Family Planning Settings? Integration of Services Is Key

Published: 04/06/2021

Lena Marceno, MScDenise Raybon, MPHAltarum Can we talk of integration until there is integration of hearts and minds? Unless you have this, you only have a physical presence and the walls between us are as high as the mountain range. — Chief Dan George How do we break down walls? How do we integrate health […]

Change Project 911: Help! Our change project is unmanageable!

Published: 03/15/2021

Mat Roosa, LCSW-RNIATx Coach Basket or cart? It’s the first decision we usually make when we enter a large grocery store. When I am just buying a few items, I usually pick up a basket so that I can move more easily through the store. Often I find myself with a gallon of milk in […]

Is the Term 'Marijuana' Racist?

Published: 03/02/2021

Deena MurphyAdvanced Implementation Specialist (AIS)Opioid Response Network STR-TA Consortium Being culturally responsive means paying attention to language and ensuring we use person-centered language around substance use. So, when the ATTC Network Coordinating Office repeatedly heard commentary that the term “marijuana” was racist and we needed to replace it with cannabis, we quickly scanned any available […]

Change Project 911: Help! My Change Team has lost its energy!

Published: 02/10/2021

Mat Roosa, LCSW-RNIATx Coach Sometimes a change team can feel like a phone with only 2 percent battery life left. Some teams start with a full charge that drains through time. Other teams get started with a lower level of energy and go downhill from there. The challenge of COVID-19 and other competing priorities and […]

Welcome the New ITTC Network by Attending its Virtual Launch Event

Published: 01/20/2021

The new International Technology Transfer Center (ITTC) Network develops and strengthens the workforce, organizations and systems that provide substance use prevention, treatment, and recovery support services across the world. Much like ATTCs, ITTCs are based in universities and research centers, and they utilize a variety of strategies to accelerate the implementation of scientifically-based and culturally […]

Change Project 911: Help! My Project Is Dragging on Too Long

Published: 12/30/2020

Mat Roosa, LCSW-RNIATx Coach The Problem Change projects are not meant to be open-ended. They’re meant to move quickly and efficiently to extract the maximum benefits. Dave Gustafson, who developed the NIATx model, recommends limiting change projects to no more than a few weeks. Some change projects can be completed successfully in as little as […]

Thriving in Survival: Holidays 2020

Published: 12/22/2020

Jesse HeffernanCCAR Core Trainer and Recovery Coach Professional As we start to prepare, or continue, to celebrate the 2020 holiday season, it goes without saying that this will be perhaps one of the most stressful and difficult ones in recent times. The pressure and influence of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused many folx in recovery […]

Peer-Based Training Brings Collaboration to those who Serve Pregnant and Parenting Women

Published: 12/16/2020

Erika Holliday, MPHMid-America Addiction Technology Transfer Center Inspiration can often come from collaboration and growth amongst like-minded individuals. Finding a community that shares critical life experiences can transform into impactful change at the organizational and community level. Creating such community was an unforeseen joy that sprouted from one of the Mid-America ATTC’s latest programs, “Providing […]

Finding New Ways to Connect During Isolation

Published: 11/18/2020

Jeff LedolterNational American Indian & Alaska Native Addiction Technology Transfer CenterWhen COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March 2020 and services began shutting down, many clinics were at a loss for what to do. Facing an unprecedented challenge, health providers had to make tough decisions with incomplete information on how they could best help their […]

Strategies for Addressing Stimulant Use Among Women: An ATTC Collaborative Project ECHO Series

Published: 11/04/2020

Maureen NicholsDirector, South Southwest Addiction Technology Transfer CenterHHS Region 6 Co-authors: Pat StilenDirector Mid-America Addiction Technology Transfer CenterHHS Region 7Thomasine HeitkampPI and Co-DirectorMountain Plains Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Mountain Plains Addiction Technology Transfer CenterHHS Region 8 An overriding concern in the behavioral health field in HHS Region 6 in the past several years is […]

Radical Healing: A Viable Response to Racial and Ethnic Inequities in Behavioral Health

Published: 10/21/2020

Maxine Henry, MSW, MBACo-DirectorNational Hispanic and Latino ATTC Ethnic and racial inequality has been present in our landscape for generations, yet the COVID 19 pandemic seems to have put a spotlight on the disparities felt by people of color and other minority groups. In a time where the entire world is experiencing overwhelming stress brought […]

Connecting Community and Faith in a Troubled World: The Southeast ATTC’s Faith Leadership Academy

Published: 10/07/2020

By Pamela Woll, MA, CPS and Dawn Tyus, LPC, MAC, NCC Southeast ATTCSix months ago, when the world started grinding to a halt, it looked like travel and gathering restrictions might get in the way of the Southeast Addiction Technology Transfer Center’s highly interactive “Let’s Have the Conversation” Faith Leadership Academy, due to start its […]

NIATx Principle # 4: Getting Ideas from Outside the Field …Or From Inside Track and Field

Published: 09/30/2020

By Mat Roosa, LCSW-RNIATx Coach The United States has consistently produced some of the best track and field sprinters for decades and decades. And the United States 4x100 relay teams have been disqualified from a painfully large number of World Championship and Olympic races as a result of dropped batons or botched handoffs. Why have […]

Responding to Needs: Collaborations for Broad Impact

Published: 09/17/2020

By Thomasine Heitkamp, LCSWPI and Co-Director of the Mountain Plains ATTC and MHTTC The Mountain Plains ATTC collaborated with the Mountain Plains MHTTC to create a shared product entitled Depression, Alcohol and Farm Stress: Addressing Co-Occurring Disorders in Rural America, [Co-occurring Disorders] April 2020 (M. Shogren, R. Landwehr, D. Terry, A. Moore and A. McLean). […]

Technology Transfer and Organizational Resilience in the age of COVID-19

Published: 08/19/2020

Michael S. Shafer, Ph.D.Pacific Southwest Addiction Technology Transfer CenterArizona State University February 4-6, 2020, 39 behavioral health professionals representing 13 agencies throughout HHS Region 9 gathered in Oakland, California for three days to participate in the PSATTC’s Organizational Process Improvement Initiative (OPII) Change Facilitator Academy, launching a 10-month, long-term intensive technical assistance program. Each agency’s […]

ATTC Region 2: Preparing and Managing Natural Disasters

Published: 08/05/2020

Robert Peralta De Jesus, MA, MHS Northeast & Caribbean ATTC The Institute of Research, Education and Services in Addiction at the Universidad Central del Caribe, School of Medicine has provided various trainings for first responders, community leaders and healthcare providers. In early January of this year, with the atmospheric events that occurred in Puerto Rico, […]

Northwest ATTC: Tech Transfer in Action Blog Series

Published: 07/15/2020

David Jefferson, MSWDirector of Training and Technical Assistance Northwest ATTC Over the past three years, in collaboration with the Northwest ATTC, I have led a large technical assistance project to support implementation of Motivational Interviewing (MI) for 200+ members of the behavioral health workforce employed at social service agencies in Whatcom County, Washington. During the […]

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