Archive for the ‘Health and Wellness’ Category

An Effective Work Force Embraces and Drives Integrated Care

The behavioral health sector has been in the throes of a generational change over the past decade, one that has challenged the very way we offer treatment, organize operations and receive funding for our services. Our agencies have worked hard to adapt to these changes while maintaining the...

Licensed Practical Nurses: Furthering the Goal of Integrated Health

It is a startling and sad fact that individuals with serious mental health problems on average die earlier than those without mental health issues. An article in JAMA Psychiatry reported that these premature deaths are primarily due to largely preventable conditions, such as high blood pressure,...

Organizational Needs-Based Toolkit for Peer Workforce Integration Introduced at NYC Peer Workforce Consortium

On Thursday, April 18th, the NYC Peer and Community Health Worker Workforce Consortium convened over sixty stakeholders at CUNY Graduate School for Public Health for an event to “kick off” its new toolkit. The toolkit offers guidance to provider organizations who are interested in advancing the...

Caregiver Support Group

When serious illness strikes an older adult, the family is usually on the front line for care and support. Because the burden is often so extreme, friends may be called upon for a ride to a doctor’s appointment or a home-cooked meal once in a while, but it is the spouse, domestic partner, and/or...

When and Where They Need It: Providing Community-Based Services to Families and Youth for Foundational Wellbeing

For community providers serving children and families in New York, there is a contemplative question our work presents to us like an ever-unfolding puzzle – how can we get young people to the services that will support their ability to live their best lives? Many creative strategies have been...

The East New York Health Hub: Realizing the Promise of Whole Health

Over the last few decades, there has been an increasing focus on health care reform and bending the cost curve through a combination of new approaches including social determinants of health, trauma-informed treatment, health equity, patient engagement and integrated care. While these elements have...

Supporting Vulnerable Populations: A Model That Can Make a Difference

In an increasingly complex and competitive healthcare environment, ensuring access to integrated care for our most vulnerable populations is becoming evermore challenging. Metro Community Health Centers (MCHC) has embraced this challenge and is providing patient-centered services designed...

CCBHC as a Roadmap for Behavioral Health Leadership and Participation within Accountable Delivery Systems

Uncertainty about the future state of publicly-funded health care is widespread following the presidential election. However, the design of accountable delivery systems committed to comprehensive, cost effective care continues to have bipartisan support. Such systems demand a full array of health,...

Systems Transformation in Progress: Promise and Pitfalls

A couple of months ago I attended a conference in Albany in order to learn of the latest developments in the state’s movement toward a “value based” healthcare delivery system. Monica Oss, Chief Executive Officer of Open Minds, a publication that explores the intricacies of behavioral...

Promoting Cultural Competence to Address Health Disparities and Improve Health Outcomes

Health disparities are preventable differences in health outcomes that are experienced by disadvantaged populations. They are a leading factor in the incidence, prevalence, mortality, and burden of health conditions across specific populations in the US. These factors can influence the available...