InvisALERT Solutions – ObservSMART

Archive for the ‘Summer 2017 Issue’ Category

When the Therapist Comes to You: A Model Home Visiting Program for Seniors

Sarah is 95 years old and is determined to live out her days in the small New York City apartment she has called home for over 60 years. Her walls are covered with four generations of family photographs, and her shelves are filled with books and mementos of her work as a teacher and travels with...

Meeting the Needs of Vulnerable Populations

An Interview with Donna Colonna, S:US CEO and Richard Taylor, Peer Specialist, Blake Men’s Shelter J.J. SUS is an organization that takes its name seriously, and literally: Services for the UnderServed. Put more casually, SUS is dedicated to providing services for people who often get the short...

Vulnerable Populations: People of Color in Leadership Roles

While we all know that much stress comes with leadership, authority and responsibility, People of Color (POC) in leadership roles must also deal with the unique stressor of structural racism. Viewing Barack Obama’s experience as President clearly indicates that even highly educated, successful...

Treating Vulnerable, Mentally Ill Patients Who Are Navigating the U.S. Criminal Justice System

It is an alarming statistic that more people with serious mental illness are housed in America’s jails than in the nation’s hospitals (Torrey, E. F., Kennard, A. D., Eslinger, D., et al. 2010. More mentally ill persons are in jails and prisons than hospitals: a survey of the states....

The NYSPA Report: Repeal and Replace Should Not Harm Our Most Vulnerable

I am honored to serve as editor of the NYSPA Report and I want to begin by thanking my friend and colleague, Dr. Barry Pearlman. Barry has served as editor of this column since its inception and has provided useful and interesting information since day one.I’m proud to have the opportunity to...

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...

Suicide Prevention in the Aging

By 2040, it is estimated that 82 million Americans will be over the age of 65. Approximately 16 million of them will have mental health issues and/or substance use disorders (SAMHSA, 2017). It is also known that the highest rate of suicide is among those 65 years and older. 90% of those who die by...

Suicide Prevention as a Core Responsibility

Every year more than 40,000 Americans die from suicide and suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States (CDC, 2016). Over eighty percent of people who die from suicide have contact with health and behavioral health care providers in the year prior to their death and almost half...

Stopping the Hospital Revolving Door: A Pathway Home to Stable Community Life

A not-for-profit organization formed by behavioral health (BH) community agencies, Coordinated Behavioral Care (CBC) operates one of NYS’s largest Health Homes (HH) and has formed an IPA to deliver integrated outcomes-oriented care. The many care managers who work with our HH members often face...

Shift in How We Think About Suicide Prevention Needed

Beacon Health Options 2017 White Paper Promotes Zero Suicide Model as Best-In-Class Approach for Suicide Prevention Beacon Health Options’ (Beacon) latest white paper, “We Need to Talk About Suicide,” (http://beaconlens.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Beacon-Zero-Suicide-White-Paper.pdf)...