For the first time at the Catholic Health Assembly, CHA will host an invitation-only breakfast discussion for senior leaders of behavioral health services from ministry systems and hospitals. The assembly is being held in Orlando, Fla., June 5 to 7.
Organizers are asking executives and clinicians responsible for mental health-related strategy, such as clinical directors and behavioral health departmental chairs, to provide CHA's Member Relations Director Kim Hewitt with their name, organizational title, address and email to be included as a health system's or behavioral health department's representative at the breakfast. Hewitt can be reached at [email protected] or at (314) 253-3421.
Nick Ogle, Mercy Health System-Northwest Arkansas director of mental/behavioral health, came up with the idea to convene the new group. He said many health care leaders have been charged with improving their systems' behavioral health offerings, and a collaborative effort to generate ideas and to hear about organizational successes, failures and works in progress will allow leaders to learn from one another.
He also thinks it would be helpful for ministry leaders to share strategy for how to best present the importance of mental health programs to administrators, boards of directors and funders.
Leaders can share ideas about how to implement mental and behavioral health programs that may be underfunded and lack suitable reimbursement rates and about how to better integrate mental health services within the continuum of care.
Assembly goers can register for one, two or three days of the assembly. Brian Smith, CHA's senior director for mission integration and leadership formation, said CHA is hosting the breakfast on June 7, to accommodate mental health professionals who wish to attend the assembly for one day only.
Following the breakfast, the morning's keynote assembly speaker is Fr. Gregory Boyle, SJ, the founder and chief executive of Homeboy Industries, a nonprofit organization that trains and employs former gang members. As part of his work, Fr. Boyle ministers to people who are homeless, mentally ill and/or battling chemical addiction.
Breakout sessions that morning include "Behavioral Health Integration into Primary Care for Vulnerable Populations" presented by Mercy Care of Atlanta, a federally qualified health center and member of Trinity Health. A safety-net provider, Mercy Care has integrated behavioral health care into multiple primary care centers.
The assembly adjourns at noon on June 7.
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