Anne L. Wilder
President
Coordinated Care Services, Inc.
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This month's newsletter highlights several new initiatives aimed at improving care and building capacity among service providers:
- Closing Gaps in Care – Health Homes of Upstate New York (HHUNY) was awarded a grant by Finger Lakes Performing Provider System (FLPPS) to help facilitate the closure of gaps in care to improve the health and wellness of individuals with chronic physical and behavioral health conditions.
- Community Based Organizations (CBO) Planning Grant – We are pleased to be supporting Healthy Community Alliance, Inc. in a New York State Department of Health planning grant aimed at strengthening Upstate NY's community-based organizations (CBOs).
- Integrating Mental Health Education and Well-being in NYS Schools – Learn more about how the knowledge, expertise and support that CCSI already delivers to NYS schools aligns with the NYS law requiring mental health education in schools.
You’ll also find recent program and financial updates, presentations on key topics, and some exciting employee and board news.
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Closing Gaps to Improve Health and Wellness
Those involved in health care understand that health services do not always run as smoothly as intended. For instance, an individual’s care may be disrupted when they do not get connected with an outpatient provider for on-going services after an inpatient stay. Or an individual could miss necessary blood work due to a lack of transportation to a lab. When there is a discrepancy between the recommended ‘best practices’ and the care that is actually being provided, we call these ‘gaps in care’. Making sure that ‘gaps in care’ are appropriately addressed is particularly important for individuals with chronic physical and behavioral health conditions.
Health Homes of Upstate New York (HHUNY)
was recently awarded a grant by
Finger Lakes Performing Provider System (FLPPS)
to help facilitate closure of those gaps for individuals receiving care management services throughout the FLPPS 13 county region. CCSI staff recently met with Christine Mangione, Director, Clinical Operations for HHUNY, to learn more about this critical new initiative.
What is HHUNY’s role in this initiative?
Our role at HHUNY is to give care managers the support they need to facilitate closing gaps in care. While care managers try to maximize the health and wellbeing of members by ensuring that the multiple providers involved in a member’s care are effectively coordinated, care managers face multiple challenges. They often have high caseloads and may have challenges contacting health care providers, getting transportation for clients to get to needed care, and ensuring clients follow through with appointments. This new initiative is focused on streamlining the work of the care managers by supporting them with some of these concrete tasks. We want to take as much off their plates as possible, including tasks like scheduling appointments with healthcare providers and arranging transportation for members to get to appointments.
We’re thinking creatively to find solutions and are learning more about what we can do to be most helpful for care managers. For example, we are contracting with a mobile lab and will assist with making arrangements to ensure lab services are available for members to get their blood work done. We are building relationships with inpatient discharge planners to better facilitate linkages to outpatient treatment when a member completes their inpatient stay.
Click here to continue reading.
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Planning Grant Strengthens Upstate NY CBOs
CCSI is pleased to be supporting
Healthy Community Alliance, Inc.
in a New York State Department of Health planning grant to strengthen Upstate NY's community-based organizations (CBOs). CBOs participating in this project play a key role in addressing the social and economic factors affecting individuals’ health, but they do not yet have payment agreements to bill Medicaid for their services. The grant funding will be used to educate and assist these organizations with implementing results-focused business practices, so they are better positioned to engage in new revenue models to pay for the critical work they do. The grant will build a consortium of these CBOs across upstate New York. As lead consultant, CCSI will be working with HCA to provide consortium members with web-based and in-person trainings in areas such as: information technology, data collection and analysis, communication, performance metrics, contract negotiations and corporate compliance. This work will further strengthen the role of CBOs in healthcare system transformation, helping stakeholders and policymakers better understand the critical role CBOs play in improving health outcomes for those in New York. Click
here
for more details about the grant, and contact
Gwen Olton
, Associate Director, CCSI Practice Transformation, at
golton@ccsi.org
to learn more about CCSI’s work with the consortium.
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Mental Health and Wellness in New York State Schools
In last month’s
CCSI News and Updates
, we shared our interview with Glenn Liebman, CEO, Mental Health Association in New York State, Inc. (MHANYS) and Amy Molloy, Director of Schools Mental Health Resources and Training Center, MHANYS, where we talked with them about New York State’s new law requiring schools to provide mental health education as a component of health instruction. NYS Mental Health in Education is a comprehensive framework that includes mental health as a critical part of one’s overall health. Mental health, defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), is not just the absence of disease. It is a state of well-being in which each person can realize their own potential, cope with normal life stressors, work productively, and contribute to their community.
Did you know that the recent law is closely aligned with the knowledge, expertise and support that CCSI already delivers to New York State schools? CCSI staff have worked to integrate these new state expectations into current supports to provide enhanced training and consultation with schools. Two specific CCSI service offerings:
“Foundational Trauma-Responsive Care”
and “From Trauma to Healing – Building Trauma Sensitive Schools to Support Resiliency” mirror several areas of Mental Health Education Instruction. A core tenet of trauma-sensitive schools is creating positive school climates in which students and staff feel safe and secure, valued and respected. In fact, research has shown that school climate is integral to students’ academic success. When staff understand the effects of trauma on brain development, including the presence of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), and can manage their own exposure to students’ traumatic experiences, staff capacity to build positive relationships with students and each other increases. As a result of creating a trauma-sensitive school environment, students learn and practice skills for identifying emotions in themselves and others, learn how to manage strong feelings and build resiliency. Specific skills identified in both the NYS Mental Health Literacy in Schools and in trauma-sensitive school environments include building empathy and compassion for others and self (self-care skills), understanding the benefits of gratitude, communication skills, problem solving skills and the ability to set and achieve goals.
Click here to continue reading.
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PASS Program "Family" Helps Teen Make Life Changes
The
Prevention, Access, Self-Empowerment and Support (PASS) program
is an innovative, curriculum-based, statewide prevention program that works with teens who experience challenges in their daily lives, or whose parents have significant mental health diagnoses. To better understand how PASS impacts youth and their families, CCSI staff sat down to talk with Gloria, the grandmother of a recent PASS graduate. Gloria told us that their experiences with the program resulted in both she and her granddaughter making sustained changes and improving their relationship.
How did you and your granddaughter get involved with PASS?
I heard about PASS through word of mouth. My co-worker’s son participated in the program. She said she saw a difference in her son as a result of PASS, so I was interested to see how it could possibly help my granddaughter.
What was your experience like with PASS?
It was satisfying, and it felt like the staff and families in the program, all became like one big family. I first met PASS program staff at the parent workshop, and I put my trust in them when I saw how they interacted with the other parents and teens. As parents and grandparents, we’re all experiencing similar things and have similar goals, so it felt good to hear the other parents’ stories and their concerns. I felt reassured that I wasn’t alone and didn’t need to feel embarrassed. It was great to hear how the other parents were becoming better parents, and it encouraged me to become better too.
I initially wasn’t sure how my granddaughter would react to being a part of a program like this, and I worried she could embarrass me. That wasn’t the case though. The teens gravitated towards the staff they felt comfortable with, and they also bonded with the other teens. They saw their peers achieving, and that encouraged them to meet their own goals.
Click here to read the remainder of the interview.
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Suffolk County Police Officers Complete Crisis Intervention Team Training
Thirty Suffolk County police officers graduated on January 18
th
from a weeklong Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training program. The program was funded by a state Office of Mental Health grant and conducted by the
Institute for Police, Mental Health & Community Collaboration
to improve the department's responses to residents with mental illness. Next month, the police department, sheriff's office, County Division of Community Mental Hygiene Services and local advocates will participate in an event sponsored by the State Senate to expand the program.
CIT programs have two main goals: 1) assess and transform the crisis response system to minimize the times that law enforcement are the first responders to citizens in a mental health crisis, and 2) ensure that when law enforcement responders are the first to respond, that they have the required skills, knowledge, resources and support needed to de-escalate situations and divert individuals from the juvenile and criminal justice systems.
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Rochester Leaders Advance Their Understanding of Diverse Perspectives
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Leadership Rochester
identifies emerging and existing leaders each year and brings them together for monthly sessions with key leaders to discuss the significant issues affecting Rochester and Monroe County. The unique format makes Rochester and Monroe County the classroom. Programs are strategically designed to move to unique locations to give participants a comprehensive look at our community along with influential organizations and individuals that shape our region.
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Kesha Carter
Chief Diversity Officer
Coordinated Care Services, Inc.
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CCSI Chief Diversity Officer,
Kesha Carter
opened the “Finding Common Ground” January program day with an exercise aimed at helping participants understand their own cultural identity. The exercise set the tone for participants to be open to thinking critically about the perspective, identity and lens of someone else before making judgement or making statements driven solely by their own personal views. The cohort was immersed in a day-long experience focused on intercultural understanding, understanding diverse perspectives and challenges specific racial groups face historically and currently in the Greater Rochester Area.
Click here to continue reading.
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Financial Services Update
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CFR Training Opportunities
The Consolidated Fiscal Report (CFR) is due to NYS OMH May 1
st
or June 1
st
with an approved 30-day extension (OASAS and OPWDD providers are automatically June 1
st
deadline with no extension needed). Now is the time to begin getting ready for the CFR. CCSI will again be offering CFR training opportunities for counties and agencies across New York State.
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James Monfort
Manager of Financial Services, Senior Consultant
Coordinated Care Services, Inc.
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The CFR continues to provide New York State disabilities offices with key program data and is the mechanism used by the state to reconcile claims against state funding. It is imperative that counties and agencies are ready to complete accurate and on-time CFR submissions. CCSI possesses a vast knowledge about preparing CFRs and the training is designed in a way that allows everyone to acclimate themselves to the CFR schedules, gain new knowledge and tips, and enhance their skills in preparing the CFR. Training can be in either full day or half day sessions to be provided at CCSI offices in Rochester, on-site at the county/agency, or remotely via the WebEx platform. In our training, we cover, “Getting Started” CFR preparation, updates on software, guided tour of the CFR schedules, handouts, tips and tricks, and recommendations as well as an interactive training that allows users to follow along on their own devices.
For those interested in having CCSI prepare your CFR, or if you would like to schedule 2018 CFR trainings for February and March, please contact James Monfort at
jmonfort@ccsi.org
(585) 613-7633 as soon as possible.
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Donna Peri
Senior Vice President
Business Management Services
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Rodney Corry
Vice President
Program Management Services
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Elizabeth Meeker, PsyD
Vice President
Consulting Services
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We’re sure we’re not alone when we say 2019 already seems to be unfolding at a very fast clip! As we gear up for what promises to be an exciting year, we are continuing to evolve CCSI’s services and supporting infrastructure to best meet the increasingly complex needs of CCSI customers across Upstate NY. To that end, we’re pleased to share the following staffing updates.
Donna Peri
– Senior Vice President
will be leading CCSI’s
Business Management Services
area, which includes providing the essential business supports health and human services providers need to run their organizations successfully, scaled to their size, complexity, and budget. Donna and her team will be working to expand CCSI’s ability to support more health and human services organizations areas including: strengthening fiscal business practices; building and maintaining a strong workforce; meeting specialized staffing needs and optimizing management of state funding. If you’d like to learn more, please contact Donna at
dperi@ccsi.org
.
Rodney Corry
–
Rodney has assumed the role of
Vice President, Program Management Services
, leading our efforts to provide CCSI customers with the talent and infrastructure needed to quickly stand up programs – and to operate them successfully. Many of the programs in this service line are based at customer locations, guided by the customer’s priorities and vision, and managed in partnership with CCSI.
For more information about our work in this area, Rodney can be reached at
rcorry@ccsi.org
.
Elizabeth Meeker, PsyD
– Elizabeth has assumed the position of
Vice President, Consulting Services
which brings together an expanding array of technical assistance and consulting services (covering performance measurement and quality improvement, cultural competence, school-based services, and many more), with an eye toward helping us to deepen our work in these critical areas and enhance the
delivery of our Business Management and Program Management Services. Elizabeth can be reached at
emeeker@ccsi.org
.
Look for updates about our work in each of these core service areas in future newsletters – or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
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Congratulations to Cindee Gray!
Congratulations to CCSI Board Chair Cindee Gray on her retirement from RIT. RIT leadership (past and present), staff and many community partners gathered at RIT last month to honor Cindee. She leaves a lasting imprint serving the community for 35+ years, and has chaired and served on many boards across Greater Rochester.
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We’re extremely pleased to welcome two recent additions to the CCSI Board of Directors:
Dr. LeKeyah Wilson
is practitioner of general pediatrics and adolescent medicine at Rochester General Pediatrics Associates. In addition, she serves as the Medical Director for the Rochester Regional Health System’s five school-based health centers as well as for the Industry School and the Monroe County Children’s Center. Dr. Wilson has a special interest in adolescent violence and is a participant in the Rochester Youth Violence Partnership.
Mary Winter
worked for the Onondaga County Department of Probation for more than 30 years, serving as Commissioner from 2003 -2009. She is active in a number of volunteer activities throughout the Syracuse community, including serving as President of the Board of Directors for New Justice Services. Ms. Winter is also a longstanding member of the NYS Office of Children and Family Services Advisory Board.
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Want to hear more? If you haven’t yet had the chance, we hope you’ll check out our Facebook page for more CCSI news and resources.
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