Of Partnership: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow Celebrating 60+ Years of Strengthening New Jersey’S Behavioral Health Community
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20 Annual Report NJAMHAA, Inc. The Power of Partnership: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow Celebrating 60+ Years of Strengthening New Jersey’s Behavioral Health Community YESTERDAY Celebrating 60 Years of Strengthening New Jersey’s Behavioral Health System TODAY Building Partnerships to Achieve Success on Behalf of Providers and Those They Serve NJAMHAA’s Recent Advocacy Successes Board Committees, Practice Groups, Workgroups and Councils Board Committees Addictions Hospital-Based Chief Financial Officers Innovation Council Children’s Integration of Physical and Mental Health Co-Occurring Disorders Public Policy Executive Workforce Development Finance and Administration Practice Groups and Workgroups Association for Ambulatory Behavioral Intensive Family Support Services Healthcare/Outpatient Directors’ Coalition Intensive Outpatient Treatment and Support Services Billing Supervisors Mental Health Emergency Services Association Care Management Organizations/Unified Case Management New Jersey Association of Integrated Case Management Children’s Mobile Response and Stabilization Services New Jersey Coalition of Residential Providers Clinical Documentation New Jersey Programs in Assertive Community Treatment Developmental Disabilities/Mental Illness Quality Assurance and Compliance Workgroup Human Resources Transformation and Peer Workforce Information Technology Professional Advisory Council Youth Case Management Councils Educational Council Integrated Healthcare Council Information Technology Council Pharmaceutical Advisory Council New Jersey Mental Health Institute, Inc. National Resource Center for Hispanic Mental Health TOMORROW Looking Ahead to Achieving More for a Stronger Community 2 Recognition by Various YESTERDAY State and National Celebrating 60 Years of Strengthening New Jersey’s Organizations Behavioral Health System Following are highlights of more than NJAMHAA has come a long way in a lot of ways. Our organization was 70 awards that NJAMHAA and NJMHI established in 1951 as the New Jersey Association of Mental Hygiene received over the years: Clinics and remained a small organization for quite a long time. In fact, when Bill Sette, MSW, LCSW, former NJAMHA Board president and ▪ 2009 – Welcome Back Award for current NJAMHAA Board member and Chief Executive Officer of Community Service – Debra Wentz Preferred Behavioral Health of New Jersey, joined the organization in 1970, it consisted of a secretary one day a week and an answering ▪ 2009 – Minority Health Community machine. Trailblazer Award from the National Partnership for Action to End Health According to Sette, in the early 1970s, the organization started to Disparities of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office have Executive Directors who worked part-time, and the secretary’s of Minority Health – Henry Acosta hours expanded to three days per week. In 1974, the organization was renamed the New Jersey Association of Mental Health Agencies (NJAMHA) ▪ 2008 – NJBIZ Healthcare Heroes— to reflect the changing industry, but had not yet achieved the size and Education – Henry Acosta scope it encompasses today. Sette recalls in the mid-1970s, when he was Secretary/Treasurer, “All the organization’s records fit in one box, bigger ▪ 2008 – Golden Bell Leadership than a shoebox but smaller than a crate.” Award from the Mental Health Association in New Jersey, Inc. – “Today, the association bears no resemblance to the association it was 35 Debra Wentz years ago. You’d never know it was the same animal,” Sette said. “We’re ▪ 2008 – Welcome Back Award for much better at advocacy, we have a great staff and we’re getting the word Destigmatization from The Lilly out and approaching the issues in a much more sophisticated fashion.” Foundation – Henry Acosta Growing in Size and Scope ▪ 2008 – Hispanic Business “Len really laid the foundation for the modern organization,” Sette said, referring Magazine’s top “100 Most to Len Altamura, DSW, LCSW, Chief Executive Officer of Steininger Behavioral Influential Hispanics in America.” Care Services, who served as NJAMHA’s first full-time CEO from June 1990 – Henry Acosta until May 1995. His successor is NJAMHAA’s current CEO, Debra Wentz, Ph.D. “Deb built on that foundation and did a phenomenal job bringing the ▪ 2007 – American Psychiatric organization to the next level,” according to Sette. One of the many major Foundation Award for Advancing Minority Mental Health – Henry accomplishments under Dr. Wentz’s leadership is the organization’s becoming Acosta the official trade association for addiction treatment providers, as well as mental healthcare providers, and appropriately changing its name to the New Jersey ▪ 2006 – Excellence in Grassroots Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies (NJAMHAA) in 2010. Advocacy Award – National Council for Community “I am particularly proud that during my tenure as President, we have Behavioral Healthcare evolved to represent, not only the state’s community-based mental health providers, but also New Jersey’s community-based addiction treatment ▪ 2006 – Associations Advance agencies. This broader membership strengthens us and our ability to America, American Society of advocate on the complex issues in achieving integrated healthcare and Association Executives – Award of Excellence for Tsunami Mental wellness and recovery for everyone. Each of us, large or small, has become Health Relief Project an integral, significant member of the business community of New Jersey,” said Jim Cooney, MSW, LCSW, Chief Executive Officer of Ocean Mental Health ▪ 2004 – NAMI NEW JERSEY Services, who will continue to serve on the NJAMHAA Board as a Past President. Freedom from Stigma Award – The New Jersey Mental Health Many other successes were achieved over the past several decades, and Institute NJAMHAA is fortunate to have a number of long-term members who are able share highlights of our rich history, in addition to continuing to ▪ 2001 – Lilly Reintegration Award contribute so much to our achievements and directly to the behavioral health community. ▪ 1998 – Cable Television Awards - Telly Award – First Place, Public 1908 – Clifford Beers hailed as founder of 1933 – Prohibition ended, Service Category Public Service America’s mental health movement, based on allowing certain kinds of alcohol Announcement – “Mugshots” his autobiography, A Mind that Found Itself. to be produced and sold. NJAMHAA also received several awards for the content and 1920 – Medication, electroconvulsive therapy, design of its media advocacy insulin-induced coma and surgery (lobotomy) campaigns, Wise Investment, Bottom were first used to treat schizophrenia; Prohibition Line and Bankrupt Dreams, Battered began, banning the sale, manufacture and Souls. transportation of alcohol. Back in the 1970s and 1980s, NJAMHA CEOs’ main focus was on presenting four conferences per year. The organization quickly Special Thanks to Our Past expanded its role as an informational resource for members. For example, Jeanne Wurmser, Ph.D., a consultant to many behavioral and Present Leaders healthcare providers throughout New Jersey, recalls sitting in on Board meetings with her boss from CPC Behavioral Healthcare to understand The NJAMHAA staff holds tremendous what was happening in the community mental health movement. Dr. gratitude for the leadership, vision and Wurmser continued to be active in NJAMHA, ultimately serving as support that our past and present Board Board President and securing grants for NJAMHA to provide training Presidents and Executive Directors have to clinicians statewide. “It was a natural evolution because NJAMHA provided over the years. was already providing training through conferences,” she said. Past Board Presidents Over the years, NJAMHA’s conferences featured inspirational J. Michael Armstrong, MA, MBA presentations, in addition to clinical- and operational-focused Peter M. Bry, Ph.D. workshops. For example, in 1998, NJAMHA presented an award Eugene Callaghan, MA to actor Rod Steiger, who is famous for his role as Dr. Zhivago. In Phyllis A. Diggs, MA, MPH, LPC his acceptance speech, Steiger delivered a powerful performance of Donald Kaye, MSW what it is like to experience depression. Among other high-profile guests Barry Keefe, MSW, LCSW and honorees was Dr. John F. Nash, Jr., before A Beautiful Mind, a movie James Lape, MA, MBA, FACHE* about his life and struggles with schizophrenia, was produced. Thomas W. Ludlow, ACSW Kemsey Mackey, ACSW, LCSW* Meeting Members’ Technical, as Well as Clinical Training Needs Joseph A. Masciandaro, MA* While providing clinical skills and resources to build behavioral health Joan Mechlin, RN, MA professionals’ abilities to serve people most effectively, NJAMHA also William Miller, MSW expanded its services to bring members into the computer age – which John Monahan, ACSW, LCSW* is equally critical for maximizing the effectiveness of care delivery. The William D. Neigher, PhD Management Information Systems (MIS) Project was created in 1984 Donald J. Parker, MSW, LCSW and was renamed the Information Technology (IT) Project in 2003 Robert L. Parker, MPA* to reflect expanded and new services incorporating new technologies. Steve Ramsland Ron Gordon, Associate Director of the IT Project, remembers providing Robert Schober, MSEd, LRC* assistance with formatting floppy disks back in the 1980s to Robert L. Parker, Frances Seidman, PhD MPA, who is also a NJAMHAA Board Past President and current Board member William Sette, MSW* and Executive Director of NewBridge Services.