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60th Annual National Dialogues on Behavioral Health Conference coming to New Orleans in November

Date: 09/13/19

On behalf of the Louisiana Department of Health, Louisiana Healthcare Connections would like to share with providers about the upcoming National Dialogues on Behavioral Health (NDBH) annual conference scheduled for November 3-6, 2019 in New Orleans.

Official press release is below.

National Dialogues on Behavioral Health

60th Annual Conference

Creating Value, Measuring Value:

Connecting Care, Collaboration, and Outcomes

The 2019 60th Annual National Dialogues on Behavioral Health (NDBH) conference titled "Creating Value, Measuring Value: Connecting Care, Collaboration and Outcomes” will be held at the Renaissance Arts Hotel in New Orleans November 3 – 6, 2019. Information regarding conference and hotel registration is posted on the www.NationalDialoguesBH.org website.

National Dialogues on Behavioral Health is the oldest annual conference on mental health and substance abuse in the United States.  The goal of the conference is to provide a venue in which cutting edge behavioral health issues are discussed and participants have the opportunity to dialogue with the experts in real time to obtain information and learn strategies that are actionable for implementation. National Dialogues Conference partners are the National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors (NACBHDD), the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) Mental Health Program and the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD).

The issue addressed this year is the disconnect between individuals and families’ need for care and the need for the interconnectedness across systems that is necessary to provide true integration of care resulting in good outcomes for individuals, families and communities. The underlying premise is that there are four critical factors needed to address this disconnect:  engagement, collaboration, connecting care and the alignment of payment with outcomes that are valued by individuals receiving services as well as the communities in which they live.  Issues to be discussed include:

  • Who are the stakeholders that need to be engaged to participate in care and how are they effectively engaged such that they have a commitment to providing care?
  • How can effective collaborations be built across multiple systems such that the silos in which providers work are deconstructed and re-formed to become a true integrated and effective system of service delivery?
  • What is needed to connect care? What have been the professional and financial barriers? What are best practice examples of connecting care? What are the roles of physicians and behavioral health providers in connecting care? How can professions such as navigators, case managers, and peer leaders assist in connecting care?  How can the use of technological tools help connect care in both urban and rural/frontier settings?
  • What measures are most appropriate to use to determine if services were effective and that the outcomes attained are the ones that are valued by individuals receiving services?
  • How do we align payment for services and outcomes that are valued by individuals, their families and the communities in which they live which ultimately saves lives and leads to healthier thriving communities?

These issues will be addressed within the context of Mobile Crisis Teams, Law Enforcement, Suicide Prevention, the Opioid Crisis, and School Safety.  The NDBH brings together diverse experts from across the country.  Speakers include: Marie Williams – Commissioner, Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services - Tennessee; Karya Lustig, Deputy Director - Center for Health Leadership and Practice – Oakland, CA; Chris McKee – Law Enforcement, Connecticut; Jan Tarantino, Resources for Human Development – New Orleans, LA; Tiffany Anderson Washington – Mobile Crisis Coordinator, Hinds Behavioral Health Services – Jackson MS; Lacy Dicharry, LSU Leadership Development Institute – New Orleans, LA; Elizabeth Peterson, Santa Fe County Community Services Department – New Mexico; Nick Macchione, Director - County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency; Vijay Ganju, Behavioral Health Knowledge Management - Texas; Selina Hickman and Alison Krompf, Department of Mental Health - Vermont; Jennifer Black, Beacon Health Options;  Harold Brandt, The Baton Rouge Clinic – Louisiana;  and Andrew Cleek and Meaghan Baier, NYU School of Social Work.

The pre-conference, which will be offered Sunday, November 3rd from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., will address the four factors necessary for integrating care with a focus on the timely topic of School Mental Health and Safety.  Historically, behavioral health systems and departments of education and law enforcement have worked in silos.  However, in response to the multiple tragedies that have occurred over the years in schools and colleges/universities, collaborations across these systems have strengthened to promote mental health, prevention, and early intervention.  Speakers from across the country will include Patricia Babcock, Deputy Director, Florida Department of Children and Families; Eric Tadehara, Assistant Director, Utah Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health; Sharon Hoover, University of Maryland; Andrea Duarte, Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services; Behtany Sclafani, Capital Area Human Services- Louisiana; Holly Galland, School Based Mental Health Physician- Louisiana; and Kathy Edmonston, Parent Facilitator, Ascension Parish Schools - Louisiana.