Workshops

L1 | Retaining Clients With an Opioid Use Disorder: Preparing For the Future in Valued-Based Payment Outcomes

David Loveland, PhD
Senior Program Director | Community Care Behavioral Health

Participants will learn a range of strategies and data collection protocols to improve retention of clients with an opioid use disorder (OUD) in medication assisted treatment (MAT). Data from two large projects, including a valued-based payment (VBP) project with 25 providers, as well as data from 17 Centers of Excellence that are preparing to transition to a VBP for care coordination, will be shared. Effective strategies reviewed include identifying disengagement risk at the front door, using existing data to monitor risk of disengagement over time, and providing structured checkups with in-person and telehealth forms of communication to retain or reengage clients who disengage. Participants will have access to protocols and structured forms to help guide staff in improving retention over time.

L2 | Creating a Culture of Leadership

Jamie Gairo, MA
Leadership Consultant | Jamie Gairo Consulting

Edith Hennebaul, MA
Vice President, Human Resources | Step By Step

Michael Bernatovich, MS
Interim Chief Executive Officer | Step By Step

This session will be delivered by key executives at Step By Step in partnership with Leadership Consultant Jamie Gairo. In this session, we will outline the process that we conducted to develop and deliver a world-class Succession Management Program and Leadership Development Program. The Succession Management Program was developed to meet the needs of “deepening the bench.” The Leadership Development Program is a proactive approach to ensure ongoing leadership talent is available in various roles and levels when needed to drive organizational sustainability. Both of these programs combined create a culture that promotes ongoing leadership development for talent within the agency. As part of this session we will discuss best practices and how other organizations can apply them.

L3 | Technology and Wellness: Increasing Wellness and Independence Through Remote Health Support and Coaching

Kim Sonafelt MS, LPC, CADC
Chief Executive Officer | Mainstay Life Services

Maddie O’Rourke, MSW
Director of Clinical Services | Wellbridge Health

Daniel Rosen, PhD, MSW
Founder | Wellbridge Health

Taking an active role in one’s overall health and wellness and access to technology to manage wellness are rights. Mainstay Life Services has partnered with Wellbridge Health to develop a support model that optimizes self-management and empowers people to take active roles in their wellness. Using a Wellbridge Health provided iPhone, the model of care combines daily remote monitoring with weekly video face-to-face chats with a health coach. Utilizing daily trend data, Wellbridge and the individual are able to impact the appropriate level of care, mitigate the risk of the fatal four, and stay ahead of unnecessary emergency department visits and hospital admissions. Join us as we review our first-year results.

L4 | Creating an Integrated Care Network for Consumers with I/DD, Brain Injury, and Complex Medical and Behavioral Issues

Tine Hansen-Turton, MGA, JD
President and Chief Executive Officer | Woods Services, Inc.

This session on creating an integrated care network for people who require complex care crossing multiple systems, services, and provider and payer types, will address four key areas: (1) trends in the intellectual disabilities (I/DD) sector that every provider should know about, (2) population health as an approach that assists in tying together fragmented I/DD systems and services together with health care, (3) strategies for building a system of care through partnerships and models of affiliations, and (4) policy considerations for the field. The session will walk participants through population and labor force trends, the gradual move towards managed care for the I/DD population and services, and Woods integrated network of care and results to date.

L5 | A Warm Welcome – Safer and More Engaging Care Transitions

Mandy Fauble, PhD, LCSW
Director of Clinical Care Services | UPMC Western Behavioral Health at Safe Harbor

Amy Shanahan, MS, CADC
Director of Clinical care Services | UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital

This interactive workshop will allow for participants to explore, define, and consider the philosophical and practical arguments for creating warm handoff processes to further improve access and engagement in care. We will discuss the definitions, processes, and workflows for implementing warm handoffs and explore the many benefits for people being served and people providing care. Outcome data and experiences of two large warm handoff programs will be shared in support of expanding warm handoff to improve engagement. We will conclude by sharing practical resources and considerations for implementing warm handoff in a variety of settings.

L6 | I/DD in a Managed Care Environment: Lessons Learned and Best Practices

Jim Wisz, MBA
Executive Director of Operations | Millin Associates, LLC

This session will discuss the lessons learned in other states’ transitions to managed care for Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) providers. This will include a discussion of the New York State transition to managed care for the I/DD population. Millin has been at the forefront of NY State Managed Care transitions for behavioral health, health homes, primary care, and foster care. Millin will share its expertise in developing billing process workflows and capabilities that are proven to assure a smooth transition to managed care and ongoing revenue stabilization. Millin will also discuss how best-of-breed technology integrations can assist in increasing efficiencies and provide far better results for your agency.

L7 | Care Coordination: A Model for Empowering Caregivers to Support Children With Medical Complexities

Amy McTighe, PhD
Director of Care Coordination | The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh

Are you interested in providing an innovative approach to care? If so, this presentation is for you! After defining what care coordination is, this interactive workshop will guide participants through a current care coordination model that focuses on providing supports to children with medical complexities and their caregivers. Participants will be able to determine the benefits of providing a quality care coordination service and review a research-based approach to care coordination in its entirety. Additionally, positive outcomes and barriers of this model will be examined. Be prepared to learn new strategies that focus on empowering caregivers to support their loved ones with medical complexity in all environments!

L8 | Moving Toward Outcomes-Based Thinking: How One Organization Is Preparing For Value-Based Care

Jessica Fenchel, MA
Vice President of Behavioral Health | Access Services

Debra Curtin, MA
Senior Director for Behavioral Health | Access Services

Sarah MacDonald, MA
Director of Clinical Quality and Compliance | Access Services

Success in a value-based care environment requires an outcome-based thought orientation, but fee-for-service payment models have trained us to think in volume. This session describes how we transformed our thought orientation, across several different program types, from an input-focused approach to an outcomes-based approach. We will highlight how we were able to use outcomes models to identify value-based key performance indicators and reorganize our approach to service delivery.

L9 | Retooling Community Participation Support Services: What We Have Learned From the COVID-19 Experience

Denise Pioli
Vice President, Services | Via of the Lehigh Valley, Inc.

Paula Fischer
Director of Senior Services | Milestone Centers

Amy Prisuta
McGuire Memorial

Nicole Moravec
McGuire Memorial

Alicia Harter
Clelian Center Director | Clelian Heights

The COVID pandemic has forced us all to be creative and find new ways to approach our daily activities. During this time, Community Participation Supports providers demonstrated their commitment to reaching out to individuals who were suddenly cut off from their normal daily routine and social interactions. Hear from those who reacted to the challenge by finding alternative ways to keep individuals connected and engaged and how these services will continue to evolve as best practices in the future.

L10 | Creating the New Normal: Sharing Perspectives on Safely Reopening During COVID-19

Julie Weaver, OTR/L
Vice President | Community Services Group

Susanna Giesey, MA
Chief Program Officer | Venango Training and Development Center, Inc.

Magdalen Dombrsky
Regional Director for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities | Merakey

John Stahl
Director of Rehabilitation | Cambria County Association for the Blind and Handicapped

The panelists will share their strategies to re-open services while still in the midst of a pandemic. They will identify resources that they used and identify some of the pitfalls and challenges that have been encountered. The panelists will also share some of the lessons learned and new strategies that they developed and used during  re-opening transitions. Recognizing that in our current environment everything can be a moving target, the panelists will address how they manage the constant needs and changes.

D1 | Enhanced Community Based Treatment Team: Leveraging System Transformation and Value-Based Strategies to Solve Rural Delivery System Pain Points

Larry Nulton, PhD
Chief Executive Officer | Nulton Diagnostic Treatment Center

Monica Collins, MA, MBA
Senior Director, Systems Transformation | Magellan Behavioral Health of Pennsylvania

Tracy Selak, BA
BH/ID/EI Administrator | Cambria County MH/ID/EI

Ashlynne Zankey, MS | Supervisor, Blended
Case Management | CNulton Diagnostic and
Treatment Center

This presentation, co-led by Dr. Larry Nulton, CEO of Nulton Diagnostic Treatment Center, Tracy Selak, Cambria County Primary Contractor and Christine Munoz of Magellan Behavioral Health of Pennsylvania aim to inspire providers, primary contractors and payers to step outside of the fee for services world of Medicaid and apply practical and creative problem solving to address regional rural delivery system pain points leveraging not only system transformation and value-based strategies but payer provider relationships to meet system needs. This will be one by demonstrating how a strong provider- primary contractor and payor relationship combined with willingness to step outside of traditional Medicaid service delivery approaches allowed for the development and implementation of the Enhanced Community Based Treatment Team Model (ECBIT) which is demonstrating very positive outcomes as evidenced by a 30% increase in community tenure and a decrease of 90% of per member per month inpatient admissions after discharge from the service model.

D2 | CANCELLED

D3 | Leadership Gold – How to Be a Leader Worth Following

Ed Krow, SPHR, CCP, SHRM-SCP
HR Strategist/Speaker/Author | Ed Krow, LLC

If you are having difficulty responding to unanticipated challenges, or if you are simply interested in improving your leadership skills, this session is for you! The stakes are high in leading others today. There is more competition, slimmer margins, and the pressure to perform is increasing in today’s markets. How would you like an advantage in helping your team become successful? Let’s talk about leadership, especially some gold nuggets that you will be able to apply right away after you leave this session.

D4 | Managing Performance in 2020: In The Office or In The Home

Michael Cohen
Partner | Duane Morris Employment, Labor, Benefits and Immigration Practice Group

None of us needs to be reminded of what kind of year 2020 has been! The challenges we have faced are new and complicated. One thing that has remained constant, however, is our need to manage our employees’ performance, whether they are working from our office or their office at home. As we know, proper documentation and managing our employees with empathy are crucial for a myriad of employee relations issues. As importantly, when it comes to discrimination, retaliation, and other wrongful discharge claims, legal liability often turns on the documentation. But it’s not enough simply to document, document, document. Poor documentation is as dangerous as no documentation. The key is not only what you say but also how and when you say it. Empathy is paramount and has never been more important than it is today. This session focuses on the legal and human resource issues implicated in disciplinary documentation, with attention also paid to managing a remote workforce. Because these kinds of flaws are common to performance appraisals, this session will also examine the necessity of, and common mistakes seen in, the performance appraisal process.

D5 | Recruiting and Hiring: Exploring the Process and Implicit Bias

Michael Cohen
Partner | Duane Morris Employment, Labor, Benefits and Immigration Practice Group

While hiring is slower for many in 2020, the importance of the process has never been higher. Hiring the best applicant is imperative and doing so while recognizing and hopefully eliminating implicit bias is absolutely essential. And we must achieve these goals without creating legal liability. In today’s environment, it is necessary to take the time up front to do things right. Learn how! This session will focus on what you can and cannot do during the hiring process. It will examine the entire hiring process, including  (1) taking appropriate precautions even before the first interview is conducted, (2) examining implicit bias and the barriers it may be creating for your organization, (3) avoiding unlawful questions during the interview, and (4) documenting the decision-making process.

D6 | Engaging and Motivating Individuals and Their Supports (MH/IDD)

Kevin Kumpf, PhD, LPC, NCC, ACS
Clinical Director of Dual Diagnosis Services | Merakey

Kristin Cline, MS, LPC, CAADC, SAP
Clinical Lead Specialist for Dual Diagnosis Services | Merakey

This session will review the importance of engaging and motivating individuals who are dually diagnosed (with mental health and co-occurring intellectual and/or developmental disabilities) and their supports in treatment. We will review what Motivational Interviewing (MI) is and how to adapt the principles and concepts of MI for serving dually diagnosed individuals and their supports.

D7 | Retention Solutions for Recruitment Challenges

Alexandra Calabrese, BA
Director of Human Resources | Mainstay Life Services

Kim Sonafelt, BA, MS
Chief Executive Officer | Mainstay Life Services

Despite perpetually high turnover in Intellectual and Developmental Disability Services (IDD), Mainstay Life Services has been successful in maintaining well below average turnover and vacancy rates (11% and 9% four-year average, respectively). Mainstay utilizes these metrics and many more to analyze its workforce and formulate successful retention practices. They take a multi-faceted approach to talent management. Alex Calabrese, Director of Human Resources, strongly believes that employee retention strategies are a better investment, rather than endless recruiting and replacement of the workforce. The presenters will explain the demonstrated strategies and successful practices that allow Mainstay to continue to be a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Top Workplace year after year.

D8 | Ensuring Compliance with Wage and Hour Laws

Jeffrey Worley, JD
Partner | Gibbel Kraybill & Hess LLP

Providers employ a wide range of differently compensated individuals – from salaried exempt managers to hourly direct care providers to the questionable computer professional. Complying with wage and hour laws has never been more important. In 2019, the top 10 private-plaintiff wage and hour class action suits totaled over $449 million. And that figure does not consider Department of Labor audits and enforcement. This session is designed to provide a basic overview of wage and hour laws. We will also dig into job descriptions and duties to determine whether your employees are properly classified as exempt or non-exempt. The session is designed to be informative and to provide practical and pragmatic guidance on wage and hour laws.

D9 | Managing Secondary Trauma

Jessica Fenchel, MA
Vice President of Behavioral Health | Access Services

Our capacity to be present with people is one of the most vital ingredients to quality services. The damaging effects of secondary trauma don’t only threaten our exquisite presence, but also our passion and creativity for our work. This session will create clarity on how burnout happens and will provide practical behaviors to manage secondary trauma in a manner that supports career longevity and wellness to behavioral support professionals.

D10 | Update on Value-Based Purchasing

Doug Jacobs, MD
Chief Innovation Officer | PA Department of Human Services

Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) is the Department’s initiative to transition providers from volume to value payment models for the delivery of behavioral health services. The Department has encouraged initiatives that include value-based payment arrangements and shared risk. Value-based programs and payment models are critical for improving quality of care, efficiency of services, and reducing costs. Dr. Jacobs will describe what value-based purchasing is, the different kinds of value-based purchasing, and what new changes mean for providers.

D11 | From Canada to Philadelphia: A Public Health Approach to Overdose Prevention

Jason Snyder
Regional Director of Strategic Partnerships | Pinnacle Treatment

Rhonda B. Goldfein, Esq.
Executive Director | AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania

Shaun Hopkins, BSW
Manager, The Works | Toronto Public Health;
Manager, Needle Exchange | Toronto Public Health at City of Toronto

Liz Evans
Cofounder | InSite, Vancouver, BC

This moderated panel will examine the effectiveness of harm reduction in saving lives and creating a bridge to the addiction treatment system for those who want to stop using drugs. The discussion will showcase harm reduction principles in action, including a thought-provoking discussion of the development and ongoing successful operation of Insite, North America’s first legal supervised injection facility (SIF) in Vancouver, BC, where people using drugs are offered a safe environment and immediate intervention in case of an overdose. Panelists also will discuss Philadelphia’s effort to open the first legal SIF in the United States. As the commonwealth continues to fight an overdose death epidemic that in 2019 took the lives of more than 4,300 Pennsylvanians, this session will detail solutions that are proven to not only improve the health of people too often marginalized but, most importantly, prevent overdose death and open the door to treatment.