NJAMHAA-70th-anniversary-publication

13 For its first year, NJAMHAA “functioned as an arm of the Department of Institutions and Agencies [the predecessor to the Department of Human Services] until 1952 when it gave priority to the purpose of serving the needs of private, as well as public, clinics and began working toward improving mental health care standards,” as described in the association’s 30 th anniversary newsletter (June 26, 1981). Shel Goldstein, who served on the NJAMHAA Board in the early 1990s, shared that NJAMHAA was “a less inclusive group and Deb opened it up to become more involved with agencies. NJAMHAA became more encompassing under Deb’s leadership,” he said. In addition to increasing communication and collab- oration with providers, NJAMHAA engaged service recipients to ensure their needs were fully repre- sented in its advocacy. “I changed NJAMHAA’s cul- ture. We are about and think mostly of the end beneficiaries of services and supports. This drives everything. At the trade association, they’re always present in everything we do,” Dr. Wentz said. “While NJAMHAA represents providers and focuses on cre- ating an external environment so our providers – the heroes on the front lines – can effectively serve more individuals, having the human touch makes it more impactful in terms of meeting those goals. We put a human face on NJAMHAA that it didn’t have before,” she added. “NJAMHAA has been an evolution in terms of brand, how we identify ourselves. We started as a reactive group responding to crises and changed our brand and focus to being proactive,” said John Monahan, ACSW, LCSW, Founder of Greater Trenton Behavior- al HealthCare, which merged with Oaks Integrated Care in 2015, and a former NJAMHAA Board Chair. “Instead of fighting the inevitability of public policy, NJAMHAA came to the forefront of public policy to be the voice for how the mental healthcare system can best meet the needs of consumers and their families.” “We are about and think mostly of the end beneficiaries of services and supports. This drives everything. At the trade association , they’re always present in everything we do.” - Debra L. Wentz, NJAMHAA President & CEO 1991 Clozapine, a new generation of antipsychotic medication, was introduced. 1992 - NJAMHAA began a broadcast fax system to share important information with members. - The Hospital-Based Committee was launched. 1991 - NJAMHAA sta rented o ce space instead of using a provider agency as previously done. - NJAMHAA had 82 members. 1994 - NJAMHAA convinced Governor Christine ToddWhitman not to include behavioral health in Medicaid Managed Care. - NJAMHAA became a registered lobbyist, making its presence on legislative issues more prominent. - The Children’s Committee was born. - NJAMHAA created the current Board of Directors’ structure with members representing provider organizations.