NJAMHAA 75th Anniversary

52 75 th Anniversary I n 2014, NJMHI launched a multi-year training series on evidence-based practices for treating veterans, active military and their families, which proved highly successful. Participation in 2016 and 2017 doubled compared with the first two years, and the number of participating agencies and clinicians continued to grow. In September 2017, NJMHI hosted the Japan Psychiatric Association for International Partnership (KAISEIKAI), an organization founded in 1984 and made up of hospital executives and psychiatrists. KAISEIKAI’s central aim is to strengthen Japan’s psychiatric medical fields through international partnerships. “It was quite an honor to be asked, as KAISEIKAI had been hosted by a number of notable organizations around the world, including Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpetrière in Paris, France; C.G.Jung Instituz Zurich in Switzerland; the West London Mental Health National Health Service Trust in London; and the Medical University of Vienna in Austria,” Dr. Wentz said. As part of its focus on increasing access to treatment and non-clinical support services, NJMHI proposed the idea of establishing a Center of Excellence (COE) for Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) and Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorders. The COE’s purpose will be to assist providers in working with their clients to address SDoH and achieve health equity in all communities. These factors, which account for 80 percent of individuals’ health, include unstable, inadequate and/or lack of housing; insufficient food and other necessities; and lack of health care, transportation, education and employment. In 2020, focus groups were conducted with more than 40 individuals from nearly 30 NJAMHAA member agencies, who expressed strong, unanimous support for this project. The vision for the COE is to improve health, including mental and behavioral health; increase education, employment and socialization; improve health literacy; and foster the adoption of behaviors that reduce health risks and reduce or eliminate behaviors associated with poor health for vulnerable and marginalized populations. Goals to achieve this vision have been identified in four areas: education and training; supports, resources and technical assistance; networking and partnerships; and policy development. NJMHI is continuing to explore funding opportunities to establish the COE. A s the behavioral healthcare field has been experiencing a continually worsening crisis, NJAMHAA and NJMHI have launched their own initiatives and collaborated with other organizations to increase staff recruitment and retention. In 2005, NJAMHAA worked with Rutgers University School of Social Work (SSW) to develop the Intensive Weekend (IW) Program, which enables full-time practitioners to earn their Master’s in Social Work (MSW) degrees while continuing their employment. NJAMHAA Board and staff leadership provided Ericka Deglau, PhD, MSW, who had served as a Professor of Teaching at Rutgers SSW and the first IW Program Director, and her team with guidance and connections to providers throughout the membership to share input on the program structure and courses that students need to advance in their careers. Back on the Home Front Preparing the Behavioral Healthcare Workforce of the Future