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Groups Unite to Provide Timely Health Home Care Management Training

February 14, 2012

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The ���������� Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services (����������), the ���������� State Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare (NYSCCBH), the Mental Health Association of Nassau County, and Clubhouse of Suffolk are pleased to announce that they have been awarded nearly $800,000 in funds under the State’s Health Workforce Retraining Initiative (HWRI) to provide training to NYSOMH intensive and supportive case managers now operating under the TCM Federal waiver and NYSOASAS MATS staff.

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This innovative training initiative will help enhance the knowledge and skills that case managers need to deliver the care coordination services required under the State’s new Health Home initiative. This new training project will train nearly 900 current case managers, who provide services in the entire upstate regions and Long Island.��

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In awarding these funds, The Department of Health Deputy Commissioner Richard Cook recently noted, “This funding will prepare our workforce for the new generation of health care delivery that is essential to increase our economic competitiveness and to offer our clients the best health care available.” The Health Workforce Retraining Initiative is jointly managed by the Department’s of Health and Labor. “This award supports our efforts to ensure that ���������� has the best trained healthcare workforce in the nation,” Cook added.

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“The training is expected to commence this spring and coincides with the roll-out of the State’s Health Home initiatives that have just been approved by the federal government following the State’s submission of its State Plan Amendment,” said David Nemiroff, executive director of the Mental Health Association of Nassau County.

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“The Health Homes Initiative represents a significant shift from the manner in which health, mental health and substance abuse services are currently offered here in New York. ��Care Coordination staff face huge new responsibilities. As such we wish to thank ���������� State��for making this investment in the behavioral health workforce and the consumers who will benefit from these new services,” said Lauri Cole, Executive Director of the NYS Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare.

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“We are delighted to be working alongside our colleagues to bring state-of-the-art training and technical assistance opportunities to dedicated staff across ����������,” said Michael Stoltz, executive director of the Clubhouse of Suffolk. ��

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The four agencies will contract with New York Care Coordination Project to provide upwards of 2 regional face-to-face and 8 webinar-based trainings, in addition to a specialized website replete with a full range of downloadable training resources and web-based learning and support for regional learning collaboratives. The training is expected to commence this spring, as soon as funding is released by the state, and will coincide with the roll-out of the State’s Health Home initiatives just approved by the federal government following the State’s submission of its State Plan Amendment.��

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���������� Executive Director Harvey Rosenthal said “our groups are very pleased and prepared to provide this critically needed training package to ensure that case managers are properly supported to take on the elevated and expanded roles they are assuming as new health home care managers.”