CANCELED: 2022 MHA Annual Mental Health Substance Use Recovery Conference

Wednesday, Dec. 7

8 a.m. — Registration/Breakfast
9 a.m. — Welcome

9:15 a.m. — Family First: A Shift in Culture and Practice

Overview:

This presentation will provide information about the Children Division’s efforts related to the implementation of the Family First Prevention Services Act and the impending transition of behavioral health services into managed care.

Objectives:

• • • increase knowledge and awareness related to CD’s implementation of FFPSA
    • learn how the utilization of data from the independent assessor process has assisted in shaping decisions related to the development of community-based services and placement options for children in foster care
    • discuss the impending integration of behavioral health services into managed care

Erica Signars
Special Assistant
Missouri Department of Social Services

10:15 a.m. — Energy Break

10:30 a.m. — Foundations of School Mental Health

Overview:

With the prevalence of diagnosable mental or behavioral health disorders in children and adolescents being approximately 20%, it is imperative for schools to provide comprehensive mental health support using a multi-tiered approach. The SAMHSA-funded Mid-America Mental Health Technology Transfer Center provides free training and technical assistance to promote and develop comprehensive mental health programming. A comprehensive mental health program builds upon existing policies and structures to align initiatives targeting student mental health, academic achievement and behavior, as well as crisis prevention and response. Participants will be introduced to best practice implementation guidelines for school-based mental health, along with resources for school crisis planning and mental health literacy. Participants will learn how they can utilize the MHTTC for training and technical assistance needs.

Objectives:

• • • describe the role of the Mid-America MHTTC and identify evidence-based practices for implementing school-based mental health
    • list the core components of comprehensive school mental health, as well as at least one resource their site can utilize to promote safe and supportive schools

Hannah West, Ph.D., PLP, BCBA
Regional Trainer
Mid-America Mental Health Technology Transfer Center
Omaha, NE

11:30 a.m. — Children’s Mercy Prepped and Ready & On-Demand Behavioral Health CME Course

Overview:

Dr. Sullivant will provide background on Prepped and Ready, a research project educating parents on the benefits of safe storage to reduce suicide risk among youth. The presentation will focus on how participants can offer this opportunity to their community.

Angela Guzman, LMSW, will present updated information on educational offerings created by the Division of Developmental and Behavioral Sciences at Children’s Mercy. This includes specifics about the recently created on-demand behavioral health course available for CME credit.

Objectives:

• • • identify recent trends in suicide rates regionally and nationally for youth
    • review why safe storage is an important intervention to reduce youth suicides
    • clarify how Prepped and Ready already has impacted prior participants
    • review how community members can share this resource with parents throughout Missouri

Angela Guzman
Behavioral Health Community Education Coordinator
Children’s Mercy – Kansas City

Dr. Shayla Sullivant
Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist
Children’s Mercy – Kansas City

12:30 p.m. – Networking Lunch

1:30 p.m. – Leveraging Technology to Support Recovery Efforts

Overview:

Mobile health (mHealth) technologies are an accessible, cost-effective method to help support healthier behaviors among individuals with a substance use disorder. In response, our team developed a mobile app intervention, “uMAT-R” to support the recovery of individuals with an opioid and/or stimulant use disorder. uMAT-R incorporates various supportive features to help clients throughout all stages of recovery.

Key supportive features of uMAT-R are as follows:

• • • educational content with more than 150 educational lessons based on SAMSHA Federal Guidelines (i.e. coping with stress, AMT misconceptions, mending broken relationships)
    • local resources spanning across 75% of Missouri (housing, food banks and transportation)
    • event calendar to remind individuals about upcoming appointments and medication reminders
    • in-app messaging, including access to a personal e-coach that is assigned to each participant and allowed to message them within the app
    • a goals feature allowing the establishment of goals within the app

To date, more than 700 participants have enrolled in the uMAT-R mobile app from 16 recruitment sites across the state of Missouri (i.e. recovery homes, inpatient and outpatient settings, hospitals, MAT clinics, specialized clinics providing pre- and postnatal care to women with SUD). We are continuing to expand the implementation of uMAT-R within and outside the state of Missouri to help support those in recovery from SUDs.

Objectives:

• • • demonstrate the ease and feasibility of mHealth support apps in the SUD population across various settings (i.e. recovery homes, outpatient, inpatient, MAT clinics, hospitals, etc.)
    • illustrate how apps can promote higher engagement in treatment and medication adherence
    • outline how the app can be accessed by hard-to-reach populations (pregnant and postpartum women with SUDs, rural populations and low SESs)

Patricia Cavazos, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychiatry
Washington University School of Medicine
St. Louis, MO

3 p.m. — Energy Break

3:15 p.m. — Mercy’s Virtual Behavioral Health Program – Hospital and ED Support Across the State

Overview:

Mercy’s Virtual Behavioral Health (vBH) program provides 24/7 psychiatric support across the Mercy ministry footprint, to include Missouri, Oklahoma and Arkansas. A team, including mental health intake coworkers, psychiatric nurse practitioners and psychiatrists, can support hospital emergency departments and medical floors, regardless of location. Mercy’s Virtual Substance Use Recovery Program (vSURP) is a specialty program targeting patients with OUD who need crisis stabilization prior to establishing outpatient care. Additionally, the vBH team can support ambulatory patients who receive digital screening for depression/suicide risk, prior to an annual wellness visit, if they indicate a higher risk for suicide.

Objectives:

• • • learn how a virtual behavioral health team can support patients with behavioral health and SUDs throughout a wide geography
    • become familiar with how digital depression/suicide screening of ambulatory patients can be accomplished across a health system

Kyle S. John, M.D.
Clinical Vice President for Behavioral Health
Mercy Health System
Chesterfield, MO

4:15 p.m. — Closing
4:30 p.m. — Adjournment

Thursday, December 8

7:30 a.m. — Registration/Breakfast

8:30 a.m. — Building Professional Resiliency in Mental Health Workplaces

Overview:

With the prevalence of diagnosable mental or behavioral health disorders in children and adolescents being approximately 20%, it is imperative for schools to provide comprehensive mental health support using a multi-tiered approach. The SAMHSA-funded Mid-America Mental Health Technology Transfer Center provides free training and technical assistance to promote and develop comprehensive mental health programming. A comprehensive mental health program builds upon existing policies and structures to align initiatives targeting student mental health, academic achievement and behavior, as well as crisis prevention and response. Participants will be introduced to best practice implementation guidelines for school-based mental health, along with resources for school crisis planning and mental health literacy. Participants will learn how they can utilize the MHTTC for training and technical assistance needs.

Objectives:

• • • describe the role of the Mid-America MHTTC and identify evidence-based practices for implementing school-based mental health.
    • list the core components of comprehensive school mental health, as well as at least one resource their site can utilize to promote safe and supportive schools.

Erika Franta, Ph.D., LP
School Mental Health Program Director, Regional Trainer
Mid-America Mental Health Technology Transfer Center
Omaha, NE

Hannah West, Ph.D., PLP, BCBA
Regional Trainer
Mid-America Mental Health Technology Transfer Center
Omaha, NE

9:30 a.m. — SUDs in the Perinatal Period: Management Considerations

Overview:

This session will present evidence-based best practices in the management of SUDs in the perinatal period, including pregnancy and postpartum. The presentation will discuss the approach for caring for pregnant women from the inter-conception/pre-conception period transitioning into early pregnancy, followed by a discussion of care delivery models during the gestational period. Principles of initiation and continuation of medication-assisted treatment for OUD in pregnancy will be outlined. Strategies for the management of other SUDs in the perinatal period, including alcohol, methamphetamine (stimulants) and benzodiazepines also will be presented. Key concepts of outpatient and inpatient care, including performing an “SBIRT,” intrapartum and postpartum pain management and long-term follow-up care will be outlined. Lastly, the presentation will elucidate the association with co-morbid mental health conditions and implications on maternal morbidity and mortality, highlighting the need for continued care and follow-up extended throughout the postpartum period.

Objectives:

• • • describe the approach to initial evaluation and management of women presenting with SUDs in the perinatal period.
    • discuss management considerations in the use of MAT for OUD in the perinatal period
    • outline key management strategies and approaches for caring for pregnant women with other (non-opioid) SUDs in the perinatal period
    • demonstrate the approach to performing Screening, Brief Interventions and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) in clinical practice, particularly in the context of screening for substance use in the perinatal period
    • summarize the impact of co-occurring medical and mental health conditions with SUDs in pregnancy and the association with maternal morbidity and maternal mortality

Niraj R. Chavan, MD, MPH
Associate Professor, Medical Director – WISH Center, MFM Fellowship Director
Saint Louis University/SSM Health
St. Louis, MO

10:30 a.m. — Energy Break

10:45 a.m. — Missouri Child Psychiatry Access Project (MO-CPAP) Supporting Primary Care

OVERVIEW:

As many as 25% of the nation’s youth suffer from clinically significant behavioral health problems, with thousands of children and adolescents remaining untreated or experiencing lengthy delays before beginning treatment. While 75% or more youth first seek care from a primary care provider, clinicians face a tremendous shortage of resources and support in caring for their patients with behavioral health needs. The MO-CPAP builds capacity within primary care settings to treat and manage behavioral health needs for children and adolescents. Through access to child psychiatry consultations, ongoing educational opportunities, and follow-up coordination to connect patients with community-based behavioral health services, enrolled PCPs receive support treating mental health disorders in their pediatric populations.

Objectives:

• • • describe the severe shortage of child psychiatry services across the state and its impact on children and you in Missouri
    • explain the key components of a successful telephonic psychiatry access consultation program and identify benefits for pediatric primary care providers

Dr. Laine Young-Walker
Clinical Vice President for Behavioral Health
Mercy Health System
Chesterfield, MO

Wendy Ell
E. Director, Missouri Child Psychiatry Access Project (MO-CPAP)
University of Missouri Department of Psychiatry
Columbia, MO

11:45 a.m. — Closing
Noon — Adjournment

Erica M. Signars has been with DSS for 18 years and has served in various capacities and leadership roles. Her previous experience includes direct care; case management; oversight of field, residential and regional operations; investigations (discrimination); and facilitating employee training and mediations. Erica currently oversees the Residential Program Unit for CD and holds a BA in Criminal Justice Administration.

Erika Franta Bretscher, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the Munroe-Meyer Institute for Genetics and Rehabilitation at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. She received her Ph.D. in School Psychology from the University of Nebraska Lincoln. She completed her doctoral internship at Travis County Juvenile Probation in Austin, TX and completed her post-doctoral training at the Munroe-Meyer Institute. Dr. Franta is the School Mental Health Program Director for the Mid-America Mental Health Technology Transfer Center and a co-coordinator for the Comprehensive School-Based Mental Health Training Program. She conducts her clinical time by providing consultation to a multidisciplinary team serving youth currently detained in a local county, as well as by providing training and technical assistance to regional and local education and mental health teams in comprehensive school mental health systems. She also provides supervision and training in integrated care services and school-based psychoeducational assessment and consultation services. Her clinical interests include comprehensive school-based mental health services and consultation, psychoeducational risk assessment and prevention, and evaluation and treatment of youth involved in the juvenile justice system. Dr. Franta’s research interests include implementation science, school-based mental health services, and data-based problem solving and decision-making.

Angela Guzman holds an LMSW in KS and MO, and she completed Master’s degrees in Art Therapy and Social Work, at California State University, Los Angeles, and the University of Kansas. She has provided behavioral health support and therapeutic intervention to families, children and adults for 25 years in Los Angeles, Johnson County, Kansas, and at Children’s Mercy, Kansas City. She has held positions in substance abuse treatment, developmental disabilities services, community mental health and in an ambulatory developmental and behavioral health clinic. In each position she has worked collaboratively with community entities through advocacy, education and relationship-building focused on supporting families experiencing behavioral and developmental health concerns. Her current position at Children’s Mercy in the Developmental and Behavioral Health Division, focuses on supporting the hospital and community through collaboration and education about developmental and behavioral health programs and community needs. In 2022, she earned the inaugural and yearly Children’s Mercy Team Member Safety Hero Award, for equipping employees with de-escalation strategies, positively impacting behavioral escalation and related safety concerns. In 2020, she earned the Social Work Rookie of the Year Award, selected by her social work colleagues for going above and beyond, collaboration, and innovation. Her most valued accomplishment is in the area of supporting families with behavioral health care access through community education.

Dr. Shayla Sullivant completed undergraduate training at Creighton University and medical school at the University of Kansas, where she also completed a residency in adult psychiatry, and a fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry. Since 2010, she has been on staff at Children’s Mercy, Kansas City, where she currently serves as an associate professor. In July 2019, Dr. Sullivant was the recipient of the Shining Star award for having the highest patient satisfaction ratings among the medical staff at Children’s Mercy. Dr. Sullivant co-leads the suicide prevention research group at Children’s Mercy, and her current work focuses on providing education for parents on ways to reduce suicide risk for adolescents, including safe storage.

Dr. Patricia Cavazos is a Professor and Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Department of Psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine. She is a licensed clinical psychologist with expertise in the implementation of effective treatments for SUD in clinical and community settings. Her NIH-funded research portfolio addresses health disparities and the use of technology to improve mental health, and substance use assessment and treatment. In addition to her research, she also is the Director of WUSM’s Mentored Training Program in Clinical Investigation where she promotes the career development of junior faculty and postdoctoral fellows.

Hannah West, Ph.D., BCBA, is a regional trainer for the Mid-America MHTTC and behavioral health provider at Sunflower Pediatric Behavioral Health in Shawnee, Kansas. Dr. West is passionate about assisting schools and organizations at the systems level through consultation and coaching to match and align behavioral and mental health needs with available resources. Dr. West received her doctorate in school psychology from Oklahoma State University and completed her internship training at the Munroe-Meyer Institute. Her research interests include child and adolescent assessment and treatment, consultation and coaching, and crisis prevention and intervention.

Niraj R. Chavan, MD, MPH, FACOG, FASAM is a Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Addiction Medicine physician who specializes in the management of high-risk pregnancies, in particular with substance use during pregnancy. He serves as the Medical Director of the Women and Infant Substance Help Center at Saint Louis University/SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital in St. Louis, Mo. The center provides comprehensive, high-risk maternity care along with substance use recovery services for pregnant women who are dependent on opioids and other illicit substances. It was the first clinic of its kind in Missouri and remains the largest in the state to date.

Dr. Chavan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health, Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, at SLU School of Medicine. He also serves as the Program Director for the SLU Maternal-Fetal Medicine fellowship program and core faculty for the Addiction Medicine fellowship program. He is Board Certified in Obstetrics & Gynecology and Maternal-Fetal Medicine through the American Board of Obstetrics & Gynecology, as well as in Addiction Medicine through the American Board of Preventive Medicine. Dr. Chavan is interested in and actively pursuing several areas of research. These include disparities in maternal morbidity and mortality, perinatal health equity, predictors for adverse perinatal outcomes among pregnant women with SUDs, quality improvement initiatives and development of best practices for treating perinatal addiction.

Wendy Ell is the Executive Director of the Missouri Child Psychiatry Access Project and oversees all daily operations and strategic growth of the project. Ms. Ell is a Registered Occupational Therapist with more than 20 years of experience working in health care, specifically in children’s mental health. Her position is located within the University of Missouri-Department of Psychiatry.

Laine Young-Walker, M.D. is a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in General Psychiatry, as well as Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. She currently serves as Associate Dean for Student Programs at the School of Medicine, the Chair of the Department of Psychiatry, and is a Professor of Psychiatry, at University of Missouri Health Care. She also serves as a consulting psychiatrist for the Missouri Department of Social Services and is the PI for the HRSA grant that funds the Missouri Child Psychiatry Access Program. She has served as the Medical Director of Children’s Services for the Missouri Department of Mental Health, and as PI on other federal grants, including the Garret Lee Smith Youth Suicide Grant and Linking Actions for Unmet Needs in Children’s Health. She has worked locally to create programs to help children in the community focused on child psychiatry access and prevention/early intervention in young children.

Participants must attend the (live) program in its entirety and complete an evaluation to receive a certificate of completion and continuing education contact hours. (CEUs are not available for the recordings.)

This program is pending approval for continuing education credits.

Stoney Creek Inn
2601 S Providence Road
Columbia, MO 65203

Guest room reservations will be made directly with the Hotel by calling 1-800-659-2220.

Please request the Group block or by the unique group code: MHA1222
Hotel cutoff date: Tuesday, November 8

MHA is following the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 at all in-person events. Attendees who are not fully vaccinated should wear a mask and practice social distancing when in public spaces. Many in-person events also will be offered virtually to accommodate a variety of participation preferences.

If you have special needs addressed by the Americans With Disabilities Act, please contact the Missouri Hospital Association.

MHA Health Institute
P.O. Box 60
Jefferson City, MO 65102
Phone: 573-893-3700
Fax: 573-893-2809

For cancellations received in writing before the established deadline date, the registrant will receive a full refund — minus a $50* processing fee per registrant. After the deadline date, no refunds will be granted. Registrants not in attendance will be responsible for the full registration fee. Substitutions are encouraged. We reserve the right to cancel this program because of insufficient registration.

*Unless otherwise specified in the program details.