Plenary Sessions
(1) Parity: We Can’t Afford One More Day Without It
Thursday, August 7 (9:00 to 10:00 a.m.)
Congressman Patrick Kennedy
Across the nation, Patrick is recognized as a leader on health care issues. From his legislation to modernize, improve the quality of, and lower the cost of health care through the use of information technology, to his national leadership in breaking down the barriers and stigma of mental health care, Kennedy has made health care issues a hallmark of his legislative career.
Patrick also has earned a reputation as a staunch advocate for senior citizens, making it one of his top priorities to protect Social Security and Medicare from the Republican efforts to privatize the most successful programs in our government’s history. Kennedy has also been a leader in calling for a prescription drug benefit under Medicare, not the current law which is riddled with handouts to prescription drug companies and doesn’t allow the government to negotiate lower prices.
(2) SAMHSA Update
Thursday, August 7 (10:00 to 11:00 a.m.)
Terry Cline, Ph.D., SAMHSA Administrator
As SAMHSA Administrator, Dr. Cline reports to Health and Human Services Secretary Michael O. Leavitt and leads the $3.3 billion agency responsible for improving the accountability, capacity and effectiveness of the nation’s substance abuse prevention, addictions treatment, and mental health service delivery systems. Throughout his career Dr. Cline has worked to ensure individual and family needs are the driving force for the prevention, treatment and recovery support services delivered. He has championed the principle that mental health and freedom from substance abuse are fundamental to overall health and well-being and that mental and substance use disorders should be treated with the same urgency as any other health condition.
(3) Changing the World: Developing Welcoming, Accessible, Integrated Systems of
Care for Individuals and Families with Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders:
Applications to Rural Delivery Systems
Friday, August 8 (8:30 to 9:30 a.m.)
Ken Minkoff, M.D.
Individuals with co-occurring disorders are associated with poor outcomes and high costs throughout the service system yet have been traditionally defined as “misfits” rather than priorities within all systems of care. This presentation reviews examples of systems difficulties faced by individuals with co-occurring psychiatric and substance disorders in rural settings, and identifies research based principles of successful treatment intervention for these individuals in the context of a parallel disease and recovery integrated conceptual framework that uses a common language that makes sense from the perspective of both the addiction field and the mental health field. The presentation then illustrates the application of these principles to the design of a strategy for the resolution of these systems difficulties through the development of a comprehensive, continuous, integrated system of care (CCISC) for psychiatric and substance disorders that maximizes use of all existing resources to initiate integrated treatment, and develops expectations that all programs achieve Dual Diagnosis Capability to provide properly matched services within existing resources to the individuals with cod that they already are serving., The workshop discussion then illustrates a systematic process for implementing this model, with emphasis on adaptations in rural systems, building on work in thirty states and four Canadian provinces (many with extensive rural or frontier areas), utilizing simultaneous interventions at the system, program, clinical practice, and clinician levels, and reports on progress of various system changing initiatives from different parts of the US and Canada.
Kenneth Minkoff, MD is a board-certified psychiatrist with a certificate of additional qualifications in addiction psychiatry; a dedicated community psychiatrist, and currently is a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He is recognized as one of the nation's leading experts on integrated treatment of individuals with co-occurring psychiatric and substance disorders (ICOPSD) or "dual diagnosis", and on the development of integrated systems of care for such individuals, through the implementation of a national consensus best practice model for systems design: the Comprehensive Continuous Integrated System of Care (CCISC), referenced in SAMHSA's Report to Congress on Co-occurring Disorders (2002). He has developed an integrated conceptual framework for treatment of co-occurring disorders based on application of a disease and recovery model - with parallel phases of treatment and recovery - for each disorder, and co-edited, with Robert Drake, MD, Dual Diagnosis Major Mental Illness and Substance Disorder (1991).
(4) Peer Services in Rural Mental Health
Saturday, August 9 (8:30 to 9:30 a.m.)
Dan Fischer, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Fischer will give an overview on the value of peer support and peer facilitated recovery especially in rural areas. Peers play a crucial role in recovery because we who have a lived experience of recovery have insider knowledge and ways of connecting in equal, non stigmatizing manners that are difficult for those without a lived experience to carry out. We also carry hope in hearts and spirit in a unique manner because it is part of who we are, not merely a good idea we read about.
Dr. Daniel Fisher is a staff psychiatrist at Riverside Community Mental Health Center in Wakefield, Massachusetts. He has worked as a board-certified psychiatrist for 25 years in a variety of inpatient and community settings such as a state hospital, day treatment center, outpatient clinics, and elderly housing. He was Medical Director for a community mental health center for 12 years.
He also is a Co-Director of the National Empowerment Center in Lawrence, Massachusetts, a consumer-run Research, Training, and Information Center, which he helped found in 1992. Based on their research, he and Co-Director Laurie Ahern have developed the Empowerment Model of Recovery. They also have designed a training program based on the empowerment model, called the Personal Assistance in Community Existence(PACE)/Recovery Program. The purpose of the PACE/Recovery Program is to inspire and educate the mental health system and the public to view mental illness in a positive light, and to help all involved in these crises to understand that through hope, self-determination, and believing in the person, people can recover. Dr. Fisher and Ms. Ahern have brought their message of recovery to the public through print, television and radio news. Dr. Fisher is the co-recipient (along with Ms. Ahern) of the National Mental Health Association's 2002 Clifford Beers Award for Advocacy. He also helped found the Ruby Rogers Center for Advocacy and Peer Support in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
He also is a Co-Director of the National Empowerment Center in Lawrence, Massachusetts, a consumer-run Research, Training, and Information Center, which he helped found in 1992. Based on their research, he and Co-Director Laurie Ahern have developed the Empowerment Model of Recovery. They also have designed a training program based on the empowerment model, called the Personal Assistance in Community Existence(PACE)/Recovery Program. The purpose of the PACE/Recovery Program is to inspire and educate the mental health system and the public to view mental illness in a positive light, and to help all involved in these crises to understand that through hope, self-determination, and believing in the person, people can recover. Dr. Fisher and Ms. Ahern have brought their message of recovery to the public through print, television and radio news. Dr. Fisher is the co-recipient (along with Ms. Ahern) of the National Mental Health Association's 2002 Clifford Beers Award for Advocacy. He also helped found the Ruby Rogers Center for Advocacy and Peer Support in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
AWARDS AND SOCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
(1) Awards Luncheon – Howery Award and Going to Bat Award
Thursday, August 7 (11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.)
The Victor I. Howery Memorial Award is given each year to an individual who has made significant contributions to the rural mental health field. This year’s recipient is Roger Strauss who is the past Director of Washington County Mental Health Services, Inc.
The “Going to Bat” Award is given to an individual who has been a strong voice and advocate for rural mental health. This year, the “Going to Bat” Award will be given to Congressman Patrick Kennedy at the Awards Luncheon. Congressman Kennedy was born in Brighton, Massachusetts and came to Rhode Island to attend Providence College, graduating in 1991. Congressman Kennedy is serving his seventh term in Congress as the representative from the First District of Rhode Island. He currently sits on the House Appropriations Committee. Congressman Kennedy has placed improvement of the nation’s mental health at the top of his legislative agenda. Working with Senator Peter Domenici (R-NM) and others, he has led the fight to pass mental health parity in the house, ending discrimination in health insurance.
(2) Lake Champlain Boat Cruise
Thursday, August 7 (5:30 to 9:30 p.m.)
A fun Thursday night social event to connect with old friends and make new acquaintances. Indulge in Vermont dining at its best onboard the Spirit Of Ethan Allen III for a Lake Champlain Boat Cruise. Enjoy the scenic beauty of Lake Champlain while dining.
Lake Champlain is the largest freshwater lake in the U.S. after the five Great Lakes, and is one of Vermont’s most sought after destinations. Discover the region’s rich history, as the Captain’s narration unfolds tales of Indian lore, the Revolutionary War, and Ethan Allen himself. Explore the depths of the shoreline as the ship cruises alongside the lake’s unique geographic formations. Savor the majestic beauty of the Adirondack and Green Mountain ranges that surround the lake. Bring your cameras--the largest recorded mass siting of Champ, our elusive lake monster, was aboard the Spirit of Ethan Allen I.
(3) NARMH Membership Meeting Luncheon and Rural Arts Award
Friday, August 8 (11:15 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.)
Non-members as well as members are encouraged to join us for our annual membership meeting luncheon on August 8, from 11:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. This year, our membership meeting will highlight some of NARMH’s advocacy work as well as a few of the projects. The Rural Arts Award will also be presented during the luncheon.