Presentation Proposals for the 2010 SAAS National Conference and NIATx Summit Due December 1, 2009

It's not to late to submit a proposal for a workshop or presentation at the 2010 SAAS National Conference and NIATx Summit.

The deadline for proposals is December 1, 2009 at 5pm.

For more information, including the proposal submission form and guidelines, visit the conference website: saasniatx.net.

Deadline for Accelerating Reform Proposals

Proposals for participation in the Accelerating Reform initiative are due on November 24, 2009.

NIATx seeks applications for the Accelerating Reform Initiative from progressive organizations that have started transformational efforts to prepare for the sweeping changes that parity, health care reform, and decreased grant funding may bring.

Up to 12 organizations will work together to accelerate their reform efforts, sharing creative thinking on how to thrive in a dramatically different funding environment.

For more information, see the Accelerating Reform page.

Managing Your Way to Better Addiction Treatment Outcomes

NIATx researcher Andrew Quanbeck recently published an article in Behavioral Healthcare that applies W. Edwards Deming's 14 of transformational leadership to addiction treatment organizations: Managing your way to better addiction treatment outcomes.

Read the article and let us know what you think by adding a comment below...

Building a Sustainable National Infrastructure for Dissemination of Improved Behavioral Health Treatment Practices

NIATx is working on an NIH grant application to create an infrastructure and a network of providers to engage in research on dissemination and adoption of evidence-based practices. The current grant is limited to developing the infrastructure and network that will allow us to access future funds to conduct research. We are interested in having as many of you as we can participate in the network. Being part of the network will provide the opportunity, but not a guarantee, of participating in future projects.

If you are interested, we would like a letter of support by November 30. We have drafted a sample letter of support that you can cut and paste onto your letterhead.

We have also posted a draft of the grant application. Please feel free to comment or add your thoughts by writing to us at info@niatx.net.

Save the Date: 2010 SAAS Conference and NIATx Summit

The 2010 SAAS Conference and NIATx Summit will be held in Cincinnati, Ohio on July 11-14.

Save the date and join us for this great event. More information coming soon!

Deadline Extended: CFP for 2010 SAAS National Conference and NIATx Summit

The deadline for workshop proposals for the 2010 SAAS National Conference and NIATx Summit has been extended to November 30, 2009.

2010 SAAS National Conference and NIATx Summit
July 11-14, Cincinnati, Ohio
Shining a Light on Innovation

Call for Presentations
We are now accepting proposals for workshop presentations directed toward CEOs, Senior Managers, and Change Leaders working in behavioral health care. Conference attendees come from: Substance Abuse, Mental Health, Criminal Justice, Veterans Services, and related fields.

To access the proposal submission form and guidelines , go to: http://www.saasniatx.net

Taking ACTION in Michigan: Above the Water House

Above the Water House (ATWH) in Flint, Michigan recently celebrated five years of providing a sober living environment to more than 100 women. Virlyn Allen-Poe directs the ATWH. New to the ACTION Campaign II, Virlyn is interested in connecting with others who work to help women start the path to long-term recovery.

Read the full article.

NIATx 200: Massachusetts Team Celebrates Success and Plans to Sustain Gains

The Massachusetts NIATx 200 participants gathered on October 16, 2009 to both celebrate their success in the project and to continue learning about process improvement. More than 50 people from some 20 treatment provider sites attended the daylong event held at the Beechwood Inn in Worcester.

Read more about the NIATx 200 Celebration Session.

ACTION Items with Kim Johnson

ACTION Campaign II seems to have hit a nerve. The number of providers participating in our calls has more than doubled to over 100 on every call. Because of the growth we have made some changes in the format.

Read Kim's message.

November 2009 eNews Now Available

The November 2009 edition of the NIATx eNews is now available.

This month's eNews includes:

• ACTION Items with Kim Johnson
• The call for presentations for the 2010 SAAS Conference and NIATx Summit
• A report from the NIATx 200 Celebration Session in Massachusetts
  
• An announcement for the new Accelerating Reform initiative
• An ACTION success story from Above the Water House in Michigan
• Upcoming events and webinars
  

NIATx Leadership Webinar: How to Manage the Change Process Constructively

There's still time to register for session four of the NIATx Leadership Webinar Series.

How to Manage the Change Process Constructively
Presented by Chris Hinrichs
November 13, 2009
11:00 am Eastern | 10:00 am Central | 9:00 am Mountain | 8:00 Pacific
Price: $25

The constant change of today's world can be overwhelming. In this session, learn how to set your team up for success in the face of changes. Find out the four reasons why people are willing to make change. Take-way tools include a powerful formula for change and ways to deal with the strong emotions surrounding change.

To register for this webinar, click here.
For audio, VOIP will be used; be sure to have speakers or a headset for your computer.

The November 13 webinar costs $25 and is available to the first 60 registered participants. When you register, you will receive the URL to log in to the webinar. You will be sent a single URL, but you can have as many participants in the room as you want.

Register for the NIATx Leadership Webinar series today!

Making Health Care Better: Intermountain Healthcare

Interested in more ways to create staff buy-in and create a culture of process improvement?

Read about Intermountain Healthcare, one of the speakers at the 2009 NIATx Summit, featured in Making Health Care Better, a recent article in the NY Times Magazine.

NIATx Exhibits at the 2009 AHSR Conference

NIATx exhibited four posters at this year's Addictions Health Services Research (AHSR) conference, held October 28-30 in San Francisco, California. The theme of this year's conference was Health Care Reform, Parity, and Continuing Care Models: A Forum for a New Era in Addiction Services Research.

These posters presented variety of NIATx themes, including the costs and benefits of addiction treatment from the employer’s perspective; the sustainability of process improvements; implementation of evidence-based practices; and, the importance of coordinated hand-off processes.

• A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Wisconsin's Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment Program: the Employer's Perspective
• Predicting Organizational Likelihood to Sustain Change Over Time
• Using a Learning Collaborative to Implement Evidence-based Practices in Chemical Dependency Services: One County's Journey
• Improving the Addiction Treatment Continuum through Improved Transitions
  

The conference also provided researcher Andrew Quanbeck, who attended the conference on behalf of NIATx, with an opportunity to interact with some of the preeminent researchers in the field:

"This year's conference drove home the fact that there's a lot changing in addiction treatment these days," noted Quanbeck. "And, it's encouraging to see that many presenters from across the country talked about NIATx change initiatives--it seems that process improvement is really starting to take hold in the field."

About AHSR
The AHSR conference welcomes researchers, practitioners, trainees, policymakers, and other stakeholders interested in health services research as it relates to drug and alcohol dependence, as well as the intersection with mental health and other behavioral health care issues.

CFP: 2010 SAAS National Conference and NIATx Summit

2010 SAAS National Conference and NIATx Summit
July 11-14, Cincinnati, Ohio
Shining a Light on Innovation

Call for Presentations
We are now accepting proposals for workshop presentations directed toward CEOs, Senior Managers, and Change Leaders working in behavioral health care. Conference attendees come from: Substance Abuse, Mental Health, Criminal Justice, Veterans Services, and related fields.

To access the proposal submission form and guidelines , go to: http://www.saasniatx.net
Proposal submissions are due by: November 16, 2009

Accelerated Reform Featured in Addiction Professional

The NIATx Accelerated Reform initiative was recently featured in Addiction Professional.

For more information about Accelerated Reform, check out the initiative's web page or download the initiative announcement.

Success Stories from NIATx 200

Now that participants in NIATx 200 have moved into the sustainability phase of the project, we've started publishing success stories from NIATx 200 provider agencies.

Here are a just a few of the more than sixty stories currently available:

• Emergence - Eugene (Oregon)
• Pathways (Michigan)
• Okanogan Behavioral Healthcare (Washington)
• Seven Hills Behavioral Health (Massachusetts)
• Farnham Family Services (New York)

There are many more success stories from the NIATx 200 project. Take a look at these, and keep an eye out as we publish new stories each month.

ACTION II Webinar (Advanced): Workforce Engagement

NIATx is pleased to offer the following free ACTION Campaign II training webinar:

Getting Staff Buy-in for Sustaining Improvements in Difficult Times.

Presented by Rick Redmond, Acadia Hospital, Bangor, Maine and Lori Dubenske, CHESS/NIATx, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Date: Thursday, November 19, 2009
Time: 12pm Eastern, 11am Central, 10am Mountain, 9am Pacific

If you have Internet connectivity:
To join the webinar video presentation, go to: http://niatx.na6.acrobat.com/adv/
Audio for the webinar will be broadcast through your computer speakers.

If you do not have Internet connectivity:
You may still participate in the audio portion of the call.
To join the webinar audio, call the toll-free number:
Call-in number: 1-866-642-1665
Participant pass code: 821938

Note: Due to increased demand, we have secured additional participants seats for our webinars. The webinar room now has a capacity of 200 participants and access will be given on a first come, first served basis.

Informational Call: Accelerating Reform

Please join us for an informational call about the new Accelerating Reform initiative on Tuesday, November 10 at 1pm Eastern.

To join this call:

1. Dial 1-866-642-1665.
2. Enter this passcode: 468162 followed by the pound (#) sign.

For more information, see the Accelerating Reform page.

ACTION II Webinar (Beginner): Workforce Engagement

NIATx is pleased to offer the following free ACTION Campaign II training webinar:

Getting Staff Buy-in for Change

Presented by Elizabeth Strauss and Betta Owens, NIATx Coaches and Bobbi Douglass, STEPS at Liberty Center, Wooster, OH.

Date: Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Time: 12pm Eastern, 11am Central, 10am Mountain, 9am Pacific

If you have Internet connectivity:
To join the webinar video presentation, go to: http://niatx.na6.acrobat.com/beg/
Audio for the webinar will be broadcast through your computer speakers.

If you do not have Internet connectivity:
You may still participate in the audio portion of the call.
To join the webinar audio, call the toll-free number:
Call-in number: 1-866-642-1665
Participant pass code: 821938

Note: Due to increased demand, we have secured additional participants seats for our webinars. The webinar room now has a capacity of 200 participants and access will be given on a first come, first served basis.

How do you gain staff buy-in? Your feedback wanted

Gaining staff buy-in is a crucial aspect of any successful Change Project. We'd like to hear about what's worked for you.

What strategies have you used to:

• Get your staff excited about making changes?
• Work together to produce a positive outcome?
• Create a committed team?
• Maintain positive energy for change?

Post a comment in this blog post and tell us your story!

Note: We're asking for ideas to include in ACTION Campaign II conference calls, blog posts, and announcements in November.

NIATx Accelerating Reform Initiative

An invitation to forward-thinking leaders in behavioral health care

NIATx Accelerating Reform Initiative
December 2009-July 2010
Request for Proposal deadline: November 24, 2009

NIATx seeks applications for the Accelerating Reform Initiative from progressive organizations that have started transformational efforts to prepare for the sweeping changes that parity, health care reform, and decreased grant funding may bring.

Up to 12 organizations will work together to accelerate their reform efforts, sharing creative thinking on how to thrive in a dramatically different funding environment.

For more information on the initiative visit the NIATx website or download a pdf version of the announcement.

MAT Interest Circle Call with Dr. David Prescott

Please join us for the next Medication-assisted Treatment (MAT) interest circle call, presented by Dr. David Prescott.

Improving Access to MAT by Decreasing Time from Admission to Treatment and Expanding the use of MAT with Alcohol Dependency.
Tuesday, November 3, 12 pm Eastern (11am Central, 10am Mountain, 9am Pacific)

To join this interest circle call:

1. Dial 1-866-642-1665.
2. Enter this passcode: 759636#.

Dr. David Prescott is the Director for Clinical Research at Acadia Hospital. His research interests include the integration of primary medical care and behavioral health care, reducing the use of restraints in behavioral health treatment, and applications of rapid-cycle performance improvement in addiction treatment.