Happy Holidays

The staff of the NIATx National Program Office wishes you a happy and safe holiday season. We'll resume blogging after the first of the year.

New NIATx 200 Success Stories

We recently published three new NIATx 200 success stories.

• BestCare Treatment Services -- Deschutes
• Personalized Nursing LIGHT House, Inc.
• Black Family Development, Inc.

You can also read the rest of the NIATx 2002 success stories.

NIATx System-Level Toolkit

The NIATx System-Level toolkit is now available. Using the system-level roadmap as its organizing principle, this toolkit presents the key components for making changes and improvements at the system level.

• Leadership Team
• Payer-Provider Partnerships
• System-Level Change Projects
• Provider-Level Change Projects
• Performance Management
• Spreading Change

The System-Level toolkit is also closely integrated with the Provider toolkit. Take a look at this toolkit today, and let us know what you think.

NIATx Accelerating Reform Initiative

The response to the NIATx Accelerating Reform Initiative Request for Proposals exceeded our expectations, attracting many high quality submissions from across the country. Read the full article.

Medication-Assisted Treatment in West Virginia

Advancing Recovery grantee Prestera Center is removing barriers to the implementation of medication-assisted treatment. Read the full article.

Managing your way to better addiction treatment outcomes

In his seminal book, Out of the Crisis, W. Edwards Deming famously posited that 85 percent of customer problems can be attributed to poor processes. In a field plagued by long waiting times, high-no show rates, and early dropouts, what are the implications of this statement for leaders in addiction treatment? NIATx researcher Andy Quanbeck shares his insights. Read the full article.

ACTION II Webinar (Advanced): Building Services for Families

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

Building Services for Families: A Process Improvement Story of Coming to Understand the Customer from Gosnold, Inc.

Presented by Tommie Ann Bower, Gosnold, Inc., Falmouth, MA

Date: Thursday, December 17, 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.

ASAP Texas Launches ACTION II Learning Collaborative

In an effort to promote the use of process improvement practices by its members, ASAP Texas has launched a learning collaborative to share ideas and success stories through monthly conference calls and membership meetings. Read the full article.

NIATx Year in Review

2009 has been an exciting year for NIATx, marking the conclusion of several innovative programs and the beginning of new ones. Read the full article.

December 2009 eNews Now Available

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

This month's eNews includes

• NIATx Year in Review
• ASAP Texas Launches ACTION II Learning Collaborative
• Managing Your Way to Better Addiction Treatment Outcomes
• Medication-Assisted Treatment in West Virginia
• NIATx Accelerating Reform Initiative

RCSP Grantees Learn Process Improvement Basics

As part of their ongoing work with Recovery Community Services Program (RCSP) grantees, NIATx coaches Patty McCarthy and Elizabeth Strauss recently presented an introduction to process improvement at the RCSP grantee meeting devoted to "Nurturing Recovery in Supportive Communities" in Gaithersburg, MD on November 20, 2009. Participants learned about PDSA cycles and heard grantees present their aims, changes, and results.

Participants aimed to:

• Increase the number of appointments scheduled with recovery coaches
• Increase the percentage of peers who meet with an recovery ally within 48 hours
• Decrease the number of admissions to the crisis unit by chronic utilizers
• Increase their GPRA scores
• Increase the number of active volunteers

What other improvements might recovery support services make using the NIATx process improvement model? Leave a comment and let us know what you think!

Adopting Changes in Addiction Treatment: California Regional NIATx/ACTION Campaign Learning Collaboratives

The Pacific Southwest Addiction Technology Center, NIATx, and the County Alcohol and Drug Program Administrators' Association of California formed five regional ACTION Campaign Learning Collaboratives. This project, titled Adopting Changes in Addiction Treatment, ran from November 1, 2008 through October 31, 2009, and included 173 agencies/programs providing substance abuse and behavioral health treatment services in 49 of the state's 58 counties.

In a recent online survey, 67 percent of the respondents reported improved services and increased agency revenue by making the changes the ACTION Campaign recommends.

Says Beth Rutkowski, project director, "The participating agencies were able to save money and continue to improve customer services, even in the midst of California's budget crisis."

This project was made possible with funding from the California Endowment.
For more information visit: http://www.attcnetwork.org/regcenters/generalContent.asp?rcid=11&content=STC

Enrollment Now Open for the NIATx Change Leader Academy

The next NIATx Change Leader Academy is now open for enrollment.

NIATx Change Leader Academy (CLA)
April 28-29, 2010
Pyle Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, WI

An effective way to lead change in your organization. Transforming committed learners into committed leaders. Enroll NOW for the Spring session!

For more information and to register, go to the Change Leader Academy page on the NIATx website.

We would be happy to talk with you about this open enrollment session or about bringing the CLA workshop to your state or region. Please contact either Amy or Scott with your questions:

Amy McIlvaine, Membership Director, NIATx; 608-262-5999 or amy.mcilvaine@chess.wisc.edu
Scott Gatzke, Director of Products and Services, NIATx; 608-890-1444 or scott.gatzke@chess.wisc.edu

Promising Practices for Reducing No-shows

Are you planning on participating in this week's ACTION II beginner webinar that focuses on reducing no-shows to the first appointment?

The NIATx provider toolkit includes a number of promising practices for reducing no-shows to the first appointment, complete with tracking tools and examples from the field.

ACTION II Webinar (Beginner): Reducing No-shows to the First Appointment

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

Reducing No-shows to the First Appointment

Presented by John Coffin, Shoreline Behavioral Health Services, Conway, SC

Date: Tuesday, December 8, 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.

Medication-assisted Treatment at Prestera Center

Prestera Center, a NIATx agency participating in the Advancing Recovery initiative, was recently featured in Huntington (WV) Herald-Dispatch in a story about their successful implementation of medication-assisted treatment.

Know Your Madisonian: Tom Mosgaller

Tom Mosgaller, NIATx Director of Change Management, was recently featured in the Know Your Madisonian column of the Wisconsin State Journal.