NC Mental Health, Substance Use and
Aging Coalition
Attendees
Last Name
Barrick
Blaksy
Bearon
Benton-Clark
Breen
Burkhardt
Caison
Carter
Caviness
Cooper
Crawford
Doughty
Edwards
Lillard
Mahan
Mccrystle
Milam
Miller
Paksoy
Pitchford
Roberts
Schneider
Strachar
Webster
Wells
Williams
First Name
Ann Louise
Kelly
Luci
Jehan
Joseph
Heather
Walt
Heather
Pamela
Julie
Dorothy
Sarah
Mary
Dawn
Amelia
Sindy
Kristin
Nicolle
Kay
Evelyn
Tanya
Ellen
Rachelle
Debbie
Loretta
Kimberly
04/25/13 Notes
Organization
NCPA
Charlotte AHEC
NC State Univ & NC Cooperative Extension
Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust
DHHS Division of aging and Adult Services
NC Division of Aging and Adult Services
NC DIVISION MH/DD/SAS
NC DHHS- DAAS
Retired State of NCDHSR/MH
Charlotte AHEC
STHL
UNC School of Nursing
Division of Aging and Adult Services
Cardinal Innovations
CCNC
CHS/Division of Aging
NCPA
NC DHHS Division of Aging & Adult Services
NASW-NC
Division of Aging and Adult Services
NC OMC
Carolina Geriatric Education Center
AARP North Carolina
NC DIVISION MH/DD/SAS
Eastpointe
ECBH
Meeting Agenda
12:30 Welcome, Introductions, Mental Health and Aging News Briefs (Mary Edwards, NC Division of Aging and Adult
Services)
1:00
Update on “Mental Health, Substance Use, and Aging: Building Capacity to Address Needs in Our Region” Seminars
in Greenville, Charlotte, Asheville, and Raleigh (Ellen Schneider, Carolina Geriatric Education Center)
1:15
Sharing of Mental Health, Substance Use, and Aging Resources
1:45
Proposed Coalition Name Change: “Mental Health, Substance Use, and Aging Coalition” (Mary Edwards, NC DAAS)
Focusing attention, building capacity, supporting action…
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2:00
2:15
3:10
3:25
3:30
Committee Breakout Charge and Break (Mary Edwards)
Committee Breakouts
Committees and Facilitators
Dissemination, Mary Edwards, NC DAAS
Training, Cris Clarke, Carolina Geriatric Education Center
Advocacy, Debbie Webster, NCDMH/DD/SAS
Committee Reports and Discussion (All)
Next Steps (Mary Edwards)
Adjourn
Welcome, Introductions, Mental Health and Aging News Briefs (Mary Edwards, NC Division of Aging and Adult Services)
Mary Edwards opened the meeting with introductions. Dorothy Crawford, Sindy Mccrystle, Kelly Blasky and Julie Cooper joined us
on the phone.
Walt Caison from the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services spoke about how the New
Republican Governor’s administration has put out a request for a proposal for 2-4 large comprehensive care entities (managed care).
He is very optimistic going forward. It’s a free field for innovation and competition. LMEs/MCOs are very optimistic to develop over
the next couple of years. A comprehensive care entity will provide comprehensive services, not just mental health and will integrate
it into primary care. Mary asked if there was any representation in the planning groups re older adults needs. The planning groups
are working at a very high level, so this is uncertain.
Sarah Doughty from UNC School of Nursing manages a grant with Mary Lynn Piven to help community-based agencies to implement
Healthy IDEAs. The grant ends 6/30, but they have received a KB Reynolds grant to continue in NC for three more years. They plan
to make training more accessible.
Rachelle Strachar, a health specialist from AARP says AARP is staying very active in their advocacy particularly during Older
American’s Month.
Luci Bearon, is a sociologist/gerontologist at NC State Adult Development and Aging Specialist for the NC Cooperative Extension.
She is interested in caregiving and healthy aging.
Pamela Caviness, is retired from the state. Health services regulation in mental health was her last job. Former colleagues have
concerns for the aging in group care and institutional care due to lack of funds. Rest home level facilities have been discharging
clients with mental illness. The facilities they are going into are not as regulated and cannot adequately meet their needs.
Heather Burkhardt, NC Division of Aging and Adult Services, commented on support for local communities on the aging plan,
statistics and demography and providing options counseling to Nursing Home residents to tell them about community options. The
Affordable Care Act requires navigators to help older adults work through the system of care.
Kay Paksoy, NASW NC Director of Advocacy and Policy, reported that House bill 605 establishes an aging legislative subcommittee
under joint health and human services. It will produce a couple of reports. The reestablishment of this committee is a good sign.
Tanya Roberts, Operation Medicine Cabinet, is funded through the River Keeper Association. The grant ends 6/30/13 but both
efforts on substance abuse and safe medication disposal will continue. There is an emphasis on developing policy language and
building partnerships, alliances, and coalitions to work on substance abuse. They continue to highlight overage drinking.
Kristin Milam, NC Psychiatric Association, represents 900 psychiatrists across the state. She advocates with members to highlight
aging issues. Medicaid legislation is being monitored.
Audrey Edmisten, NC Division of Aging and Adult Services, manages their nutrition and health promotion programs. She champions
evidenced-based programs and Healthy IDEAs.
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Heather Carter, NC Division of Aging and Adult Services, manages adult day care/ PACE programs which provide respite and group
respite under the Older Americans Act.
Nicolle Miller, NC Aging and Adult Services, manages the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention area including the chronic
disease self-management programs and some exercise programs.
Ann Louise Barrick, NC Psychological Association, focuses on the lack of mental health services in nursing homes. She conducted a
presentation at NA APA on aging issues. A growing number of older adults are seeking care, and clinicians need to be strengthened
on various issues such as how to accomplish good mouth care. APA has an aging page. Gerocentral.org has many good resources.
Jehan Benton-Clarke, KB Reynolds Charitable Trust, is looking forward to expanding the reach of the Trust to 15 different areas
around the state. The first efforts of the foundation are around behavioral health and aging. Project Lazarus, a project of
Community Care of North Carolina, received $1.3 million dollars for 2 years on opioid misuse with older adults. Jehan is working on
a white paper for a position for the Trust. She expects to have additional funding and direction after the mental health seminars for
multiple projects.
Kimberly Williams, Geriatric Specialty Team East Carolina, consults for Long Term Care organizations on managing behavior without
psychotropic meds.
Loretta Wells and Dawn Willard, geriatric adult specialty team in Goldsboro, continue to publicize their trainings for direct care staff
in long term care facilities.
Debbie Webster, NC Division of Mental Health/DD/SAS, manages a best practices team and leads geriatric substance abuse mental
health initiatives. She oversees geriatric mental health adult specialty teams. She is also thinking about training in the community.
There are plans for the Division to begin preparing for older adults and their different types of issues especially around substance
abuse, alcohol and prescription misuse. Mental health services for older adults with serious mental illnesses is a real need. There is
also a severe lack of data especially on the state level. They are trying to train ER doctors to screen for substance abuse to get data
and getting older adults who are in recovery to mentor others. They need the data for the legislature; they are currently meeting
data needs by extrapolating from national trends.
Amelia Mahan, Community Care of North Carolina, is working with primary care providers to get them to look at depression, etc.
and create referral networks. They are promoting Project Lazarus, a chronic pain initiative.
Evelyn Pitchford, a guardianship consultant for Division of Aging and Adult Services, manages corporate guardian contracts. The
Secretary wants a plan for what guardianship is going to look like over the next few years. Evelyn is part of an ad hoc work group.
Sindy Mccrystle, Carolina Health Care Systems Medical Education, advocates for all geriatric patients. Interns, residents and
students know very little about mental health resources. Neither do doctors in practice. New rules are making PACAR forms
mandatory for physicians. There is a backlog of people admitted to assistive living because the forms are so complex. Social
workers and case workers are good at the forms. They are building a new psychiatric facility with services for the elderly. A geriatric
fellowship will be starting in Charlotte with two fellows each year. They have four strong candidates for the fellowship right now.
Kelly Blasky and Julie Cooper from Charlotte AHEC are hosting one of the mental health seminars and run frequent continuing
education courses on substance abuse and older adults, depression, etc.
Update on “Mental Health, Substance Use, and Aging: Building Capacity to Address Needs in Our Region” Seminars in
Greenville, Charlotte, Asheville, and Raleigh (Ellen Schneider, Carolina Geriatric Education Center)
Cristine Clarke and Ellen Schneider from the Carolina Geriatric Education Center continue planning for the four mental health and
aging seminars around the state in May and June. The seminars will be held on 5/22 in Greenville, 6/4 in Asheville, 6/14 in
Charlotte, and 6/28 in Raleigh at the McKimmon Center. Registration for all four is going well. The morning of the seminars will
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focus on education and data sharing on evidence-based practices, and the afternoon will be for regional action. The seminars are
being supported by Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust.
Ellen reported that Kate B. Reynolds will also be supporting a statewide mental health symposium in 2014. Planning for the
symposium will begin soon.
Sharing of Mental Health, Substance Use, and Aging Resources
Ellen Schneider will send the resource list being distributed at the four seminars.
Proposed Coalition Name Change: “Mental Health, Substance Use, and Aging Coalition”
Mary Edwards discussed a proposed coalition name change to “Mental Health, Substance Use, and Aging Coalition” to better reflect
our mission and address requests from the field to include “substance use” in our title. Coalition members voted on the proposed
name change, and it passed unanimously.
Committee Reports
Advocacy Committee report: Fact sheets need to be updated. We still need state level data in order to advocate and bring these
issues to the attention of the legislature, particularly to try to tie mental health care needs more to primary care.
Training Committee report: The Training committee has produced and updated the excel spreadsheet of all the mental health and
aging trainings offered via AHEC in the state. Currently there are 25 courses. A number of other courses are included that might be
of interest to coalition members even though they are not specific to older adults. The spreadsheet will be posted on the website.
The Training committee continues to provide the MHSUAC Board to any member who wishes to display it at meetings. Contact
Cristine_clarke@med.unc.edu to reserve the board. The Training committee is also committed to updating the website this quarter.
Dissemination Committee: The committee is interested in exploring peer support for older adults with mental illness. The
suggestion was made to link with the Cooperative Extension agents across the state. Dissemination is also interested in sourcing
partners who may be interested in Healthy IDEAs and other evidenced-based programs. A special focus should be on
“what primary care providers need to know about mental health.”
The meeting was adjourned at 3:30 pm.
Next Steps
Our next meeting will be held on Thursday, July 25th from 12:30-3:30 at the NC Psychological Association in Raleigh.
Please also mark your calendars for the October 24th meeting, also from 12:30 to 3:30 at the same location. We sincerely
thank the NC Psychological Association for hosting our 2013 meetings.
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