Updated with more presenter details and program descriptions. Please register today at
http://www.nyaprs.org/conferences/registration/index.cfm
NYAPRS Note: Everyone’s saying they’ve never seen so many sweeping fast-paced changes and
challenges presented to our broad community in their professional and personal lifetimes.
Healthcare financing and programmatic reforms, unprecedented financial pressures, the move to
integrate services and place them under the coordination of new health homes and fully
capitated managed care systems, mounting legal actions requiring service in the most integrated
settings and exciting advances in technology and in recovery focused models are all combining
to form a perfect storm that is determined to fundamentally transform everything in its path.
For 30 years now, NYAPRS has been committed to trying to present and explain sweeping
changes in clear terms, with follow up training, service advances, supports and advocacy aimed
at advancing our recovery, rehabilitation and rights agenda.
Accordingly, we’re very pleased to share with you presenter and workshop details about our
upcoming March 29-30 NYAPRS Annual Executive Seminar, The Change of a Lifetime. The
program is packed with opportunities to learn breaking news about the great changes to come in
our world and to give input to policy makers and to our broader community.
Seminar attendees will hear breaking news about:
· national trends from SAMHSA’s John O’Brien, ACMHA’s Ron Manderscheid and the
National Council’s Chuck Ingoglia
 the latest in Medicaid reform and Olmstead policy changes from Jason Helgerson and
Courtney Burke and a sense of how’ll they affect us from Mike Hogan
 NY’s health home program from key DOH and OMH officials and health home leaders
 NY’s plans and possibilities to advance sweeping reforms through the adoption of new
federal waivers and state plan options
 how regional behavioral health organizations have been able to improve hospital
discharge and community follow up practices for ‘high needs’ individuals
 how some leading managed care plans view the move to managed fully capitated systems
starting in 2013
 OMH’s new First Break initiative from the program’s new leader, Dr. Lisa Dixon.
· detailed analyses from leaders in our field about key trends including mergers and
acquisitions; employment, peer services and housing; efforts to prepare services for the
more flexible, accountable managed care environment and strategies to educate and
support beneficiaries to exercise their rights in such changing and uncertain times.
Our team has worked especially hard to craft a program to best inform, prepare, connect and
hopefully inspire our broader community to best deal with the unprecedented pace of change to
come. Please don’t miss this event!
Program details are up at http://www.nyaprs.org/conferences/executive-seminar-2012/ and
NYAPRS and Crowne Plaza registration materials are now available at
http://www.nyaprs.org/conferences/registration/index.cfm!
See you at the Seminar!
The NYAPRS Collective Presents
NYAPRS 8th Annual
Executive Seminar on Systems Transformation
The Change of a Lifetime
March 29-30, 2012
Hotel Albany
(formerly Crowne Plaza)
State and Lodge Streets
Albany, NY
Program Schedule
Day 1 March 29, 2012
8:45am
Opening Remarks
Harvey Rosenthal, Executive Director, NYAPRS, Albany, NY
Edye Schwartz, DSW, Director of Systems Transformation Initiatives, NYAPRS,
Mahopac, NY
9:00am- Morning National Keynote Panel
10:15am John O’Brien, Consultant, Rockville, MD
Ron Manderscheid, Executive Director, National Association of County
Behavioral Health and Development Disabilities Directors, Washington, DC
Chuck Ingoglia, MSW, Vice President Public Policy, National Council for
Community Behavioral Healthcare, Washington, DC
Kicking off the Seminar will be this far-ranging discussion of the impact of
national healthcare reform on NYS developments by some of our most informed,
well-positioned leaders, including former SAMHSA Senior Advisor for Health
Care Financing O’Brien, Whole Health Campaign leader Manderscheid and
Washington insider Ingoglia. There’ll be lots of time for audience questions and
comments.
10:30am Break
10:45am- State Agency Panel & Questions & Answers
12noon
Michael Hogan, PhD, Commissioner, NYS Office of Mental Health, Albany, NY
Courtney Burke, Commissioner, NYS Office of Persons with Developmental
Disabilities, Albany, NY (invited)
Jason Helgerson, NYS Medicaid Director; Deputy Commissioner, Office of
Health Insurance Programs; Executive Director, NYS Medicaid Redesign Team,
Albany, NY
Governor Cuomo has committed his Administration to an accelerated timetable
to implement healthcare and Olmstead policy reforms over the coming year.
Hear the latest details from our Medicaid Director and chair of the state’s Most
Integrated Setting Coordinating Council and the expected impact on our
community from our Mental Health Commissioner.
12noon- Lunch
1:15pm
1:30pm- Health Homes Update & Panel
3:15pm
Greg Allen, Director, Division of Financial Planning and Policy, Office of Health
Insurance Programs, NYS Department of Health, Albany, NY
Robert Myers, PhD, Senior Deputy Commissioner, Director of Adult Services,
NYS Office of Mental Health, Albany, NY
Jonas Waizer, PhD, Chief Operating Officer, F.E.G.S. Health and Human
Services Systems, New York, NY
Pamela S. Brier, President and CEO, Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn,
NY
Moderator: Edye Schwartz, DSW, Director of Systems Transformation
Initiatives, NYAPRS, Mahopac, NY
Phase I Health Homes have been awarded and preparations are currently
underway for the first eligible participants to be assigned. Greg Allen and Robert
Myers will update us on the latest implementation timelines while our other two
panelists, Health Home leads, will share how their preparations are taking shape
and how they are planning to provide quality recovery based services under this
new model.
3:15pm
Break
Workshops Round I
3:30pm-5:00pm
a. Mergers & Acquisitions
Michael Stoltz, Executive Director, Clubhouse of Suffolk, Ronkonkoma, NY (invited)
Alan M. Weinstock, President & CEO, PSCH, Inc, Flushing, NY
Dorothy S. Cucinelli, MBA, Chief Executive Officer, ClearView Center, Inc., Albany, NY
We all know that the healthcare delivery system is radically changing and that community
agencies must change as well to keep pace. This change of a lifetime has required
nonprofit agencies to explore new ways of organizing and presenting themselves. As we
strive to integrate services, we also find ourselves looking for new partnerships that can
result in creative and innovative solutions to funding cuts, capitated payments and the need
for more robust and business oriented infrastructure. This panel will present some
innovative new partnerships that are beginning to emerge to respond to the increasing
demands of health care delivery.
b. Raising the Bar for Employment
John B. Allen, Jr., Special Assistant to the Commissioner, NYS Office of Mental Health,
Albany, NY
Karen Coleman, Acting Deputy Commissioner, Workforce Development, NYS Department
of Labor, Albany, NY (invited)
Chacku Mathai, Associate Executive Director, NYAPRS, Rochester, NY
With the state’s commitment to a data-driven Olmstead plan to serve New Yorkers with
disabilities in the most integrated setting and OMH’s energized collaborations with state
Department of Labor and the federal Social Security Administration, New York is on a fast
track to help New Yorkers with disabilities to get back to work! The presenters will
describe how all these pieces fit together to raise the bar on employment in New York.
c. Peer Services: Balancing Increased Demand and Integrity
Steve Miccio, Executive Director, PEOPLe, Inc., Poughkeepsie, NY
Isaac Brown, Chief Executive Officer, Baltic Street AEH Inc., Brooklyn, NY
Maura Kelly, Director, Mental Health Peer Connection, Western NY Independent Living,
Buffalo, NY
Joseph Woodward, CASAC, Executive Director, Housing Options Made Easy, Gowanda,
NY
Tanya Stevens, MPA, Director for Peer Services, NYAPRS, Albany, NY
With the rise of a diversity of powerful new service and support models and prominent
recognition by state officials, managed care and provider organizations of their critical
value and impact, peer services’ time has come! The presenters will describe the latest
advances in peer-run wellness, housing, employment, bridger and crisis support services
and explore strategies that expand their availability while maintaining their integrity and
fidelity to the principles of intentional peer support.
5:00 pm Closing
Dinner on your own.
See the Albany County Convention & Visitors Bureau
Exhibit Table for restaurant suggestions.
----------------Program Schedule
Day 2
March 30th, 2012
8:15 am Opening Remarks
8:30 am- Opening Plenary: State Plan Waivers & Options
9:15 am Bruce Feig, Consultant, Albany, NY
Bruce Darling, Executive Director, Center for Disability Rights, Inc., Rochester,
NY
Harvey Rosenthal, Executive Director, NYAPRS, Albany, NY
The presenters will offer details and an update on efforts to gain federal approval
for state healthcare reform changes in ‘the super waiver’ and to implement or
adopt new state Medicaid Community First Choice and Home and Communitybased Services options.
9:15am
Break
9:20am- Behavioral Health Organizations Panel and Questions & Answers
10:30am James Gavin, President, Community Care Behavioral Health, Pittsburgh, PA
Jennifer Tripp, VP Program Innovation, Magellan Health Services, Avon, CT
Bill Fishbein, Executive Director, NYC BHO Program, OptumHealth, New York,
NY
Richard Sheola, President, Public Sector Division, ValueOptions, Boston, MA
Adele Gorges, Executive Director, The New York Care Coordination Program,
Inc., Rochester, NY
Moderator: Harvey Rosenthal, Executive Director, NYAPRS, Albany, NY
January marked the launching of the OMH-OASAS regional Behavioral Health
Organization (BHO) initiative, which is aimed at improving hospital to
community discharge planning and follow up efforts for ‘high needs’ individuals.
The presenters will share their findings and experience in implementing systemic
improvements, share their hopes and expectations about next year’s move to a
fully capitated environment.
10:30am Break
Workshops Round II
10:45am-12:00pm
Managed Care Organizations Panel and Questions & Answers
Maura Bluestone, President and CEO, Affinity Health Plan, Inc., New York, NY
Christopher Wang, MD, MPH, Medical Director, Vice President, Clinic
Services & Behavioral Health, Fidelis Care New York, New York, NY
Pat Celli, CEO, United Healthcare Community & State, New York, NY
Don Ingalls, Vice President, State & Federal Relations, HealthNow, Buffalo, NY
Moderator: Ilene Margolin, Consultant, New York, NY (invited)
The presenters will describe health plans’ current experience in serving Medicaid
beneficiaries with major mental health, substance use and medical conditions and
share their thoughts about how plans are preparing for next year’s move to full
capitation.
Mobilizing the System to Help Individuals Experiencing First Psychosis
Lisa Dixon, M.D., M.P.H.; Psychiatrist, New York State Psychiatric Institute
Hear the details about the New York Office of Mental Health’s new initiative to
help those experiencing a first episode of psychosis with more hopeful,
individualized support from its new director.
Discussants: Peter Stastny, M.D., Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Albert
Einstein College of Medicine (invited); Pablo Sadler, MD, Mental Health
Medical Director, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
(invited)
Workshops Round III
12:00pm-1:15pm
d. Increased Roles for Supported Housing
Antonia Lasicki, JD, Executive Director, Association for Community Living, Clifton Park,
NY
Ted Houghton, Executive Director, Supportive Housing Network of NY, New York, NY
Joe Woodward, CASAC Executive Director, Housing Options Made Easy, Inc., Gowanda,
NY
Geoff Lieberman, Executive Director, CIAD, New York, NY
Moderator: Steve Coe, Executive Director, Community Access, New York, NY
The evidence is clear that helping people with disabilities to find and keep stable
affordable housing is critical to improving their health and reducing their need for
Medicaid hospital and emergency services. This panel will provide information and
insights on how new state MRT and budget housing initiatives will expand access to
supported housing across New York.
e. Transforming Current Program Models for Managed Care
Deborah Donahue, Executive Director, Onondaga Case Management Services, Syracuse,
NY
Amy Kohn, DSW, Chief Executive Officer, MHA Westchester, White Plains, NY
Joyce Wale, Senior Assistant Vice President, NY City Health & Hospitals Corporation,
Office of Behavioral Health, New York, NY (invited)
Moderator: Edye Schwartz, DSW, Director of Systems Transformation Initiatives,
NYAPRS, Mahopac, NY
Next year’s move to an integrated, fully capitated Medicaid managed care system will
move us to a focus on outcomes rather than process and regulation-based restrictions that
may well allow greater flexibility and creativity. The presenters will share details about the
efforts they’re undertaking to prepare their services, staff, agencies and the new strategic
alliances they’re forging along the way to the move to managed care.
f. Ensuring and Expanding Rights Protections
Valerie J. Bogart, Director, Evelyn Frank Legal Resources Program Selfhelp Community
Services, Inc., New York, NY
Trilby DeJung, Senior Staff Attorney, Public Benefits & Health Unit, Empire Justice
Center, Rochester, NY
Shena Elrington, Director, Health Justice, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, New
York, NY
Harvey Rosenthal, Executive Director, NYAPRS Albany, NY
Many concerns have been raised about how informed and prepared Medicaid beneficiaries
in New York will be to adapt to the program’s sweeping changes, along with how
responsive the state and managed care groups will be to beneficiary choice, attempts to
self-direct their care and to pursue grievances and appeals. The presenters will share their
hopes and concerns and recommend steps we can all take to raise the bar for rights
protections in the coming years.
1:15 pm Thanks and Farewell