Celebrate PRIDE Month: Visit the YMSM+LGBT CoE Website

June 21, 2018

Brandy Oeser, MPH
Project Director

YMSM + LGBT Center of Excellence

LGBT Pride Month is celebrated each year in the month of June to honor the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan. As part of the ATTC’s recognition of LGBT Pride Month we would like to encourage you to visit the YMSM + LGBT CoE website, which features archived webinars where you can learn more about the LGBT community. Webinars are available on many topics, including Creating an LGBT Affirming Organization, Supporting Change for LGBTQ Young Adults, and Working with and for Two-Spirit Individuals. To learn more, please visit LGBT Webinar Recordings.

About the YMSM + LGBT CoE

Between September 30, 2014, and September 29, 2017, the Center of Excellence for Racial/ethnic Minority Young Men Who Have Sex with Men and other Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender populations (YMSM+LGBT COE) provided training and technical assistance to providers on culturally responsive prevention and treatment services to decrease rates of substance use and HIV infections among YMSM and LGBT communities. A collaborative team from the PS-ATTC, NeC-ATTC and National American Indian and Alaska Native ATTC led the COE, in partnership with the National Hispanic and Latino ATTC and Charles R. Drew University.

The YMSM+LGBT COE generated innovative curricula, developed 97 trainers and established a national training infrastructure. The YMSM+LGBT COE also hosted monthly webinars and created a website to serve as an information clearinghouse for research articles and best practices to serve YMSM and LGBT clients. The website also contains information and other resources for providers who serve YMSM and LGBT clients. 

Continuing our work   

Though funding for the COE has ended, the work has continued thanks to the dedicated and passionate trainers affiliated with the project. LGBT trainings have recently been conducted in Arizona, California, Colorado, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, American Samoa and Bermuda! YMSM and LGBT related presentations are being conducted at conferences throughout the country. We are moving to quarterly webinars now thanks to the support of the PS-ATTC and UNR CASAT.

For more information or to request a training please email Brandy Oeser at boeser@mednet.ucla.edu

Is your organization observing PRIDE Month?  Tell us how in the comments section below.

How to Become a Best Place to Work for 10 Years in a Row

June 19, 2018

Maureen Fitzgerald
ATTC Network/NIATx

Horizon Health Services began in 1975 with a single location in Buffalo, NY.  Today, the agency has more than 600 employees providing a full continuum of services at more than 20 locations in three counties.

At Horizon, staff satisfaction and growth are at the heart of workforce development. 

Really—the agency trains all new staff on the Communicate with H.E.A.R.T. model, a communication model developed by the Cleveland Clinic.

"The H.E.A.R.T. (Hear, Empathize, Apologize, Respond, and Thank) model differentiates us," says Veronica Meldrum, Vice President of Employee Services. "It provides a framework for a collaborative work environment,  solving problems, and keeping the customer at top of mind in all of our day-to-day operations."

Staff Surveys 

For Meldrum, The H.E.A.R.T. model is one factor that has helped Horizon Health Services earn the distinction of being a Best Place to Work in Western New York—for the 10th year in a row.

"We are as proud today as we were the first time we received the award," says Meldrum.

Another critical factor? Continually seeking staff feedback.

Benefits and Compensation Study

In addition to engaging in surveys with external vendors, Horizon also conducts internal surveys to assess employee engagement. Surveys are just one way for agency leadership to stay connected with employees and address any workforce issues. For example, information from staff surveys was key in a recent revamp of Horizon's benefits and compensation plan.

"Being named a Best Place to Work is a huge honor because it largely depends on results of anonymous surveys our employees complete," explains Meldrum.

Meldrum says that Horizon takes a creative approach to addressing the many factors that complicate staff recruitment and retention today. "We will continue to strive to improve our workplace and the work experience of our employees. Every single person at our organization, whether providing direct service or working behind the scenes, has a critical role."

ATTC Resources for Workforce Recruitment and Retention

Publications: National Workforce Study
National Workforce Report 2017: A National Qualitative Report
Vital Signs: Taking the Pulse of the Addictions Treatment Workforce

Webinar: Workforce Recruitment and Retention: A Review of Strategies
June 28, 2018, 11:00am CT


How does your organization recruit, retain, and reward your staff?  Share your strategies in the comments section below.

Help for the Opioid Crisis: STR-Technical Assistance Available to States and Territories

June 5, 2018

Swan Capris

STR-TA Project Manager 

www.AAAP.org

The State Targeted Response Technical Assistance (STR-TA) Consortium website (www.getSTR-TA.org) and technical assistance (TA) portal is now live and ready to support efforts to address opioid use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery across the country.

On February 1, 2018, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) awarded the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP) and a coalition of 22 national healthcare organizations a two-year grant to provide all 50 U.S. States and 7 territories with assistance targeting the opioid crisis. The Consortium has been accepting technical assistance requests for MAT (Medication-Assisted Treatment) waiver trainings, mentorships, systems work, and peer recovery support aftercare programs.

The STR-TA Consortium is focusing on making use of evidence-based resources that have already been created and reviewed to avoid recreating the wheel or wasting resources, including those from: AAAP/Providers Clinical Support System, ATTC Network,  Center for Social Innovation, CADCA, Boston Children’s Hospital on SUD, Columbia University, and Research Triangle International, also funded by SAMHSA.

The goal of STR-TA is to be responsive to meet community’s needs by providing training and TA on evidence-based practices in the prevention, treatment, and recovery of opioid use disorders through local experts. This effort has been designed as a tailored, locally driven approach to TA delivery.

We urge you to share this flyer with your colleagues and community. The STR-TA Consortium and a team of TA consultants stand ready to assist STR grantees and others in prevention, treatment, and recovery as they relate to opioid use disorders.

Together we CAN make a difference!

About AAAP:

We’re an organization focused on helping those with substance use disorders and mental disorders by educating, influencing and encouraging excellence in practice, policy and prevention for the field of Addiction Psychiatry and beyond through our partnerships with psychiatrists, faculty, medical students, residents and fellows, non-psychiatrists and related health professionals.

Funding for this initiative was made possible (in part) by grant no. 1H79TI080816-01 from SAMHSA. The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.