NJAMHAA-70th-anniversary-publication

69 NJAMHAA and NJMHI Pay Tribute to Long-time Leaders Joe Masciandaro Joe Masciandaro joined NJAMHAA in 1978 soon after he began work- ing at CarePlus NJ, which was called Mid-Bergen Community Mental Health Center at the time. He served on the NJAMHAA Board from 1980 to 2014, including multi- ple terms as Chair, and he served as the NJMHI Board Chair for several years. Throughout his career of 45+ years, Masciandaro has held a variety of leadership positions in sub- stance use disorder (SUD) treatment, state hospital operations and community mental health care. “Joe has always been a pioneer in the field and extremely determined to make positive changes in individuals’ lives, at his agency and throughout the state’s and nation’s behavioral healthcare system. Despite being soft spoken and always even-keeled, he is a powerful advocate,” Dr. Wentz said. In July 2012, under Masciandaro’s leadership, CarePlus NJ launched a formal partnership with Turning Point to ensure individuals with mental illnesses and SUDs received treatment for both conditions. Additional partnerships with Integri- ty House and Rutgers Medical School led to the creation of Bergen New Bridge Medical Center, the largest hospital in New Jersey and fourth largest public hospital in the nation, in 2017. Some of the CarePlus staff have been working at the hospital to provide seamless, integrated care. “It has been a tremendous pleasure and profound honor to work with Bill, Jeanne and Joe. They have inspired and mentored countless NJAMHAA mem- bers and other individuals – including myself, for sure – and continuously propelled the association forward, keeping it in the lead as the behavioral healthcare system was transformed many times over during the years,” noted Dr. Wentz.