NJAMHAA News - October 2021

October 2021 18 NJAMHAA congratulates its Board Officers for being elected for FY2022 and four of our returning At-Large members. Below are interviews NJAMHAANews had with these leaders about the impact of NJAMHAA’s advocacy, the value NJAMHAA provides for members and their vision for the future. Two of these individuals also serve on the Board of Trustees for the New Jersey Mental Health Institute (NJMHI), which NJAMHAA established in 2000 to promote quality mental health services through training, technical assistance, research and policy development. They share their views on NJMHI’s initiatives and contributions, as well. Susan Loughery, MBA, Board Chair Associate Executive Director, Catholic Charities, Diocese of Trenton NJAMHAANews: What do you see as NJAMHAA’s greatest achievement from the past year and overall? Susan Loughery: In the past year, NJAMHAA has demonstrated rapid response to legislative needs and identified what providers need to serve their communities – in particular telehealth, for which NJAMHAA anticipated providers’ needs and advocated to have these included in the executive order. NJAMHAA also organized other advocacy associations, which resulted in the executive order allowing us to do what we need to do. Overall, NJAMHAA’s impact is so broad. The association is a conduit of tremendous information from a lot of sources that is relevant to what we do every day and is rapidly changing. NN: What do you see as NJAMHAA’s greatest value and contributions for member organizations and the individuals they serve? SL: NJAMHAA’s greatest value is the ability to create a gathering place to share information and best practices. The association provides what we need right now – what is relevant to the environment today – and helps us understand what we need for the future. NJAMHAA helps us plan and provides information on what is happening and to where we’re going. NN: How does NJAMHAA contribute to the effectiveness of your organization and staff and the entire behavioral healthcare system? SL: For providers’ staff, NJAMHAA creates opportunities for professional development for future leaders. This training allows direct care staff to build skill sets and competencies. NJAMHAA also helps build understanding of the competitive and collaborative landscapes. NJAMHAA helps agency executives to be more effective in a lot of different domains. We’re so far beyond providers; we’re large, dynamic employers and we’re creating impact and jobs in New Jersey. Overall, there’s so much value. NJAMHAA is an advocate for all that we do – beyond the provider network – as employers, healthcare systems and a major part of the community infrastructure. NJAMHAA is able to pivot in all these areas to provide information specific to any issue at hand. NN: What would you like to see NJAMHAA accomplish in the upcoming year and farther in the future? SL: We’re at a time when we have to make changes we know have been needed for a long time. NJAMHAA’s voice is critical for creating and advancing that narrative on our behalf. NN: What have you gained personally from serving on the Board? SL: I gained the opportunity to collaborate with other Board members. They are such a talented, experienced and knowledgeable group of dynamic leaders. I greatly value the opportunity to work with them and the NJAMHAA staff, and I admire all that they do every day. The environment we’re in and the speed at which behavioral health care, substance use treatment and social services are changing create the opportunity for NJAMHAA to be the place to go to for support and resources. NJAMHAA creates opportunities for provider organizations as businesses to succeed. Board Officers and Re-elected At-large Members Share their Views on NJAMHAA’s and NJMHI’s Impact and Value October 2021