NNews December 2023

23 December 2023 S oon after being selected by the New Jersey Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) tomanage the state’s 988 crisis response system, Carelon Behavioral Health joinedNJAMHAA’s IntegratedHealthcare Council as part of its proactive efforts to help ensure all New Jersey residents receive the care they need. Although Carelon’s primary role is working directly with the five call centers to ensure smooth functioning, the team is also focused on the network of behavioral healthcare providers. “As 988 continues to roll out and call, text and chat volume expands, it will be increasingly important for the call centers to have strong relationships with all providers. These relationships are the fiber of the safety net. Without these, people would fall through the cracks,” saidWendyMartinez Farmer, Regional Vice President, National Crisis Center of Excellence, pictured above. “We really want to be a part of the community and the whole structure in New Jersey. 988 Managing Entity Carelon Behavioral Health Joins NJAMHAA We need to know the providers we’re partneringwith, andwe want to be part of that important group and support all the providers.” “Being at the table is very important. It helps us know the problems that providers encounter. Then, we can see if there’s something in our contract with DMHAS that we can do to address those challenges,” added Debbie Atkins, LPC, Vice President, Growth, shown above. Additional aspects of Carelon’s being proactive are helping with surges in contacts and developing plans for when a hurricane hits or flooding happens. For example, they worked All members are strongly encouraged to participate on the HMO Council, as well as other groups NJAMHAA facilitates to foster partnerships, strategic conversations and impactful advocacy. For information and to join any groups of interest, please contact ShaunaMoses Vice President of Public Affairs andMember Services smoses@njamhaa.org with the call centers to establish protocols to handle all types of crises. “Like with any disaster, we have a recovery plan. If power is lost, we have to keep the trains moving,” Farmer emphasized. In conjunction with DMHAS, Carelon oversees the 988 call centers to ensure they operate consistently; trains their staff; and provides technical assistance with data collection and reporting to Vibrant Emotional Health, which manages the national 988 system. “We have data expertise, which is essential for our collaboration to facilitate the state’s mission,” Atkins stated. Atkins and Farmer are maximizing Carelon’s NJAMHAA membership to get to know providers. For example, they are participating on the Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) Council, which includes providers, as well as representatives from the HMOs, DMHAS and the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services.