NJAMHAA News Winter 2022

October 2021 10 As New Jersey’s behavioral healthcare providers await the opportunity to apply for integrated licenses that will enable them to provide primary and mental health care and substance use disorder (SUD) treatment, many NJAMHAA members have been delivering integrated care for years. In addition to providing all healthcare services either directly or by collaborating with other types of providers, the agencies are addressing social determinants of health (SDoH): housing, food, employment and education, and transportation or the means for clients to access it on their own—including development of the necessary skills, confidence and independence. The benefits for clients are clearly improved health outcomes and much more. As described by Casey Thompson, BSN, RN, Director of Nursing, Oaks Integrated Care, “Integrated care empowers clients to take responsibility for their care. We educate them on being independent and taking more ownership of their healthcare needs.” For example, staff bring clients to their first few primary care provider appointments. After that, clients obtain transportation from LogistiCare or use agency-provided bus passes. The staff also gain significant advantages by providing integrated care. In addition to being able to fully meet all clients’ needs and, therefore, gain more job satisfaction, they are able “to grow as professionals,” Thompson said. Oaks, Preferred Behavioral Health Group (PBHG) and Acenda Integrated Health are three of the largest behavioral healthcare providers in New Jersey—largely due to mergers and formal affiliations, which have greatly expanded their abilities to provide broad arrays of services in an integrated fashion. While these organizations have been primarily serving Medicaid beneficiaries, they recently further expanded their reach and impact to commercially insured individuals by being part of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey’s Integrated System of Care (ISC). Acenda Integrated Health NJAMHAANews: How has the merger of Robins’ Nest, Cape Counseling Services and NewPoint Behavioral Health and the acquisition of a Family Resource Center in 2019 and the addition of Daytop in 2020 enabled further expansion of integrated services? Bridget DeFiccio, LPC, Senior Vice President of Integrated Health: Robins’ Nest had outpatient and a couple of residential sites, and we have always done child welfare work. We didn’t have the breadth of acute services. NewPoint did not have integrated care, and Cape Counseling Services had one program for co- occurring disorders. Daytop added a lot of substance use treatment services. The mergers allowed things to organically take hold. Now, we have many pieces of the puzzle that allow us to expand exponentially. NJAMHAANews: Please describe the innovative components of Acenda’s integrated care programs and their unique impact. Bridget DeFiccio: Integrated care is not for any certain population, such as acute care or case management. We’re looking at it across all of Acenda’s services, regardless of the entry point. For example, our Family Success Centers are not clinical and they lead to engagement in integrated care. At these centers and in our Nurse Family Partnership program, we think of what else the families need and determine what services to wrap around them. We discuss integration and innovation with staff from the time they start working at Acenda. It’s a focus in existing programs and for possible new programs. win er 2022