Update From The CEO
Hello all - This month was one of “extras,” such as our extra leap year day of February 29th. For all of you who celebrate that as your birthday, I’m sure this every-four-year event is fun for you. Hope you enjoyed.
I am also extra grateful for our collaborations to ensure the best behavioral health services to EOCCO members. Thank you for your partnerships with GOBHI. It’s been my honor to be here as the CEO. As I’ve mentioned in the past, I am retiring soon, so I’ll be scribing a couple more of these updates to you. Wow, that acknowledgement is filled with poignant emotions for me as I ready to transition into retirement. As I head towards that “wrapup,” I thought it would be fun to go back to the beginning - our first provider newsletter. That first one in ‘21 reported on our EOCCO deliverables to OHA. Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of updating you on that critical area of work, and the excellence in our reporting on our key contract expectations. I find it fitting that one of my last updates focuses on where our newsletters topics began; I am very excited to inform you that GOBHI received very positive feedback from OHA on our Comprehensive Behavioral Health Plan Progress Report - There were no follow up areas for us and OHA also had positive comments regarding various areas of our report! This is a high compliment to our work and the work you all do in service to EOCCO Members. Of course, the report is not the end product--it is the documentation of all the fantastic work occurring in Eastern Oregon thanks to your dedication. View the Comprehensive Behavioral Health Plan here.
I would also like to highlight information regarding a new EOCCO Member benefit: Health Related Social Needs. This information is provided by Mina Zarnegin, MPH; HRSN Services Manager for EOCCO.
Health Related Social Needs (HRSN)
The HRSN benefit will provide new opportunities for EOCCO to partner, coordinate care, identify needs, and track access for housing, climate, and nutrition services. Community-based organizations (CBO), social service agencies, and housing and food providers will play an important role in providing services to eligible OHP members.
Beginning on March 1, 2024, community funding will be available statewide to support organizations that are interested in becoming HRSN providers. Oregon Health Authority will be distributing this funding regionally to the CCOs, and the CCOs will be responsible for reviewing applications, awarding funding, and monitoring use of the funds.
As a result, EOCCO will be able to distribute additional grants to organizations to build the necessary capabilities and capacity to provide climate, housing, and nutrition services as a Medicaid health benefit. Funding will be available to support investment and activities in four categories:
Technology
Development of Business or Operational Practices
Workforce development
Outreach, education, and convening
EOCCO’s window for accepting applications for community capacity building funding opens up on March 1, 2024. EOCCO will accept applications from March 1, 2024- May 31, 2024. More information on where you can submit applications will be updated on this page and shared out through other information channels shortly. However, in the interim, you may access the application and scoring rubric here. Application will be evaluated based on OHA’s scoring rubric and criteria.
Please contact CBIR@ohsu.edu to answer grant application questions and for 1-on-1 technical assistance. Visit the EOCCO grants webpage for more information.
Qualified members can submit a climate device request now through the member’s website.
GOBHI’s New Director, Clinical Services Department
Ashley Reeser, MA, LPC, is our new Clinical Services Department Director. (Clinical Services was formerly named Integrated Services.) We are confident that Ashley will bring her vision, leadership, and expertise to her new role and help us achieve our goals and vision of serving EOCCO members. She will lead our Clinical Services Department, which includes the Utilization and Care management services.
I would like to thank Kathleen Madore, LCSW, for her services as the Director, Integrated Services. Kathleen will start a private practice and has kindly agreed to continue serving GOBHI in a part time capacity.
Please join me in congratulating Ms. Reeser and wishing her all the best in her new position.
GOBHI’s New Communications Coordinator
Please join us in extending a warm welcome to Grant Souders, who joined us earlier this month as our new Communications Coordinator. Grant brings a wealth of writing skills and communications expertise to GOBHI, ready to enhance our outreach efforts to both internal and external audiences. With a background in marketing and communications, Grant comes to us from his previous role at the University of Colorado's Student Affairs program. Let's take a moment to welcome Grant and ensure he feels at home here at GOBHI.
Reach out to Grant with any questions or communications needs directly at gsouders@gobhi.org.
2024 Legislative Session
The 2024 Legislative Session is over half way complete and discussions regarding behavioral health (especially reforming Ballot Measure 110) have been front and center. Policy changes and direction for Oregon’s behavioral health system are contained in House Bill 4002, which tackles reforms to BM110. Today, a press release from the Senate President and the Speaker's Offices was announced containing information about legislative investments via HB 5204, the companion funding bill to HB 4002, that unanimously passed out of Ways and Means. It's encouraging to witness investments in the Eastern Oregon region, such as Lifeways in Malheur County and Mid-Columbia Center for Living in Sherman County. Additionally, investments are being made in programs accessible to EOCCO members, such as the Latina residential program in Madras, Oregon, which will be operated by Bestcare Treatment Services. GOBHI also supported / advocated for the jail-based Medications for Opioid Use Disorder services, which are included in this package. You can find the press release here.
2024 SHARE Request for Applications
EOCCO is proud to announce that the 2024 Supporting Health for All through Reinvestment (SHARE) program is now accepting applications.
Eastern Oregon Coordinated Care Organization (EOCCO) has consistently reinvested in programs and initiatives to support the health and wellbeing of Eastern Oregon communities. For 2024, EOCCO will continue to fund projects that address Social Determinants Of Health and Equity (SDOH-E), such as housing, food, transportation, safety, and more. These funds, known as Supporting Health for All through Reinvestment (SHARE), will be awarded to projects that best address the greatest SDOH-E needs across Eastern Oregon. Local Community Health Partnerships (LCHPs) will continue to be funded through EOCCO’s SHARE program distribution.
SHARE applicants are required to submit their proposals to CBIR@ohsu.edu by March 29, 2024 5pm PST. SHARE proposals will be reviewed by their county specific LCHP, the Eastern Oregon Community Advisory Council, and EOCCO leadership. LCHP proposals will be reviewed directly by EOCCO leadership. Given the complex nature of social determinants of health projects and limited number of awards, not all project proposals may be selected for funding.
Visit the EOCCO website for more information.
Spanish-English Health Care Interpreter Training
In this online and onsite Health Care Interpreter course, you'll learn everything you need to be successful in your work. The training is geared toward rural Oregon providers. The course is designed to meet the Oregon Health Authority’s training requirements for health care interpreters, and you will be guided through the process of completing applications to be added to the OHA Registry of Certified and Qualified Health Care Interpreters. Here are some goals and benefits of the course:
Identify skills needed for communication and interpreting
Describes challenges and considerations for in-person, video, and phone interpreting
Understand basic medical terminology in English and Spanish
Learn about the roles that health care interpreters take on, and how interpreters choose when to shift from one role to another
Understand the code of ethics and standards of practice, and apply the ethical principles without the work of an interpreter
Understand common ethical themes for all interpreters, and identify ethical principles unique to healthcare interpreting
Evaluate your own interpreting skills and build upon them
Use memory techniques to interpret accurately, with limited requests for repetition
Identify strategies for note-taking to use while interpreting
Complete the OHA Certification and/or Qualification process
Understand timelines and process for OHA renewals
When: April 8 - June 14, 2024
Where: Asynchronous Online and in Ontario, OR
Visit the training page for more information.
2024 Oregon Child-Parent Psychotherapy Learning Collaborative
Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) is an intervention model for children aged 0-5 who have experienced traumatic events and/or are experiencing mental health, attachment, and/or behavioral problems. For information about the research on CPP, including the five randomized trials conducted on the model, please visit the Child-Parent Psychotherapy website.
Greater Oregon Behavioral Health, Inc. in partnership with Oregon Health Authority, will hold an 18-month long virtual CPP Learning Collaborative beginning in September 2024. For an overview of the training, please take a look at the Learning Collaborative overview.
If you are interested, please complete the expression of interest survey to indicate your interest and to acknowledge that you have reviewed and are able to engage in all the training components and that you believe your team members meet eligibility criteria. A member of our team will follow up with you.
2024 Lunch and Learn Training Opportunities
In an effort to improve access to GOBHI’s training for network providers and offer Continuing Education Units (CEU’s), we are excited to announce the 2024 Lunch and Learn Series. On the 3rd Thursday of each month from 12-1 PM PT we will be offering 1 hour of CEUs for a variety of topics, presented by GOBHI subject matter experts. We are hoping you will join us! We understand this time is usually lunch for folks, so feel free to join camera on or off and both get some nourishment, earn a CEU, and engage with peers around topics that we think are pertinent to the work you all are doing!
The following table provides training topics and links to registration.
We look forward to Lunching and Learning with you all in 2024!
Program update - Foster Care
Foster homes for youth are greatly needed in Eastern Oregon!
The GOBHI Therapeutic Foster Care program provides full-time/part-time services and care to youth in foster homes with foster parents certified and trained by GOBHI. Youth are involved with the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS), Child Welfare Division.
Please visit our website to learn more about the program and how you can help by sharing information, promoting the importance of foster care, and referring individuals who are able to support this critical effort.
Help us build a network of caring homes to support youth across our state. For more information about referral incentives and how you can support foster home recruitment efforts, see this flier or contact a member of our Foster Care Team.
Newsletter Sign-up
Want to subscribe to future newsletter editions via email? Please follow the link below and share it with anyone who would like to join our mailing list.
Helpful Links: