—by Paul M. Kubek
Cleveland, OH—The numbers are in from this year's event: over 300 people from 13 states attended our Evidence-Based Practices (EBP) Conference 2014, which took place on October 14 and 15 at the Cleveland Airport Marriott. The event featured a keynote plenary on trauma-informed care in Ohio. It also featured 48 workshops on a variety of topics to improve the integration, management, and delivery of services to adults and adolescents with serious mental illness and substance use disorders. Conference participants came from the following states:
CA, CO, CA, IL, IN, KY, MD, MI, MO, NM, OH, PA, TN
Our Center also presented its Champion Awards to individuals and organizations that have demonstrated a commitment to implementing EBPs in their communities.
- EBP Champion: Lenore A. Kola, PhD, Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University
- IDDT Champion: Chalmers P. Wylie VA Ambulatory Care Center, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- SE/IPS Champion: The Counseling Center of Columbiana County
See "Champion Awards" section below for more information.
Keynote presentation
Title: Trauma-Informed Care: Creating Positive Cultures of Care
Presenter #1: Raul S. Almazar, RN, MA, is senior consultant to SAMHSA ‘s Promoting Alternatives to Seclusion and Restraints through Trauma-Informed Practices at the National Center for Trauma-Informed Care (NCTIC). Mr. Almazar is past Deputy Director for Clinical Operations at the State of Illinois Division of Mental Health.
Presenter #2: Charryse Copper is an advocate for trauma-informed social work.
Abstract: In our work, we frequently hear horrendous stories of trauma in the lives of the people we serve. We also work in organizations that are chronically stressed, even traumatized, from external and internal events and pressures. This session explored the interplay of individual trauma and secondary trauma (trauma exposure) with organizational trauma. It addressed strategies to build resilience in the individual practitioner as well as within organizations.
Champion awards
The Center for Evidence-Based Practices at Case Western Reserve University presented its 2014 Champion Awards to individuals and organizations that have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to implementing EBPs and improving access to quality care in their communities.
The presentation took place on October 15 at our EBP Conference. This year's awards and recipients include the following:
Champion #1
Evidence-Based Practices (EBP) | Champion Award 2014
Awarded to & Accepted by:
Lenore A. Kola, PhD, associate professor of social work at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences; former dean of the School of Graduate Studies at Case Western Reserve University; and co-founder and co-director of the Center for Evidence-Based Practices.
City: Cleveland, Ohio
Presented by: Patrick E. Boyle MSSA, LISW-S, LICDC-CS, of the Center for Evidence-Based Practices
Abstract: Lenore Kola has a reputation as an agent of change. Since 1970, she has led national efforts in local communities to enhance services and quality of life for people who struggle with addictions and mental illness. She has acquired and administered more than $7 million in grants from federal, state, and county agencies and charitable foundations to educate and train countless numbers of social work students and licensed professionals about clinical innovations, including evidence-based practices.
Champion #2
Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment (IDDT) | Champion Award 2014
Awarded to: Chalmers P. Wylie VA Ambulatory Care Center, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
City: Columbus, Ohio
Presented by: Scott Gerhard, MA, LSW, of the Center for Evidence-Based Practices
Accepted by: Gary Stofle (center in photo) and the Columbus VA's IDDT Team
Columbus VA website: www.columbus.va.gov
This EBP: Learn more about IDDT
Abstract: This IDDT team provides veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces in central Ohio the best treatment available for co-occurring mental illness and substance use disorders. Team members achieve this by finding new ways to implement IDDT within the existing VA system. The VA provides both primary healthcare and behavioral healthcare to veterans, so the implementation of IDDT further enhances the integration of care by also combining mental health services and addiction services. In this way, the IDDT team is changing the system. It is inspiring innovations for the VA's electronic medical records and screening and assessment processes.
This team is unique, because its leadership has prior experience implementing IDDT and Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) in a community-based system. Program Manager Gary Stofle and Team Leader Jimmy Portner both worked at Southeast, Inc. in Columbus, an early adopter of IDDT, before coming to the VA. Both Stofle and Portner understand the importance of hiring team members who are dedicated to providing quality care to clients and enhancing their own knowledge and skills continuously.
This team receives consultation and training from the Center for Evidence-Based at Case Western Reserve University.
Champion #3
Supported Employment/ Individual Placement and Support (SE/IPS) | Champion Award 2014
Awarded to: The Counseling Center of Columbiana County
City: Lisbon, Ohio
Presented by: Nicole Clevenger, BFA, of the Center for Evidence-Based Practices
Accepted by: Betty Larkins, vocational coordinator (center in photo), and The Counseling Center's SE/IPS Team
Agency website: www.colmhc.org
This EBP: Learn more about SE/IPS
Abstract: This SE/IPS team is known for its high job-placement rates, which they achieve from creativity and collaboration, not only with each other but also with clients seeking jobs, employers looking to hire reliable people, and other community partners. The team serves a large rural area in southeast Ohio, so team members clock a lot of hours on the road meeting with clients and conducting job-development with potential employers. Because there is a lack of public transportation in the region, clients often have a hard time getting to their jobs. The SE/IPS team found a solution through a collaboration which enables their organization to make use of buses from Head Start programs when those buses are not in use.
Team members take a person-centered, motivational approach to services by getting to know each individual and their hopes, dreams, and needs. They recently made a formal commitment to welcoming and helping people who identify as transgender. The SE/IPS services at this organization benefit from support from the Columbiana County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board.
This team receives consultation and training from the Center for Evidence-Based at Case Western Reserve University.
Sponsor & co-sponsor
Conference sponsor: Center for Evidence-Based Practices at Case Western Reserve University—a partnership between the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences and Department of Psychiatry at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. The Center for EBPs is the parent organization of three Ohio Coordinating Center of Excellence (CCOE) initiatives:
- Ohio ACT CCOE | Assertive Community Treatment
- Ohio SAMI CCOE | Substance Abuse and Mental Illness
- Ohio SE CCOE | Supported Employment/ Individual Placement and Support
Conference co-sponsor: Center for Innovative Practices (CIP) of the Begun Center for Violence Prevention, Research and Education at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University
Conference co-sponsor: EBP Conference 2016 was made possible with support from the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS)
Leadership Of Center For Evidence-Based Practices
- Lenore A. Kola, PhD, co-director of the Center for Evidence-Based Practices at Case Western Reserve University & associate professor of social work at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences
- Robert J. Ronis, MD, MPH, co-director of the Center for Evidence-Based Practices & the Douglas Danford Bond Professor and chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at the School of Medicine
- Patrick E. Boyle, MSSA, LISW-S, LICDC, director of implementation services at the Center for Evidence-Based Practices