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Top Lab: Covid-19 PCR and Antibody Testing

Join Kristin as she speaks with Victoria Frenkel, the CEO of Top Lab, about Covid-19 testing. Victoria discusses how they decided to do their part to assist in the testing struggle here in America. Hear a bit about the different types of testing, the antibody test, and the molecular PCR Covid-19 test. Victoria warns against the hazards of the miscellaneous unregulated tests flooding the market right now. Top Lab is licensed in various states and is also federally regulated. Victoria helps us all learn how to get the peace of mind that proper testing can provide from just about anywhere in our country.

Victoria Frenkel is the CEO at Advanced Comprehensive Laboratory, LLC / Top Lab

https://www.toplabdirect.com/

Safe Haven: Helping Refugees and Immigrants Navigate Mental Wellness

Join Kristin as she speaks with Egette Indelele, the founder of Safe Haven and a Tanzanian child refugee whose family escaped the Rwandan genocide.  Egette founded Safe Haven in order to assist refugee and immigrant students and their families with mental health and mental wellness.  They discuss Egette’s life as a refugee and the difficulties that come with the transition to American life. The lives of refugees and immigrants often have unique experiences that can be traumatic for many. Safe Haven strives to assist by not only helping students with their mental health, but bringing their families in as well, and helping remove some of the stigma surrounding mental health, in order to help provide family support.

Egette Indelele was born and raised in a refugee camp in Tanzania. She is the oldest of five children and a first-generation honor college student at George Mason University. She is studying Psychology with a concentration in Cognitive and Behavior Neuroscience in hopes of opening her own practice in Burundi and emphasizing the importance of mental health while serving children with the hope of healing their traumatic life events. Egette’s work with Safe Haven was inspired by her experience as a refugee. She founded Safe Haven to help refugee students resettle in a new world while having access to mental health services. Aside from mental health, Egette has a great passion for children around the world. With the passion to help children, she became the President of a UNICEF club at George Mason University. The club gave her the opportunity to advocate for children’s rights and educate her university community on the importance of helping the younger generation. She extended her passion and is now serving on the United Nations International Children Emergency Funds USA National Council. She also manages a program where members and volunteers mentor and tutor elementary-aged children at a local community center that serves refugees transitioning to life in America. With mental health being a stigma around the world, specifically in refugees and immigrant families, she believes that Safe Haven will ease the transition to American life. She also believes that it will help students perform better in school overall while working on solving unresolved trauma.

https://safehavenspace.com/  

Mental Health Business Financing in the time of Covid-19

Neil and Dave join Kristin to discuss how mental health organizations can work on survival during the time of Covid-19. This is show is extremely informative for anyone suffering from financial distress – individuals and organizations.

Neil Johnson has more than 19 years of healthcare investment banking and private equity experience including completion of over $1 billion of corporate finance transactions involving merger and acquisitions, equity and corporate debt financings as well as distressed asset acquisitions and divestitures.

As Managing Partner of Lawrence, Evans & Co., LLC, Mr Johnson’s responsibilities primarily include deal sourcing and evaluation, transaction structuring, securing financing including debt and equity, and fundraising. Many of the completed transactions have involved acute care hospitals, senior housing, home health, behavioral health, revenue cycle management, health IT, big data, analytics or other services related companies.

Prior to forming Lawrence, Evans & Co., LLC, Mr. Johnson worked at one of the largest asset based healthcare lenders in the country and spent time with a national healthcare investment bank as an underwriter. Mr Johnson’s relevant experiences include time as a healthcare bond trader managing over $100 million in assets at a regional based investment advisor. Neil spent time in Germany with an internet start-up and was involved with a successful sale of an internet consumer marketing company. Additionally, he spent time early on in his career with the bank First Chicago NBD that is now part of JPMorganChase.

Neil is a board member and executive of several other companies including 1212 Capital LLC and NS Fund I LLC. He is a member of the Association of Corporate Growth, Healthcare Business Management Association, Healthcare Financial Management Association, Turnaround Management Association, and the First Connect Bio Medical Steering Committee as well as an education contributor to the Harvard Business School.

He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Management from Albion College. Mr. Johnson received his Masters of Business Administration degree from Ohio State University Max M. Fisher College of Business. He is also a 1994 NCAA National Football Champion, Albion College Hall of Fame Individually and as a 4 time Team Member and NCAA Post Graduate Scholarship Recipient (w/ Peyton Manning and Brian Griese).

David Opalek has nearly 20 years of real estate finance experience with an extensive background in the affordable sector. Prior to joining Lawrence, Evans & Co., LLC, he worked at Love Funding in 2014, and he spent 10 years originating loans and managing relationships in the Mortgage Banking services division at Red Capital Group where he closed over $2 billion in FHA and agency financing transactions. Prior to his tenure at Red Capital Group, Mr. Opalek worked for Banc One in their Corporate Trust Department where he focused on multifamily housing bonds.

In addition to his extensive mortgage banking experience, Mr. Opalek has been instrumental in developing new financing structures for the capital markets. Some of his notable accomplishments include the first cash collateralized multifamily housing bonds that fundamentally changed the way that FHA 4% LIHTC are funded and the first Build America Bond collateralized with and FHA loan in the wake of the housing crisis which saved the borrower 30% on their borrowing cost.

Mr. Opalek received his BA from Alma College and his Juris Doctor from Wayne State University Law School. Additionally, he received his MBA from the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University.

www.lawrenceevans.com

A New Era of Behavioral Health Consulting

Shelley Samuels joins Kristin to talk about how the field of Behavioral Health has changed and the impact this had made on consulting services.

Shelley Samuels has 30+ years of experience as a leader in human services and healthcare organizations. Most recently she was COO and Compliance Officer for national organization Juvo Autism and Behavioral Health. Prior to that she was the Chief Program Officer of Easterseals New Jersey while concurrently serving as the COO of Easterseals Solutions an EHR system administration entity for multiple nonprofit organizations. She has an MPA in Public Administration with a concentration in Healthcare Finance from Rutgers University. She completed an Executive Leadership Program at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business and a program at New York University Stern School for Executive Education in Finance and Accounting. Ms. Samuels has secured and managed more than $80 million dollars in grants and contracts such as Projects of National Significance from the US HHS; US Administration on Aging; US Corporation for National and Community Service; SAMHSA; HUD and a federal healthcare insurance education project. Ms. Samuels has served as a management and development consultant for organizations such as federally qualified health centers; medical centers; hospice and health and human services. She has provided consulting on medical legal partnerships and older adult services. Shelley has expertise in fee for service and transition to multiple payment models. Ms. Samuels has made presentations on EHR best practices at multiple conferences and webinars as well as on disability rights, behavioral health homes and access to employment for local and national audiences.

srsstrategic.com

Leadership After Addiction: Recovery and Inspiration with Andre Johnson

Join Andre Johnson and Kristin as they talk about his journey with addiction and recovery. An inspiring episode with an amazing human!

Andre L. Johnson, a native Detroiter, is currently the President/CEO of the Detroit Recovery Project–a multi-service agency that provides a wide spectrum of support services to the city’s recovery community. Such services include: GED preparation; twelve-step support groups; housing assistance; job readiness and employment assistance; and HIV prevention, testing, and counseling services. In addition, the agency also oversees an ex-offender program that helps returning citizens reintegrate successfully into the Detroit community, with an aim of reducing recidivism and/or relapse among this population. Since its inception in 2005, the DRP has devoted more than $15 million (via federal, county and local awards) to its mission to help Detroiters who were once on the streets become drug-free and productive citizens.

Mr. Johnson has over 23 years of professional work experience, exemplifying a long-standing commitment and dedication to the field of substance abuse. Respected also for his people and negotiation skills, Mr. Johnson played an integral role in re-establishing positive relationships between adolescents and their families at the Wolverine Human Services (Detroit). Moreover, Andre worked with the Fulton County Juvenile Detention Center and Youthful Survivors where he spoke to over 20,000 students in the Atlanta Metropolitan Public School System while pursuing academic studies in Atlanta, Georgia.

Mr. Johnson sits on a variety of committees and advisory boards. Mr. Johnson was recently appointed by U.S. Secretary of Health of Human Services Kathleen Sebelius to the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) – National Advisory Council. He is a member of the Detroit-Wayne Mental Health Authority Implementation Committee. Mr. Johnson is a board member of the Wayne Center–an agency that provides services for the mentally ill and the developmentally disabled.

Mr. Johnson is a former faculty member for the National Association of Drug Court Professionals/Drug Court Planning Initiative of the Faculty Training Institute. Mr. Johnson was also co-host of the “Beating the Odds” radio program discussing various issues as it relates to the prevention and treatment of substance abuse and the curtailing of tobacco usage throughout the city of Detroit. Mr. Johnson was also the co-host of “Total Recovery” radio program in Detroit, Michigan. Mr. Johnson provided consultation on behalf of the United States President Emergency Plan Against Aids abroad to the Department of Ministry of Health, in Dar Es Salaam, Zanzibar, Tanzania.

Mr. Johnson holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Morehouse College (Atlanta, Georgia) and a Masters of Arts degree in organizational management from the University of Phoenix. Mr. Johnson is trained certified recovery coach and considered an expert in his field he is invited frequently to present at seminars, workshops, and as a keynote or motivational speaker to not only those in recovery but youth, adults, families, and substance abuse professionals. In addition, he is currently a national trainer for Great Lakes Addiction Transfer Technology Center. In 2013 was the recipient of the prestigious Vernon Johnson award from Faces and Voices of Recovery.

http://recovery4detroit.com/

Technology and Compliance Leadership in Mental Health: June Noto

It isn’t often enough that Kristin gets to talk tech with a powerhouse female in healthcare. Joining her on this show is June Noto discussing her career and how technology and compliance has and continues to shift in mental health and addiction services.

June Ann Noto is the Vice President of Information Technology, Human Resources and Administrative Services at the New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies, Inc. (NJAMHAA). For the past 20 years, Ms. Noto has directed the Community Information Technology Project, which is a joint public/private venture of NJAMHAA and the NJ Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS), providing technology leadership, advocacy and support to more than 200 human services organizations.

Before joining NJAMHAA, Ms. Noto was the Director of Information Management at CPC Behavioral Healthcare, (Eatontown, NJ). Prior to starting her career in the not-for-profit arena, she held several technical positions for companies such as McGraw-Hill, Fairchild Publishing and Royal Doulton.

With a diverse information technology (IT) background spanning more than 40 years, Ms. Noto has a record of leadership and achievement in automating business processes to improve efficiency, reduce costs and improve outcomes, while aligning the technology vision to the strategic plan and mission of the organization. Most recently working on implementing electronic health record collaborations in NJ and focusing on compliance issues related to cyber security, HIPAA and 42CFR Part II, Ms. Noto participates with several workgroups and committees and hosts numerous conferences and educational opportunities as a part of the IT Project offerings.

She has participated on the Office of the National Coordinator’s Communities of Practice, Specialty Practice Workgroup, and had been appointed as a NJ Health IT Champion by the NJ Health Information Commission. Ms. Noto was the first to implement a behavioral health electronic records collaborative in New Jersey, as well as implement the nation’s first statewide behavioral health benchmarking initiative in New Jersey. She was involved in gaining provider buy-in on the Decision Support 2000+ initiative and became a voting member for the HL7 Standards for the Behavioral Healthcare Profiles committee convened by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Center for Mental Health Services.

Ms. Noto has presented at several conferences hosted by the Center for Mental Health Services, the Coalition of Mental Health Consumer Organizations, the New Jersey Association of Community Providers, ASAH Private School Association, the NJ Primary Care Association, the NJ Center for Non-Profits and NJAMHAA on topics of compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), IT planning, security, business continuity, Software as a Service (SaaS), cloud computing, and Cyber Security.

Ms. Noto has authored articles for Mental Health Weekly, Behavioral Healthcare magazine, NJAMHAA News and the IT Project’s quarterly newsletter, Bits & Bytes.

A Career in Applied Behavioral Analysis

Melissa joins Kristin on Mental Health Business Radio to discuss the field of Applied Behavioral Analysis and her journey in the field.

Melissa Hunsinger-Harris, MSEd, BCBA® provided ABA services in both regular and special education institutions before joining Bay Path University. Melissa’s clinical expertise includes an emphasis on intensive early behavioral intervention (EIBI) as well as professional development opportunities for organizations that provide intensive behavior supports. At Bay Path, Melissa is a full-time instructor in the ABA program and provides supervision to graduate students seeking certification. Her belief is that the basic principles of behavior analysis can be taught to every parent/caregiver within in-home therapy sessions, reducing the need for intensive services & empowering parents/caregivers.

https://www.baypath.edu/academics/faculty-directory/biography/melissa-hunsinger-harris/

The Journey of a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner

Dr. Josh Hamilton joins Kristin to discuss the necessity for psychiatric nurse practitioners and also answer a question asked by many of you listeners: What exactly is a psychiatric nurse practitioner?

Josh Hamilton is in private practice in Las Vegas, Nevada. He has held a variety of faculty and administrative positions in the U.S. and abroad. He was Associate Medical Director for the largest behavioral health network in the Desert Southwest. He served on the Nevada Board of Nursing’s Advanced Practice and Educational Advisory Committees and spearheaded the Donate Life campaign.

His professional interests include neurobiology, pharmacology and epigenetics. He is an internationally-recognized speaker on these (and related) topics at conferences and professional meetings. He has worked with a variety of organizations, including the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), to develop live and enduring CE activities.

Dr. Hamilton is nationally certified as a PMHNP, FNP and CNE. He is also a master clinical psychopharmacologist, and he was the 2015 Distinguished Alumnus at his alma mater, the University of Wyoming. He was recognized as a doctoral scholar by the NLN, and he is a fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. He was recognized for establishing a unique clinic structure that improves access to cost-effective, convenient, quality healthcare for Nevadans.

https://www.baypath.edu/academics/faculty-directory/biography/josh-hamilton/

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