We had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Robert (Bob) Johnson, LCSW and CEO/President of The Samaritan Institute. I haven’t received a hand written thank you card in a very long time. Bob wrote one to me after we met at The National Council for Behavioral Health conference in Seattle of 2017. A gentleman and forward thinker ready to take the institute to new heights and sheppard in technology, compliancy, and growth for the 60+ organizations under the Samaritan umbrella. 

Robert (Bob) P. Johnson, MS, LCSW joined the Institute in July 2016. Prior to this, he served on the Institute Board of Directors, the Clergy and Congregation Care (CCC) Leadership Team, and has been a member of Leadership Consultation Group (LCG) II since its inception in 1998. Bob was the Executive Director of the American Foundation of Counseling Services, a Samaritan Center, located in Green Bay, Wisconsin from 1996 – 2016. During this time the Center grew from providing 5,000 hours of service annually to over 20,000 hours across three program areas:  Outpatient Behavioral Health; Treatment Foster Care; and Clergy and Congregation Care. The Center has also become known as a leader in the development of collaborative working groups to address the mental health needs throughout the community. Bob holds a B.S. in Psychology from St. Norbert College and a MS in Clinical Psychology from University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh.

www.samaritaninstitute.org

www.thenationalcouncil.org

 

Glen Coppersmith, PhD is the founder and CEO of Qntfy (pronounced “quantify”), a software company that combines capabilities rarely found under one roof: data science to construct research hypotheses, automated data collection from non-traditional and traditional sources, and the ability to build complex data-driven systems. We translate data science and machine learning into practical, patient centered solutions. He is also an independent consultant on a range of data science related work, including various DARPA data science programs and some engagements with my friends at The Data Guild. 

We met Glen at the 2017 National Council for Behavioral Health conference held in Seattle. 

www.qntfy.com

 

Paul Gionfriddo was named President and CEO of Mental Health America on May 1, 2014. He has worked in a variety of health and mental-health related positions during a career spanning over thirty years. In 2013, he was appointed by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to a four-year term on the 12-member National Advisory Council to the SAMHSA Center for Mental Health Services.

Prior to joining MHA, he was a consultant, speaker, and writer, and author of a popular weekly health policy blog entitled Our Health Policy Matters. His essay entitled How I Helped Create a Flawed Mental Health System That’s Failed Millions – And My Son, was published as the Narrative Matters essay (and was the most-read article) in the September 2012 issue of Health Affairs and was also published in the Washington Post in October 2012. The full-length version of the story was published as a book, entitled Losing Tim: How Our Health and Education Systems Failed My Son with Schizophrenia.

He is a graduate of Wesleyan University. He lives with his wife, Pam, who is CEO of the Mental Health Association of Palm Beach County, in Lake Worth, Florida.  They have five adult children and two grandchildren. 

www.mentalhealthamerica.net

Jeff Fink of www.gofetchwellness.com (Often guest on our show, co-host, and soon to be podcaster on our network) along with Lloyd Hale of www.ride4spmi.org were 2 of three people filmed for the documentary Beyond Silence.  The film was just showcased at this years National Council for Behavioral Health conference in Seattle, NatCon2017. They sit down for a chat about the experience of participating in the documentary that is sweeping the globe. Earl, Jeff’s service dog, joined in for some interesting chats around going public with your mental health story and how to take care of yourself when you are not used to being in such a spotlight.

www.bevocalspeakup.com

HIPAA, HITECH, Omnibus,  PCI regulations – these are words that can strike fear into the heart of any Behavioral Health organization.  They don’t need to as we found after speaking with our guest today on Mental Health News Radio.  We sat down with Marc Haskelson, the President and CEO of Compliancy Group, to find out how easy compliance can be.

Read the full article HERE.

What is the difference between HIPAA and Meaningful  Use (MU) ?

Do I have to attest for Meaningful Use?  What If I don’t attest?

Who is considered a Vendor or a Business Associate?

I am now accepting Medicare, does that put me at a higher risk for an audit just like everyone else?

If I completed a Risk Assessment last year, do I have to do it again this year?

Is there an insurance policy available that helps an entity with HIPAA  fines?

What triggers an audit?  How do they know that they should audit you?

Has your software solution ever been involved where an actual audit was being done by either CMS or OCR?

If an EHR vendor or billing agency, as an example, are not following HIPAA compliance where can one go to report these actions?

www.compliancygroup.com

www.thenationalcouncil.org