In
this issue
Jon
Pryor receives Most Admired CEOs of 2018 award
The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal on Sept. 21 named Dr.
Jon Pryor, chief executive officer, Hennepin Healthcare, and MHA’s incoming
board chair, as one of its 10 Most Admired CEOs for 2018. The award honors an
elite group of top executives who take servant leadership to heart.
“I feel it is a privilege to be a leader for my organization,” Pryor said in an
interview announcing the award. “It means I am last in line and that my
organization’s needs take precedence over my needs. It also means I have a big
role (but not the only role) in setting the vision, goals and culture of the
organization.”
Learn more about Pryor’s award in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. return to top
MHA
leader Peggy Westby to retire in December
Peggy Westby, vice president of education and membership
services, MHA, has announced her upcoming retirement from MHA at the end of
2018 after 30 years of service to the association and its members statewide.
“Peggy is renowned in her field, with many national awards and recognitions,
and is regarded as one of the best in the country for designing top-quality
educational events,” said Lorry Massa, president and CEO, MHA. “She has also
nurtured MHA’s trustee development program, providing strong leadership to the
Trustee Council and developing a nation-leading trustee certification program
that continues to grow.”
MHA congratulates Westby on her outstanding career and wishes her the best in
retirement. return to top
Senate
approves opioid bill
The Senate on Oct. 3 passed the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act. The
House previously approved the legislation and President Trump is expected to
sign the bill. The bill would allow states to receive federal Medicaid matching
funds for up to 30 days per year for services provided to adults for substance
use disorders in Institutions for Mental Diseases (IMDs).
The bill included MHA-supported provisions that would improve access to
medication-assisted treatment (MAT) by allowing physicians to treat up to 275
patients and making permanent the authority for physician assistants and nurse
practitioners to prescribe MAT. The bill would authorize clinical nurse
specialists, certified nurse midwives and certified registered nurse
anesthetists to provide MAT for five years. The bill would provide graduate
medical education funding to support MAT physician training and would create a
loan repayment program for treatment professionals in designated “mental health
professional shortage areas” and in counties hit especially hard by drug abuse.
The SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act includes provisions to improve
access to treatment services provided through telemedicine, establish a
demonstration program to promote alternatives to opioids in emergency
departments and revise the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers
and Systems questions relating to pain management, as well as improvements to
coordination of prescription drug monitoring programs.
With questions, contact Briana Nord Parish, policy analyst, MHA,
651-603-3498. return to top
DHS
seeks applicants for mental health innovations grant project advisory panel
The Department of Human Services’ (DHS) Behavioral Health
Division is forming a mental health innovation grant project advisory panel.
The advisory panel will collaborate with the project lead and key personnel
from DHS’ Behavioral Health Division to influence the design and strategic
direction of the mental health innovations project.
Advisory panel functions include:
- Act as an advisor to DHS’
Behavioral Health Division and grantees
- Complete evaluations of each
grantee based upon periodic oral reports
- Identify and make
recommendations on:
- Current state of the mental
health care system in Minnesota and the patient flow issue this project
seeks to address
- Expanding Minnesota’s Medicaid
benefit set based on findings and in the context of the project
- Improving the design, staging
and structure of the project for future iterations
- Review and provide feedback on
a draft legislative report
The deadline to submit an application and be considered for
the panel is Oct. 31. For more information, view the announcement from DHS. return to top