Nominated by Ben Hillyard

Bill Gunn is the ultimate “connector”. Anyone who has spent time with Bill knows that he is the guy who not only connects dots, but also people. Bill works tirelessly to bring systems level insights across systems, promoting integrated care, medical family therapy and training clinicians in various capacities. He truly is remarkable and his service to our field is unmatched.
https://www.rchcweb.com/About-Us/William-B-Gunn-Jr-PhD 

Nominated by Kelsie Offenwanger

Although Dr. Diestelmann, Jake, has only been working in PCBH for about 4 years, his expertise and professionalism with which he carries out his job would leave one to believe he has been in this position for much longer.  Dr. Diestelmann holds a job title of Psychologist yet he is so much more to our patients, our services, our department, and our community.

Dr. Diestelmann started his career, post fellowship, right before the pandemic—a critical time when all of us, not just our patients, were most vulnerable and needed easy access to mental health care.  Jake was a big reason why our PCBH service rarely slowed and came back stronger than ever. 

Jake goes the extra mile for patients, whether it be listening to their experiences, patiently explaining departmental processes, or even helping to coordinate their appointments to minimize their time out of work. Jake exhibits the intellectual qualities needed for a fast-paced setting. He is quick on his feet and critically problem solves. He is meticulous and thorough, yet is able to eloquently summarize feedback to patients in a way they feel understood. Jake’s relational qualities are seen and felt by those around him. He has a way of teaching fellows that brings out the best in them. He empowers his colleagues and stays true to his values. His ethical compass is sound and families can easily trust him. Dr. Diestelmann, while early in his career, is paving the way for a career of achievement and fortitude. 

Nominated by Jeff Reiter

To the CFHA Board and Community,

I am writing with the highest enthusiasm and pride to nominate Mountainview Consulting Group, specifically Patricia Robinson, PhD (Patti) and Kirk Strosahl, PhD, for the 2023 Don Bloch Award.

When I think of the qualities Don Bloch is remembered for – Intellectual, Behavioral and Relational qualities – there simply is no entity or person more qualified for this award than Patti and Kirk.

On the intellectual front, Patti and Kirk have been an absolute force of nature. Together, they have inspired two revolutions in the provision of behavioral healthcare. Most notably from a CFHA perspective is their development of the Primary Care Behavioral Health (PCBH) model; a model that is now one of the most widely used approaches to the integration of behavioral health into primary care. However, they also are known as co-developers of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and FACT (Focused ACT, an approach widely used in the PCBH model).

On the Behavioral front, the numbers speak for themselves:  they have written 19 books (many of them top-sellers), 104 book chapters and journal articles, and too many presentations to even count. Many of their peer-reviewed articles have been in premier journals for the integrated care community:  JAMA; Families, Systems & Health; Journal of Family Practice; Journal of General Internal Medicine; BMC Primary Care. And many of their book chapters are in books edited by foundational figures in integrated care. As consultants, they have helped spread PCBH to every primary care clinic in the US military health system and throughout the entire country of New Zealand, where PCBH was mandated by a presidential decree. Their boundless energy, drive and enthusiasm for this work is simply legendary.

On the Relational front, I can’t imagine a duo with more impact. On a PCBH family tree, every single BHC in the world could trace their roots to either Patti or Kirk. And there are many BHCs in the world; Patti and Kirk’s work has taken them to 9 countries and the majority of states in the U.S. Along the way, they have worked with an amazing array of professionals, from on-the-ground clinicians to some of integrated care’s most prominent leaders. Four of CFHA’s Presidents or CEOs were trained by Patti and Kirk, as were numerous CFHA Board members.

And then there’s my own story. To say that Patti and Kirk have changed my life would be a profound understatement. I will never forget the day I first met Kirk. An attendee at a training of his, I was mesmerized by his perspective and message and, in a stroke of luck, found myself invited to lunch with him. I was no one remarkable; just a clinician with a burgeoning interest in integrated care. But he talked with me; encouraged me; and, ultimately helped me get my first job in primary care. I also will never forget the day that Patti agreed to write a book with me about integrated care. I had met her, shadowed her, learned from her, and was inspired to write a book with her. But, who was I to propose writing a book with her? Yet, somehow I found the courage to suggest just that and, to my amazement, she said “yes”. In the years since, Patti and Kirk have not only taught me about integrated care; they have taught me about the nature of health in general and they have taught me how to live life (something I admittedly am still working on). Together, they set me on a personal and professional trajectory that has given meaning to my life beyond what I could have ever imagined. For that, I thank them; and for everything else they have done for our field, I feel privileged to nominate them for the 2023 Don Bloch Award.

Nominated by Ben Hillyard

Aloft Integrated Wellness – Collaborative Care Model

Ben Hillyard – Co-Founder, LCMHC, CFHA member

Ben Hillyard, LCMHC and Jessica Lyons, LMFT spent decades working in the broken mental health system, alarmed by access to care challenges, Emergency Department boarding of patients and the rapidly growing youth mental health crisis. They shared a vision that if providers could collaborate and share clinical information, mental health needs would resolve more quickly. In 2019 they partnered to establish Aloft Integrated Wellness (“Aloft”) with a mission to disrupt the status quo and deliver a more progressive, data-driven model of mental healthcare, particularly for children and adolescents.

Aloft recognized that addressing the youth mental health crisis would require innovation and new models of care. The persistent shortage of child and adolescent psychiatrists places significant pressure on other health care providers to diagnose and treat psychiatric issues in children. Given that 75% of primary care visits include a behavioral health concern, they began to explore Integrated Behavioral Healthcare models as possible solutions.

In 2020, Aloft was awarded funding support through the State of New Hampshire Integrated Delivery Network (IDN), to implement a pediatric integrated care pilot program. Aloft partnered with Core Physicians Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine to develop a Collaborative Care team, staffing their office with two master’s-level Behavioral Health Clinicians (BHC), and a  bachelor’s level Care Manager (CM). Dr. Charolette Lippolis Condon joined the team as the child and adolescent consulting psychiatrist, bringing her years of experience in integrated care.Aloft innovated beyond the original CoCM model by partnering with school personnel to build out a more complete picture of patients’ functioning in various domains. This adaptation led to a fully informed care plan, providing key information to the CoCM team.

During the two year Pilot program, Aloft refined best practices, ultimately landing on a hybrid PCBHC and CoCM model. One of the key goals of the program was to relieve the burden so often placed on pediatricians to identify, assess and triage behavioral health needs of patients. Additionally, the Aloft team utilized the CM to act as the communicator across all systems, reducing the burden placed on parents to share information across the team. Financial sustainability was also achieved through use of psychotherapy codes as well as CoCM.

Aloft’s pilot program produced compelling results; on average, the CoCM team responded to referred patients within two days and conducted the first clinical visit within two weeks. Out of the 550 referrals into the program, only one patient utilized the Emergency Department. In contrast, during the height of COVID-19, the CDC reported a 66% increase in youth mental health related Emergency Department visits.  Additional outcome data include:

• 87% screener completion within 3 days including engagement of multiple respondents such as parents, caregivers and teachers

• Our Behavioral Health Clinicians successfully implemented short term, evidence based models of psychotherapy, averaging 5-8 sessions per Episode of Care

• Several patients transferred their family’s care to Core in order to access the CoCM program

The Aloft Care Model provides a team-based, multidisciplinary approach to assess and address mental health, bringing validated behavioral health resources to primary care and improving both access and outcomes for patients. Use of both a master’s level BHC and Bachelor’s trained CM allowed for both workforce efficiency and workforce expansion. Aloft now works with healthcare organizations around the country to implement CoCM and address the national mental health crisis. They also partnered with Mirah, a Boston based software company, to build a first in market CoCM Registry optimized for pediatric medicine. The Aloft model has been featured in Case Studies by Mirah and SG2 and Aloft was also nominated for the 2023 National Small Business Association Small Business of the Year.

Ben Hillyard M.ED, LCMHC is a psychotherapist working with children, adolescents, and families for 30 years. Ben holds certificates in Pediatric and Behavioral Health Integration from William James College and Primary Care Behavioral Health Leadership from the Collaborative Family Healthcare Association. Along with Jessica, he is a Co-Founder of Aloft Integrated Wellness LLC. Aloft’s model of Collaborative Care (CoCM) has gained national attention.Ben sits on the SHA/SHIP counsel and consulted with the New Hampshire IDN (Integrated Delivery Network) around mental health and educational initiatives. Ben serves as a Clinical Advisor to Mirah and delivered a TEDX talk in 2019:  Why Mental Health Check Ins Should Be a Part of a Child’s Wellness Visit.

Nominated by Trisha Patrician

What Is Cayuga Integrated Behavioral Health?

Cayuga Integrated Behavioral Health (CIBH) in Ithaca, New York is a spirited and growing team of twelve professionals:

Two board-certified psychiatrists: Laura Sidari, MD; Brittany Jones, MD

Two licensed clinical psychologists: Kaitlin Lilienthal, PhD; Trisha Patrician, PhD

Two LCSW Behavioral Health Consultants (BHCs): Toby Hawkins, LCSW; Tasia Harris, LCSW

Five Behavioral Health Care Managers (BHCMs): Yalitza Marrero, LMHC; Kim Carr, LMSW; Sarah Powers, LCSW; Taylor White, LMSW; Heather MacNeill, LMSW

One program manager: Sherry Huddle

Dr. Sidari serves as the Director of CIBH. Drs. Lilienthal and Patrician have dual clinical/administrative roles as BHCs and co-Assistant Directors.

Through CIBH, fully integrated behavioral health services support affiliate primary care teams via a blended care model that includes PCBH and CoCM. The broader healthcare system includes two hospitals, as well as Cayuga Medical Associates (CMA), a large network of primary care and multi-specialty outpatient practices. CMA is a not-for-profit professional corporation that relies predominantly on fee-for-service revenue generation, with some network-wide performance contracts. Initiation of CIBH services represented the first time that the health system billed outpatient behavioral health services to insurance payers.

How Does CIBH Implement CoCM?

The CIBH CoCM program has enrolled over 860 patients to date across five affiliate primary care practice sites since August 2021. In striving for model fidelity, CIBH aligns itself with the five core principles of CoCM: patient-centered care, population-based care, measurement-based treatment to target, evidence-based care, and accountable care.

            Patient-centered care. BHCMs leverage patients’ strengths and current resources/supports to provide individualized and flexible care. BHCMs connect with patients via telephone, video telehealth, and patient portal. They coordinate directly with BHCs, consulting psychiatrists, and other care team members to streamline and optimize service delivery.

            Population-based care. CIBH uses the Care Management Tracking System patient registry through the partnership between New York State’s Office of Mental Health (OMH) Collaborative Care Medicaid Program (CCMP) and the AIMS Center. Ms. Huddle manages the CCMP applications for new CIBH practice sites as well as the quarterly data reports required by OMH. Drs. Sidari, Jones, and Patrician work with the BHCMs to utilize the various registry features to track patient engagement, patient outcomes, and monthly requirements for billing. The focus on these processes has maximized the percentage of enrolled/active CoCM patients that are billable each month.

            Measurement-based treatment to target. In her various roles as BHCM (during the first year of clinical service delivery), clinical supervisor, and assistant director, Dr. Patrician has worked alongside Dr. Sidari to develop standardized processes for ensuring all patients complete appropriate symptom screening tools (i.e., PHQ-9, GAD-7) upon starting CoCM treatment as well as, at minimum, once monthly for subsequent months of CoCM. BHCMs are trained to use CMTS Registry features in order to identify patients who are not improving and may require a change to their treatment plans.

            Evidence-based care. BHCMs offer evidence-based treatment interventions, to include behavioral activation, brief cognitive-behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy skills, and motivational interviewing. BHCMs are encouraged to attend the NYS OMH monthly webinars that cover topics relevant to assessment and treatment within CoCM. Drs. Sidari and Jones provide evidence-based recommendations for pharmacological and holistic interventions. Dr. Patrician also provides supervision and training to BHCMs needing or desiring to expand their clinical skillset.

            Accountable care. CIBH as a program and CoCM as a care model are financially sustainable within the health system. CIBH collects patient satisfaction data and is actively developing a structure to track and report on clinical outcomes. Anecdotally, there are patients who seek care with our affiliate practice sites within the health system in order to access integrated behavioral health.

PCBH and CoCM Can Thrive Together!

Within CIBH programming, patients may engage with a BHC, with a BHCM, or both. Patients most frequently enter CoCM through the BHCs, with occasional care requests generating directly from a PCP. Therefore, the ability of the BHCs to involve patients in CoCM has been critical to uptake and expansion of programming. Moving patients into CoCM has also been essential to maintaining rapid access for BHCs. Combined PCBH and CoCM population penetration was 9.8% in 2022. Drs. Lilienthal and Patrician work closely to ensure that workflows and guidelines consider how to most efficiently support both PCBH and CoCM.

CIBH Team Members Support Workforce Development

CIBH is committed to the spread of CoCM implementation and the development of the behavioral health and healthcare workforce. Dr. Sidari and Dr. Patrician joined the new CFHA CoCM Workgroup in 2022. Although Dr. Patrician’s clinical demands have conflicted with regular attendance at monthly meetings, Dr. Sidari has continued to participate and share her expertise. Drs. Sidari and Patrician co-presented during the April 2023 CFHA Virtual Conference, “Supervision in CoCM: High-Quality Care Manager Meetings.” Dr. Sidari has additionally presented to the CoCM Workgroup/SIG and in regional spaces on CoCM with chronic pain patients (June 2023) and patients with multi-condition presentations (April 2023).

In February 2023, a subset of the CIBH team (Dr. Sidari, Dr. Lilienthal, Dr. Patrician, Ms. Marrero) began offering a clinical rotation for students in the latter stages of Physician Assistant training at Ithaca College. During this rotation, PA learners receive exposure to PCBH, CoCM, and consulting psychiatry. Plans are also in place to provide a clinical rotation for a psychiatric nurse practitioner student this coming academic year.

Why Am I Nominating CIBH for the CFHA CoCM Award?

Cayuga Integrated Behavioral Health was built from the ground up by a small group of relatively early career professionals (Drs. Sidari, Lilienthal, and Patrician), mentored by Dr. Virna Little. As the first blended integrated behavioral health program in the region, CIBH has followed an ambitious yet financially sustainable trajectory. CIBH continues to partner with new practices, build community connections, train future healthcare workers, and offer education within and outside of the healthcare system about CoCM and blended service delivery. Although CoCM is just one part of CIBH, the interconnections and team-based approach to whole-person care make the entire team deserving of the inaugural CoCM award.

Nominated by John Vaz

As Director of Integrated Health, Dr. Nead has tirelessly championed integrating
behavioral and medical services at our FQHC pre-pandemic. After witnessing the
worsening of the mental health service needs on Maui after the COVID-19 pandemic and
continued gaps in access to mental health care on the island, Dr. Nead spearheaded a
transformation process of our behavioral health services. Based on the collaborative care
model, he recognized three immediate needs of our system that were highlighted by the
pandemic:

1. Inadequate training of medical providers on recognizing and managing our patients’
   commonly seen mental and behavioral health needs.
2. Lack of familiarity of mental and behavioral health providers, who newly joined our
   system, with the integrated health model.
3. The need for innovative behavioral health positions (that are often not reimbursable)
   to increase our ability to match behavioral health services according to need, as
   traditionally reimbursed behavioral clinicians are in a nationwide shortage.

Dr. Nead has strategically tackled each of these three identified areas, in partnership
with our COO, Cassie Savell, with effective engagement and advocacy to senior leadership,
his medical provider counterparts, and within his department. He has also frequently
presented his team’s work in a learning collaborative, the Behavioral Health Hui, organized
by the Hawaii Primary Care Association, in an effort to spread and share best practices.

Finally, he has shown elements of process improvement, design thinking, and change
management in developing and implementing the process in our organization.

I recommend him for the 2023 CFHA Award Nomination for COCM.

Nominated by Justin Hunt

I am very pleased to write this supporting statement for Jennifer Noonan, LCSW for the CFHA Collaborative Care Model (CoCM) Award. I have known and worked very closely with Jen since I started with the behavioral health program at Oak Street Health in December of 2020. I can enthusiastically speak to the personal attributes and work achievements that make her an excellent choice for this CFHA CoCM award. She truly is the quintessential CoCM care manager.

Jen began her work through the CoCM at Regional Health Systems in collaboration with Dr. John Kern, an early and innovative leader with respect to the CoCM. Regional is a very large FQHC serving vulnerable populations in Northwest Indiana, many of whom present with multiple chronic conditions as well as comorbid psychiatric symptoms and substance use. While at Regional, Jen was the first care manager within a very successful implementation of the CoCM. Per Dr. Kern, she consistently demonstrated an ability to manage a wide array (including bipolar, OUD, and chronic psychotic disorders) of presentations, and she never hesitated to apply a diverse set of behavioral and psychotherapeutic interventions to meet her patients’ needs. Finally, she also assisted in the construction and maintenance of a registry product unique to Regional.

Jen began her time at Oak Street Health (OSH) approx. 3.5 years ago initially working as a care manager (called Behavioral Health Specialist or BHS at Oak Street) in our large and established Gary, IN center. She was one of the very first BHSs to be involved in our “Controlled Substance Program or CSP” at Oak Street through which she provided intensive care management and psychotherapy for patients on Suboxone for OUD–truly a very early application of the CoCM for OUD. She was outstanding in her clinical work as a BHS and has continued to excel in her time at OSH. The central Oak Street Behavioral Health team was most fortunate to have her join when she was promoted to the BH Program Manager role approx 2.5 years ago, and she instantly became an integral team member. Jen has played an important clinical and leadership role in building out our behavioral health specialist onboarding program and in developing standardized workflows to ensure meaningful center integration of behavioral health while maintaining strong fidelity to the CoCM evidence base. She has been absolutely critical to our system-wide (175 primary care centers across 22 states) implementation of the CoCM, perhaps the largest implementation of the CoCM in the US. She has helped push innovative applications of the CoCM with virtual therapy and care management as well as telepsychiatry consultation and 1:1 management. She has helped to implement the findings of the SPIRIT study in 2021 by training BHSs as well as PCPs on the intricacies of PTSD and Bipolar management within the CoCM. Again, similar to her past work at Regional, she was also integral to the development of the Oak Street BH registry as well–an innovative registry that not only tracks patients’ progress and enables measurement-based care, but also allows for efficient asynchronous consults between BHS and telepsychiatry consultants between their weekly registry review meetings.

Jen’s innate ability and drive to problem-solve, her willingness to step-in and assist on any task, and her incredible commitment to OSH and her colleagues have ensured so many successes on the team and ultimately led to her promotion to Position Lead for Behavioral Health Specialists in Spring of 2022. While this new Position Lead role now lives within our Clinical Learning and Operations org, the central BH team fortunately still has many opportunities to connect with Jen and benefit from her knowledge and work ethic. Jen is intelligent and career-focused, and she possesses a stellar work ethic as well as excellent interpersonal relationship skills. She is the team member that is consistently positive and optimistic, even when tasks begin to feel onerous. She will ALWAYS pitch in on a task and is laser focused on developing relationships with the PCPs and patients whom we are serving.

Based on her innate personal qualities, work experience and career achievement, I truly believe that Jen Noonan would be an ideal choice for this CFHA CoCM Model Award.

Nominated by Patty Gibson

I’d like to nominate Dr Jen Thomas for the Collaborative Care Model Award. She has been very active in CFHA sharing her experiences with integration of behavioral health, including CoCM. She has given several excellent presentations which include evidence-based research as well as practical advice from her personal experience. She is very humble and yet speaks with authority and is someone that we can all depend on to provide guidance and encouragement as we all learn more about how CoCM can be used as part of an integrated care program.

Nominated by Jennifer Thomas

Dr. Laura Sidari is a true leader of the Collaborative Care Model. Through her work as a consulting psychiatrist, Laura has inspired many of us in CFHA to learn more about CoCM and further develop our skills working on team-based BH in primary care teams. Laura gave an excellent presentation at the spring 2023 virtual CFHA conference. She has been an active and engaging participant in the CoCM workgroup and is always willing to share her experiences and lessones learned with other group members. Dr. Sidari is a true ambassador of CoCM and would be a very deserving recipient of this award.

Nominated by Heather Wilson

Program Overview: In January of 2022 UNC Health Alliance (UNCHA), Population Health Management piloted Collaborative Care Management (CoCM) in 7 outpatient clinics in Chatham, Wake and Wayne Co, North Carolina. On inception, the program had 3 LCSW Care Managers and 3 Consulting Psychiatrist. Currently, UNCHA is providing CoCM services in 11 clinics with a goal of continued expansion. *Will be expanding to Southeastern NC in July 2023.

Clinical Outcomes Overview: UNCHA has surpassed the national average for clinical outcomes with high remission rates for both graduated and currently enrolled patients.

UNC Members & CoCM Accomplishments:

Nate Sowa, MD, PhD

• Chair of Collaborative Care Management Clinical Advisory Workgroup with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Collaborative Care Consortium. Goal of the group is to provide clinical guidance to state officials in support of implementation of CoCM throughout the state.
• Invited discussion panelist at the American Psychiatry Association Conference on Collaborative Care Management Education (Washington, DC 4/24-4/25/2023). Conference dedicated to encouraging the development and implementation of training and education on the CoCM model within Psychiatry, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Family Medicine, and Internal Medicine residency and fellowship training programs.  Served as a subject matter expert in implementing CoCM education into General Psychiatry and Consultation Liaison Psychiatry training programs.
• Subject matter expert working with Southern Regional AHEC in development of CoCM Model Training Series. Involved in the design and development of online training modules meant to support individuals and health systems in understanding and implementing the CoCM model.
• Lectured during AHEC Grand Rounds “North Carolina Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Series” on the CoCM model to psychiatry residents and behavioral health clinicians throughout the state.
• Invited speaker for Duke Population Health Services on the CoCM model as part of education for their >60 population health case workers.
• Senior author on systematic review of collaborative care and integrated care education within general psychiatry residency programs in the United States: 
• Burruss NC, Murray C, Li W, and Sowa NA. Integrated care education for general psychiatry residents in the United States: A review of the literature. Acad Psychiatry. 2023; Mar 21. doi: 10.1007/s40596-023-01760-2. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36944754.  
• Previous co-Director of the Collaborative Care and Integrated Care Psychiatry Special Interest Group with the Academy of Consultation Liaison Psychiatry. Goal is to promote collaboration and best practices amongst Academy members who engage in the practice of integrated and collaborative care.

Adam Zolotor MD, DrPH

• Speaker with Southern Regional AHEC in 10 virtual education CoCM Model Training Series. Invited to create, develop online training module for implementation of CoCM.
• Leader with the Anonymous Trust, funding CoCM implementation and expansion in UNC outpatient clinic in Wayne County/Southeastern NC. Anonymous Trust supports rural and underserved communities in eastern North Carolina 
• Previous President and CEO of North Carolina Institute of Medicine (NCIOM) working to shape policy to address statewide issues that impede the improvement of health and delivery of care
• Medical Director of Practice Support Team to educate and coach Primary Care Providers and Outpatient Practices on CoCM model of care and implementation
• On NC Ped Board of Directors focusing on leadership, education, services, advocacy and research to empower pediatricians and providers in primary care.
• Collaborative Care Model and Behavioral Healthcare Integration in Primary Care (Roberts, Zolotor, Weathington). North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians, Winter Meeting, Asheville, NC. December 2, 2022.
• Collaborative Care Model and Behavioral Healthcare Integration in Primary Care (Zolotor, Weathington). North Carolina Community Health Center Association, Winston Salem, NC. October 20,2022.
• Collaborative Care for Primary Care Providers. NC AHEC, Enduring material. Recorded October 24, 2022.
• Collaborative Care Model and Behavioral Healthcare Integration in Primary Care (Griffin, Roberts, Zolotor, Weathington). NC Pediatric Society, Durham, NC. August 26, 2022.

Heather Wilson, MSW, LCSW

• Responsible for creating workflow/standard works, training BH Care Managers and implementing CoCM in UNCHA Population Health Management outpatient clinics.
• Member of Collaborative Care Management Clinical Advisory Workgroup with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Collaborative Care Consortium.
• Member of Special Interest Group Collaborative Care Management with Collaborative Family Healthcare Association
• Panelist for UNC Chapel Hill graduating medical students to speak on CoCM program model, training needed, and interventions used.
• Speaker with Southern Regional AHEC in 10 virtual education CoCM Model Training Series. Invited to create, develop online training module for implementation of CoCM.
• Filmed infomercial with Southern Regional AHEC to promote CoCM model of care.

Nominated by Danielle Bessey

Concert Health’s Co-founder and Special Advisor, Advocacy and Research, Virna Little, PSyD, LCSW-r is an internationally recognized advisor and speaker, known for her work in the field of suicide prevention. Her extensive clinical experience and leadership roles have distinguished Concert as a leading behavioral health medical group and her continued advocacy for the Collaborative Care Model (CoCM) makes her a fantastic nominee for the 2023 CFHA award.

Over the last year, Dr. Little has partnered with state and federal lawmakers to advocate for the CoCM model in a variety of states, including Maryland, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Florida, and Arkansas. Thanks to the support of CoCM supporters in both Connecticut and Maryland, including Dr. Little’s testimony in front of the Maryland house in support of the SB 101/HB 48 bill, both states recently passed legislation to expand access to and provide reimbursement for services provided in accordance with CoCM. She continues to work with legislators in other states to pass similar legislation and is working with several national healthcare payers to broaden the use of CoCM reimbursement codes and support additional payment models.

Dr. Little continues her advocacy for CoCM and behavioral health by serving on several boards, including the board of the National Association of Social Workers – South Carolina, and the board of the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved (ACU). In 2016, Dr. Little represented the ACU as it’s Board President at the White House’s “Making Health Care Better” Event on Suicide Prevention. In addition to her association governance work, Dr. Little also consults with the NYS, providing technical assistance for New York State providers around CoCM. She has also partnered with MHA of Texas for the training and implementation of CoCM practices in Texas.

Dr. Little has several students training under her, and is constantly looking to support and encourage the teaching of CoCM in universities. She is a field supervisor for over a dozen universities and has experience in HRSA Workforce training, training social workers and psychologists in Collaborative Care to support their work in underserved pediatric communities. She is also on the guest faculty list for many universities, helping to train students in social work programs on the benefits of CoCM.

Prior to founding Concert Health, Dr. Little worked for New York City leading the Center for Innovation in Mental Health, and has also served as a Senior Vice President for a large FQHC network in New York, overseeing over 300 behavioral health and community staff. Dr. Little began her career as a citywide family violence coordinator for New York City Health and Hospitals. Outside of Concert, Dr. Little is a member of the national and international Zero Suicide initiatives and the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, and she has spoken on national suicide prevention strategies at the White House.

Dr. Little has been recognized with awards from the Society for Social Work Leaders in HealthCare, National Association of Social Workers, Community Health Center Network of New York, New York Suicide Prevention Committee and others. She is a Doctor of Psychology and has a Master of Social Work and a Master of Business Administration and Healthcare. Additionally, she is a Certified Care Manager (CCM) and a recognized Substance Abuse Professional (SAP).

Dr. Little has been published in over twenty books and articles, including recent peer-reviewed articles in the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved; the Journal of Family Studies; the Journal of the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry; and The Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice.

Appendix:
Virna’s Efforts for CoCM:
Advocacy/Legislature/Bills:
Maryland Bill SB 101/HB 48
Oklahoma Senate Bill 444
South Carolina
Arkansas
Education
Virna has experience in HRSA Workforce training, which trains social workers and psych NPS on Collaborative Care in underserved pediatric communities.
Guest faculty for many universities to teach on COCM in social work programs.
Virna Little has spoken at multiple echos including CT and upcoming MT Sinai.
Supervision or mentoring students and/or colleagues
Virna has taken students for over two decades and currently has students under her. On top of this, Dr. Little has been a field supervisor for over a dozen universities.
Association governance
Virna is currently on NASW South Carolina Board. She is an advisor on the ACU board.
Currently, Virna Little is consulting with NYS, providing technical assistance for New York State providers around COCM and on MHA of Texas for training and implementation of practices in Texas and on a national level as well.
Virna is also consulting with AMA on multiple projects around integrated care and suicide safer care.
Advocacy with state and federal lawmakers
Virna recently testified for both Connecticut and Maryland to get codes passed and was successful in implementing this.
She is currently helping advocate for efforts in Florida.
Virna is also working with teams in Oklahoma and Arkansas to get current codes passed.
Currently working with payers national such as United to broaden the use of codes and support additional payments.

Virna Little Publications
Peer Reviewed
Little V. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved. JHCPU-May-2022-BR-0264.R2.
Acri, M.C., Zhang, S., Chomanczuk, A.H., O’Brien, K., Mini de Zitella,
M., Scrofani, P., Velez, L., Garay, E., Sezer, S., Little, V., Cleek, A., &
McKay, M. (in press). Barriers and facilitators to screening efforts in
pediatric primary care: Implications for communities impacted by
poverty. Journal of Family Studies. 2017.
Patel SR, Schnall R, Little V, Lewis-Fernandez R, Pincus HA. Primary
care professional’s perspectives on treatment decision making for
depression with African Americans and Latinos in primary care
practice. J Immigr Minor Health. Dec 2014; 16(2): 1262-1270.
Ayer L., Horowitz L., Colpe L., Lowry N., Ryan P., Boudreaux E., Little V., Erban S., Schoenbaum M., Ramirez-Estrada S. Clinical Pathway for suicide risk screening in adult primary care settings: Special recommendations. Journal of the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry 2022.
Mercado, M. and Little, V. (2019), “Clinicians’ perceptions of telephone-delivered mental health services”, The Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice, Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 104-113
Journal Articles
Little, V., White C. Collaborative Care as an Effective Intervention for
Primary Care Patients at Risk for Suicide. Journal of Health Care for
the Poor and Underserved, 33 (3), August 2022
Olson DP, Nunez F, Overbeck M, Hotz J, Billings A, Frazier E,
Thomsen K, Pears Kelly A, Diaz N and Little V. The National Health
Service Corps at 50: A Legacy of Impact in Partnership with The
Association of Clinicians for the Underserved. Journal of Healthcare
for the Poor and Underserved, 31 (2): 542-548, May 2020
Ravi, A., Little, V. Curbside Consultation – Providing Trauma
Informed Care, 2017 May 15;95(10):655-657.
Little V. Zero Suicide: An International Declaration for Better
Healthcare. March 2016
Calman N, Little V, Garozzo S. Electronic health records: Optimizing
communication to support the non-verbal medical patient with
developmental disabilities. Progress in Community Health
Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action 9.4 (2015): 591-594.
Project MUSE. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. .
Acri M, O’Brien K, Bornheimer L, Sezer S, Little V, McKay M, Cleek A.
A model of integrated health care in a poverty-impacted community in
New York City: Importance of early detection and addressing potential
barriers to intervention implementation. April 2016
Little V, Hoffmann R. Trans-disciplinary care: A new approach to improving the effectiveness of tobacco use interventions. J Health Care Poor Underserved. May 2011; 22(2):409-14.
Little V. Transdisciplinary care: opportunities and challenges for behavioral health providers. J Health Care Poor Underserved. Nov 2010; 21(4):1103-7.
Books and Book Chapters
Society for Social Work Leaders in Healthcare (SSWLHC) 2018
Little V., Calman N. Social Work and Integrated Health Care: From Policy to Practice and Back: 2016
Little V. The evolving practice of social work within integrated care. In: Spitzer WJ, ed. Integrated Care: Where We’ve Been and Where We Need to Go. Petersburg, Virginia: The Dietz Press; 2011:1-11.
Little V. The role of mental health professionals in disaster preparedness and response. In: Spitzer WJ, ed. The Role of Health Care Social Work Leadership in Crisis and Disaster Response. Petersburg, Virginia: The Dietz Press; 2007.
Other Publications
Berger, R., Farzam, M., Garanaga, O., Little, V., Mallow, A., Miller, K. The Impacts of Social Determinants of Health on the Identification and Outcomes of Depression in Primary Care. Urban Social Work, Volume 7, Number 1, 2023
Little V, Mallow A, and Gatanaga O. Years after CMS approved new billing codes for Collaborative Care, confusion persists. Health Affairs, November 2022
White C., Little V. Collaborative Care as an effective intervention for primary care patients at risk for suicide. issue of the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved. ACU Column. August 2022
Little V. Basic competencies for the new health care environment. New Jersey Psychologist. Spring 2013 special section: health care reform 2013:36-39.
Calman, N. and Little, V. (2012). Institute for Family Health taps into the saving power of EHRs. National Council Magazine. 2:151-152.
Little V. Integrated care and social work practice. Social Work Leader. Spring 2011;37(2):6.
Little V. Electronic health records improve care and increase revenue in integrated settings. National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare. Winter 2009:54-55.
Little V. Disaster response for mental health professionals. Society for Social Work Leaders in Healthcare. 2008.
Little V. A model for training social work students. AHEC National Journal. 2007.
Heyman JC, Gutheil IA, et al. Evaluation of Project IMPACT and Development of a Tracking System. Bronx, New York: Ravazzin Center on Aging, Fordham University; Feb 2006. 

Nominated by Kara Hill

I am nominating Dr. David Curtis, Chief Behavioral Health Officer and Clinical Associate Professor at the Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine University of Houston for the Family Oriented Care Award. The Tilman J Fertitta Family College of Medicine and the work of Dr Curtis is an exemplary nomination for this award.

The Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine at the University of Houston started in 2019 with its first year of undergraduate medical students.  The college’s focus prioritizes physician excellence, medicine with a mission, primary care, award-winning medical trailblazers, game-changing curriculum, and healthcare. This is demonstrated by their recruiting top-level students from historically disadvantaged backgrounds. The college is founded on a social mission to improve health in underserved communities, training students to defend against sickness and disease as primary care providers. UH CoM recruited award-willing faculty recognized locally and nationally to develop medical education rooted in sound clinical training while also focusing on social and economic factors that affect health outcomes.

I became more aware of how the college demonstrates its commitment to team-based care while providing opportunities to engage with patients and families in communities after Dr. David Curtis joined the faculty in 2022. At the same time, UH Health Family Care Center (FCC) opened, focusing on providing effective, compassionate, and affordable care to traditionally underserved populations. Since then, the FCC has adopted a development plan to achieve a Federally Qualified Healthcare Center (FQHC) designation within the next year, demonstrating its commitment to underserved families and communities. Located in Houston’s Third Ward neighborhood, a culturally rich but socioeconomically disadvantaged community, the Fertitta Family College of Medicine developed a mission to prepare future medical and behavioral health providers to care for underserved populations compassionately and effectively. The Fertitta College of Medicine is in the early stages of its clinical and community enterprises. However, our FCC is already credentialed with Medicaid, health insurance plans, and a sliding fee schedule for services that include psychology, psychiatry, family medicine, pediatrics, and OB/GYN.

FCC’s focus on family-centered care is evident in its implementation of the primary care behavioral health model. In addition to taking a whole-person approach, FCC has expanded its capacity with a deliberate focus on improving access to mental health services for children, adolescents, and families. In doing so, they added several new providers to meet these needs, including child and adolescent psychologists, a psychiatrist, a clinical social worker, a postdoctoral fellow in child psychology, and community health workers (CHWs). Adding CHWs demonstrates the organization’s efforts to extend its clinic offerings beyond its immediate walls and into the schools within the surrounding communities. In addition, UH FCC has promoted family-centered care by partnering with numerous community agencies to improve access to care. The following are examples of such partnerships include the following organizations.

• Houston’s Council on Recovery: providing direct FCC scheduling for state-funded substance use intervention programs without a referral.
• Houston Independent School District: placement of UH Community Health Workers in elementary schools to assist families with screening, referral, scheduling, transportation, and care coordination for other social supports.
• Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans: providing care coordination for Spanish-speaking families needing primary care and specialty behavioral health services through family outreach and education talks, community-based patient registration, scheduling, transportation, and embedded support at AAMA’s charter schools.
• Tejano Center for Senior Living: leading senior living community events, patient registration, scheduling, and transportation.
• Port of Houston Neighbors in Action: providing care coordination for Spanish-speaking families needing primary care and specialty behavioral health services through family outreach and education talks, community-based patient registration, scheduling, transportation, and embedded support at AAMA’s charter schools.
• Mental Health America of Greater Houston: providing no-cost, high-quality training facilities for Texas’ only Behavioral Health Consultant Certificate Course, which promotes greater access for families by preparing existing licensed providers to operate in primary care successfully.
• Boynton Chapel United Methodist Church in Third Ward: working to set up clinic transportation, a virtual care satellite at her church, and on-site group outreach and therapies for her parishioners.
• Change Happens: Establishing a formal partnership with Civic Heart (formerly Change Happens), which is a community service agency for children, youth, and families with prevention programs focusing on unwanted pregnancies, drug/alcohol use, and enrichment programs for academics, vocational training, and wellness.

In addition to the family-centered care clinic, their project, the “Household-Centered Care (HCC) Program,” combines efforts from community health workers, nurses, social work students, medical students, and patients to address the social determinants of health needs in two specific low-income communities in Houston. This program also supports sharing of information between all parties to promote and encourage shared decision-making.

The college also started Community Working Groups that meet monthly to discuss the community’s needs and develop ideas for collaboration. The workgroup focuses on respecting diversity and discussing issues of power and authority to empower community members to have a voice. Members also work to drive community impact through innovation and collaboration. The atmosphere of these groups creates accountability for the University and physicians while sharing information with group members while uplifting their assets. *We’ve hosted these meetings in our clinic so that community stakeholders can feel more familiar and gain a sense of ownership in our center.

I observed the dean, several faculty, and students in the college’s recent open house. At the event, I saw the dean walking around and chatting with community members and leaders of NPOs who collaborate to address social and health issues. Faculty, researchers, physicians, and medical students participated and had positive relationships with their guests from the community while discussing their successes and visioning for the next steps. I highly recommend UH CoM and the UH Family Care Center, represented in CFHA by Dr. David Curtis, for the Family Oriented Care Award, as they consistently demonstrate principles of family-oriented care in their day-to-day work with families managing their health through various prevention and intervention initiatives.

Nominated by Brittany Huelett-Lyons

John Rolland has made significant contributions to the field of family-oriented care. He is the Executive Co-Director and Co-Founder of the Chicago Center of Family Healthy and a Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University. John has held previous leadership roles with the Collaborative Families and Health Association. His contributions to the literature have shaped the conceptualization of care delivery for those working with families and couples navigating illness and disability. Through his work as Co-Director at the Chicago Center of Family Health, he has contributed to the training and development of family-oriented providers to enhance their ability to provide family therapy and systems-based care in collaboration with multidisciplinary healthcare teams.

Nominated by Teresa Lopez

Taylor Berhow has been a Social worker within the University of Utah Specialty Clinics Behavioral Health Integration Program since 2019.  She earned her LCSW in 2021, but has demonstrated exceptional leadership and was promoted to a program specialist role in 2023.  Taylor has been working in the Neurosciences department doing PCBH work since she was an MSW intern in 2018-2019, but her new role has expanded her reach across 25+ outpatient specialty clinics, providing operational and clinical oversight.  This program is part of “Team Based Care”, integrated into every day health care practice in medical specialties.

In the past year, Taylor has led three behavioral health integration workgroups including, Specialty Clinic’s Sustainability, Stepped-Care Initiatives between specialty mental health and BHI, and Virtual Warm-Hand-Offs.  She has guided these workgroups utilizing PDSA cycles, a program SWOT analysis, and all while following the continuous quality improvement framework. Taylor has served as a clinical supervisor to two MSW students, and now has clinicians who directly report to her for operational and clinical support.  She has also educated our team at a formal Brown Bag CME about OCD, and how to identify and treat to this spectrum of conditions within the integrated care model.

Taylor has a unique skillset, and is passionate about connecting organizational goals to policy and legislation, with the intent of improving access to behavioral health care.  She has managed the operations of the Therapy Assessment Clinic, which serves to bridge patients who are on waitlists for long-term care through providing timely access to biopsychosocial assessments.  She has worked with existing resources within the specialty clinics team to expand access utilizing an innovative and PCBH-centered approach.

It is important to note that while Taylor has been moving forward the BHI program, she had a baby in 2021, and is expecting her second child in 2023.  She has advocated at higher levels within the University to improve FMLA and maternity leave protocols, focusing on the health of our staff as well.

In summary, Taylor understands the importance of behavioral health integration delivery and outreach aimed at improving access and improving patient, family, and community outcomes.  Her success in this role has informed our medical system about the importance of behavioral health integration in taking a proactive approach at holistic care. She has a good understanding of program development and population-based health, and brings incredible value to our team.

Please consider Taylor Berhow for the CFHA Founders Early Career Professional Award.

Simon received 2 nominations.

Nomination 1:

Nominated by Melissa Baker

Since earning his Psy.D. in 2020, Dr. Simon Elterman has exemplified leadership in bringing behavioral health psychology into team based healthcare settings in British Columbia. Dr. Elterman received his internship training from HealthPoint, which is a part of the Cascades region of the National Psychology Training Consortium. I have worked for HealthPoint for 15 years. In those years at HealthPoint, I have been fortunate to be mentored by PCBH founders such as Jeff Reiter, Jim Berghuis, and Patti Robinson. I have also supervised over 30 psychology trainees and was the HealthPoint’s Behavioral Health Education Program Director for 5 years. I don’t typically compare psychology trainees as I see each as having their own unique journey with me as a supervisor. But I say this with much respect for all prior trainees I have had the privilege to supervise, Simon is by far the top trainee I have had the honor to supervise.” Simon was a self starter, innovation, dynamic, curious, and eager to lean into knowing, understanding, and implementing integration. I knew we he left to go home to Canada, that he was ready to bring integration to his home.

When Dr. Elterman first arrived in Vancouver, British Columbia after graduating, he found there were zero psychologists working as behavioral health consultants anywhere in the province. British Columbia has been undergoing a primary care crisis for years, with burnout of physicians at an all time high and about 1/5th of all British Columbians being without a family doctor. In addition, mental health is largely fragmented with the vast majority of psychologists working in private practice and relatively few psychologists in healthcare settings.

Dr. Elterman began working at the Hope to Health Research and Innovation Centre, which is a primary care clinic funded by the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS that brings evidence-based treatment to low SES clients on the downtown eastside of Vancouver, which is an underserved and vulnerable population with complex medical and mental health needs. At Hope to Health, Dr. Elterman worked mostly as a behavioral health consultant and has also helped create several multidisciplinary programs, including a stimulant use disorder program that combines contingency management and ACT (funded by Health Canada), and an interdisciplinary chronic pain management program. He has also provided workshops to other healthcare providers on the team, contributed to the research program at the clinic, and supervised junior BHCs to bring new trainees into the field. As well, Dr. Elterman has been working with Vision Loss Rehabilitation Canada as a consultant to help them integrate behavioral health into their clinics across the province.

Outside of his work at Hope to Health, Dr. Elterman was elected to the Board of Directors for the British Columbia Psychological Association (BCPA) and is the Chair of the Advocacy Committee. One of his primary responsibilities on the Advocacy Committee is to advocate for the integration of psychology into multidisciplinary treatment teams in British Columbia to improve patient outcomes. He has partnered with other psychologists who conduct research and work in other healthcare settings to develop a proposal for a feasibility study to be funded by the government for $4,800,000, and if successful, an additional $41,000,000 to roll out the program across the province. To gain support for their proposal, they have met with government representatives, written Op-Eds in local newspapers, been interviewed on TV, and conducted guest lectures for the University of British Columbia’s Integrated Care Network and the Canadian Register of Health Service Psychologists. The proposal has gained support from all levels of the provincial government, and several organizations, including the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Doctors of BC, BC Family Doctors, the University of British Columbia Okanagan, the Coroner’s Service of British Columbia, and several others. At this stage, Dr. Elterman expects the feasibility study to commence planning in Summer 2023 across 2-3 sites. A summary of the proposal can be found at PCPsych.ca.

In under 3 years since graduating, Dr. Elterman has shown that passion, persistence, and proactively finding common allies can lead to impressive results. Psychologists have been calling to be included in primary care in British Columbia for decades and Dr. Elterman’s ability to showcase the benefits of collaborative care has set the stage to change healthcare in British Columbia. By giving Dr. Elterman this award, the CFHA is not only honoring his work, but can help contribute to his advocacy efforts by putting the spotlight on British Columbia and its potential to become a leader in primary care behavioral health.

CV: https://www.elterman.ca/CV  

Nomination 2:

Nominated by Bridget Beachy

Since earning his Psy.D. in 2020, Dr. Simon Elterman has exemplified leadership in bringing behavioral health psychology into team-based healthcare settings in British Columbia. Dr. Elterman received his pre-doctoral internship training from HealthPoint (FQHC in the Greater Seattle Area), which is a part of the Cascades region of the National Psychology Training Consortium (NPTC). Primary Care Behavioral Health (PCBH) expert, Dr. David Bauman, founded and serves as the Regional Training Director for NPTC’s Cascades Region. Through NPTC, Dr. Bauman orchestrated one of a kind monthly didactics that included national experts in integrated care including Drs. Kirk Strosahl, Patti Robinson, Stacy Ogbeide, and Jeff Reiter to name a few. Additionally, Dr. Elterman had the honor of being supervised by another PCBH guru, Dr. Melissa Baker. Dr. Baker had this to say about Dr. Elterman in a previous nomination for this award, “I have worked for HealthPoint for almost 14 years. In those years at HealthPoint, I have been fortunate to be mentored by PCBH founders such as Jeff Reiter, Jim Berghuis, and Patti Robinson. I have also supervised over 20 psychology trainees and been HealthPoint’s Behavioral Health Education Program Director for the past 4 years. I don’t typically compare psychology trainees as I see each as having their own unique journey with me as a supervisor. But I say this with much respect for all prior trainees I have had the privilege to supervise, Simon is by far the top trainee I have supervised.” 

When Dr. Elterman first arrived in Vancouver, British Columbia after graduating, he found there was a lack of psychologists working as behavioral health consultants anywhere in the province. British Columbia has been undergoing a primary care crisis for years, with burnout of physicians at an all time high and about 1/5th of all British Columbians being without a family doctor. In addition, mental health is largely fragmented with the vast majority of psychologists working in private practice and relatively few psychologists in healthcare settings.

Dr. Elterman began working at the Hope to Health Research and Innovation Centre, which is a primary care clinic funded by the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS that brings evidence-based treatment to low SES clients on the downtown eastside of Vancouver, which is an underserved and vulnerable population with complex medical and mental health needs. At Hope to Health, Dr. Elterman worked mostly as a behavioral health consultant and has also helped create several multidisciplinary programs, including a stimulant use disorder program that combines contingency management and ACT (funded by Health Canada), and an interdisciplinary chronic pain management program. He has also provided workshops to other healthcare providers on the team, contributed to the research program at the clinic, and supervised junior BHCs to bring new trainees into the field. As well, Dr. Elterman has been working with Vision Loss Rehabilitation Canada as a consultant to help them integrate behavioral health into their clinics across the province.

Outside of his work at Hope to Health, Dr. Elterman was elected to the Board of Directors for the British Columbia Psychological Association (BCPA) and is the Chair of the Advocacy Committee. One of his primary responsibilities on the Advocacy Committee is to advocate for the integration of psychology into multidisciplinary treatment teams in British Columbia to improve patient outcomes. He has partnered with other psychologists who conduct research and work in other healthcare settings to develop a proposal for a feasibility study to be funded by the government for $4,800,000, and if successful, an additional $41,000,000 to roll out the program across the province. To gain support for their proposal, they have met with government representatives, written Op-Eds in local newspapers, been interviewed on TV, and conducted guest lectures for the University of British Columbia’s Integrated Care Network and the Canadian Register of Health Service Psychologists. The proposal has gained support from all levels of the provincial government, and several organizations, including the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Doctors of BC, BC Family Doctors, the University of British Columbia Okanagan, the Coroner’s Service of British Columbia, and several others. At this stage, Dr. Elterman expects the feasibility study to commence planning in Summer 2023 across 2-3 sites. A summary of the proposal can be found at PCPsych.ca. 

In under 3 years since graduating, Dr. Elterman has shown that passion, persistence, and proactively finding common allies can lead to impressive results. Psychologists have been calling to be included in primary care in British Columbia for decades and Dr. Elterman’s ability to showcase the benefits of integrated care has set the stage to change healthcare in British Columbia. I (Bridget Beachy) was able to see Dr. Elterman at work over these past couple of years and was honored to be able to collaborate with him at a recent conference aimed at supporting integrated care in British Columbia. I find Dr. Elterman to be genuine, knowledgeable, and truly passionate about this work.

By awarding Dr. Elterman the Early Career Professional award, CFHA is not only honoring his work, but can help contribute to his advocacy efforts by putting the spotlight on British Columbia and its potential to become a leader in primary care behavioral health.

Nominated by David Bauman

Similar to last year’s recipient of the Outstanding Contributions to PCBH Award (Dr. Anne Dobmeyer), Jim Berghuis, PhD, may be a name that some are unfamiliar with. Like Dr. Dobmeyer, Jim’s contributions to PCBH cannot be overstated. As Dr. Berghuis officially retires from over two decades of PCBH work at HealthPoint Community Health Center in the Greater Seattle region, we (Jeff Reiter, David Bauman, and Bridget Beachy) could not be prouder and more excited to nominate him for this award and highlight his contributions to the field.

Starting at HealthPoint in 2002, Jim partnered with Jeff Reiter to build what is now one of the most well-known and robust PCBH programs in the country at HealthPoint. In 2002, few sites around the country were practicing PCBH (indeed, the name “PCBH” had not even been invented yet), but despite the obstacles Jim helped rapidly grow HealthPoint to prominence. From the modest start of just Jim and Jeff, the team of BHCs now numbers 19 psychologists, as well as 12 PCBH trainees, which, we believe, makes it the largest PCBH staff in Washington state.

HealthPoint also became a major educator of new BHCs under Jim’s leadership. Starting in 2004, HealthPoint welcomed their first practicum students and in 2005 their first doctoral intern, and from there the training program grew so rapidly that after several years Jim took it upon himself to develop and fill a new role as Director of Training. He knew that building a robust training program was a way to get more care to more patients, to grow PCBH at HealthPoint despite tight fiscal boundaries, and to make a pivotal contribution to the development of the next generation of BHCs. Though still devoting most of his time to clinical work, Jim succeeded in building an extensive training program that gained APA accreditation for the internship and also added a fellowship program. All told, we estimate HealthPoint has now graduated over 150 students, interns and fellows since 2004, all trained to go out in the world and make a difference as BHCs. Even better, Jim worked closely with HealthPoint’s Family Medicine Residency program to help ensure that future BHCs learned alongside future PCPs. He also helped lead the development of a new consortium within the National Psychology Training Consortium, Cascades Region, which includes bonding partnerships with other CHCs in Washington State, including Community Health of Central Washington and Yakima Valley Farm Worker’s Clinic. Since 2016, the Cascades Region has graduated close to 50 doctoral interns, with the vast majority now working within the PCBH model. The ripple effect from Jim’s efforts – so many newly minted BHCs going out into the world and spreading PCBH and in turn training more BHCs themselves – is surely immense.

On a personal note from Dave and Bridget:  we were two of the many HealthPoint trainees that Jim profoundly impacted. His knowledge of PCBH and dedication to the underserved communities HealthPoint served was only matched by his compassion, support, and kindness he showed to every trainee. Dave can recall many moments during his internship and beyond that Jim would be willing to pause during his busy day to talk PCBH, as well as about life. Bridget can remember Jim being the first BHC she ever saw “cold-crash” a visit, as well as him supporting her in a research project regarding “pairing with a medical provider” during internship. And, quite simply, if it was not for Jim’s guidance, mentorship, and influence, our current professional home (Community Health of Central Washington) would not have its current doctoral internship and fellowship programs. Not only did Jim provide support in both our understanding of PCBH and work in the model, he provided support to us in being human. From conversations at his beach house, to discussions at conferences and workshops, Jim regularly checked in on how we were doing, how our families were, and how we were dealing with everything life threw our way. And, yes, we can credit him for even educating us on what it means to be a DINK couple (if you don’t know, ask us 😊).

On a personal note from Jeff:  I honestly do not believe I would have succeeded in PCBH were it not for Jim. During my pivotal early years as a BHC clinician and administrator, figuring out PCBH one day at a time, Jim was the partner that kept everything on track while keeping me sane. He never shunned work; he always was a voice of reason; he was an unshakeable PCBH proponent; he was a tremendous model for other staff and learners; and he believed in what we were building together. He also was a great friend. Jim has never desired the limelight, though he certainly has deserved it. At meetings, I always gave the talks, but Jim had developed the slide deck. I wrote the books and journal articles, but Jim was too busy with clinical care and administrative work. On countless days during our early PCBH years together he managed an extremely busy patient load with a challenging patient population – doing work that neither of us even fully understood how to do yet – while also helping build our new PCBH service from the ground up and ultimately overseeing our robust training program. He always spent the majority of his time seeing patients despite the tremendous administrative load. His work ethic, his commitment to PCBH and to his patients, his character, and his contributions could never be questioned. He also is one heckuva funny guy and I have truly missed spending time with him in the years since I left our HealthPoint family. I sure hope he wins this year’s PCBH award.

Jim’s retirement, in typical fashion, has gone under the radar. When we mention his retirement to his colleagues and to former HealthPoint employees or trainees, we mostly hear, “I had no idea he was retiring!” Never wanting to be in the spotlight and always creating a context for others to get credit before he received his, we hope this nomination and consideration for Jim brings to the forefront a pioneer’s career that rivals anyone in the field. His impact in both the development of the model, as well as the future generations of PCBH providers, is unparalleled. And, more impactful, his humor, his grace, and his want to support his colleagues and trainees as people and humans will transcend our field for decades to come. Whether you know Jim or not, if working in PCBH, your professional role has been transformed and impacted by him. He has shaped many of us directly and all of us indirectly.

With this nomination, we want to convey our gratitude for Jim’s decades of service. It’s just a small recognition of a one-in-a-million career by a one-in-a-million person. We LOVE YOU JIM and thank you for all that you have done for us and for HealthPoint and for PCBH!

Nominated by Teresa Lopez

Josi Rust has been a Case Analyst within the University of Utah Specialty Clinics Behavioral Health Integration Program since 2022.  She is also working on her associate’s degree in Social Work, moving towards her Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Utah.  This program is part of “Team Based Care”, integrated into every day health care practice in medical specialties.

In 2022, the department of psychiatry in coordination with value engineering launched the Universal Depression screening project.  The intent of this program is to take a proactive approach to screening all patients who have an appointment within our outpatient medical specialties utilizing a PHQ-9 sent 48 hours prior to the medical appointment.  Josi was hired to directly support this program, by reviewing the responses from the screening questionnaire, and providing patient-centered outreach including a scheduled appointment with a behavioral health clinician, C-SSRS screenings, resources requested, and/or communication and coordination with the medical team. 

Josi developed the outreach protocols, and the program has been launch to over 30 medical specialties, outreaching to over 50K patients, and just went live in primary care.  Although Josi has just began her behavioral health focused higher education, she quickly established rapport with patients, families, primary care providers, community partners, and staff and works well within the multi-disciplinary team. She embraces an ecological perspective and engages in patient centered care. It is important to note the key elements Josi possesses in this unique setting. She embraces individualized interventions adapted to the medical and developmental needs of the patient and family. She understands the importance of a trauma informed treatment environment to foster physical and psychological safety. In addition, Josi understands the importance of behavioral health integration delivery and outreach aimed at improving access and improving patient, family, and community outcomes.

Josi is an amazing patient and program advocate, and does exceptional work in helping people utilize their skills, strengths, and abilities as well as natural support systems and community resources to become increasingly empowered. Josi’s success in this role has informed our medical system about the importance of behavioral health care coordination roles, as they are essential to moving behavioral health integration in taking a proactive approach at holistic care. She has a good understanding of program development and population-based health, and is very self-directed. She has been a valued member of a multidisciplinary team, and utilizes appropriate support and supervision. Please consider Josi Rust for the CFHA Outstanding Contributions to PCBH Award.

Nominated by Courtney Valentine

Phillip Hawley has showed his dedication for PCBH model and care in these last 9 years at Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic. Starting as a post doctoral resident, building skills and growing in leadership to his current role as PCBH Director. He has grown the PCBH program to meet the needs or our communities and always strives to support and develop the individual BHC. Philip is on the board of WA State psychologists as well. He advocated for and supported our first APPIC internship for psychologists through NPTC consortium. He is passionate about primary care and it comes out in all his work. He is an amazing trainer, director and BHC.

Nominated by Benjamin Hillyard

Aloft Integrated Wellness – Pediatric Integrated Care

Ben Hillyard, LCMHC and Jessica Lyons, LMFT spent decades working in the broken mental health system, alarmed by access to care challenges, Emergency Department boarding of patients and the rapidly growing youth mental health crisis. They shared a vision that if providers could collaborate and share clinical information, mental health needs would resolve more quickly. In 2019 they partnered to establish Aloft Integrated Wellness (“Aloft”) with a mission to disrupt the status quo and deliver a more progressive, data-driven model of mental healthcare, particularly for children and adolescents.

Aloft recognized that addressing the youth mental health crisis would require innovation and new models of care. The persistent shortage of child and adolescent psychiatrists places significant pressure on other health care providers to diagnose and treat psychiatric issues in children. Given that 75% of primary care visits include a behavioral health concern, they began to explore Integrated Behavioral Healthcare models as possible solutions.

In 2020, Aloft was awarded funding support through the State of New Hampshire Integrated Delivery Network (IDN), to implement a pediatric integrated care pilot program. Aloft partnered with Core Physicians Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine to develop a Collaborative Care team, staffing their office with two master’s-level Behavioral Health Clinicians (BHC), and a  bachelor’s level Care Manager (CM). Dr. Charolette Lippolis Condon joined the team as the child and adolescent consulting psychiatrist, bringing her years of experience in integrated care.Aloft innovated beyond the original CoCM model by partnering with school personnel to build out a more complete picture of patients’ functioning in various domains. This adaptation led to a fully informed care plan, providing key information to the CoCM team.

During the two year Pilot program, Aloft refined best practices, ultimately landing on a hybrid PCBHC and CoCM model. One of the key goals of the program was to relieve the burden so often placed on pediatricians to identify, assess and triage behavioral health needs of patients. Additionally, the Aloft team utilized the CM to act as the communicator across all systems, reducing the burden placed on parents to share information across the team. Financial sustainability was also achieved through use of psychotherapy codes as well as CoCM.

Aloft’s pilot program produced compelling results; on average, the CoCM team responded to referred patients within two days and conducted the first clinical visit within two weeks. Out of the 550 referrals into the program, only one patient utilized the Emergency Department. In contrast, during the height of COVID-19, the CDC reported a 66% increase in youth mental health related Emergency Department visits.  Additional outcome data include:

• 87% screener completion within 3 days including engagement of multiple respondents such as parents, caregivers and teachers

• Our Behavioral Health Clinicians successfully implemented short term, evidence based models of psychotherapy, averaging 5-8 sessions per Episode of Care

• Several patients transferred their family’s care to Core in order to access the CoCM program

The Aloft Care Model provides a team-based, multidisciplinary approach to assess and address mental health, bringing validated behavioral health resources to primary care and improving both access and outcomes for patients. Use of both a master’s level BHC and Bachelor’s trained CM allowed for both workforce efficiency and workforce expansion. Aloft now works with healthcare organizations around the country to implement CoCM and address the national mental health crisis. They also partnered with Mirah, a Boston based software company, to build a first in market CoCM Registry optimized for pediatric medicine. The Aloft model has been featured in Case Studies by Mirah and SG2 and Aloft was also nominated for the 2023 National Small Business Association Small Business of the Year.

Ben Hillyard M.ED, LCMHC is a psychotherapist working with children, adolescents, and families for 30 years. Ben holds certificates in Pediatric and Behavioral Health Integration from William James College and Primary Care Behavioral Health Leadership from the Collaborative Family Healthcare Association. Along with Jessica, he is a Co-Founder of Aloft Integrated Wellness LLC. Aloft’s model of Collaborative Care (CoCM) has gained national attention.Ben sits on the SHA/SHIP counsel and consulted with the New Hampshire IDN (Integrated Delivery Network) around mental health and educational initiatives. Ben serves as a Clinical Advisor to Mirah and delivered a TEDX talk in 2019:  Why Mental Health Check Ins Should Be a Part of a Child’s Wellness Visit.

Nominated by Amelia McClelland

Dr. Gysler is doing some amazing things at her clinic in Montana. She is creating pathways for BHC integration into the medical system and always looking for ways to innovate and improve these pathways. Very cool to see all the fabulous things she is doing!

Cody received two nominations.

Nomination 1:

Nominated by Allison Allmon Dixson

Dr. Hostutler is unparalleled when it comes to contributions to pediatric integrated care. He not only serves in a leadership position for integrated care at nationwide Children’s Hospital; he also shares this among other learning disciplines as an Assistant professor at the Ohio State University college of medicine. Cody has secured grant funding, contributed numerous articles and chapters, presentations, and held every position of leadership in the Pediatrics special interest group for CFHA that is available. Now that he’s moved on to senior leadership for the CFHAPediatrics SIG, he continues to offer his knowledge to all those around him in numerous ways. It has and continues to be my great pleasure to learn from and with Cody and I’m confident that all of those who are able to spend time with him feel the same. Please support his nomination for this award as it is well deserved. 

Nomination 2:

Nominated by Matthew Tolliver, PhD

Dear CFHA Award Committee:
It is my pleasure to highly recommend Dr. Cody Hostutler for the Pediatric Integrated Care Award. Dr. Hostutler
is the Clinical Director for Behavioral Health Integration and Psychology Co-Director of Graduate Medical
Education at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. He is also an Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at The Ohio
State University College of Medicine. I have had the pleasure of knowing Dr. Hostutler for several years and have
worked closely with him on publications and when we served as co-chairs of the CFHA Pediatrics SIG together.
He is a productive researcher, dedicated educator, and skilled clinician.

Dr. Hostutler is a sought-after mentor and strong advocate for pediatric integrated care. He has made significant
contributions to CFHA and the Pediatrics SIG, serving as the group’s secretary from 2019-2020, and co-chair
from 2020-2022. In the co-chair role, he transformed the SIG to further support the national implementation of
pediatric integrated primary care models and grew the SIG’s membership. This allowed for increased
opportunities for group consultation and training to practices across the country. He also led a yearlong strategic
initiative to encourage and support the implementation of the recommendations in the Surgeon General’s
pediatric mental health advisory. This included an extremely well-reviewed extended learning opportunity at the
2023 CFHA conference, an invited commentary in Families, Systems and Health, a CFHA podcast episode, blog
post, and monthly Peds SIG implementation support meetings. He continues to provide mentorship and
guidance to the current leadership team and SIG initiatives.

Dr. Hostutler is frequently sought out for consultation on building, improving, and sustaining integrated primary
care programs across the country as well as training medical residents in BH skills. Much of his work is focused
on the development and dissemination of research and education related to pediatric behavioral health. He has
provided formal consultation to 14 health systems and has conducted over 100 trainings with interdisciplinary
healthcare teams throughout Ohio and the nation. In 2020, he was selected as the clinical child psychology
divisional representative to the American Psychological Association’s interdivisional integrated primary care task
force. There, he led efforts to ensure that pediatric primary care was carefully considered in the vision to build
and advocate for psychologists’ role within integrated primary care practice and policy.

Dr. Hostutler’s stellar resume is uniquely complemented by his kind and collaborative way of being. When
working on a group project he has an uncanny ability to organize loose threads into a clear vision and bring
strong facilitation skills to bear. While already well-known, he is poised to continue to grow in national stature in
the field of integrated pediatric behavior health in the coming years.

In sum, I provide my highest and unequivocal support for Dr. Hostutler to be honored with this award. Please do
not hesitate to contact me for additional information.

Kelsie received two nominations.

Nomination 1:

Nominated by Stephanie Kohlbeck

It is with great pleasure that I nominate Kelsie Offenwanger, PhD for the Pediatric Integrated Care Award. Dr. Offenwanger is one of two clinical psychologists supporting over 40 primary care and specialty care pediatricians. Despite limited support staff and high patient volumes, Dr. Offenwanger is always available to our providers and their patients. Although she a child clinical psychologist, she also has an expertise in early developmental issues, including autism, as well as trauma. This makes her particularly valuable to our providers. In addition to her expert patient care, Dr. Offenwanger also continues to promote the growth of our service. She has helped develop patient care delivery models during active COVID to prevent delays in access to care and has also been integral in developing documentation and referral workflows within the context of a new EHR. Dr. Offenwanger’s growth mindset, however, goes well beyond just our service and patient care. Kelsie has been fundamental in working with administration and even the community to educate them about the importance of mental health and the powerful impact of delivering that care within the primary care setting. Dr. Offenwanger’s enthusiasm, clinical expertise, and creativity have been instrumental in growing our reach and managing that growth throughout this time of immense change and transition.

Nomination 2:

Nominated by Jacob Diestelmann

This application is for the nomination of Dr. Kelsi-Marie Offenwanger, PsyD, for the Pediatric Integrated Care Award. Dr. Offenwanger exemplifies the qualities of this award via her determined commitment to innovative practices and approaches, equity principles, provision of high-quality care, and her engagement in mentoring and training future pediatric integrated behavioral health professional through her role in developing and supervising postdoctoral pediatric trainees. Over the course of Dr. Offenwanger’s professional tenue, she was helped to transform the Marshfield Clinic Health System’s pediatric services away from the silo-ed and fractured amalgamation of specialty care services, to create a more integrated system of providers and behavioral health infused treatment options that better match the needs of the child/adolescent population that the Marshfield Clinic Health System serves. Due to the rural nature, large catchment area, and demographic idiosyncrasies of central Wisconsin, Dr. Offenwanger was able to develop, promote, and grow a pediatric integrated care program that efficiently and effectively meets the needs of a historically underprivileged, under resourced, and under treated population. Specifically, Dr. Offenwanger is an integral part and driving force behind the expansion of program development of Marshfield Clinic’s pediatric integrated care. She allowed the pediatric integrated care program to expand in ways no otherwise feasible due to her flexibility, adaptability, and willingness to meet structural/system and clinical challenges head-in. Dr. Offenwanger has provided the pediatric integrated care program the ability to utilize telehealth/mobile services in ways that have reduced the barriers of accesses and other negative social determinants of health for the Marshfield Clinic Health System’s most vulnerable and needy children/adolescents. The ability to accomplish this in a large health care system/medical center cannot be overstated. Her efforts in promotion and advocacy of these services/model are nothing short of amazing. Additionally, as Dr. Offenwanger has grown and implemented the services of pediatric integrated behavioral health care, she has been instrumental in the training program development of pediatric integrated care psychology fellows. Dr. Offenwanger has been able to train, educate, mentor, and help promote the ideals of integrated care through fellowship training; resulting in both more access and higher levels of care for the children/adolescents in the Marshfield Clinic Health System, as well as growing the field of high-quality integrated care professional at large. The intention of nominating Dr. Offenwanger for this award is to bring awareness and validation to a professional that embodies and lives out the values, mission, and beliefs of CFHA and integrated as a whole. I hope those who read this come to the same conclusion and validate her efforts. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Nominated by Nicole Carr-Lee

Nominated by Kelsie-Marie Offenwanger

The Integrated Pediatric Behavioral Health (PCBH) care team at Marshfield Clinic Health System (MCHS) is committed to innovation, community health, and wellness. MCHS predominantly resides within rural areas and spans across 30 county service areas, plus one territory in Michigan. Around 33% of children live in poverty and 86% of the area designated as medically underserved. Data has shown that >70% of the children seen in Pediatrics in the Marshfield Clinic system are insured by Medicaid. Findings from a Provider Satisfaction Survey showed that 88.1% of providers rated PCBH as “moderately helpful” or “extremely helpful” (4-5). Providers likelihood of accepting an integrated visit in the future were rated at 91% rated as “likely” or “extremely likely” (4-5).

Our pediatric integrated behavioral health team primarily consists of two psychologist, Dr. Stephanie Kohlbeck and Dr. Kelsie-Marie Offenwanger. While small in numbers we make up for in passion and care delivery. Innovation and lifelong learning comes in the form of patient care delivery and grant-funded fellowship training. The focus is on immediate intervention on a short-term basis, which supports the individual’s wellbeing holistically. In addition to working with children, adolescents and their families, the fellow gains experience consulting with physicians, nurses and other medical team members on the service. Drs. Kohlbeck and Offenwanger were both fellowship trained at MCHS and see the value in giving back to the next generation.

Excellent care is provided at MCHS. Dr Kohlbeck and Dr Offenwanger meet the families where they are at and are embedded as part of the medical team. Services are provided to low-income and economically marginalized populations and those requiring complex medical treatment. For example, Dr Kohlbeck pioneered expansion to specialty clinics including ketogenic diet, cystic fibrosis, weight management and diabetes management. Often these families are traveling far and wide across the state for this care.

Dr. Kohlbeck’s interpersonal style seems to effortlessly foster teamwork across disciplines and makes it possible for PCBH providers to work collaboratively on several multidisciplinary teams.  PCBH is a fast moving and quickly changing environment, and Stephanie is the epitome of critical thinking. She is able to adapt her roles seamlessly and ensure each consult or patient is met with an open ear.  Stephanie is accountable and someone we know we can always count on.  Despite the natural inconsistencies in our work, increased patient demands, and decreased work force, Stephanie has remained a reliable force, protecting both our patients and our team. 

Dr. Offenwanger joined the integrated behavioral health team in 2019. Kelsie’s fellowship training aligned nicely with the PCBH model of high quality care, community engagement and youth advocacy. Her experience with the Center of Community Health Advancement and author of a social emotional learning curriculum disseminated throughout the state of Wisconsin provided unique opportunities for outreach and follow-up care.

Outside of her experiences, Dr. Offenwanger’s creativity, composure, and compassion at one of the most difficult times allowed us to quickly disperse telehealth services while effectively and efficiently meeting the needs of our patients.  Kelsie is readily accessible, reassuring, and a consistent presence for our patients. She consistently takes the time to check in personally and professionally with staff and responds to requests without hesitation.  Kelsie’s calming presence and personable demeanor reaches far beyond the walls of our clinic.

Our PCBH aspirations and novel directions include expanding to other medical specialty services and ongoing grant development. We have been increasing unique and specialty patients every year and see the movement continuing to rise. We furthermore plan to provide improved informational resources for patient and providers to have the best tools for their toolkit!

Nominated by Andrew Riley

I am very pleased to nominate the Pediatric Integrated Primary Care program at Nationwide Children’s Hospital (NCH) for the inaugural Pediatric Integrated Care Award. I have had the pleasure of working with multiple members of the NCH team for several years through various academic and professional pursuits, as well as observed their efforts from afar, and I’ve been perpetually impressed by the model program they’ve built. I’m particularly struck by their balance of clinical, educational, scientific, and advocacy-focused excellence.

The team at NCH has built an innovative clinical model that incorporates psychologists delivering highly integrated PCBH (75% of visits occurring as team-based appointments with the PCC) and master’s-level providers providing co-located therapy has dramatically increased access and utilization of care within their system. NCH disaggregates all program data by race, ethnicity, and language to determine whether the model has equitable impact and actively seeks this goal. They have also developed multiple innovative integrated care solutions for special populations. For example, although their integrated services largely eliminated racial and ethnic and language gaps at the primary care level, growth in care for the Somali population lagged behind others, particularly in co-located services. In response, they engaged with several Somali and refugee organizations in the community, engaged in trainings and readings as a team, and recruited a Somali-speaking provider. After identifying another important need – autism spectrum diagnostic assessments – the developed an innovated clinical pathway to provide timely evaluations for young children. This effort dramatically reduced wait times for some families from 18 months to 18 days! Beyond developing these clinical services, the NCH team is very active in disseminating their innovations through publications and conference presentations.

The team at NCH gets outside the walls of their clinic to engage with the communities they serve. Their primary care teams regularly participate in and lead community events, including organizing block parties in the neighborhoods they serve, staffing tables at community events, and delivering intervention services in community centers. They even partnered with four Latinx girls’ who were participating in a Latinx community engagement program to publish their poetry in Family, Systems, & Health. 

Beyond their own clinics, the NCH team has worked actively to support the burgeoning field of pediatric integrated primary care.  They have partnered with their Accountable Care Organization (ACO) to scale-up pediatric IPC across Ohio, invested in training of primary care providers in behavioral health skills, and frequently provide external program consultation, mentorship, and host other institutions at their site. These efforts are funded by NCH and their ACO at no cost to others. The have also made substantial contributions to pediatric integrated care science, publishing numerous syntheses of the literature, original research projects, and program evaluations.

In sum, I believe the team at NCH provides a model for pediatric integrated primary care at other academic medical centers. They are clear in their values, innovative in their pursuits, and rigorous in their evaluation. They “walk the walk” in all the ways that matter, and they are highly deserving of this award.

Nominated by Jacob Diestelmann

This application is for the nomination of Dr. Stephanie Kohlbeck, Ph.D., for the Pediatric Integrated Care Award. Dr. Kohlbeck exemplifies the qualities of this award via her determined commitment to innovative practices and approaches, equity principles, provision of high-quality care, and her engagement in mentoring and training future pediatric integrated behavioral health professional through her role in developing and supervising postdoctoral pediatric trainees. Over the course of a significant portion of Dr. Kohlbeck’s professional tenue, she was able to transform the Marshfield Clinic Health System’s pediatric services away from the silo-ed and fractured amalgamation of specialty care services, to create a more integrated system of providers and behavioral health infused treatment options that better match the needs of the child/adolescent population that the Marshfield Clinic Health System serves. Due to the rural nature, large catchment area, and demographic idiosyncrasies of central Wisconsin, Dr. Kohlbeck was able to develop, promote, and grow a pediatric integrated care program that efficiently and effectively meets the needs of a historically underprivileged, under resourced, and under treated population. Specifically, Dr. Kohlbeck was an integral part and driving force behind the program development of Marshfield Clinic’s pediatric integrated care. She was able to plan, formulate, advocate, and implement the steps needed to turn the conceptual framework of integrated behavioral health care into a reality. The ability to accomplish this in a large health care system/medical center cannot be overstated. Her efforts in promotion and advocacy of these services/model are nothing short of amazing. Additionally, as Dr. Kohlbeck grew and implemented the services of pediatric integrated behavioral health care, she was able to secure funds, resources, and recruitment of trainees/psychology fellows to learn and grow into the pediatric integrated care model. Dr. Kohlbeck has been able to train, educate, mentor, and help promote the ideals of integrated care through fellowship training; resulting in both more access and higher levels of care for the children/adolescents in the Marshfield Clinic Health System, as well as growing the field of high-quality integrated care professional at large. The intention of nominating Dr. Kohlbeck for this award is to bring awareness and validation to a professional that embodies and lives out the values, mission, and beliefs of CFHA and integrated as a whole. I hope those who read this come to the same conclusion and validate her efforts. Thank you for your time and consideration.