This award is the quintessential organizational award for members who have advanced the field of collaborative care, and who show intellectual, behavioral, and relational qualities that exemplify Don’s excellence and contributions.

Patti Robinson and Kirk Strosahl 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 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. We are thrilled to able to celebrate Patti and Kirk as this year’s recipents of the Don Bloch Award.

This award recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to health care through their commitment and use of the Collaborative Care (CoCM) model.

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.

The annual CFHA Founders’ ECP Award serves as the highest recognition for an early career professional’s contributions to the field of integrated care.

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.

This award recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to health care through their commitment and use of the Primary Care Behavioral Health (PCBH) model. Jim Berghuis’ contributions to PCBH cannot be overstated. 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. As Dr. Berghuis officially retires from over two decades of PCBH work at HealthPoint Community Health Center in the Greater Seattle region, we could not be prouder and more excited to celebrate him through this award and highlight his contributions to the field.

This Families & Health SIG-sponsored award recognizes clinicians and researchers who incorporate the principles of family-oriented care into their day-to-day work with families managing their health. 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. It is no surprise then that he exemplifies CFHA’s principles of family-oriented care.

This award recognizes individuals, teams, and organizations who have made outstanding contributions to pediatric behavioral health care through their commitment to improving youth health under a holistic, integrated, and equitable lens.

Dr. Cody 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.

Cody 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.

This competitive award supports the work of a trainee or early career professional whose research project significantly contributes to the field of integrated care. CFHA is proud to support Christina New’s project entitled, “Evaluating the Impact of an Educational Seminar in an Integrated Healthcare Setting: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Enhancing Outcomes for Patients pursuing Vaginoplasty.” This proposed project aims to evaluate the feasibility and implementation success of an educational seminar for patients seeking gender affirming surgery within an integrated healthcare setting.