SAMHSA–Sponsored Webinar: Financing the Start–Up and Operation of First Episode Psychosis Programs

Jul 26, 2016

Watch NAMI's SAMHSA-sponsored webinar on financing the start-up and operation of First Episode Psychosis (FEP) programs.

FEP programs improve the quality of life for youth and young adults. These programs are expanding around the country because of the difference they make in young lives. Congress has recognized the value and importance of these programs by providing enhanced funding through the Mental Health Block Grant.FEP programs provide a coordinated array of specialty care for youth and young adults experiencing early psychosis that helps them to reach recovery and their life goals.

This webinar focuses on financing FEP programs and the coordinated array of specialty care delivered to youth, young adults and their families in both Medicaid and private insurance programs. The Webinar also covers how FEP programs have secured the start-up funding needed to implement these programs and innovative approaches to funding the expansion of programs in states.

Watch the Webinar.

Presenters

Darcy Gruttadaro, J.D., is the Director of Advocacy at NAMI. Ms. Gruttadaro leads NAMI's strategic initiatives in promoting early identification and early intervention by developing and implementing effective grassroots' advocacy campaigns and strategies.

Before taking on the role of Director of Advocacy, Ms. Gruttadaro developed and directed NAMI’s Child & Adolescent Action Center. She has served on multiple national advisory groups, coalitions and task forces focused on children, youth and young adults living with mental health conditions.

Before coming to NAMI, Ms. Gruttadaro practiced law with the law firm of Harris Beach & Wilcox where she concentrated her law practice on health care and mental health related issues.  She also served as a law clerk in the U.S. District Court in the Western District of New York.

Mark Hurst, M.D., is medical director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS), where he provides leadership for clinical services at all of the state’s regional psychiatric hospitals and community-based organizations. Dr. Hurst is board certified in psychiatry and addiction psychiatry and has, throughout his career, has advocated for the adoption of evidence-based practices such as integrated treatment for substance abuse and mental illness, suicide prevention, modern psychopharmacology, and trauma informed care as a way to maximize recovery on an individualized basis.

Throughout his career, Dr. Hurst has served in a number of positions in public psychiatry, including chief of psychiatry at the Columbus VA outpatient clinic; medical director of Ohio State University Psychiatric Healthcare; and director of the Harding Addiction Recovery Center in Columbus. He has been on the faculty of The Ohio State University Department of Psychiatry since 1989 and has received numerous teaching awards.

Dr. Hurst is a graduate of Muskingum College and the Medical College of Ohio and completed his psychiatry residency training at the University of Michigan and Ohio State University. He has been honored with listing in the Midwest edition of “Best Doctors in America” since 1995. 

Mark R. Munetz, M.D. is Professor and The Margaret Clark Morgan Endowed Chair of Psychiatry at the Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED).  He directed community psychiatry training at NEOMED and served as medical director for the Summit County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board from  1992- 2012. Dr. Munetz directs the Ohio Criminal Justice Coordinating Center of Excellence, the Ohio Program for Campus Safety and Mental Health and the Best Practices in Schizophrenia Treatment (BeST) Center, all at NEOMED. He has held faculty positions at the University of Pittsburgh, University of Massachusetts, and Case Western Reserve University. 

Dr. Munetz has helped plan and support implementation of coordinated specialty care programs, known as FIRST programs, for individuals experiencing their first episode of psychosis, throughout Ohio.