RAVI’S PROVIDER UPDATES
Dear Summit County Mental Health Professionals,
Hope this message finds you well. Below are a slew of updates for your perusal, please let me know if you have any questions!
Our next Provider Mixer is taking place on Wednesday, Sept 13th. 6-8:30pm at Outer Range Brewing in Frisco.
This event is free and will include free dinner + two free drink tickets. Come join us to meet and mingle with other local Summit County mental health professionals.
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Beware of phishing attempts via Bldg Hope’s provider directory
If you receive any messaging from any unknown individual or group regarding any strange request to join onto a project or share any sensitive information, please report the email as SPAM and delete it from your inbox. Please let me know if you received any such email over the past few weeks. We’re sorry for any inconvenience caused by this unfortunate circumstance.
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Welcome Kristen Griffin as Building Hope’s new Program Manager
Kristen Griffin, LCSW, will be joining Building Hope’s staff as our newest Program Manager. She will be filling Kellyn’s old position, as Kellyn moves to become our new Executive Director. Please be on the lookout for a future newsletter from us with more on Kristen’s background and her journey to Bldg Hope. Please feel free to reach out to both Kristen and Kellyn (cc’d) to congratulate them on their new positions!
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Sober Doesn’t Suck Events Series by Mile High Behavioral Health Care
FIRST event: Community BBQ on Fri, Aug 11 from 5-7pm at Frisco Marina Park
MHBHC has a long history in the front range, and recently expanded to Summit by opening a new clinical space in Frisco. They offer a three-pronged treatment approach that includes therapy, case management, and peer support services.
MHBHC is passionate about supporting our community with recovery, both around substance use and mental health struggles. They specialize in working with substance use and misuse, as well as struggles surrounding adolescents and their families. They also provide specialized treatment for our LGTBQIA+ community.
Attached you’ll find two flyers for MHBHC’s peer support offering to the community! Jack and Doug are peer support specialists with MHBHC and are facilitating a community-based series of sober events called Sober Doesn’t Suck. This is for any and all adult community members who are interested in participating.
MHBHC is very passionate about supporting our community in re-learning how to participate in fun and healthy activities, while also being sober. Anyone eighteen years old and up is invited, and they can be in any stage of recovery. All participants are required to be sober while attending these events. However, all community members are encouraged to join, despite their recovery status.
MHBHC will be hosting SDS events every Friday from 5pm-7pm, and will have bonus events coming up this fall. Each event is held at a different location and they include a wide variety of activities. Please follow them on social media to stay tuned for future updates. Please reach out to Ciara McCoy for additional information.
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Psychiatry Access
Many have reported difficulty finding immediate access for psychiatry in our rural mountain region. Eagle Valley Behavioral Health is excited to announce that we currently have immediate access to child, adolescent, and adult psychiatry services. This means we have same week, and at times, same day availability for both new and established patients. If you have anyone who would benefit from this access, please have them call our scheduling line at 970–445–2489. If you have any questions, please reach out to Casey Wolfington at casey.wolfington@vailhealth.org.
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Medicaid updates, courtesy of Left Hand Management:
- Across the nation, Medicaid members, including those in Colorado, are required to requalify for coverage.
- Predictions are that roughly 20% of Medicaid members will lose coverage. To ensure your agency or practice is well-prepared for this transition, it’s a smart move to get enrolled with commercial insurance. This way, you can continue working with your clients seamlessly even after they switch from Medicaid.
- Several commercial payors have embraced rules similar to Medicaid’s regulations regarding the utilization of unlicensed providers under the supervision of a licensed and enrolled supervisor.
- Check out this simple description of redeterminations by The Colorado Sun here.
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New Office Space available on West Main in Frisco
Summit County Government, in partnership with Vail Health, is excited to present our local mental health provider community the opportunity to rent premium office space at 323 West Main Street in Frisco.
There are five offices available for rent and they offer spacious and versatile layout, abundant natural light, high-speed internet, ample parking, breakrooms, and are on the bus route. Flexible and affordable leases are available.
Please see attached flyer for more details and jenny.wood@summitcountyco.gov or 303-517-4332 to secure your space!
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Vail Health Behavioral Health recently launched the new Vail Health Behavioral Health Innovation Center. Please see this Vail Daily article to learn more.
Vail Health has kicked off the center with a great lecture by our new Director of the Center, Dr. Charles Raison, who provided an evolutionary lens to address the urgent question of why treatments for mental illness have not made the type of progress that has occurred in other fields of medicine, especially oncology.
Focusing on depression, he discussed how current antidepressants operate primarily by having the non-specific effect of making the world seem like a safer, less stressful, and more restful place. While of clinical value, this approach only provides sustained symptom relief for a minority of patients with major depression, highlighting the need to identify novel treatment strategies. He presents a strategy that we aim to study which is based on the use of adaptive stressors to enhance overall emotional wellbeing.
The recording is now up on our website (see link below) and we encourage you to take time to view the lecture series and pass this on to other colleagues who may be interested as well!
https://www.vailhealthbh.org/about/behavioral–health-innovation-center/lecture–series
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Join Charlie Health for their upcoming August Webinars
Breaking the Stigma: The Intersection of Chronic Illness and Mental Health
Continuing Education Event
August 17, 2023 | 1pm MT
Join us for a one-hour CE event sponsored by the National Association of Social Workers to better understand the relationship between chronic illness and mental health.
A Conscious Classroom: Back to School With Charlie Health
Info Session
August 24, 2023 | 1pm MT
Join Charlie Health for our Conscious Classroom initiative that will help you create a mindful, regulated space for teens and adolescents to grow and learn.
How the Work Touches You: Countertransference and Self Rejuvenation in a World That Hurts
Continuing Education Event
August 29, 2023 | 1pm MT
Join Charlie Health for a one-hour CE event to identify how mental health work affects providers—known as countertransference.
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AcuDetox training held by Foundry
Foundry Steamboat is hosting two in-person AcuDetox trainings in September!
September 8–10, 2023, 9 p.m.–4 p.m. (MST) in STEAMBOAT, COLORADO
Foundry Treatment Center Steamboat:
1915 Alpine Plaza C3
Steamboat Springs, CO 80487
Five spaces available
September 22–24, 2023, 9 p.m.–4 p.m. (MST) in DENVER, COLORADO
Chrysalis Continuing Care
3254 Larimer St., Denver CO 80205
Ten to fifteen spaces are available
COST for either training: $300
Space is limited. Please register as soon as possible by emailing: jasmine.aranda@foundrysteamboat.com
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Mountain Scholars Mentor Recruitment
The CMC Mountain Scholars Program empowers first generation students to complete a college degree. A key part of the program is mentors, who work with students one-on-one and volunteer their time. This program has grown significantly and is looking for more mentors. Recruitment will take place before our mentor matching in late August at the beginning of the school year. Please see the attached flyer for more details and reach out to Andrea Walker with any questions.
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Naloxone Vending Machine Distribution
The University of CO School of Medicine is seeking to interview and pay individuals who have recently used a street opioid or an opioid containing medication not as prescribed, in order to gain insight on how to best distribute Naloxone.
Please see attached flyer and contact vendy@cuanschutz.edu / (303) 724-7095 for more information.
(Free Narcan available at STARR: Please reach out to Ruby Hornback for questions
The STARR program is part of the Summit Sheriff’s jail and the acronym stands for Strategies To Avoid Relapse and Recidivism)
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Soulful Recovery
Soulful Recovery is a new telehealth substance use disorder practice based throughout Colorado. They provide outpatient, intensive outpatient, and nature based services, and are continuing to expand their offering. They are working to build several cohorts of different demographics to serve a variety of needs. Please reach out to Grant with any referrals, and see attached flyer for more details.
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Free course for case managers on applying to SSI/SSDI for clients
This is a free training for case managers over seven classes to learn about SSA’s disability determination process and how to submit a complete and thorough SSI/SSDI application using the SOAR model. More information is available here.
- Gain comprehensive information about SSI/SSDI and SSA’s disability determination process
- Learn how to best complete and submit comprehensive and high quality SSI/SSDI applications
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Introducing Ali Weinig, new case manager for at SMART
Hi All!
My name is Ali Weinig. I wanted to take the time to introduce myself as the new case manager for SMART! While I know many of you already, I am looking forward to collaborating with you all in this new role. I have a decade of experience working in mental health, 2.5 years living and working in Summit, and am currently in school getting my master’s in social work.
I am eager to continue to help our community, learn from you all, and provide support and connection. Please feel free to reach out any time if you would like to chat further. Here’s my information:
Ali B. Weinig, MPA
S.M.A.R.T. Team Case Manager
Summit County Sheriff’s Office
P.O. Box 210 / 501 N. Park Avenue | Breckenridge, CO 80424
Direct Phone: (970) 389-6230
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Hiring!
Please check out our Careers In The Community webpage! Please let us know if you have job opportunities you’d like to post and we’ll put them up for you!
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Monthly Mental Health Provider Zoom Meeting hosted by Bldg Hope
- Please join us and your fellow Summit County Mental Health Providers for a monthly Zoom check in which takes place on the first Tuesday of every month at 8am.
- We use this meeting as an opportunity to introduce ourselves, share our offerings, discuss trends as to what we’re seeing in our practice, and talk through potential opportunities, referrals, news, etc.
- https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89953506615?pwd=OUJPK2p2M1k1cWZoUHNWUmRjUVFaZz09
- Meeting ID: 899 5350 6615
- Passcode: 497676
- A running document of meeting minutes is available here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1X7Ce5mXM8FvZI-8PQll9qKZc8k8o0xwOvZ78bXDSUZc/
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As always, thanks for everything you do. Please let us know if there’s anything Building Hope can do to support your practice. Looking forward to seeing you at one of our community events, or the next mixer.
Friendly reminder also to check our provider facebook group as things get posted there on a more quick basis than these emails.
Lastly, if you are a private practice clinician and have a profile on Bldg Hope’s therapist directory, please email me any updates to your profile, such as new health insurances, new location, new specialties, etc!
Thanks,
Ravi