InvisALERT Solutions – ObservSMART

Archive for the ‘Winter 2021 Issue’ Category

Smith Named COO at Innovative Management Solutions of NY

Innovative Management Solutions of New York (IMSNY), a management service organization formed by Coordinated Behavioral Care IPA (CBC) and Coordinated Behavioral Health Services IPA (CBHS), has named Mathew Smith, LMSW, MBA as Chief Operating Officer (COO). Mr. Smith, a licensed social...

Community-Based Mental Health Agencies Must Be a Part of the Social Determinant Solution

The behavioral health community can take enormous pride in the societal evolution of attitudes toward mental health challenges (to avoid the repeat of the word “treatment”). Psychological treatment is no longer discussed only in hushed tones but is now more accepted and supported than ever. But...

The Social Determinants of Help-Seeking for Young Men of Color

Vibrant Emotional Health provides clinical case management and crisis intervention services to young men of color (YMOC) in The Fellowship Initiative, a college attainment program for YMOC in New York City, Chicago, Dallas, and Los Angeles, funded and operated by the JPMorgan Chase Foundation. Our...

Navigating America’s Unprecedented Mental Health Winter of 2020/2021

As the dust settles on one of the most polarizing and emotionally charged presidential races in the United States’ history, the country finds itself in the midst of a mental health crisis of historic proportions. The mental health aftershocks of the 2020 election will be felt for months...

COVID-19 Crisis Exposes Missing Social Determinant of Health Domain

The Visiting Nurse Service of New York (VNSNY), established in 1893, is the oldest and largest not-for profit home health care agency in the country. VNSNY established its Community Mental Health Services (CMHS) division in 1986 with the first community based mobile crisis program. As a division,...

Social Determinants of Rural Zip Codes

Only recently have we come to recognize the social determinants of mental health. Social determinants are those non-medical factors that play a significant role in our health and mental health. They include such things as education, economic stability, social connections, where we live,...

Is Technology a Social Determinant of Health?

In late March of 2020, Alicia R. called the intake line at Service Program for Older People (SPOP), a New York City-based behavioral health care provider for older adults. This was during the peak of the initial COVID-19 outbreak in New York City and all residents were advised to remain in their...

The NYSPA Report: American Psychiatric Association Approaches to Social Determinants of Mental Health

The year 2020 refocused our attention on the social determinants of mental health. From structural racism to economic insecurity to healthcare disparities, people have become acutely aware of the insidious discrimination and losses that vulnerable individuals and communities have suffered. Rates of...

NYS Office of Mental Health Seeks to Address the Social Determinants That Affect Mental Health in Our Communities

A part of New York State’s strength lies in its diversity, which provides us with the wisdom of many different cultures from which we can all learn. But diversity is often accompanied by inexcusable inequity, as residents of some communities are exposed greater risk of health problems. The...

Social Determinants of Behavioral Health: Time to Augment Advocacy Strategy?

The hope implicit in the concept of social determinants is that broad changes in the social, economic, and political structures of our communities, nations, and world can result in improved behavioral health of large populations, such as regions, age-groups, social classes, genders, disabilities,...