HHS Releases Contingency Plan as Federal Government Shutdown Looms
HHS this week released a government shutdown contingency plan if federal lawmakers don’t pass legislation by Saturday, Sept. 30 to extend government funding and maintain federal operations. If they don’t, critical federal services will end at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday.
The ongoing government funding talks have put on hold consideration of all other bills that are set to expire after Sept. 30, including the
SUPPORT Act reauthorization. NABH expects reauthorization to move through both chambers of Congress after lawmakers resolve the federal funding issue.
Meanwhile, here are HHS’ plans for the agencies that affect NABH members: the
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services,
Health Resources and Services Administration, National Institutes of Health, and
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
SAMHSA Announces $131.7 Million in Grants for Youth and Families
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) this week said it awarded $131.7 million in grant programs to connect youth and families with behavioral healthcare services.
The awards will fund a variety of programs and services, including cooperative agreements for school-based, trauma-informed support services for mental healthcare, expanding substance use treatment capacity in adult and family drug courts, preventing youth overdose, and more.
Click
here to read more about the awards.
Joint Commission Revises Terms to Reflect Current Terminology in Addiction Medicine
The Joint Commission said it has revised two terms for Behavioral Health Care and Human Services to reflect current terminology in the addiction medicine field.
“Medication-assisted treatment” has been updated to “medications for substance use disorders,” and, if the requirement needs to be more specific, the term used is “medications for opioid use disorder” or “medications for alcohol use disorder.”
Meanwhile, the Joint Commission removed “detoxification,” which is now referred to as “withdrawal,” “withdrawal management,” or “medically supervised withdrawal management.”
“These revisions are editorial in nature and do not change any requirements,” the Joint Commission said in its announcement, adding that any questions should be directed to the organization’s
Department of Standards and Survey Methods.
The changes take effect on Jan. 1, 2024.
October is Youth Substance Use and Misuse Prevention Month
As National Recovery Month draws to a close, the nation now turns to Youth Substance Use Prevention Month and Substance Misuse Prevention Month for October.
SAMHSA has created a Prevention Month
toolkit with shareable social media graphics to help people promote the message of prevention for kids and family and developed other
resources and events to help communities participate.
In conjunction with Prevention Month, SAMHSA this week announced it awarded $42.6 million in grants to 17 states and 60 communities—located across 33 states—as a foundational investment for substance use prevention. Click
here to learn more.
Please Nominate Members for the NABH Board of Trustees!
NABH is seeking help from members as the NABH Selection Committee prepares to consider possible nominees to serve on the NABH Board of Trustees. Specifically, NABH requests that members help the association identify:
►
Board Chair-Elect and
► Four Board seats that will become available in 2024
The Selection Committee is particularly interested in identifying senior managers who represent the broad diversity within the NABH membership, including various levels of care, organizational structures, and size.
Please download a nomination form to share your recommendations of individuals you would like to see included in the single slate for 2024.
Please attach a curriculum vitae (CV) for each person you recommend. This will help the Selection Committee in its deliberations. You are welcome to suggest yourself.
Please return this form (and candidates’ CVs)
by Friday, Oct. 20, 2023, to
maria@nabh.org.
Fact of the Week:
Between 2014 and 2019, the national Hispanic population increased by 4.5%, or 5.2 million people. During the same period, the proportion of facilities that offered treatment in Spanish declined by 17.8%, or a loss of 1,163 Spanish-speaking mental health facilities, according to a
study published in
Psychiatric Services. Overall, 44 states saw a decline in the availability of services in Spanish, despite growth in Hispanic populations across all states.
For questions or comments about this CEO Update, please contact Jessica Zigmond.