NCOA Connect

Welcome from ACL, SAMHSA, and HRSA

Opening Remarks

Jessica Schubel, Director of the Affordable Care Act and Health Care with the United States Domestic Policy Council, Executive Office of the President

• Jessica Schubel will share updates and priorities from the White House Domestic Policy Council.

Department of Health and Human Services Deputy Secretary, Andrea Palm

• Deputy Secretary Palm will provide a welcome and introductory remarks to kick off the day. Introduction remarks will focus on the importance of the day; Administration/Departmental priorities; and how the Department is helping to ensure older adults have access to the behavioral health services and supports they need to remain healthy, independent, and connected in their communities.

Statement from Mrs. Rosalynn Carter read by Dr. Eve Byrd, Director, Mental Health Program at The Carter Center

Keynote

Q&A Discussion with Jane Pauley and NCOA's CEO Ramsey Alwin

• Jane Pauley will be discussing her personal journey with mental health. 

Eligible for .75 CEU with live participation. 

Alison Barkoff, Performing the duties of the ACL Administrator and Assistant Secretary for Aging, U.S. Administration for Community Living

Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon, Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Carole Johnson, Administrator, Health Resources and Services Administration

Jessica Schubel, Director of the Affordable Care Act and Health Care, Domestic Policy Council

Andrea Palm, Deputy Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services

Jane Pauley, Host, 'CBS Sunday Morning'

Ramsey Alwin, President & CEO, National Council on Aging

Up to 90% of older adults have experienced at least one traumatic event in their lifetime. This session addresses the importance of a trauma-informed care framework to create a community environment that understands, recognizes, and responds to the effect of the experience of trauma in older adults.

Eligible for 1 CEU with live participation

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1) Understand the prevalence of trauma among older adults.

2) Describe the basic tenants of trauma-informed care, its importance, and common triggers. 

3) Identify how individuals in various settings and levels have a role to play in trauma-informed care. 

Lily Liu, Family Caregiver

Lisa Brown, Ph.D., ABPP, Professor, Palo Alto University

Leah Bergen Miller, Associate Director, Center on Holocaust Survivor Care and Institute on Aging and Trauma

Erin Emery-Tiburcio, PhD, ABPP, Co-Director, E4 Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health Disparities in Aging

Navigating mental health care resources and services for older adults and caregivers can be overwhelming. This session will provide an overview of the landscape, highlight successful initiatives, and provide practical steps you can use to help connect older adults and caregivers in your community to services and supports.

Eligible for 1 CEU with live participation

Learning Objectives: 

At the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1) Discuss common barriers and challenges for providers and older adults to locate and connect to mental health resources and services. 
2) Identify programs, such as the Program to Encourage Active, Rewarding Lives (PEARLS), that can serve as a linkage between behavioral health services and the community. 
3) Locate resources and supports in their community to assist in connecting older adults and caregivers to mental health services. 

Lynn Cooper, Behavioral Health Advocate, Behavioral Health Policy Specialist, Pennsylvania Association of Area Agencies on Aging

Leigh Ann Eagle BS, Chief Operations Officer, Maryland Living Well Center of Excellence, Maryland Living Well Center of Excellence - MAC, Inc.

Charles H. Smith, PhD, MA, Regional Administrator – Region VIII, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Region VIII

Kristie Kulinski, Team Lead, Office of Network Advancement, Administration for Community Living (ACL)

This session will look at the prevalence and risk factors for obesity as one ages. It will discuss how excess weight impacts our mental health with a focus on marginalized and minority populations and where to seek help.

At the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Describe the connection between obesity and mental health in older adults, including the role of stigma, bias, stress, and past trauma.

2. Recognize the policy implications with respect to treatments for obesity and mental health for older adults, including equitable access and Medicare Part D coverage. 

 3. Identify resources for older adults to seek help and highlight solutions, such as the benefit of social connection.

Session Sponsored by Novo Nordisk 

Eligible for 1 CEU with live participation

Tiffani Bell Washington, MD, FAPA, Diplomate of American Board of Obesity Medicine, Diplomate of American Board of Lifestyle Medicine

Patricia Nece, J.D., Chair for the Obesity Action Coalition, Patient Advocate

Dorothea K. Vafiadis, MS, FAHA, Director, Health Partnerships and Strategic Engagement, National Council on Aging

Older adults comprise more than 16% of the population, but approximately 18% of suicides. This session discusses risk factors for suicide in older adults, how it varies across gender and racial/ethnic subgroups, and interventions that can help to prevent suicide.

Eligible for 1 CEU with live participation

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1) Understand the scope and prevalence of suicide in older adults.

2) Recognize the factors that place older adults at an increased risk for suicide. 

3) Describe evidence-based approaches to suicide prevention and identify resources, such as the nation’s new 988 crisis hotline, to assist older adults. 

Yeates Conwell, M.D., Professor and Vice Chair, University of Rochester Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry

Mary Chase Mize, PhD, APC, NCC, Postdoctoral Researcher, Georgia State University

Jeffrey Shultz, Suicide Awareness Advocate

Richard McKeon, Ph.D., Chief, Suicide Prevention Branch, Center for Mental Health Services, SAMHSA

Access to mental health care services for older adults can be fragmented and difficult to navigate. This session explores programs beyond the health care system to address older adult mental health such as the evidence-based program, the Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP). 

Eligible for 1 CEU with live participation

Learning Objectives: 

At the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1) Describe services and programs that address older adult mental health and empower individuals, such the Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) and other peer support programs. 
2) Determine how older adult mental health support services and programs have adapted during the pandemic and what they may look like moving forward.
3) Identify sites where mental health services can take place and how mental health, aging, and disability services can collaborate to better meet the needs of their community. 

Jo Anne Sirey, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine

Sean Johnson, MA, CRSS, WRAP for Seniors Project Coordinator, University of Illinois at Chicago

Warren Campbell, Peer Supporter and Veteran

Keri Lipperini, MPA (she/her), Director in the Office of Nutrition and Health Promotion Programs, Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services

Robyn Golden, LCSW, Co-Director, E4 Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health Disparities in Aging

This session will take a closer look at the prevalence of alcohol, cannabis, and opioid use and misuse in older adults, how these substances are often used for self-treatment of mental health and other conditions, and steps to ensure that older adults receive appropriate, effective, and safe treatment.

Eligible for 1 CEU with live participation

Learning Objectives: 

At the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1) Understand the nature and extent of the issue of alcohol, cannabis, and opioid use and misuse in older adults. 
2) Identify how screening and interventions, such as SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral to Treatment), can lead to appropriate treatment.
3) Describe the role that stigma plays in substance use screening and treatment and how to overcome this barrier. 

Namkee Choi, PhD, MSW, Professor and Louis and Ann Wolens Centennial Chair in Gerontology, The University of Texas at Austin

Gwendolyn Gilbert, MS, LPCA, LCAS, CSI, NCC, Behavioral Health Officer and the CCBHC Program Director, Agape Health Services

Henry Tyler, Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) Instructor and Veteran

Frederic C. Blow, PhD, Director, U-M Addiction Center, University of Michigan

Many older adults are affected by grief and loss, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. This session will look at what is being done to address grief from various perspectives and the power of hope and resilience. 

Eligible for 1 CEU with live participation

Learning Objectives: 

At the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1) Describe the different types of grief such as prolonged grief and disenfranchised grief. 
2) Discuss practice approaches and innovative strategies to address grief such as through writing and Death Cafes. 
3) Identify resources available to help people who are grieving. 

M. Katherine Shear, MD, Marion E. Kenworthy Professor of Psychiatry, Columbia School of Social Work and Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

Erica G. Srinivasan, PhD, Associate Professor, UW-La Crosse, Psychology Department

Jane Nichols, Wife Sharing a Journey of Grief

Shari Ling, MD, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, CMS

Addressing the Intersection of the Social Determinants of Health and Mental Health

Social determinants of health (SDOH) are the environmental conditions where people are born, live, work, play, worship and age and include economic stability, education access and quality, health care education access and quality, neighborhood and built environment, and social and community context. Safe housing, access to nutritious food, transportation and safety play a large role in health and well-being. Speakers will present interventions and solutions to address these determinants as they relate to mental health.

Eligible for 1 CEU with live participation

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1) Recognize the correlation between housing and behavioral health for older adults.

2) Identify how the barriers related to housing and other social determinants of health, such as nutritious food and transportation, can contribute to mental health concerns for older adults.

3) Summarize a behavioral health coaching intervention from Altana Regional Commission and what is happening next in this space.

Closing Remarks  

NCOA President and CEO Ramsey Alwin will provide closing remarks. 

Eligible for .5 CEU with live participation 

Michelle Missler, LSW, President and CEO, American Association of Service Coordinators

Dwight J. Mayes, Director of Housing, NCBA Housing Development Corporation

Becky A. Kurtz, JD, Managing Director, Aging & Independence Services Director, Atlanta Regional Commission, Area Agency on Aging

Ms. BJ, Past Participant of the Behavioral Health Coaching Service

Ramsey Alwin, President & CEO, National Council on Aging

Nina Darby, MA, Training Manager, Diverse Elders Coalition