Our primary care and behavioral health folks put together a fabulous forum called the Arizona Integrated Models of Care in Behavioral Health and Primary Care Forum. Our team joined with the Milbank Memorial Fund to sponsor a forum on January 25 and 26 in Chandler, AZ, for policy makers in both the mental health and community health center fields. One author of the recent Milbank Foundation report (Evolving Models of Behavioral Health Integration in Primary Care) Denise Levis Hewson and Michael Lancaster, Director of Behavioral Health Care, Community Care of North Carolina were keynote speakers.
The forum also featured local models of integration, lessons learned and strategies for overcoming Arizona-specific challenges. The goal was to bring together leaders from the primary care and behavioral health community to facilitate stronger integration and the public health approach to overall health and wellness. The Milbank report and all of the wonderful presentations are posted on the ADHS website. A huge “thank you” goes to Jeanette Shea, Patricia Tarango and Jena Grady for all of the hard work that made this such a big success.
