May 2023 Newsletter
The Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health in Nursing Facilities (COE-NF) provides mental health and substance use evidence-based training, customized technical assistance, and resources to certified Medicare and Medicaid nursing facilities who care for residents with a variety of behavioral health conditions at absolutely no cost. To submit a request for assistance, complete the online request form at https://nursinghomebehavioralhealth.org/.
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In This Issue
- Did You Know May was Mental Health Awareness Month?
- Addressing Behavioral Health Needs in the Facility Assessment
- You Matter
- Register for Upcoming COE-NF Training Sessions
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Did you know May was Mental Health Awareness Month?
Over the past 20 years, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has recognized May as Mental Health Awareness Month. The Mental Health Awareness Month toolkit provides resources to promote conversations, best practices, and materials to support individuals living with a mental illness. Although the month of May is coming to a close, the toolkit provides the following guidance that can be used year-round:
- Tips for engaging in respectful conversations around mental health
- Inclusive language materials
- Hashtag guidance
- Social media sharables
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Addressing Behavioral Health Needs in the Facility Assessment
As you may know, the facility assessment is a regulatory requirement (F838) that occurs at least annually. This assessment encompasses many components and areas of care, including identifying needs and capacity for behavioral health services.
You can use the facility assessment process as a starting point and a valuable tool to get a high-level understanding of your facility’s behavioral health characteristics, demographics, and capabilities. You can then identify any gaps in knowledge, processes, and staffing and develop a roadmap for addressing those gaps and building the necessary behavioral health capacity to meet the needs of your residents.
What can you do TODAY?
1. Identify your facility’s behavioral health characteristics and demographics.
These include number and percentage of current residents with:
a. Mental illness diagnoses
b. Substance use disorder (SUD) diagnoses
c. History of trauma
d. Physicians’ orders for antipsychotic medications
e. Physicians’ orders for psychotropic medications
f. Physicians’ orders for medication assisted treatment (e.g. Buprenorphine)
g. Recent psychiatric hospitalizations
h. Level 2 for mental illness on their Pre-Admission Screening and Resident Review (PASRR) and/or PASRR recommendations for specialized services
b. Substance use disorder (SUD) diagnoses
c. History of trauma
d. Physicians’ orders for antipsychotic medications
e. Physicians’ orders for psychotropic medications
f. Physicians’ orders for medication assisted treatment (e.g. Buprenorphine)
g. Recent psychiatric hospitalizations
h. Level 2 for mental illness on their Pre-Admission Screening and Resident Review (PASRR) and/or PASRR recommendations for specialized services
2. Identify your facility’s current behavioral health capabilities.
This includes identifying all currently available:
This includes identifying all currently available:
a. Staff training on knowledge and skills related to behavioral health needs of residents.
b. Professional behavioral health services available from facility staff, for example a psychiatric nurse, clinical social worker, or behavioral specialist.
c. Professional behavioral health services delivered to facility residents on site by consultants or via visits to community providers. These may include psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, harm reduction providers, and mental health or substance use clinics.
b. Professional behavioral health services available from facility staff, for example a psychiatric nurse, clinical social worker, or behavioral specialist.
c. Professional behavioral health services delivered to facility residents on site by consultants or via visits to community providers. These may include psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, harm reduction providers, and mental health or substance use clinics.
3. Hold a meeting with the facility leadership team to review the findings and identify any gaps between the current residents’ needs and the facility’s currently available services and trainings.
Common action items that result from this assessment include:
a. Additional topics of training identified to be provided to facility staff.
b. Need for a part-time or full-time position to provide specific behavioral health services to residents.
c. Interest in identifying additional behavioral health providers that can service the residents by coming on-site or by sending residents to off-site appointments.
b. Need for a part-time or full-time position to provide specific behavioral health services to residents.
c. Interest in identifying additional behavioral health providers that can service the residents by coming on-site or by sending residents to off-site appointments.
4. Develop an action plan to address the identified gaps.
The COE-NF offers training opportunities that may match identified behavioral health gaps.
The COE-NF is available to support your facility in any of these guidance areas. CLICK HERE to contact the COE-NF today.
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You Matter
It’s okay to take a break when you need it. One area of focus in SAMHSA’s Mental Health Awareness Month toolkit is prioritizing your self-care and taking time to recharge. Your mental health is important and there are ways that you can incorporate self-care into your workday.
What can you do TODAY?
For employers:
What can you do TODAY?
For employers:
- Host an on-site meditation session to teach employees how to use their breath to de-stress.
- Organize daily self-care breaks for staff throughout their workday to ensure that they have protected time to recharge.
- Ask for employee feedback about what else they need to take care of their mental health at work.
- Set a self-care goal for the week or month For example: “I will go for a 20-minute walk three times a week,” or “I will meditate for five minutes every day after lunch.”
- Identify a work buddy with whom to discuss your goal and help you celebrate successes or navigate any challenges you are having.
- Share your story with your peers and supervisors and let them know how they can help support your mental health at work.
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Register for the June COE-NF Training Sessions
This month, the COE-NF monthly training series features six training sessions you won’t want to miss.
There will be two (2) QPR sessions held in June.
Audience: All nursing facility staff
Duration: 90 minutes
Description:This 1.5-hour evidence-based live instructor lead training is held virtually and will provide a comprehensive review of a three-step approach anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide. This session will provide a two-year certification to attendees.
Key components covered in the training:
1. How to Question, Persuade and Refer someone who may be suicidal
2. How to get help for yourself or learn more about preventing suicide
3. The common causes of suicidal behavior
4. The warning signs of suicide
5. How to get help for someone in crisis
Key components covered in the training:
1. How to Question, Persuade and Refer someone who may be suicidal
2. How to get help for yourself or learn more about preventing suicide
3. The common causes of suicidal behavior
4. The warning signs of suicide
5. How to get help for someone in crisis
Certification Details:This session provides a QPR certification for two years.
Registration is limited to 60 participants.
A minimum of five (5) participants are required for the session to occur.
A minimum of five (5) participants are required for the session to occur.
Thursday, June 8, 2023
2–3:30 p.m. EST
2–3:30 p.m. EST
Thursday, June 15, 2023
2–3:30 p.m. EST
2–3:30 p.m. EST
Wednesday, June 21, 2023
2–3:30 p.m.
Audience: All nursing facility staff
Duration: 90 minutes
Description:The Columbia Protocol, also known as the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), supports suicide risk assessment through a series of simple, plain-language questions that anyone can ask. The answers help users identify whether someone is at risk for suicide, assess the severity and immediacy of that risk, and gauge the level of support that the person needs.
Users of the tool ask people:
1. Whether and when they have thought about suicide (ideation)
2. What actions they have taken — and when — to prepare for suicide
3. Whether and when they attempted suicide or began a suicide attempt that was either interrupted by another person or stopped of their own volition
Thursday, June 22, 2023
2-3 p.m. EST
Audience: All nursing facility staff
Duration: 60 minutes
Description:Healthcare staff have a deep intention to care for other human beings and with the principles of trauma-informed care, we can bring that intention to life. In this session, we’ll continue our exploration of TIC concepts including the difference between trauma screening and assessment, the impact of an activated nervous system, and how to integrate that knowledge into daily interactions with residents.
- Discuss trauma-informed principles and how they apply to resident interactions.
- Explain the impact of a nervous system response and the difference between a reaction and a response.
- Differentiate between trauma screening and trauma assessment and why this distinction is critical.
Tuesday, June 27, 2023
11–4:30 p.m. EST
Audience: All nursing facility staff
Duration: 5.5 hours
Description:This training provides skills to provide initial help and support to someone who may be developing a mental health or substance use challenge or experiencing a crisis. This session will provide a three-year certification to attendees.
Key components covered in the training:
- Common signs and symptoms of mental health challenges.
- Common signs and symptoms of substance use challenges.
- How to interact with a person in crisis.
- How to connect a person with help.
- Expanded content on trauma, substance use and self-care.
Part 1 starts AFTER initial registration has been APPROVED by the instructor. Approved registrants will be emailed instructions on how to create an on-line profile using MHFA Connect and completing a pre-survey/quiz followed by a 2-hour self-paced online course. Registrants MUST complete Part 1 no less than 48 hours (two business days) prior to the scheduled Part 2 session.
Part 2 is a 5.5-hour live instructor led virtual training. Participants are required to be on camera the entire time.
Part 3 participants will return to MHFA Connect to complete the post test and evaluation, required to receive a certificate of participation.
Certification Details: This session provides a MHFA certification for three years.
To register to attend the Mental Health First Aid training,
please email your name, email address, agency and training date to coeinfo@allianthealth.org two weeks prior to the date of interest.
Registration is limited to 15 participants.
A minimum of five (5) participants are required for the session to occur.
Thursday, June 29, 2023
2-2:30 p.m. EST
Audience:All nursing facility staff
Duration: 30 minutes
Description:A distinct increase in the diagnosis of opioid use disorder has been seen across the country in all medical settings such as skilled nursing facilities and other residential rehabilitation settings. Due to an increase in opioid use disorder, there's also been an increase in the number of aging patients with pain who have received opioids as prescribed by their physicians, as well as younger populations being admitted to facilities for rehabilitation. With this prevalence, it is imperative to treat opioid use disorder as any other chronic disease would be treated.
This training will be a series of three (3) 30-minute webinars, designed to:
1. Provide an understanding of the disease and the medicines used to treat opioid use disorder.
2. Explore various models, some of which have been utilized for decades, that have been successfully introduced and sustained.
3. Assist in identifying and collaborating with OUD treat providers within your local area.
Duration: 30 minutes
Description:A distinct increase in the diagnosis of opioid use disorder has been seen across the country in all medical settings such as skilled nursing facilities and other residential rehabilitation settings. Due to an increase in opioid use disorder, there's also been an increase in the number of aging patients with pain who have received opioids as prescribed by their physicians, as well as younger populations being admitted to facilities for rehabilitation. With this prevalence, it is imperative to treat opioid use disorder as any other chronic disease would be treated.
This training will be a series of three (3) 30-minute webinars, designed to:
1. Provide an understanding of the disease and the medicines used to treat opioid use disorder.
2. Explore various models, some of which have been utilized for decades, that have been successfully introduced and sustained.
3. Assist in identifying and collaborating with OUD treat providers within your local area.
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Contact us:
For more information, please call 1-844-314-1433 or email coeinfo@allianthealth.org.
To submit a request to inquire about substance use and/or mental health training options for your facility, complete the inquiry form.
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Alliant Health Solutions (AHS) was awarded a three-year cooperative agreement from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), in collaboration with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), to create a COE-NF. AHS has over 50 years of experience working with nursing homes and behavioral health in nursing homes.
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This newsletter was made possible by grant number 1H79SM087155 from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
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