Matt Bane Shares Lived Experience in NAMI Keynote Session
Matt Bane was recently invited to speak at the 21st Annual NAMI Indiana Mental Health and Criminal Justice Summit on his personal recovery journey and the importance of peer support roles.
Perry Township Education Foundation Grant to Support “Summer SEL-ebration” in May
Adult & Child’s School Based Service Line recently received exciting news about new funding to engage Perry Township Students leading up to the summer months. Adult & Child’s Miranda Mellendorf, School Based SEL Specialist, worked in collaboration with Glenns Valley Elementary School Social Worker, Amanda Craig, to apply for a Perry Township Education Foundation Grant. This is a competitive in-district grant that selects projects to fund within Perry Township Schools to create innovative ways to support students. Pictured during the check presentation are Glenns Valley Elementary Principal, Dave Rohl; PTEF Executive Director, Mary Blake; GVE SEL Specialist, Miranda Mellendorf; GVE Social Worker, Amanda Craig; GVE Assistant Principal, Lindsay Smith; PTEF Secretary, Monica Ponce; and SEL Team Lead, Jaymee Cummings. Grant funds will support a “Summer SEL-ebration” family night at Glenns Valley Elementary School in May. The event will be free of charge and guests will be able to enjoy activities such as tie dyeing, flower planting, a gratitude banner, a physical movement station, a collaborative sticker mosaic, slime, and more.
Promoting employee mental health with the HOPE Taskforce
The compassion and grace that comes naturally for many staff when working with clients is essential to the work done at A&C. But it doesn’t stop with the clients—it’s also essential to the relationships forged between colleagues. That’s why Matt Bane, Behavioral Health Liaison, wanted to make a change when he started sensing some negative biases surrounding his openness about his mental health and struggles he was going through. His desire to make a difference came to fruition through his involvement in New Employee Orientations (NEOs), where he had the opportunity to talk with new staff with full transparency and set the expectation that A&C would be a place that they could be wholly seen and heard. “I usually tell everyone a little bit about my story before I start the training. I let them know that I was a client with Adult & Child before joining the team and that it’s because of A&C that I am here where I am today, living the sober journey,” Matt said. “Being that vulnerable, staff were starting to reach out to me afterwards.” Matt naturally became a listening ear to a lot of staff members who had questions about anything from sobriety to mental health and many things in between. Annika Chosnik, Skills Development Specialist, was one of those staff members who connected with Matt. They shared a pivotal conversation about facing stigma surrounding mental health issues while working in behavioral health. Knowing that A&C staff wear a lot of different hats and don’t have much extra time to spare, they believed that there should still be a space for staff to access compassion and understanding. “There should be some time to sit down and talk with one another, be vulnerable, talk through things we’re going through at work or at home, be supportive of one another, and share lived experiences and resources,” Matt explained. “If we can take just an hour once a month in our busy schedules to sit and talk about these things, it makes a huge difference.” From these conversations, the H.O.P.E. Taskforce was born. The foundation of the taskforce is a monthly meeting, split into two sessions, where members receive a presentation on a mental health topic and then have a safe space to talk openly. After Matt’s ideas started taking shape around early fall of 2022, he presented the Taskforce to Clinical Council and was met with positivity and encouragement. The employee sessions officially launched in January of 2023 and due to their success, an additional cohort for Team Leaders, led by Christina Ladd, Team Leader, was launched in June. What began with just Annika and Matt has grown to nearly 75 members, with an average of 24 attendees over the two meeting sessions each month. In the Taskforce’s early days, each meeting mainly focused on the presentation. As Taskforce members have grown more comfortable, the meetings have evolved and become more conversational. For Matt, one of the most rewarding parts of the taskforce is seeing how it’s grown. “More staff are understanding that it’s not just an hour to come and learn about a self-care topic,” he said. “We’re getting to know more about one another and it’s highly beneficial in a working environment. It’s continuing to grow, and we get to see members branch off and do their own thing or get inspired.” Maybe even more rewarding, though, is the Taskforce’s potential to influence others beyond A&C. When Matt talks to outside providers about the Taskforce, he says that they’re excited to ask questions and learn more. “We are an organization that I truly feel wants to be known in the community by other organizations. We want them to look and see ‘A&C is doing this; how is it that you’re doing it so successfully?’ The goal is for it to be a structured thing that we can help others implement to empower staff, allow vulnerability, and help employee retention.” The H.O.P.E. Taskforce has created a space for employees and leaders to talk about their struggles, free of judgement and stigma. Matt hopes it can also stand as an example and as proof to others that anyone with an idea can impact change at A&C. “I’m a huge brainstormer. One of the amazing things about this agency and about my team is that I can go to them with some of the most far-fetched brainstorm ideas,” Matt said. “I would highly encourage anyone who does have an idea to find someone to listen and to guide you.”
Adult & Child Health CEO Allen Brown Announces Retirement
Indianapolis, IN – After nine years working devotedly as the President and CEO for Indiana integrated healthcare provider Adult & Child Health (A&C), Allen Brown is set to retire at the end of March 2024. During his tenure as CEO, Brown has led A&C through many projects and positive changes that will continue to have a profound impact on the Indianapolis community and the organization’s 600 employees. Brown joined A&C in December 2014 with a vision to be the state’s leading provider of whole-person healthcare and played a crucial role in the organization’s growth as a prominent safety net organization in central Indiana. A&C started providing primary care services in 2016, earned FQHC look-alike designation in 2017, and currently operates four integrated healthcare clinics in the south Indianapolis area. A&C services have also expanded in the areas of mental health counseling, addictions treatment, and housing resources for persons experiencing homelessness. Under Brown’s leadership the organization has nearly doubled its annual revenue and has tripled the number of people served each year. Brown also championed A&C’s early adoption of the Certified Community Behavioral Health Center (CCBHC) model, which is designed to increase access to care and crisis services for the community’s most vulnerable residents. A&C has been at the forefront of this movement in the state of Indiana and was recently selected as one of eight Indiana community mental health centers to serve as a proposed pilot site in the Division of Mental Health and Addictions (DMHA) application for a federal CCBHC Demonstration Project. Additionally, A&C plans to open a Behavioral Health Crisis Center at the organization’s south Indianapolis clinic in late March of 2024. Under the CCBHC model of care, crisis centers located within the community play a prominent role in assuring individuals have timely access to services when urgent needs arise, helping to decrease unnecessary emergency room visits and jail incarcerations. “Allen is a skilled team builder and has had a knack for finding ways to help our organization achieve its goals,” said A&C Board President Tom Gaunt. “He has led our organization into a new era with a masterful vision for how we can be more effective moving forward, which is a win-win for Adult and Child and the people we serve. He will be dearly missed.” While a CEO successor has not yet been named, A&C has forged a partnership with Missouri-based Brightli, Inc. – the nation’s fourth-largest nonprofit behavioral health organization by total revenue. The partnership will significantly increase financial and system support resources available to Adult & Child Health, for the benefit of underserved persons with behavioral health and primary care needs. The partnership has been approved by each company’s board and is anticipated to be finalized in coming weeks pending regulatory approval. A public signing and press conference will be announced upon partnership closing, which is expected in Spring 2024. “I am going to miss Adult and Child Health and I’m deeply grateful for the support, trust, and collaboration I’ve received. It has been an honor to serve as CEO and I know even greater things lie ahead for this remarkable organization,” said Mr. Brown.
