Report from National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare Conference

Last week I attended the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare's 40th Annual Conference, along with approximately 15 representatives from ABH member organizations. The conference was three days of jam-packed plenary sessions and workshops. It was a great opportunity to hear from leaders from across the country on such issues as national health care reform, returning war veterans struggling with behavioral health disorders, integration of care, and payment reform.

Former Governor, presidential candidate and MD, Howard Dean, gave a very insightful speech about the politics and substance of health care reform. Trained as a primary care provider, Governor Dean spoke eloquently about the need to better align incentives for the integration of primary and behavioral health care. He clearly sees payment reform as a promising vehicle to accomplish this task.

A few folks from Massachusetts joined me at a riveting and moving session led by Marshele Waddell, the wife of retired Navy Seal Commander Mark Waddell. Mrs. Waddell spoke movingly of her husband's struggles with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after repeated deployments to Iraq and of the tremendous impact his struggles had on her and their children. Both Marshele and Mark now work with their local community mental health center in Colorado to help other veterans and their families confront the difficulties many veterans experience returning from war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan.

On a lighter note, I was honored to be joined by ABH board members Kathy Wilson and Norma Finkelstein, along with ABH Senior Director of Public Policy and Research Stephanie Hirst, in accepting an award for Excellence in Grassroots Advocacy at the Gala event on Tuesday night of the conference. ABH was recognized with this national award for our work in organizing and leading the Coalition for Addiction Prevention Treatment and Recovery and our successful effort to repeal the sales tax exemption on alcohol sold in stores. It was very exciting for ABH to be recognized in front of our colleagues from about the nation.