Announcements

Message from ABH's New President and CEO, Lydia D. Conley
July 1, 2019

Dear ABH Members:
I am honored and humbled to have been chosen by the ABH Board of Directors to lead the Association in the coming years to build on our tremendous legacy of achievement. I have had the great privilege of working as part of Vic DiGravio’s team to ensure successful implementation of two landmark pieces of legislation: Chapter 257, which established a more transparent, uniform process for the establishment of rates for social and human services, and Chapter 258, which ensures greater access to substance use disorder treatment with fewer barriers. I look forward to working with our partners at the Association of Developmental Disabilities Providers, the Providers’ Council, and the Children’s League of Massachusetts on the ongoing implementation of Chapter 257, which now includes a commitment from the Executive Office of Health and Human Services to move away from the Uniform Financial Report (UFR) for salary benchmarks.

We have also worked very closely with state government to ensure that community-based behavioral healthcare was a central component of MassHealth payment and care delivery reform. We saw for the first time the institution of behavioral health floor rates, in many cases with increases, across Medicaid plans. Due in part to ABH’s advocacy, the Commonwealth is investing hundreds of millions of dollars directly into community-based provider organizations through the Behavioral Health Community Partner program.

Behavioral health is being prioritized like at no other time in recent memory. The Commonwealth has appropriated new resources for DMH Adult Community Clinical Services; adopted a more expansive approach to telehealth for behavioral health in Medicaid; created a Statewide Investments program that makes student loan repayment and other recruitment incentives
available to behavioral health providers for the first time; and directed that commercial insurers live up to their responsibility to cover intermediate levels of behavioral healthcare for children and adolescents. ABH will continue to advocate for new resources and new policies that make it possible for providers to deliver the highest-quality services and make it easier for individuals and families to access care when needed.

I spent my early career learning about community-based mental health and addiction treatment services working for Betty Funk, President and CEO of ABH’s predecessor organization. In my early roles, I learned that smaller initiatives can be just as vital as sweeping programs to provider stabilization and to staff morale. Over the past year, we have worked closely with MassHealth to return approximately $375,000 in unfair retroactive recoupments to providers, and are on track to
return another $220,000 over the coming weeks. Earlier this year, we also successfully advocated for the elimination of antiquated regulatory restrictions on Psychiatric Day Treatment programs. ABH will continue to prioritize efforts like these as we move forward.

Too often, individuals, particularly children and families, cannot access the services they need in a reasonable time and they are challenged in finding the right service. In virtually every discussion about existing services or new initiatives, the workforce crisis surfaces as a significant barrier. The behavioral health workforce is incredibly dedicated to delivering quality, accessible
care to the people we serve, but vacancies are high and the workforce pipeline into community-based behavioral health organizations is tenuous. One of our top priorities moving ahead will be working with our advocacy and governmental partners on the issues of workforce recruitment and retention.

While we work with the Executive Office of Health and Human Services as it embarks on an ambitious ambulatory behavioral health treatment system design, we will advocate for increased state investment and a more responsive regulatory framework to create an improved behavioral health treatment system, one that is responsive to the needs of individuals and families and that better integrates behavioral health and primary care.

The ABH staff is a small but impressive team, and I am excited to continue to work with them. 

  • Connie Peters, Vice President for Addiction Treatment Services. Connie is ABH’s longest-serving staff member, and she remains ABH’s primary representative for community-based provider organizations that deliver services to people with substance use disorders, staffing numerous services committees and providing advocacy leadership.
  • Mandy Gilman, Senior Director of Public Policy and Strategic Initiatives. Mandy will continue to support the development and implementation of advocacy strategies related to state and federal budgets, legislation, regulations, programs and other initiatives, including workforce issues and the intersection of criminal justice and behavioral health.
  • Megan Thompson, Director of Payment and Care Delivery Innovations. Effective July 1st, Megan will begin to transition from her role as Director of Children’s Behavioral Health and Member Services into a new role. She will work on payment and care delivery policy and implementation, including Behavioral Health Community Partners, and will support members in the movement toward value-based purchasing and care.
  • Stuart Figueroa, Public Policy and Research Specialist. Stuart supports ABH’s public policy and advocacy initiatives, including workforce issues and health equity, and he is staff point on our state budget analysis. He is also responsible for working on operational issues associated with Medicaid products/payers.
  • Ellen Caliendo, Business Manager. Ellen has been with ABH since 2004 when she helped restructure ABH’s accounting, payroll and information technology system. Ellen’s current responsibilities include bookkeeping, membership billing, and managing all major aspects of ABH's operations and event logistics.

In addition, we are in the process of recruiting for two reconfigured positions:

  • Vice President for Youth and Adult Mental Health. The individual hired into this position will help develop an agenda that meets ABH’s mission, focusing on state-contracted mental health services for children, youth, and adults.
  • Member Engagement and Support Coordinator. The individual in this position will serve as an ABH ambassador to members and other stakeholders as well as providing office administrative support. The individual will coordinate ABH events with our Business Manager and improve ABH’s ability to meet member training and event needs.

I am proud of what we have all accomplished working together these past few years and look forward to working with you on the challenges ahead. I will be reaching out to every ABH member to hear your thoughts on the issues facing us in the months and years ahead. In the meantime, please feel free to reach out to me at [email protected] or 508.647.8385.

Sincerely,
Lydia D. Conley
President/CEO

ABH Announces Vice President for Mental Health Lydia D. Conley Elevated to President and CEO

The Association for Behavioral Healthcare (ABH), the statewide organization for community-based mental health and addiction services providers, today announced that ABH’s vice president for mental health, Lydia D. Conley, will assume the role of President and CEO, succeeding Vic DiGravio, as of July 1, 2019.

For two decades, Conley has worked in the government and non-profit sectors, helping to shape public policy that has established Massachusetts as perhaps the nation’s most progressive provider of behavioral health services and insurance coverage for mental health and addiction treatment.

“The board unanimously agreed that Lydia was the ideal choice to lead ABH in the coming years,” said Diane Gould, chair of ABH’s board of directors and president and CEO of Advocates, Inc. “Lydia is one of the most highly respected and knowledgeable advocates in the nation for organizations serving individuals with behavioral health needs. We are thrilled that
she has accepted the challenge of leading ABH.”

In her role as vice president, Conley has worked closely with state and federal officials to advocate for equitable reimbursement to support the ability of ABH member organizations to continue to deliver high quality services to individuals living with mental health and/or substance use disorders.

From 2008-2014, Conley worked as policy director and assistant commissioner at the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance, to plan, implement and evaluate programs designed to assist individuals to obtain training and skills for employment.

From 2000-2008, Conley worked at ABH’s predecessor organization, the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Corporations of Massachusetts, in various policy positions. She rejoined ABH in 2014.“I am excited to assume this new role with ABH and continue working with community-based behavioral health providers and the Commonwealth to improve the lives of men, women and children living with mental health and addiction disorders,” Conley said. “We have made a great deal of progress, but every year, every month, and every day we learn new lessons about how to better provide essential services, and when and where people need them.”“We are extremely pleased that Lydia has agreed to lead ABH,” said DiGravio, who has served as president and CEO for 12 years. “Lydia iswell respected by ABH members, the staff, and policymakers and legislators who will continue to benefit from her expertise. ABH is in great hands.”Conley, a native and current resident of Framingham, began her career as a legislative aide in the office of former State Representative John Stefanini of Framingham. She is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and holds a JD degree from New England School of Law. 

Message from Vic DiGravio, ABH President and CEO

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

I am writing to let you know that I have decided to leave my position as President/CEO of ABH when my current contract expires this summer. June will mark the end of my twelfth year leading ABH. While it has been a great twelve years I believe the time is right for me to pursue other professional opportunities.

Working at ABH and representing the interests of our broad and diverse membership has been a privilege. I am very proud of the work the ABH staff does every day on behalf of our members.

The ABH Board of Directors has appointed a Search Committee to assist the Board in identifying and hiring ABH’s next leader. They will be sharing more details on the search as information becomes available.

There will plenty of time in the coming months to celebrate all that ABH has achieved over the past twelve years and to thank everyone who has been so critical to our success. In the meantime, however, I do want to acknowledge and thank our Board, our members, and ABH’s remarkable staff for all of the support they have provided me in this role to date.

We have plenty of work ahead of us and I look forward during my remaining time at ABH to working with you to serve our members and expand access to community-based behavioral health services.

Thank you.

Vic