WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Patrick J. Kennedy, former congressman and founder of The Kennedy Forum, which works to improve the system of mental health care and addiction, addressed more than 1,000 health and human services leaders from across the country this week at Netsmart CONNECTIONS2015, held at the Gaylord National Harbor Convention Center near Washington, D.C.
The co-founder of One Mind for Research also signed copies of his just-released memoir, “A Common Struggle: A Personal Journey through the Past and Future of Mental Illness and Addiction,” for conference attendees. A Common Struggle is #5 on the New York Times Best Sellers list.
“Patrick Kennedy’s tireless and dynamic advocacy for mental health is an inspiration to our client-providers who serve daily on the front lines of care,” said Netsmart CEO Mike Valentine.
Beyond telling Kennedy’s his own story, “A Common Struggle” seeks to create a roadmap for equality in the mental health community, and outlines a plan for the future of mental health policy.
“Patrick Kennedy shares Netsmart’s mission -- to positively impact the lives of our nation’s most vulnerable populations,” said Netsmart Executive Vice President, Kevin Scalia, leader of the keynote where Kennedy spoke. “We believe that a holistic, integrated approach is vital if our clients are to properly treat illnesses of the mind and body. We also agree that stigma is an obstacle to achieving that goal. As Patrick writes in his book, ‘We need to constantly remind people that this is a common struggle.’ ”
In addition to Kennedy, Scalia was joined in the keynote by Linda Rosenberg, president and CEO, National Council for Behavioral Health, and Matt Salo, executive director, National Association of Medicaid Directors.
Kennedy signed copies of “A Common Struggle” for conference attendees in the CONNECTIONS2015 Solutionarium, an innovative exhibit area where attendees got an up close and personal look at innovative solutions, and talked with experts on topics including coordinated care, mobile apps, consumer engagement, predictive analytics and population health management.
CONNECTIONS attendees include public and private sector mental health and addiction treatment organizations, social services and child and family health agencies, managed care organizations and public health departments.
About Netsmart
Netsmart is healthcare’s largest post-acute EHR provider, and is committed to helping health and human services providers deliver coordinated, integrated, outcomes-based services and care. Netsmart serves more than 20,000 clients across all 50 states, resulting in approximately 450,000 users of its software and technology solutions. Netsmart clients include mental health and addiction services agencies, health homes, psychiatric hospitals, private and group mental health practices, public health departments, social services and child and family services agencies, managed care organizations, and vital records offices.
Netsmart’s CareFabric™, a framework of innovative clinical and business solutions and services, supports integrated, coordinated delivery of health services across the spectrum of care.
Netsmart’s HIT Value Model™, a vendor-agnostic planning and measurement system, provides a path for health and human services organizations to evaluate where on the healthcare IT spectrum they should focus their efforts, the value associated with that strategic decision and a comparison with peer organizations nationwide.
Netsmart is pleased to support the EveryDay Matters Foundation, which was established for behavioral and public health organizations to learn from each other and share their causes and stories. For more information, visit www.everydaymatters.com
Learn more about how Netsmart is changing the face of healthcare today. Visit www.ntst.com, call 1-800-472-5509, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter, like us on Facebook or visit us on YouTube
CareFabric and HIT Value Model are trademarks of Netsmart Technologies, Inc.
