Letter from the PRA Chair

Dear PRA members:

It has been an exciting several months since we were together in Boston. As you know, Colleen Eubanks has moved into the position of CEO for our organization and is doing a wonderful job as our new leader. She is working closely with Casey Goldberg as our new COO to achieve our mission of “training and growing the recovery workforce and promoting wellness and recovery.”  Some of their work includes a major effort to update our database, planning for next year’s summit in conjunction with Beth Borsma and the Georgia Chapter, building a stronger relationship with National Council, and increasing support from sponsors. They are working very closely with myself and other members of the executive committee of the board.

This is an exciting time for the field of psychiatric rehabilitation. As health care reform moves forward, more states are moving from a reimbursement model of fee for service to the new models of at-risk contracts and managed care models. In short, this represents a major shift from a model which paid for people to be ill as opposed to a model which rewards getting and keeping people well. We, as members of PRA, have been dedicated to helping people have a full life in spite of a mental illness throughout our careers. We have a critical role to play in helping organizations make the shift to a model of care which promotes wellbeing. We have the expertise to provide the outcomes which will be valued in this new model. These outcomes include increased hope, increased social networks, engagement in meaningful activity such as employment and education, and increased sense of safety. We are positioned to become the leader for behavioral health in creating systems which provide services to create these positive outcomes. One example is that we have demonstrated how getting and keeping a job is the major factor in driving recovery and wellbeing through our supported employment programs. Our challenge is to continue to provide these services in a manner which demonstrates the value and to help behavioral health providers move to a true recovery focus for the people we serve. We plan to continue our public policy advocacy to support this effort.

In order to accomplish this goal, PRA needs to expand our alliances and partnerships. This includes our own State Chapters and Affiliates. It also includes strengthening relationships with other organizations with aligned goals. Primary examples include American Association of Occupational Therapists, the National Council, and the American Association of Community Psychiatry. We also need to expand the number of organizations which provide financial support for our efforts, including new sponsors such as Netsmart and Jansen. And, in the end, it is critical for our future that we expand our area of influence within community mental health centers to help them become recovery focused. For our own financial future, we need them as full partners and organizational members of PRA. This work is the challenge of the current leadership of PRA and of all of us as members of the organization.

The PRA and PRF boards met last week at our headquarter offices in the Washington DC area.  In addition we were joined by Harvey Rosenthal from NYAPRS and Lucinda Dei Rossi from CASRA and Ron Christensen and Jodi Smith from the Commission for some of the session.  The purpose of the two day meeting was to engage in a strategic discussion about PRA and our work.  It was an excellent session and I appreciate the hard work and energy all the participants put into thinking about PRA and our priorities.  We identified a number of areas in which we will focus and are currently in the process of planning committee charges and tasks.  We will update our membership as we move forward

In closing, thank you all for your continued support of the organization and you dedication to improving the lives of the people we serve.