FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SEPTEMBER 6, 2018
Contact: EMILY CHARLES, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 215-589-7183

Public Health Management Corporation Announces Chief Program Officer

Pam Mattel, former Acacia Network executive, tapped to lead PHMC’s extensive portfolio of public health programs and subsidiaries

PHILADELPHIA – Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC), a nonprofit public health institute that creates and sustains healthier communities, announced the addition of Pamela Mattel as the organization’s first Chief Program Officer. In this role, Mattel is responsible for PHMC’s vast network of health, human and social service programming, overseeing the coordination, integration and delivery of this work to enhance public health quality outcomes, maximize revenue, streamline participant experiences, and foster collaborative relationships across all areas.

“We couldn’t be more pleased to introduce Pam as our Chief Program Officer and welcome her to the PHMC family,” said Richard J. Cohen, PHMC President and CEO. “Pam has extensive and relevant experience in the field of primary and behavioral health care, social services and integrated care. Her deep understanding of effective service delivery and program management will be an incredible asset to PHMC’s operational and strategic leadership, and more than 3,000 employees working to improve health outcomes and serve our clients each day.”

Prior to joining PHMC, Mattel served as the Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer of Acacia Network, a leading Hispanic nonprofit with locations in New York, Florida and Puerto Rico, more than 3,000 staff and an annual operating budget of approximately $500 million. During her tenure, Mattel oversaw the Acacia Health Neighborhood, a comprehensive integrated continuum of care. The network includes seven Community Health Centers, 32 behavioral health care outpatient and residential treatment programs, a Medicaid certified health home, and a skilled nursing home for people living with HIV/AIDS. The program also included numerous federal, state and local HIV/AIDS grants, licensed day care and academic achievement after school programming, workforce development, and the transitional and supportive housing division with more than 4,700 housing units.

With more than 30 years of industry experience, Mattel has spearheaded several initiatives related to increased access and integrated behavioral and primary health care throughout her career. She also was an active participant on the New York State Medicaid Redesign Health Disparities and Social Determinants of Health Subcommittees, which proposed numerous recommendations, many already approved and enacted by the legislature. Mattel is a sought-after professor and has taught courses at Columbia, Hunter, and York College, and has served as an adjunct professor and faculty liaison for Adelphia University’s School of Social Work Master’s Program.

Mattel graduated from Columbia University with a Master’s in Social Work and holds certificates in several post-graduate programs. She received her undergraduate degree from University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Mattel’s addition as PHMC’s Chief Program Officer complements last year’s appointment of Lauren Lambrugo as the agency’s new Chief Operating Officer, leading PHMC’s shared service infrastructure functions. Together, these executive roles will work collaboratively with the leadership team to further PHMC’s mission, including strategic growth and programmatic integration in support of the organization’s funders, partners, and most importantly, communities served throughout the region and country.

About PHMC
Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC) is a nonprofit public health institute that creates and sustains healthier communities. PHMC uses best practices and evidence-based guidelines to improve community health through direct service, partnership, innovation, policy, research, technical assistance and a prepared workforce. PHMC has served the region since 1972. For more information on PHMC, visit www.phmc.org.

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JULY 17, 2018
Contact:
For Public Health Management Corporation
Emily Charles, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 215-589-7183

Public Health Management Corporation Celebrates Opening of Serenity Court
Serenity Court is Philadelphia’s first and only medical respite facility

PHILADELPHIA – Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC), a nonprofit public health institute that creates and sustains healthier communities, is pleased to announce the grand opening of Serenity Court, a medical respite facility for individuals experiencing homelessness. PHMC leaders were joined at the event by the City of Philadelphia’s Deputy Managing Director of Health and Human Services, Eva Gladstein; Hahnemann University Hospital Director of Case Management, Stephanie Puccia; and former respite center patient, John Littlejohn.

Serenity Court offers post-acute medical care to individuals experiencing homelessness who have been released from a hospital stay following an illness, surgery or an injury, and are too ill or frail to recover in a homeless shelter. Located at 1221 North 19th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19121, Serenity Court is a 7,900 square foot facility with capacity to serve 20 individuals, including both men and women. Serenity Court provides clients with a number of services, including medication management; discharge planning and care instructions; and appointment transportation and scheduling, in addition to connection to primary care and case management.

“We recognize the complex needs of our city's homeless population and understand that increased access to medical care, permanent housing and other critical services can have a profound impact on individuals in need," said David Dunbeck, Director of Homeless and Social Service Programs at PHMC. "With support from our hospital partners, the city’s Office of Homeless Services and Depaul USA, Serenity Court directly addresses a growing need in our city by providing homeless men and women a safe and secure place to recuperate from their medical condition. This important access to patient-centered medical and behavioral health care, and connection to relevant social services through case management and coordination, results in better health outcomes and a more sustainable future.”

Serenity Court’s hospital partners include Hahnemann University Hospital, Mercy Health Systems, Penn Presbyterian Hospital, Temple University Hospital, Jefferson University Hospital and Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Building on the success of the pilot respite program PHMC operated with Depaul USA in Germantown since 2014, Serenity Court’s new location expanded to serve both men and women and was further customized to meet the needs of the population, including those with mobility issues. During the four years of the pilot program that operated from March 2014 to April 2018, 155 individuals experiencing homelessness were admitted, with a typical length of stay of 10 days. Thirty-seven percent of discharged patients were released to permanent housing. Homeless patients served in medical respites like Serenity Court are less likely to be readmitted to a hospital, resulting in better health outcomes for the individual and cost savings for hospitals, insurance companies and the community.

“Serenity Court fills a critical gap in the continuum of services for people who are homeless,” said Eva Gladstein. “Unfortunately, many people have been forced to turn to shelters after being medically discharged and shelters are not equipped to support their medical and other needs. We thank PHMC for their community support and partnership by helping those who are most vulnerable make a healthier transition to stable housing.”

John Littlejohn, a former respite client who had been admitted as a homeless individual in 2017 after experiencing significant health complications, spoke about his experience. He expressed gratitude to the respite for allowing him to rest and heal in a safe environment, and for the help the facility and staff provided him in applying for Social Security benefits and connecting him to case management services. John now lives in an apartment.

On behalf of Hahnemann University Hospital, Stephanie Puccia thanked all those involved with Serenity Court and pledged Hahnemann's commitment to continued support and collaboration for many years to come. Through the “pilot phase” of respite, Stephanie added that it became clear that Serenity Court is a very valuable part of the continuum of care for patients experiencing homelessness.

Operating in partnership with Philadelphia’s Office of Homeless Services, PHMC’s hospital partners, and other providers, the respite program is coordinated through PHMC’s Mary Howard Health Center for the Homeless and provides comprehensive primary and behavioral health care and case management services. Serenity Court is part of the PHMC Health Care for the Homeless program, which provides high-quality, patient-centered care across the homeless continuum in the Philadelphia area, from those living on the street to those now securely housed.

Hospital referrals to Serenity Court will be accepted Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. by calling 215.684.3430.

About PHMC
Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC) is a nonprofit public health institute that creates and sustains healthier communities. PHMC uses best practices and evidence-based guidelines to improve community health through direct service, partnership, innovation, policy, research, technical assistance and a prepared workforce. PHMC has served the region since 1972. For more information on PHMC, visit www.phmc.org.

About PHMC Health Care for the Homeless
The PHMC Health Care for the Homeless program provides high-quality, trauma informed, patient-centered care for men, women and children experiencing homelessness and those at risk of homelessness. The program is coordinated with PHMC's Mary Howard Health Center for the Homeless and the entire PHMC health network, providing primary and behavioral health care and comprehensive social services to meet the complex needs of this vulnerable population.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 30, 2018
Contact: Veronica Mikitka Reed, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 215-434-7191

PHMC Community Health Data Base Launches 2018 Household Health Survey

Household Health Survey, a unique resource in Southeastern Pennsylvania gathers data to help inform health planning and decision-making

PHILADELPHIA – The Community Health Database (CHDB), housed at Public Health Management Corporation, is conducting its 15th Southeastern Pennsylvania Household Health Survey (HHS), a telephone survey of more than 10,000 households, now through October. As one of the longest-running household health surveys in the country, the HHS is a unique, valuable resource to Southeastern Pennsylvania communities and organizations. The HHS assesses the health and social wellbeing of residents in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties. Information is collected about health status, use of health services, access to care, and many other timely health issues, such as prescription opioid use, electronic cigarette use, childhood obesity, soda consumption, and mental health and wellbeing.

The HHS was launched in 1983, and since 1991, the survey has been conducted every two to three years. These repeated surveys provide a valuable opportunity to assess trends in health status, access to care, and behaviors in the Southeastern Pennsylvania region. Unlike other health surveys, which collect data at the state, county, city or metropolitan area, the HHS is conducted at a local geographic level, which supports the examination of patterns and health trends in neighborhoods and communities across the Southeastern Pennsylvania region.

“These data afford a rare opportunity to use a highly robust, data-driven approach to address matters of social justice and health equity across communities in Southeastern Pennsylvania. The survey offers an opportunity to learn about the experiences of Southeastern Pennsylvania residents on a whole host of health issues - everything from the ability to pay for health care, to accessibility of fresh fruits and vegetables in the community, to use and misuse of prescription pain medications” said Lisa Bond, Managing Director for PHMC’s research & Evaluation Group. “For almost two decades, local public health agencies, health systems and community organizations have used this invaluable resource to identify and prioritize health and social service needs in our region.”

The HHS is a critical resource for area health and social service agencies, including hospitals, local health departments, and community-based organizations, providing:

• Rich, local data on a multitude of health issues impacting residents of Southeastern PA
• Data that can be examined by census tract, neighborhood, health district, and zip code, as well as by county and region
• Longitudinal data that can be used to benchmark and measure changes over time

“The HHS is in the field now through the end of October,” said Mary Harkins-Schwarz, Director of The Community Health Database. “We encourage residents who receive a HHS call to take the survey. By taking part in the survey, residents help inform an understanding of the health assets and needs in the communities they live in,” said Mary Harkins-Schwarz. “We greatly value the contribution of those who participate in the HHS. This incredibly rich source of data is available because of the thousands of people from Southeastern Pennsylvania who agree to participate in the survey and talk about the health of their community.”

Take the call, share your insights, and #speakupforhealth!

For more information about the 2018 HHS, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. at 215-985-2082 or visit www.chdbdata.org.

About Community Health Database
Since 1983, the Community Health Database (CHDB), a program of the Research & Evaluation Group at Public Health Management Corporation's (PHMC’s) has served the information needs of health and human service agencies in the Southeastern Pennsylvania region by providing up-to-date and reliable community-level health and social service data. The CHDB implements one of the longest running regional Household Health Surveys in the country. The CHDB’s mission is to drive data-led community impact for the well-being of the community. For more information, visit chdbdata.org

About PHMC’s Research & Evaluation Group
The Research & Evaluation Group at Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC) is dedicated to addressing disparities and inequities in health, social services, and education in order to improve the wellbeing of communities. Through applied evaluation, research, technical assistance, and advocacy and policy work, we support data-informed improvements to programs and systems across the U.S. The R&E Group leads the CHDB program. For more information, visit www.phmcresearch.org

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April 4, 2018
Contact:
Veronica Mikitka Reed, For PHMC,
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 215-434-7194

Public Health Management Corporation Addressing Opioid Epidemic Through Advocacy, Research, Integrated Care and Evidence-Based Treatment
One of the nation’s leaders in public health tackles opioid and substance abuse

PHILADELPHIA, PA—Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC), a nonprofit public health institute that creates and sustains healthier communities, is working to address one of the leading public health issues in the country, the opioid epidemic, through advocacy, research, integrated care and evidence-based treatment approaches. During National Public Health Week, April 2-8, PHMC delves into the impact this work is having across the Southeastern Pennsylvania region and beyond.

“As one of the largest public health institutes in the country, PHMC continuously looks for ways to collaborate and partner to improve public health in our local communities,” said Richard J. Cohen, PHMC’s President and CEO. “Philadelphia has one of the highest opioid death rates of any large U.S. city. We recognize that as the crisis continues to build, so too must our response. PHMC is addressing the issue head-on across multiple fronts, combining our expertise in research, advocacy, prevention and treatment with our focus on providing integrated health, human and social services to individuals and families that result in positive, life-changing impacts. Across the United States, 23 million people are living in long-term recovery, made possible through access to the right types of treatment and a network of support for each individual.”

With more than 350 programs, a family of subsidiary organizations and various partnerships with government, foundations, businesses and community-based organizations, PHMC has consistently served diverse populations across the Southeastern Pennsylvania region since 1972. PHMC maintains a continuum of public health programs serving individuals from early childhood to adulthood, integrating services to impact every household in Philadelphia.

In 2017, more than 1,200 people fatally overdosed in Philadelphia. Nationally, 42,249 died from overdosing on opioids –116 people per day, and 2.1 million had an Opioid Use Disorder (OUD), a specific type of Substance Use Disorder (SUD). According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA), of the 20.2 million adults with a SUD, 7.9 million people had a co-occurring mental health disorder, further emphasizing the need for integrated, holistic approaches to prevention, treatment and recovery.

Here is a closer look at how PHMC has been addressing SUD, particularly the rise of opioid use, as well as co-occurring mental health disorders, through advocacy, research, integration of care and treatment programs:

Advocating for equity
PHMC has joined five of the nation’s leading advocacy organizations for effective enforcement of The Mental Health Parity Act, legislation requiring annual or lifetime dollar limits on mental health benefits to be equal to medical benefits through the Parity10 campaign. The organizations share a vision and longstanding collaboration to increase public access to practical, effective services, and tools and policies to prevent, treat and support long-term recovery.

Better research for long-term improvement
In 2017, Treatment Research Institute (TRI) merged into PHMC’s Research and Evaluation Group (R&E Group), expanding and strengthening PHMC’s position as a research leader in the area of SUDs. PHMC’s R&E Group now leads a number of opioid-focused projects, including:

• The State of Ohio recently set aside $11 million to sustain and expand programs that provide addiction treatment, including Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) to non-violent adult offenders with OUD, alcohol use disorder, or both who are entering drug courts throughout the state. These programs are required to conduct evaluations. PHMC’s R&E Group developed a robust program for supporting jurisdictions’ efforts to integrate MAT into their practices as part of federal funding requirements. Over the next two years, the team will advance efforts to examine the efficacy of using MAT with drug court clients, as well as conduct an evaluation of a pilot mental health court program in the state.
• The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) is funding research to compare two options for OUD. OUD patients from two large Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) in Philadelphia and two in Washington D.C. will receive either a standard care referral to local community programs or the PATH program – Personalized Addiction Treatment to Health model – which is integrated into existing primary care with onsite, integrated OUD treatment. This project will assess the effectiveness of providing a personalized and comprehensive alternative for OUDs and help patients make decisions about what type of OUD treatment is most effective for them as compared to a more traditional treatment protocol.

Seeing the whole person: Integrating treatment and care
OUD is a chronic disease and PHMC works to treat it as such through an approach that integrates physical and mental health care, providing quality clinical treatment for the whole individual.

PHMC’s health network comprises six FQHCs providing high-quality health care to individuals of all ages regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay. PHMC clinicians provide more than 60,000 medical and behavioral health visits to 16,000 patients each year.

PHMC health network’s Center for Excellence provides a program of coordinated care in PHMC’s FQHCs across the city. The program uses a Community Based Care Management (CBCM) team of social workers and care managers to help individuals with OUD access a variety of services to support them in their recovery. By acting as recovery support and social service navigators, the CBCM team assists patients in developing care plans and connects them to resources and treatment options so they do not fall out of care. Monitoring and supporting an individual’s overall recovery during and after treatment is just as important as the treatment itself. Ensuring that recovery becomes a part of the continuum of care plan is essential.

Treatment resources
For more than 45 years, PHMC has been providing direct services to individuals and families in and around Philadelphia. Among those services has been a focus on treatment and recovery for people with SUDs. Here are two highlights from PHMC’s service offering:

Pathways to Recovery (PTR) is PHMC’s intensive, trauma-focused program for individuals with substance use and mental health disorders that serves approximately 350 individuals per year; all of whom are low income and all of whom are Philadelphia County residents. PTR is the first and only partial hospitalization program in Philadelphia for this population, engaging highly vulnerable individuals struggling with both substance use and mental health disorders in order to provide stability and assist them in their recovery. PTR employs multiple evidence-based approaches, including MATs, cognitive behavioral therapy, contingency management, family, group and individual therapy to help the person recover holistically from substance use.

Chances is PHMC’s outpatient substance use treatment program for women and women with children. The program provides comprehensive therapeutic, education and support services, including individual and group therapy, MATs, parenting and adult education. Chances also provides on-site services for children, including structured child-parent play, educational activities, and an on-site day care program.

Interim House, Inc. and Interim House West are residential treatment programs providing a continuum of comprehensive services. Interim House, Inc. offers three levels of care to women with substance and alcohol use disorders – residential treatment, intensive outpatient treatment and outpatient counseling. The program uses an approach that focuses on the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual issues surrounding addiction. Interim House West is a residential treatment program for pregnant and parenting women with substance use and mental health disorders, and their children. Participants are offered a range of services including individual and group therapy, MATs, and parent and adult education. Services for children include an on-site pre-school, structured parent child-play, and after school programming.

The Bridge is a residential substance abuse treatment program for adolescents and an outpatient program for people of all ages. The Bridge, managed by PHMC subsidiary Turning Points for Children, runs an E-3 Program and the Bridge Intensive Prevention Services Program, helping youth with high risk behaviors, including substance use, secure their GED, find jobs and provide them with afterschool supports.

Click here for a snapshot of PHMC’s response to the opioid crisis.

About PHMC
Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC) is a nonprofit public health institute that creates and sustains healthier communities. PHMC uses best practices and evidence-based guidelines to improve community health through direct service, partnership, innovation, policy, research, technical assistance and a prepared workforce. PHMC has served the region since 1972. For more information on PHMC, visit www.phmc.org.

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