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Webinar | Behavioral Health in Ohio: Improving Data, Moving Toward Racial & Ethnic Equity
June 21, 2023 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm MDT
How can data be more effectively used to advance racial and ethnic equity in behavioral health care?
Since early 2022, a multi-organizational collaborative team with expertise in advocacy, policy, research, and organizational transformation have worked together to improve behavioral health for Ohio’s marginalized racial and ethnic populations. Their work products include a series of research reports analyzing the opportunities and recommendations for change. To date, the collaborative has produced two reports, the first presenting the big picture around racial and ethnic equity and behavioral health as an introduction to the topic; the second report focuses on the workforce, featuring a breakdown of the racial and ethnic composition of Ohio’s behavioral health providers and recommendations for improvement in data collection, policy, diversity in education, and more. Two final reports are in-process and will focus on treatment and funding.
Join us to learn how you might replicate this in your own communities, including rationale for use of data to advance racial and ethnic equity, how to create a team structure and work processes to gather and analyze data, and the ways in which the findings are already making an impact in Ohio.
This event is open to all!
When: June 21 at 12:00pm PT / 1:00pm MT / 2:00pm CT / 3:00pm ET
Presenters:
Dr. Cory E. Cronin | Associate Professor, Ohio University
Joan M. Englund Executive Director | Mental Health & Addiction Advocacy Coalition (MHAC)
Dr. Berkeley Franz | Associate Professor, Community-based Health, Ohio University
Tracy Maxwell Heard | Executive Director, Multiethnic Advocates for Cultural Competence, Inc. (MACC)
Dr. Omesh Johar | Associate Professor of Psychology, Central State University
Tracy Plouck | Assistant Clinical Professor, Ohio University
Presenter Information
Dr. Cory E. Cronin is an associate professor in Ohio University’s Department of Social and Public Health and director of the Appalachian Institute to Advance Health Equity Science. He received his PhD in medical sociology from Case Western Reserve University, and he has also earned a Master of Health Services Administration from Xavier University. Dr. Cronin has expertise in health care delivery and health care policy, and his research largely focuses on using quantitative data and administrative records to explore population health issues. He has particular interest in how health care organizations, policy, and environment promote or detract from health and health care access, and has published on a range of topics related to hospital community benefit efforts.
Joan M. Englund is the Executive Director of the Mental Health & Addiction Advocacy Coalition (“MHAC”) and has served in that position since February 2003. The MHAC is comprised of over 130 organizations around the state of Ohio, including: behavioral health agencies serving both adults and children, health and human service agencies, the faith-based community, government and advocacy organizations, major medical institutions, and the corporate arena. The MHAC fosters education and awareness of mental health and addiction issues while advocating for public policies and strategies that support effective, well-funded services, systems and supports for those in need, resulting in stronger Ohio communities. As the MHAC Executive Director, Ms. Englund has advocated extensively at the local and state levels regarding behavioral health public policy issues. Additionally, she provides administrative and strategic support for MHAC membership and leadership, working with consultants and local and statewide organizations and coalitions to achieve MHAC goals.
Dr. Berkeley Franz is a medical sociologist and health services researcher whose research and teaching focus on health disparities, population health, and substance use. Dr. Franz is Associate Professor of Community-based Health at the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, in Athens, Ohio and Osteopathic Heritage Foundation Ralph S. Licklider, D.O. Endowed Faculty Fellow in Behavioral Health.
Tracy Maxwell Heard is the Executive Director of Multiethnic Advocates for Cultural Competence, Inc. (MACC). MACC is the premier statewide organization offering cultural competence education and training for behavioral health and healthcare systems, non-profit organizations, educational institutions, businesses and other organizations interested in creating equity and addressing disparity. Heard has an extensive background in leadership roles. She is the former Minority Leader in the Ohio House of Representatives having given eight years of legislative service. In her professional life, she has served as a regional corporate sales manager to card carrying UAW member, news anchor and non-profit executive director.
Dr. Omesh Johar works as an Associate Professor of Psychology at Central State University. He is a social psychologist with research interests in social comparison, emotional experiences, self-image, and health disparities. At Central State, he teaches courses such as research methods, social psychology, and statistics. He has also served as the Interim Chair of the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences.
Tracy Plouck is an Assistant Clinical Professor at Ohio University, where she works to support the Ohio Alliance for Population Health and cross-college health initiatives. As a part of this effort, Tracy works with local communities throughout the state to build population health capacity. From 2011 to 2018, Tracy was Director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. During that time she also served as President of the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors and as Vice Chair of the Council of State Governments’ Justice Center. For more than 20 years, Tracy held a variety of leadership roles for the State of Ohio, having served twice as the state’s Medicaid Director and also deputy director of both the Ohio Office of Budget and Management and the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities.
