Page 9 - Healthcare Heroes 2021 Program Guide
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                 of services has expanded, with more than 80 programs that help people tackle some of life’s toughest problems — often in ways that other agencies hadn’t considered.
“We provide a combination of different types of services,” Goodwin said. “Many can be identified
experience in other fields. “One of the good things about CHD is you don’t have to leave to try something new.”
But those connections between clinical and non-clinical supports poses a constant challenge to come up with new ideas and approaches, he added. “You have to be creative.”
Take, for example, Innovative Care Partners (ICP), which is a collaboration between CHD
(the managing partner), Gándara Center, and ServiceNet designed to better serve clients in the MassHealth program for their behavioral-health needs. ICP’s care coordinators connect clients with other members of the healthcare-delivery system, including hospitals, primary care, and other providers, across the four Western Mass. counties to help ensure they’re getting needed services without duplication or inefficiencies.
“We get people to follow a set of services that speaks to their behavioral-health needs,” he said, which might include medication, psychiatry, or counseling, but the program also focuses on the factors that get people into health trouble, such as poor nutrition, high levels of anxiety and stress, and high blood pressure.
“Together, primary-care health professionals sign off on a comprehensive plan that speaks to the full range of their needs,” Goodwin explained. “That’s a change. There used to be walls between mental- health services and medical services. Everybody knew that didn’t make any sense, but until recently, it never became a focus of attention.”
Learning Experiences
Needless to say, the Center for Human Development has had a challenging 18 months navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. With 850 residential mental-health beds and thousands of clients accessing outpatient care, there was plenty of learning on the fly — especially when it came to telehealth — but everyone came through to continue meeting the needs that drew Goodwin to CHD 42 years ago, and plenty of others.
“We’re proud of our impact, and that includes our economic impact,” he said. “We provide local jobs, and our people are spending money in their local communities, buying homes ... a lot of things are happening because they’re here and CHD is paying them. I think we contribute to the economy in a big way.”
But the main impact remains those individual lives that are changed — albeit sometimes very slowly.
“My goal from the very beginning was to have an agency people would be proud to work for and feel good about what they’re doing,” he said, admitting that the work can be tough, navigating thorny issues like homelessness, drug addiction, and young people in trouble with the law.
“That can be very difficult for the workforce,” he added. “But overall, it’s also very rewarding. It’s the type of work you can be proud of and see accomplishment.” n
determinants of health and tackling the root causes of issues — that sets CHD apart, but it’s not easy work, Goodwin said. “Some days, it can be very difficult, but when you look at the whole picture, most days I’m really glad we’ve taken all that on.”
It also cultivates an organization with career mobility, he added, as employees can move around and take on different roles as they gain
HEALTHCARE HEROES OF WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS
   “My goal
from the very beginning was to have an agency people would be proud to work for and feel good about what ” they’re doing.
as a mental-health problem
or a substance-use problem, but it’s often tied in with other things, especially all
the things associated with poverty, joblessness, and homelessness. Many times, especially in the past, agencies would take on one component or the other; they might provide homelessness services or mental-health services. But we’ve been able to combine lots of different services to create a bigger package that does the full scope of things.”
It’s those connections — recognizing the role of social
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  OCTOBER 2021 A9
  2021 HEALTHCARE HEROES
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