Summit 2012

Healthy Supports, Healthy Communities:
Improving the Health of Communities Through Social Supports

March 21 – 23, 2012
Frances Marion Hotel, Charleston, SC

Program Highlights
Transitions and transformations…that is what health care is all about.  We are moving from an individual perspective to a focus on the collective power of people living, learning, working, and healing together. The enormous potential of community and social support is the focus of our exciting 2012 Summit to be held in beautiful Charleston, South Carolina.

On March 21 – 23, 2012, thought leaders from mental health, substance use, and the broader health care field will come together in Charleston to address three contemporary and compelling questions:

• What impact do social supports have on the health of a community?
• How can these supports change a community’s social determinants of health?
• What are the implications of these changes for the prevention, treatment, and recovery of people with behavioral health problems?

We are challenged to raise awareness and achieve greater consensus among leaders about the social factors that affect health, particularly behavioral health. The need to act to improve the health of all Americans is essential. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission to Build a Healthier America has delivered two telling statements:

•  “Where we live, learn, work and play can have a greater impact on how long and how well we live than medical care.”
•  “The health of America depends on the health of all Americans. Despite enormous investment, America is not achieving its full health potential.”

This can be seen most clearly among those struggling with issues related to mental health and substance use.

Health is about far more than medical care. Education, income, housing, nutrition, and the neighborhoods in which we live influence individual health and welfare. Many people do not have the same opportunities to make healthy choices. Barriers are difficult to overcome and harnessing the societal pressure necessary to drive change remains an enormous challenge. Rather than staying focused only on reforming health care – which is essential – we must broaden our view and find ways to help all people lead healthy, productive, and fulfilling lives.

At this ACMHA Summit we will address how social supports – emotional, tangible, informational, and instrumental – enhance health in any community, be it a neighborhood, workplace, school, or virtual network. Learning from one another and hearing from stimulating speakers about how to effectively create change to promote health, we will engage in dialogue centered on promoting health by taking action outside the traditional realm of programs and treatment. We will address what steps need to be taken by whom in the community to get started, how efforts are sustained, and what kind of leadership is needed to do collaborative community work. Join us and give voice to provocative ideas and foster breakthrough thinking that will help each us harness the power of community action to improve the behavioral health of individuals and families across this country.

The Format
What’s your favorite part of an ACMHA Summit? If you are like many people, you are thinking “the chats with colleagues between sessions.” Too often, conferences are a lot of talking heads and not enough talking colleagues. The 2012 Summit flips the usual conference model on its head and structures work around the dynamism of the coffee break.

We will spend Summit in “community work sessions,” punctuated by a handful of stimulating speakers. Discussion facilitators will create space for critical conversations on developing social supports in communities, improving community health, and the “fit” for behavioral health in communities. With this format, participants have the freedom to engage with colleagues around the key topics that inspire and stimulate them.

Abbreviated Agenda
Wednesday, March 21

 

Thursday, March 22

 

Friday, March 23

Getting Up To Speed
Diving into Summit conversations requires advance preparation. With so many inter-related concepts in play, an overview of key concepts is essential before engaging in strategic discussions. Here are some things you can review before Summit to make the most of your experience in Charleston:

• Breaking Through on the Social Determinants of Health and Health Disparities: An approach to message translation. (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission to Build a Healthier America)
• A New Way to Talk About the Social Determinants of Health (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Vulnerable Populations Portfolio)
• Closing the gap in a generation: Health equity through action on the social determinants of health. (World Health Organization Commission on Social Determinants of Health)
• Social determinants of health inequalities. (Michael Marmot)
• Global Learning Device on Social Determinants of Health and Public Policy Formulation (World Health Organization) http://dds-dispositivoglobal.ops.org.ar/curso/cursoeng/contexto.html
• Introduction to The Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell: “The Roseto Mystery.” (Available at www.amazon.com)
• The Community Guide’s Model  for Linking the Social Environment to Health (American Journal of Preventive Medicine)
• The Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods (www.abundantcommunity.com)
• "Leading Health Indicators About Your Health and Well-being," a Behavioral Healthcare blogpost by Ron Manderscheid

Ready, Set, Go
This Summit promises to break new ground about how we think about our world. Plan to be one of the pioneers who set the path for this new direction. Register now.