MI Mind News & Events

Learn about past and upcoming MI Mind events and read our newsletter, The Mem.

MI Mind Regional Meetings Bring Providers Together

The 2024 MI Mind regional meetings were held in May and June in Ann Arbor and Traverse City. (A third virtual option in August accommodates those who couldn’t attend the in-person meetings.)

MI Mind PO Leads, Practice Clinical Champions, and Practice Liaisons attended the meetings and met members of the MI Mind team. Meetings included roundtable discussions, a data overview and presentations from Practice Clinical Champions, PO Leads and the MI Mind team.

Ann Arbor Regional Meeting

Roundtable discussions at the Ann Arbor Regional Meeting brought providers together for collaboration.

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MI Mind Program Manager Heather Omdal and Senior Analyst Julie Ge welcomed participants to Weber’s Inn.

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Kristyn Spangler, LMSW, associate division director – Behavioral Health, IHA Medical Group, presented on how behavioral health and primary care partner to prevent suicide at IHA Medical Group.

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Nicole Steffen, LMSW, team lead/coordinator, Trinity Health Medical Group – West Michigan, presented on Trinity Health’s suicide prevention policies, their integration of the PHQ-9, and how behavioral health and primary care coordinate in their clinics.

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Traverse City Regional Meeting

The Traverse City regional meeting was held at the Hotel Delamar.

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Roundtable discussions were an opportunity for sharing of best practices and collaboration.

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Robin Brown, BSN, RN, Clinic Manager, and Dylan Koenig, PA-C, MI Mind Practice Clinical Champion for Bay Care Medical Center, shared how their clinic utilized the Collaborative Care Model and MI Mind Plan-Do-Study-Act method to improve suicide prevention efforts in their clinic.

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Rachel Riley, Clinical Coordinator, Physicians Group Incentive Program, BCBSM, and the MI Mind PO Representative for Upper Peninsula Health Group, addressed behavioral health access across the Upper Peninsula.

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Connections and Conversations highlight the 2023 Collaborative Meeting

The 2023 MI Mind Collaborative meeting held in September generated opportunities for open discussion between providers and provider organization leadership statewide.

St. John’s Resort in Plymouth created an “absolutely gorgeous setting for our third annual Collaborative Meeting,” said MI Mind Program Manager Heather Omdal, MPH. “Providers offered positive feedback at the end of the afternoon, and were pleased with the speakers, presentation content, discussions, food, and the venue. Many expressed their enthusiasm for upcoming Year 2 training, which we previewed at the meeting.”

Two training scenario videos were premiered at the meeting, which generated thoughtful interactions between physicians, therapists, provider organization leaders, and the MI Mind team. The videos are now available on Youtube:

• Screening Patients in Primary Care
• Assessing Patients for Suicide Risk in Behavioral Health

Feedback forms completed by attendees showed a clear preference for more time to ask questions and engage in discussion and socializing with other MI Mind providers. The MI Mind team will incorporate these suggestions into the September 2024 Collaborative Meeting.

The MI Mind team welcomed providers to the St. John’s Resort in Plymouth for the Collaborative Meeting, held annually in September.

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Small group discussions offered opportunities for participants to share insights and report back to the larger group.

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Ganj Beebani, M.D., Senior Staff Psychiatrist at Henry Ford Health, led a discussion on care pathways for suicide prevention. He and Sarah Moore, LMSW, MI Mind Clinical Quality Improvement Trainer, enjoyed a meeting break.

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MI Mind team supports suicide prevention at Out of the Darkness walk

On Oct. 7, the MI Mind team was joined by colleagues, friends and family, and furry companions for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s Out of the Darkness Community Walk for Metro Detroit. The MI Mind team walked together with team members from the Michigan Spine Surgery Improvement Collaborative (MSSIC) and colleagues from Henry Ford Health’s Behavioral Health and Research departments. Together, they raised $500 to support suicide prevention.

Held in downtown Ferndale, the walk is a journey of remembrance, hope and support that raises funds to support suicide prevention research, education, and prevention programming. An annual event, it unites communities, individuals and families, and acknowledges the impact of suicide, prevention and mental health care. Learn more about the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the walk.

 

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MI Mind makes taquitos for 400 at Everyone Cooks

MI Mind Senior Analyst Jeff Warchall would have been a chef if the hours were better. But on June 8, the I.T. pro brought his culinary talents to Henry Ford Health by leading MI Mind in the annual fundraiser, Everyone Cooks, a new spin on the event previously named Men Who Cook. The theme this year was Carnival.

“Everyone Cooks supports the Tom Groth Patient Medical Needs Fund, which helps thousands of people from Southeast Michigan facing serious health problems,” says Jeff. “And it was a chance to celebrate my love of cooking with the team at MI Mind, who spent the afternoon as sous chefs, platers, grillers, and all-around supporters.”

The MI Mind team prepared 400 servings of Warchall’s original grilled chicken and vegetarian taquitos served with three sauces, and was the first booth to sell out. One attendee liked the taquitos so much he took enough home to pack his lunch for the next day.

Warchall’s mole sauce already contributed to a win in a chili cookoff in Chicago, where he used it to finish the chili. Get the recipes for Warchall’s taquitos and mole sauce.

 

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