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Authors Posts by Carol Ferenz

Carol Ferenz

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Enhancing Access to Specialized Care: The Impact of the STAT Waiver Service and BH Services
Free Webinar for RCPA members

Tuesday, June 24, 2025
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Register Here

This session will explore the impact of the STAT (Specialized Telehealth and Assessment Team) service in Pennsylvania, focusing on its role in improving access to care for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). Key data will highlight how STAT connects individuals to specialists trained to meet their unique needs and its positive impacts on both individuals and Direct Support Professionals (DSP).

A discussion with Barber National Institute will showcase how they use StationMD services for STAT and Behavioral Health support. The provider will share how StationMD enhances behavioral health care for individuals with I/DD, while offering valuable support to DSPs by providing timely guidance in complex situations.

Lastly, this session will emphasize how STAT and StationMD services complement each other to improve access to care and to enhance the quality of life for individuals with I/DD.

Presenters:
Matthew Kaufman, MD, FACEP, Chief Executive Officer, StationMD
Thad Jackman, Senior Director of Residential Services, Barber National Institute

Objectives: Following this course, the learner will:

  • Describe the role of the STAT Waiver Service in providing individuals access to specialized clinicians 24/7 to meet their unique needs;
  • Analyze the impact of StationMD Behavioral Health services in enhancing the timely delivery of expert support for their behavioral and developmental needs; and
  • Discuss how the integration of STAT and StationMD Behavioral Health services collaboratively address barriers to care and improve the overall quality of life for individuals with I/DD.

Certificates of attendance are available to RCPA members who attend this webinar; anyone interested in a certificate should contact Cathy Barrick. To apply for CEs, you will need to register for the RCPA Annual Conference Strive to Thrive and indicate you attended the webinar in your CE packet, which will be made available on the mobile app.

Contact Carol Ferenz, Conference Coordinator, for details, or visit the RCPA Conference website for information on workshops, sponsors, exhibitors, and more!

Thriving Together: The Role of Curated Communities in Transforming Workforce Culture
Free Webinar for RCPA members

Tuesday, June 10, 2025
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Register Here

Creating spaces where professionals feel seen, valued, and supported is critical to fostering thriving workplaces. This session highlights the transformative power of curated communities like the Black Residency Collective and B.W.E.L., which provide unique opportunities for connection, innovation, and growth. These spaces not only nurture a sense of belonging but also serve as vital tools for addressing retention challenges and inspiring organizational change. Participants will walk away with a deeper understanding of how intentional spaces can catalyze resilience and drive collective success in the workforce.

Presenter: Sierra McNeil, MSW
Director of Workforce Development and Philadelphia Connections, NASW-PA President, Equity-Grounded Leadership Fellow

Objectives: Following this course, the learner will:

  • Identify the key elements of curated spaces that foster a sense of belonging among diverse professionals;
  • Analyze the impact of curated spaces on workplace innovation, relationships, and talent retention through real-world examples; and
  • Describe strategies to implement or enhance curated spaces within one’s organization to improve workforce outcomes.

Certificates of attendance are available to RCPA members who attend this webinar; anyone interested in a certificate should contact Cathy Barrick. To apply for CEs, you will need to register for the RCPA Annual Conference Strive to Thrive and indicate you attended the webinar in your CE packet, which will be made available on the mobile app.

Contact Carol Ferenz, Conference Coordinator, for details, or visit the RCPA Conference website for information on workshops, sponsors, exhibitors, and more!

Adapting to System Changes and PBC: Driving Organizational Success
Free webinar for RCPA Members

Date: Wednesday June 4, 2025
Time: 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Registration Link

This session will address strategies for navigating system changes, such as integrated care, value-based purchasing, and performance-based contracting. By focusing on how these shifts impact organizational structures and employee performance, we will equip participants with the tools to manage transitions successfully. Attendees will learn how to leverage executive functioning skills like adaptability, planning, task prioritization, and time management to align employee goals with organizational targets and drive success in results-driven environments.

Join speaker Stina Borth, MA, Executive Function, Performance and Neurodiversity Specialist Stina Borth, the founder and CEO of Keymaker Services Inc., is a dedicated expert in productivity and life skills development, focusing on empowering youth and young adults to succeed academically, socially, and in their future careers.

Stina provides corporate training to organizations looking to optimize productivity and communication. Her approach to workplace training helps teams build more effective communication, streamline task management, and enhance collaboration, leading to increased productivity and employee satisfaction.

With a background grounded in both academic theory and practical, real-world application, Stina’s work creates lasting impacts across a wide range of individuals — from students to professionals—by helping them develop the tools and strategies they need to thrive in all areas of their lives.

Objectives: Following this course, the learner will:

  • Assess system changes in business practices, including integrated care and value-based purchasing, and evaluate their impact on employee performance and executive functioning.
  • Develop strategies for adapting to system changes that optimize organizational performance, focusing on skills such as adaptability, decision-making, and planning.
  • Create framework for supporting employees through performance-based initiatives, helping them develop the executive functioning skills necessary to succeed.

Certificates of attendance are available to RCPA members who attend this webinar; anyone interested in a certificate should contact Cathy Barrick. To apply for CEs, you will need to register for the RCPA Annual Conference Strive to Thrive and indicate you attended the webinar in your CE packet, which will be made available on the mobile app.

Contact Carol Ferenz, Conference Coordinator, for details, or visit the RCPA Conference website for information on workshops, sponsors, exhibitors, and more!

Tips for Hiring & How to Write a Winning Job Post
Free webinar for RCPA members

Wednesday, June 18, 2025
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Register Here

This presentation explores effective strategies for hiring and crafting compelling job postings in order to attract top talent. Participants will learn how to identify key monetary and non-monetary benefits of working at an agency, such as health benefits, professional development, and overtime/holiday pay, which enhance employee satisfaction and retention. Additionally, the session will cover best practices for evaluating job posting platforms and recruitment methods to effectively connect with potential applicants. Through interactive discussions, attendees will leave with actionable insights and tools to improve their hiring processes and create job postings that resonate with candidates, ultimately fostering a stronger workforce. Join us to elevate your recruitment strategy and build a thriving organizational culture.

Presenter: Olivia Rodgers, Customer Success Manager and Hiring Specialist, MITC
Olivia has a strong track record of helping agencies streamline and strengthen their hiring processes. Through tailored trainings, hands-on support, and data-informed strategies, she empowers teams to attract, assess, and retain top talent more effectively.

Objectives: Following this course, the learner will:

  • Analyze and summarize three monetary benefits and three non-monetary benefits of working at their agency, and how to include the information in their job postings;
  • Assess job posting strategies by evaluating the effectiveness of job posting platforms and recruitment methods and discussing how the approaches connect with potential applicants and influence the quality of candidate pools; and
  • Craft effective job posts that will engage applicants and highlight key benefits of agency employment.

Certificates of attendance are available to RCPA members who attend this webinar; anyone interested in a certificate should contact Cathy Barrick. To apply for CEs, you will need to register for the RCPA Annual Conference Strive to Thrive and indicate you attended the webinar in your CE packet, which will be made available on the mobile app.

Contact Carol Ferenz, Conference Coordinator, for details, or visit the RCPA Conference website for information on workshops, sponsors, exhibitors, and more!

Thriving Together: The Role of Curated Communities in Transforming Workforce Culture
Free Webinar for RCPA members

Tuesday, June 10, 2025
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Register Here

Creating spaces where professionals feel seen, valued, and supported is critical to fostering thriving workplaces. This session highlights the transformative power of curated communities like the Black Residency Collective and B.W.E.L., which provide unique opportunities for connection, innovation, and growth. These spaces not only nurture a sense of belonging but also serve as vital tools for addressing retention challenges and inspiring organizational change. Participants will walk away with a deeper understanding of how intentional spaces can catalyze resilience and drive collective success in the workforce.

Presenter: Sierra McNeil, MSW
Director of Workforce Development and Philadelphia Connections, NASW-PA President, Equity-Grounded Leadership Fellow

Objectives: Following this course, the learner will:

  • Identify the key elements of curated spaces that foster a sense of belonging among diverse professionals;
  • Analyze the impact of curated spaces on workplace innovation, relationships, and talent retention through real-world examples; and
  • Describe strategies to implement or enhance curated spaces within one’s organization to improve workforce outcomes.

Certificates of attendance are available to RCPA members who attend this webinar; anyone interested in a certificate should contact Cathy Barrick. To apply for CEs, you will need to register for the RCPA Annual Conference Strive to Thrive and indicate you attended the webinar in your CE packet, which will be made available on the mobile app.

Contact Carol Ferenz, Conference Coordinator, for details, or visit the RCPA Conference website for information on workshops, sponsors, exhibitors, and more!

Free webinar for RCPA Members

Date: Wednesday June 4, 2025
Time: 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Registration Link

This session will address strategies for navigating system changes, such as integrated care, value-based purchasing, and performance-based contracting. By focusing on how these shifts impact organizational structures and employee performance, we will equip participants with the tools to manage transitions successfully. Attendees will learn how to leverage executive functioning skills like adaptability, planning, task prioritization, and time management to align employee goals with organizational targets and drive success in results-driven environments.

Join speaker Stina Borth, MA, Executive Function, Performance and Neurodiversity Specialist Stina Borth, the founder and CEO of Keymaker Services Inc., is a dedicated expert in productivity and life skills development, focusing on empowering youth and young adults to succeed academically, socially, and in their future careers.

Stina provides corporate training to organizations looking to optimize productivity and communication. Her approach to workplace training helps teams build more effective communication, streamline task management, and enhance collaboration, leading to increased productivity and employee satisfaction.

With a background grounded in both academic theory and practical, real-world application, Stina’s work creates lasting impacts across a wide range of individuals — from students to professionals—by helping them develop the tools and strategies they need to thrive in all areas of their lives.

Objectives: Following this course, the learner will:

  • Assess system changes in business practices, including integrated care and value-based purchasing, and evaluate their impact on employee performance and executive functioning.
  • Develop strategies for adapting to system changes that optimize organizational performance, focusing on skills such as adaptability, decision-making, and planning.
  • Create framework for supporting employees through performance-based initiatives, helping them develop the executive functioning skills necessary to succeed.

Certificates of attendance are available to RCPA members who attend this webinar; anyone interested in a certificate should contact Cathy Barrick. To apply for CEs, you will need to register for the RCPA Annual Conference Strive to Thrive and indicate you attended the webinar in your CE packet, which will be made available on the mobile app.

Contact Carol Ferenz, Conference Coordinator, for details, or visit the RCPA Conference website for information on workshops, sponsors, exhibitors, and more!

RCPA is excited to share our growing list of sponsors and exhibitors who are committed to supporting our 2025 Conference Strive to Thrive! This event, which will be held September 9 – 12 at the Hershey Lodge, is a highlight for the PA health and human services fields. We would like to thank the organizations who have committed their support already; you can view them below as well as on our Conference website!

The conference is only four months away! We will soon be assigning booth numbers to exhibitors, and there are still many opportunities available for sponsorship and exhibit booths. Don’t delay! View this year’s Sponsors, Exhibitors, and Advertiser Brochure, which features detailed lists of all the ways your organization can thrive at our conference. These include networking opportunities in Connections Hall and new sponsorship items, such as the registration table!

Sign Up Now!
Sponsors, exhibitors, and advertisers who wish to be listed on the website, the mobile app, and in the conference program must submit all materials by August 20. The association looks forward to welcoming you at the conference! Space and opportunities are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis, and no reservation is considered complete without payment. If questions remain, please contact Carol Ferenz, Conference Coordinator.

View our sponsors and exhibitors at our Conference website!

Get in on the action and network with providers by sponsoring, exhibiting, and advertising at the 2025 Annual Conference Striving to Thrive September 9 – 12 at Hershey Lodge. The event is a highlight for the Pennsylvania behavioral health, brain injury, children’s, intellectual and developmental disabilities, medical rehabilitation, and physical disabilities and aging provider communities. This year’s event features new opportunities to participate. Booth self-selection will also be available for exhibitors and exhibiting sponsors. In order to be considered for self-selection, a completed contract with payment must be submitted.

Network and Compete in Connections Hall
Connections Hall activities take place during the two busiest days of the conference, and many networking opportunities are available throughout the event. You’ll also be able to compete and have a chance to win “Best of Show!”

Exciting New Sponsorship Opportunities
RCPA is privileged to have the backing of the finest organizations in the field for our conference. Through the use of sponsorship circles, RCPA is able to honor all supporting organizations.

Sign Up Now!
Sponsors, exhibitors, and advertisers who wish to be listed on the website, the mobile app, and in the conference program must submit all materials by August 20.

The association looks forward to welcoming you at the conference! Space and opportunities are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis, and no reservation is considered complete without payment. If questions remain, please contact Carol Ferenz, Conference Coordinator.

This Drexel University training will be held March 20, 2025, from 9:00 am – 3:30 pm, and will take place at the Holiday Inn Grantville. The training fee is $15 to attend and $45 for CEs/attendance. The course will be led by Chris Owens, MA, LPC, CCTP.

This course focuses on specific interventions of use to the professional helper when providing therapeutic services in behavioral healthcare. The aim of this workshop is to add to the helper’s “bag of tricks” or “toolkit” pertaining to assisting people with histories of trauma. Participants engage in didactic and experiential learning related to several specific interventions geared toward managing and moving beyond trauma. Participants also dialogue in small groups to share creative and effective interventions they have used in their various practice settings.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this training, participants will be able to:

  • Summarize the general purposes of interventions;
  • Discuss having a sound rationale for using various techniques;
  • Describe the benefits associated with each strategy;
  • Outline the drawbacks and barriers to using selected interventions; and
  • Implement each intervention as relevant to one’s own professional practice.

CE Credits:

  • APA — 5
  • CPRP — 5
  • LSW/LCSW/LPC/LMFT — 5
  • NBCC — 5
  • PA Act48 — 5
  • PCB — 5
  • PSNA — 5
  • IACET —.5

Please visit here for additional information.

This is a reminder that the Call for Proposals for the 2025 RCPA Annual Conference Striving to Thrive will be closing Friday, March 14. Striving to Thrive will be held September 9 – 12 at the Hershey Lodge for a statewide audience, and the Conference Committee is seeking workshop proposals in every area for possible inclusion, particularly those that assist providers in developing and maintaining high-quality, stable, and effective treatments, services, and agencies in an industry where change is constant. The committee looks for presentations that:

  • Provide guidance on building a culture of a committed workforce, including recruitment and employee development as well as effective remote workforce strategies;
  • Inspire ideas for organizations to be leaders in their field;
  • Highlight new policy, research, and treatment initiatives, such as the use of artificial intelligence and use of technology in service provision;
  • Provide specific skills and information related to individual and organizational leadership development and enhancement;
  • Discuss advanced ethics practices and suicide prevention;
  • Address system changes that affect business practices, including integrated care strategies, value-based purchasing, performance-based contracting, acquisitions and mergers, and alternative payment models; and
  • Discuss organization strategies to adapt to performance-based contracting.

The committee welcomes any proposal that addresses these and other topics essential to rehabilitation, mental health, substance use disorder, children’s health, aging, physical disabilities, and intellectual/developmental disabilities & autism.

Members are encouraged to consider submitting, and we highly encourage you to forward this opportunity to those who are exceptionally good speakers and have state-of-the-art information to share.

The Call for Proposals (featuring a complete listing of focus tracks) and accompanying Guidelines for Developing Educational Objectives detail requirements for submissions. The deadline for submissions is Friday, March 14, 2025, at 5:00 pm. Proposals must be submitted electronically on the form provided; confirmation of receipt will be sent. Proposals submitted after the deadline may not be considered.

If the proposal is accepted, individuals must be prepared to present on any day of the conference. Workshops are 90 or 180 minutes in length. At the time of acceptance, presenters will be required to confirm the ability to submit workshop handouts electronically two weeks prior to the conference. Individuals unable to meet this expectation should not submit proposals for consideration.

Individuals are welcome to submit multiple proposals. Notification of inclusion for the conference will be made via email by Friday, May 9, 2025. Questions may be directed to Carol Ferenz, Conference Coordinator.