APA Education Advocacy Breakfast Meeting Focuses on Advancing Psychology in Community Health Centers and the National Health Service Corps

Education Advocacy Breakfast APA Members Attending Breakfast Attendees Helping Themselves to Breakfast Brad Powers Presents Brad Powers Animated Catching Up with Colleagues D Salvador Close-up E&T Colleagues Gather Jackie White & Barry Chung Gary Hawley Speaks Group Photo 2009

Over a hundred APA members attended the early morning Education Advocacy Breakfast Meeting held during the APA convention in the beautiful Canadian city of Toronto. This year’s program, which was co-sponsored by the APA Public Interest Directorate, focused primarily on efforts being made to advance opportunities for psychology in Federal Community Health Centers (FQHCs) and to gain greater participation in the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program (LRP).

Patrick H. DeLeon, PhD, Chief of Staff for Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI) and former APA President, served as Moderator for the panel presentations. First panelist, Darryl S. Salvador, PsyD, from Molokai Ohana Health Care and a current NHSC-LRP participant, spoke about the role of psychologists in providing integrated health care services at FQHCs and the benefits of training psychology interns in these centers. Next, Gary C. Hawley, PsyD, McConnell Air Force Base, a former NHSC-LRP payor, addressed the opportunities and obstacles that psychologists face in the NHSC-LRP. Bradley K. Powers, PsyD of the Forest Institute of Professional Psychology followed with an overview of Forest Institute’s training program to place graduate psychology students to work in FQHCs. Dr. Powers also spoke about the value of participating in the NHSC Ambassador's Program. Karen Saywitz, PhD, Chair of the APA Working Group on Child Maltreatment Prevention in Community Health Centers, concluded the presentations with highlights from the Working Group's recent report: Effective Strategies to Support Positive Parenting in Community Health Centers.

For those of you who weren’t able to attend this year’s Education Advocacy breakfast, a full set of PowerPoint slides regarding Community Health Centers and the National Health Service Corps, as well as all the related handouts provided at the breakfast meeting, are available below:

PowerPoint Presentations:

“Psychologists in Our FQHCs: Integrated Care in America’s Safety Net” (D. Salvador)
“National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program: Opportunities and Obstacles for Psychologists” (G. Hawley)
“Education Advocacy Breakfast: Training to Serve the Underserved” (B. Powers)

Handout Materials:

Advancing Psychology’s Role in Community Health Centers
Role of Psychologists in Community Health Centers
Federally Qualified Health Centers FAQ
ED GRO National Health Service Corps/Community Health Center Initiative Timeline
National Health Service Corp Primer
APA Education GRO Update: Health Care Reform: Workforce Related Legislation

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