NEOMED Project ECHO superhub takes on its first hub
In 2021, a team from Northeast Ohio Medical University started taking steps to transition NEOMED from being a Project ECHO Hub (an organization that hosts and facilitates ECHO programs) to a Project ECHO Superhub (a partner who has been approved by the ECHO Institute to certify new ECHO partners as well as train and support other ECHO partners).
The Project ECHO at NEOMED Superhub team has taken on its first Superhub-hub: Project ECHO for Behavioral Health Prevention and Promotion, which is out of the Ohio Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health Prevention and Promotion (OCEBHPP) at Ohio University. The OCEBHPP team completed their Partner Launch Training with the ECHO Institute but was excited to transition to work with the NEOMED team for ongoing technical assistance and support, as Jami Brewer and Nichole Ammon had already been providing mentorship and advising to the OCEBHPP team. In September, Project ECHO for Behavioral Health Prevention and Promotion launched two programs, Youth Vaping Prevention ECHO and Adult Low-Risk Drinking Promotion ECHO.
Superhubs receive specialized training to recruit, teach and support new ECHO partners through the implementation process. They serve as a liaison to the ECHO Institute and act as ambassadors for the ECHO Model. Superhubs also support the global ECHO Movement, which is defined by the value of freely sharing knowledge for the betterment of humanity.
In addition to the ECHO Institute, there are currently 41 Project ECHO Superhubs internationally. With so many organizations about to engage, train and provide ongoing technical assistance, Superhubs need to demonstrate added value to prospective ECHO partners. To do so, some Superhubs specialize in content areas and work with prospective ECHO partners that are planning programs within said content areas. The NEOMED Department of Psychiatry’s Coordinating Centers of Excellence (CCoEs) have taken up the torch to move forward as the Project ECHO at NEOMED Superhub team.
NEOMED’s Superhub team will engage, train and support new ECHO partners that plan to focus on topics that align with the expertise within our CCoEs. The Coordinating Centers of Excellence serve as a national model for disseminating state-of-the-art programs and practices that promote recovery and improve the lives of individuals with schizophrenia and other mental illnesses, as well as the lives of those around them. The CCoEs at NEOMED are the BeST Practices in Schizophrenia Treatment Center, the Criminal Justice Coordinating Center of Excellence, and the Ohio Program for Campus Safety & Mental Health.
ECHO programs welcome new participants who are working in the designated fields of practice in that particular ECHO.
More information