Blog - Woods Services

Woods System of Care Names Vanessa B. Briggs as Vice President of Health Services and Equity

January 3, 2023

The Woods System of Care is excited to announce Vanessa B. Briggs, MBA, R.D., as the first vice president of Healthcare Services and Health Equity. In this new role, Briggs will oversee programs that bring Woods’ expertise and integrated service model to N.J. These services include integrated primary and behavioral health care, children’s community-based residential treatment services, and coordination and transition services for older youth entering adult services. Briggs will also serve as the system of care’s Vice President for Health Equity, responsible for developing a framework and standards that reduce health disparities for Woods’ clients and staff. Briggs started in her new role on September 12, 2022.

“We are delighted to welcome Vanessa Briggs to our Woods team, to serve in two significant roles – as vice president of Healthcare Services, and as vice president of Health Equity across the entire Woods System of Care,” said Tine Hansen-Turton, President and CEO of Woods Services and the system of care. “We recently expanded services in NJ in response to the significant need for individuals with intellectual disability, autism, and complex co-occurring conditions,” Hansen-Turton added. “With her expertise, Vanessa will lead Woods efforts in NJ in offering a continuum of services that form a system of care for individuals with complex needs, at every age,” she said. “In addition, she will oversee Woods’ efforts to advance health equity and eliminate health disparities for the individuals Woods’ serves and our employees.”

Briggs has more than 25 years of executive leadership and senior management experience in for-profit and nonprofit sectors, including philanthropy, public health, health and human services, and regional healthcare systems. Prior to joining the Woods team, she served for five years as president and CEO of The Alliance for Health Equity. This grant-making organization works to improve the health, social, emotional, and economic conditions among children, teens, and families in Chester County, Pennsylvania. At The Alliance, Briggs was instrumental in transforming grant-making strategies.

Briggs is a registered dietitian accredited by the American Dietetic Association. She earned her MBA in Health Administration from Eastern University, and a Bachelor of Arts, with a concentration in Dietetics, from Rowan University.

$1 Million Grant Helping Build Skills for Employment

December 2, 2022

Woods Services has a critical need for enhanced and increased vocational training space in the Gardner Education Center due to its growing day student population. Woods actually maintains a waiting list because it cannot accommodate all of the students for whom it receives referrals.

Thanks to a $1 million grant from the PA Department of Community and Economic Development Redevelopment Authority Capital Program (RACP), the Gardner Education Center will be renovated to accommodate state-of-the-art vocational training space and classrooms for students with intellectual disability, autism and behavioral challenges. Requirements of the grant stipulate that Woods must match the grant with $1 million, which will be supported by a bequest from The Estate of Marilyn Goldstein.

This project will address the need for education, vocational and training for students with disabilities so they can enter the workforce, and help recruit and retain special education teachers and instructional aides.

Modernizing this space is urgently needed. The project entails creating a 5,054 square foot state-of-the-art vocational wing to house remodeled classrooms, each dedicated to a vocational track needed to train students for 21st century jobs, and will add a new modern façade along the entire front of the building, and a brand-new glass-walled entryway with a reconfigured reception area which will be more welcoming for students and families, and improve safety.

When the renovation is complete, students and teachers alike will benefit from a state-of-the-art vocational program, bright, welcoming and safe entryway into the building, and a visually appealing new façade that will modernize the look of the entire building.

Woods receives referrals from school districts which are unable to serve students who have a high level of need for intensive services and supports. Students attend as day students or as residential students. A hallmark of the Woods Schools is the School-Wide Positive Behavior Support program, a nationally-recognized approach which puts in place universal supports for all students, which significantly reduces challenging behaviors for the majority of students, and adds more intensive tiers of supports for students with the greatest social, emotional and behavior needs.

The renovated vocational areas will provide pre-vocational and vocational training in one of three tracks:

cosmetology
food and nutrition and life skills
horticultural.

Two additional vocational tracks in customer service and technology will be held in existing classrooms, which do not require renovation. Finally, a new wheelchair-accessible greenhouse will be constructed adjacent to the horticultural classroom. Each classroom is designed to replicate a real-life setting, such as a horticultural center, salon, and a kitchen and dining area where the full range of life skills can be taught related to food, nutrition, shopping and cooking. This allows for students to learn, practice and apply real-world skills that are needed to gain employment and to become as self-sufficient as possible.

Along with the new state-of-the-art vocational classrooms is a new vocational training curriculum, which incorporates brand-new technology and software addressing all aspects of pre-vocational, vocational and entrepreneurial training. New online vocational curriculum modules include financial literacy, creating resumes, conducting job interviews, and building skills needed for the workplace, such as communication, socialization, problem-solving, flexible thinking, behavior and self-regulation skills.

The enhanced curricula, paired with the new vocational spaces focusing on career areas such as customer service, food and nutrition, cosmetology, horticulture, and technology, will help students be prepared to enter the workforce upon graduation. Through this, they can live as independently as possible and to contribute to the economic life of the community.

Furthermore, improved instructional spaces and state-of-the-art installations will improve conditions for special education teachers and support their retention, especially when combined with professional development that the new curriculum offers.

Woods has integrated additional strategies into its education programs to address the teacher shortage, including its new Teach with Heart Fellowship, which allows emergency-certified teachers to obtain their Master’s degree at a low cost, receive mentoring from experienced teachers, and upon completing three years of employment, receive loan forgiveness.

The 2022 Woods Golf Classic

October 19, 2022

After 10 years, the return of the Woods Golf Classic is one to be remembered and celebrated!

It was a day of sunshine, games, great food and spirits shared by so many of Woods Services’ sponsors, colleagues, family & friends.

The Union League Liberty Hill Club hosted over 100 golfers all for the benefit of our clients.

A total of 45 sponsors and donors raised over $130,000 to help improve the lives of those we serve with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Our friend and sponsor, Brian from Selective Insurance of America shared these kind words about the event: “We had a great time Tuesday at the outing, everything was terrific from start to finish! We are looking forward to next year! The forecaddie was a very nice touch and we thank you for the gesture, it made the day that much more special. Thank you for the opportunity to play in the tournament and raising money for a great cause!”

You can swing by our website to catch the excitement of the day through our photo gallery. Go to woods.org/golf22

Be sure not to miss next year’s event. See you at the 2023 Woods Golf Classic!

Qualifacts Announces Expanded Partnership With Woods Services

October 11, 2022

Integrated Health Solutions Delivered Through Carelogic And Insync Ehr Platforms

Qualifacts, a leading provider of electronic health record (EHR) platforms for behavioral health, rehabilitative, and human services organizations, today announced an enhanced partnership with current customer Woods System of Care to meet their expanding care needs.

“Over the past several years, Woods and its affiliate network partners have been building a system of care that integrates primary healthcare, specialty care, and behavioral healthcare along with residential and community-based care and services. What has been lacking is software that supports our model of integrated care that would enable us, and other providers, to better support the people we serve who have very complex issues. We are excited to work with Qualifacts to create a new electronic record that coordinates across systems and services, including external referrals,” said Woods’ CEO Tine Hansen-Turton.

To support Woods’ integrated care model, Qualifacts will bring the power of its InSync platform primary care workflows together with its CareLogic platform leading behavioral health clinical engine to allow clinicians across disciplines to have the information they need at their fingertips to provide comprehensive care effectively and efficiently.

“It is an honor to be Woods’ technology and innovation partner and help them in their mission to support those with disabilities or challenges to achieve their highest potential and independence,” said Paul Ricci, Chief Executive officer at Qualifacts.

Roy Leitstein, the CEO of Legacy Treatment Services, a key affiliate with Woods noted, “This is a transformative moment of innovation born of a true partnership between our organizations and businesses that will provide universal capability for both traditional medical care and behavioral healthcare for people needing all levels of care from the most intensive to a simple primary care visit. This product will ultimately change lives.”

This project has already begun and will be fully delivered and available to all Qualifacts customers and the market in 2023.

ABOUT QUALIFACTS

Qualifacts is a leading provider of behavioral health software and SaaS solutions for clinical productivity, compliance and state reporting, billing, and business intelligence. Its mission is to be an innovative and trusted technology and solutions partner, enabling exceptional outcomes for its customers and those they serve. Qualifacts’ comprehensive portfolio, including the CareLogic®, Credible™, and InSync® platforms, spans and serves the entire behavioral health, rehabilitative and human services market supporting non-profit Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHC) as well as for-profit large enterprise and small business providers. Qualifacts has a loyal customer base, with more than 2,400 customers representing 75,000 providers serving more than 6 million patients. Qualifacts was recognized in the 2022 Best in KLAS: Software and Services report as having the #1 and #2 ranked Behavioral Health EHR solutions, with its Credible and CareLogic platforms, respectively.

ABOUT WOODS SERVICES

Founded in 1913 by Philadelphia schoolteacher Mollie Woods with two simple goals – to advance quality of life and standard of care for individuals with disabilities – Woods Services continues its mission today by helping children and adults with disabilities and challenges to achieve their highest potential. Among the ways Woods does this is through its population health management strategy, which includes the integration of primary and specialty medical care with behavioral health. For more information, visit woods.org

Media Contacts:
Qualifacts
MarketingTeam@qualifacts.com

Two Mission-Driven Nonprofits – Woods System of Care and St. Mary Medical Center – Partner to Provide Quality Health Care

September 30, 2022

Woods System of Care, a Pennsylvania and New Jersey-based nonprofit organization that serves approximately 22,000 children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, behavioral and mental health challenges, and acquired brain injuries, and St. Mary Medical Center and Nazareth Hospital, part of Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic the largest Catholic healthcare system serving the Greater Philadelphia area, are pleased to announce their partnership to ensure high quality healthcare for the individuals Woods’ serves and the dedicated and compassionate staff who care for them.

“This partnership makes sense on many levels for both St. Mary Medical Center and Woods,” said Michael Magro, DO, MBA, FACOI, “but the biggest benefits will be realized within our community. As two organizations with ‘caring’ at the core, our values and philosophies align; both strive toward innovation and clinical excellence. My colleagues and I look forward to a renewed relationship with the residents and staff of Woods to provide the best healthcare possible.”

Dr. Magro was named president of St. Mary Medical Center in July of this year. He also serves as president of Nazareth Hospital, a role he has held since 2018. Under his leadership has come a renewed commitment by two of Bucks County’s largest nonprofit employers to collaborate on innovative healthcare solutions that ensure equity and excellence. Dr. Magro became acquainted with Woods’ president and CEO, Tine Hansen-Turton, shortly after taking the helm at St. Mary, and these two leaders quickly found a way for Woods and St. Mary to work more closely together.

“Dr. Magro is an innovative and dynamic leader who believes in the power of building strong and lasting relationships with community stakeholders, as demonstrated by this new collaboration. Both St. Mary and Woods are committed to improving the overall health and well-being of our community and this agreement is just the beginning of that effort,” stated Hansen-Turton. Next steps will likely include activities to improve health equities in Bucks County generally and to help train St. Mary’s residents and practitioners in caring for the special needs population, she said.

“St. Mary and Woods have been neighbors for a long time, but in a sense we are new to each other – and that makes our journey of opportunity together even more exciting,” Dr. Magro said.

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About St. Mary Medical Center

Established in 1973, St. Mary Medical Center is guided by its Catholic-health core values of reverence, stewardship, integrity, justice and commitment to the underserved. Located in Langhorne, Pa., and with 371 licensed beds, St. Mary is a community teaching hospital and offers state-of-the-art technology and highly skilled physicians and clinical professionals to provide advanced care for complex cases. St. Mary offers advanced non-invasive treatments, adult and pediatric emergency services, inpatient medical and rehabilitation facilities, along with supportive health and wellness programs. St. Mary is designated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as a Level II Trauma Center. St. Mary offers an NAPBC-accredited breast program, a Commission on Cancer-accredited cancer program and is a member of the Penn Cancer Network. Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic is a Regional Health System that includes Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital in Darby, Pa.; Nazareth Hospital in Northeast Philadelphia; Saint Francis Hospital in Wilmington, Del.; St. Mary Medical Center in Langhorne, Pa. and home health and LIFE programs. Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic is a member of Trinity Health, one of the largest multi-institutional Catholic health care delivery systems in the nation. For more information, visit www.st-marys.org.

About Woods System of Care

Woods System of Care/Woods Services is a nonprofit, life cycle care management and advocacy organization that, along with six affiliate organizations located in Pennsylvania and New Jersey – Abilities of Northwest Jersey; Allies, Inc.; Archway Programs; Legacy Treatment Services; Tabor Services; and Woods Community at Brian’s House – provides innovative, comprehensive, and integrated health, education, housing, workforce, behavioral health, and case management services to more than 22,000 children and adults in the intellectual and developmental disability, behavioral, child welfare, and brain trauma public health sectors who have complex medical and behavioral healthcare needs. Founded in 1913 by Philadelphia schoolteacher Mollie Woods with two simple goals – to advance quality of life and standard of care for individuals with disabilities – Woods continues its mission today by helping children and adults with disabilities and challenges to achieve their highest potential. Among the ways Woods does this is through its population health management strategy, which includes the integration of primary and specialty medical care with behavioral health. For more information, visit woods.org.