Anthony DiFabio, CEO, Acenda Integrated Health
In an interview with Invest:, CEO Anthony DiFabio shared how Acenda Integrated Health is leading innovation with an augmented reality training platform and expanding through the System of Care model. DiFabio emphasized the need for funding and workforce development. “Ultimately, Acenda is not just looking to grow but to lead.”
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What significant milestones has Acenda Integrated Health achieved over the last year?
Acenda has been focused on two major priorities simultaneously. First, we’ve worked to find efficiencies and optimize our internal operations and infrastructure. At the same time, we’ve been committed to innovation and advancement in our programs. One example is the development of an augmented reality platform for staff training during their onboarding period, which is critical for ensuring that our team can quickly and effectively serve the community.
Given that Acenda operates across a wide geographic area, many of our programs are delivered in-home and in the community. We’ve had to explore how technology can enhance our processes. Instead of relying solely on in-person meetings or even Zoom-based training, our augmented reality platform allows staff to conduct safety assessments and interventions in a dynamic and immersive way.
Beyond that, we’re looking at how artificial intelligence can support various agency functions, from revenue cycle management to assisting staff with note taking and treatment planning. Additionally, we are working to expand through partnerships. We recognize that to provide the best quality of care, we can’t just develop our own programs; we need to collaborate and, where possible, integrate services with partner agencies.
How has the integration of behavioral health and primary care evolved in New Jersey, and what impact has it had on patient outcomes?
We’ve seen progress in integration, but admittedly, we have a lot more work to do to best serve the community. This is a pressing need as we are seeing unprecedented levels of anxiety, depression, and social isolation affecting individuals across all age groups. Fortunately, there has been some movement toward better integration, such as the incorporation of social workers into primary care settings and certain specialty care settings. Additionally, we are seeing many health systems doing behavioral health screenings and, increasingly and importantly, screening for social determinants of health. Despite these and other advancements, it is abundantly clear that we continue to fall short of the level of integration that our communities need.
A key development on the horizon is New Jersey’s expected release of an integrated license for primary and behavioral health. This will be a crucial step in allowing organizations such as Acenda to provide more seamless, comprehensive, and integrated care.
How is the shift toward value-based care models affecting behavioral health organizations in New Jersey?
Value-based care is an area where adoption has been somewhat slower than anticipated. At Acenda, we’ve made tracking our efforts and measuring our impact a top priority. We track clinical touchpoints and outcomes to ensure we are achieving clearly defined and measured quality outcomes. Critical to our success in this area has been the adoption of evidence-based and research-informed care models, sophisticated enterprise management and clinical records software and data infrastructure. While we see ourselves as well-positioned for value-based care, I expect that, at least in New Jersey, we are still a couple or even a few years away from widespread adoption of value-based care across behavioral health in particular.
What steps is Acenda Integrated Health taking to improve access to care for all residents?
Access to care remains a top priority for Acenda, particularly in the Southern Region and the state’s rural areas, where transportation barriers make it difficult for people to access services. In some regions, even virtual care isn’t a reliable option due to connectivity issues. To address this, Acenda is expanding our Access Center and developing a digital front door to streamline appointment scheduling. We’re also working to offer a diverse range of service delivery options, including in-home and community, virtual, telephonic, and hybrid models.
Our success in this area is measured and evidenced by the thousands of children and adults annually who receive our services in their own homes. In short, our committed approach is to be as flexible as possible, ensuring that those in need can access care in a way that best works for them.
How is Acenda partnering with other organizations and government agencies to enhance community support?
Partnerships are a core strength and priority for Acenda. We understand that no single organization can meet the full range of community needs alone. That’s why we actively collaborate with county, state, and federal agencies, as well as health systems and grassroots organizations. A significant number of emergency room visits are driven by behavioral health crises. We work closely with hospitals to improve the transition from emergency care back into the community, ensuring patients receive ongoing support.
Beyond healthcare, we also partner with organizations addressing social determinants of health, such as housing insecurity and food access. When individuals come to us for behavioral health services, we often identify additional challenges, such as financial instability or childcare issues, that must be addressed for long-term success. By expanding these partnerships, we can provide more holistic care that tackles both the clinical and social factors impacting well-being.
Can you share insights into Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) and their role in improving community health outcomes?
CCBHCs improve community health outcomes because they provide a next-generation approach to behavioral health service delivery that is not only community-driven, holistic and integrated, but is also supportive of individuals with complex health needs. Acenda is proud to operate a CCBHC in Gloucester County, and our delivery model includes an easily accessible person-centered integrated system designed to reduce unnecessary hospital utilization, increase treatment engagement and adherence, and promote overall well-being for the communities we serve. We opened our CCBHC in 2020 right before COVID, so our program was intentionally designed from the onset to have an outreach and treatment delivery model that incorporates the use of telehealth while providing all of the integrated care components of the CCBHC.
The beauty of this system of care delivery is its focus on removing barriers to care for individuals with complex behavioral health concerns, as well as potentially exacerbating physical health issues. The CCBHC allows us to fully and seamlessly integrate the care our team provides internally with external provider partners to offer a holistic care model for individuals in the community, regardless of their ability to pay.
This model is definitely helping us deliver better community health outcomes by making care more accessible, coordinated, and patient centered.
What are the key challenges in mental healthcare delivery today, especially given inflationary pressures?
Almost all behavioral healthcare agencies are experiencing significant challenges in hiring and retaining workforce, which ties directly to funding and regulatory burdens. Funding for behavioral health has remained relatively stagnant for over a decade. While there have been occasional adjustments, they have been few and far between and have not kept pace with inflation, especially post-COVID. This has made it extremely difficult to compete with other industries for talent. Some retail and banking jobs now offer higher wages than entry-level positions in behavioral health, which makes recruitment and retention a challenge.
Additionally, given that a majority of behavioral health professionals are women, the rising cost of childcare has made it impractical for some of our most critical and talented workforce members to leave the sector. At Acenda, we’re doing everything we can to increase compensation and support staff, but without adequate funding, it’s an uphill battle.
Regulatory burdens also add stress and feed into burnout. Many regulations haven’t been updated in decades, making it difficult to implement modern, streamlined approaches to care that allow our staff to do what they got into our field to do – provide care to clients. Addressing these systemic underfunding and regulatory challenges will be crucial if we are to sustain a strong workforce in the years ahead.
How is Acenda working with educational institutions to build a pipeline of future behavioral health professionals?
Acenda is taking a multipronged approach to workforce development and, in particular, to working with our educational institutions. Our first priority must be to support, retain, and develop our current workforce. While many of these initiatives our internal to the agency, we also view our institutions of higher learning as key partners in this area. Tuition reduction and scholarship programs are powerful tools to not only grow and develop our staff’s competencies and credentials but also to foster and strengthen their commitment to Acenda.
In addition to developing and retaining our current team members, we also see educational institutions as critical partners in training and recruiting our next generation workforce. In addition to continuing to invest in a robust student internship program, Acenda is proud to have partnered with Rowan College of South Jersey to establish the Acenda Behavioral Science Center. This partnership carries many benefits, but at its core is focused on supporting students in gaining experience and building pathways into the behavioral health field.
Importantly, we are also using this partnership to help explore and pursue training and credentialing opportunities that could create alternative pathways for entry into behavioral health roles. For example, instead of requiring a traditional four-year degree, we’re exploring certification programs that would allow individuals to gain relevant skills and enter the workforce more quickly. While this would allow us to build our workforce across all demographics, I feel that the greatest transformation would be achieved by providing individuals with lived experience a practical and reasonable opportunity to enter our field at a later stage in life, when obtaining a bachelor’s degree is not practical or reasonable.
What is your vision for Acenda Integrated Health over the next few years?
In the coming years, Acenda will continue evolving to meet the growing and complex needs of the communities we serve. We are working tirelessly to develop more holistic and integrated care delivery models with a heavy focus on single-site, in-home, or virtual. Without question, technology will also play a key role in our future, particularly the use of AI and data analytics to improve efficiency and reduce the burden on staff.
We are also focused on strengthening research collaborations to ensure that the latest advancements in behavioral health are applied within Acenda to the benefit of those we serve. As mentioned, workforce development remains a top priority, and we are working to create new pathways into the field, making it easier for individuals across all areas, but especially those with lived experience, to obtain a fulfilling and successful career in behavioral health. Ultimately, Acenda is not just looking to grow but to lead—both in New Jersey and beyond.
Our vision is to be a model for how behavioral health and human services organizations can innovate, integrate, and deliver care that truly meets the needs of individuals and families, no matter their circumstances.
