Crain’s New York Business has selected Alliance for Positive Change Director of Administration Brooke Montes as a 2023 Notable in Health Care, noting that this year’s honorees’ “work is vital to the functioning of the city’s health care system and the city itself.”
You can view the full list here (subscription required for access) - https://www.crainsnewyork.com/awards/notable-2023-leaders-health-care
In its recognition of Brooke Montes, Crain’s described Alliance’s commitment to supporting New Yorkers with chronic conditions, including issue advocacy and responsible budgeting.
“Montes drives the organization’s mission by supporting the efforts of the executive team and board with advocacy, business administration, communications, project management and program oversight. Montes meets with legislators and speaks out to ensure continued access to such services for under-resourced communities.”
Brooke Montes began as an intern at Alliance 15 years ago. She has translated her passion for social justice and health promotion into a decade-plus-long career, supporting New Yorkers on their chosen pathway to positive change.
Alliance Responds to the 2023 NYS Budget
As you may be aware, on May 3, 2023, the New York State budget finally passed. Despite extraordinary advocacy by Alliance for Positive Change and other community health providers, the Hochul administration and NYS Department of Health implemented a disastrous Medicaid pharmacy benefit “carve-out,” drastically cutting essential funding to Alliance and other safety-net health providers.
We are outraged, BUT WE ARE NOT DISHEARTENED. We did everything in our power to fight—and will never stop fighting for our community’s equitable access to health resources.
Thank you for standing with Alliance and our allies as we fought to prevent this ill-advised policy decision. You responded to our action alerts with calls, emails, and generous support. We are grateful for you—and for our amazing community of providers, advocates, and coalitions.
So what comes next? Alliance and other safety-net providers will step up to fill the void, despite the challenges. Thanks to our collective advocacy, the NYS budget includes nearly $300 million in “reinvestment pools” to be directed to providers like Alliance for Positive Change. These monies in no way compensate for the lost funding, but they’ll enable Alliance and others to continue care coordination, patient navigation, treatment adherence support, and other lifesaving services. And we will hold the Governor and NYS Health Department accountable to follow through on their commitments. Learn more here.
Alliance for Positive Change has 30+ years at the forefront of HIV services, harm reduction, and other urgent yet underfunded health priorities—we are resilient, and we will weather this storm.
Thanks for standing with us as we continue fighting for the equitable health services our communities deserve. Read all about our recent work and achievements in Alliance’s 2022 Impact Update!
Director of Recovery Services Dr. Peter Boutros Speaks on FDA Narcan Ruling
Following the FDA's decision to allow Narcan to be sold over the counter, Dr. Peter Boutros spoke to Bronxnet about the benefits of making the life-saving medicine more accessible, and how people can get it and harm reduction supplies from our community centers for free. Alliance hosts weekly virtual Narcan trainings on Fridays at 11:00am. Read your training at https://alliance.nyc/events?tag=Virtual+Narcan+Training
Unveiling Situations 22 Poetry Anthology
At the Voices poetry reading held at Barnes & Nobel on Thursday, April 20, Alliance unveiled the newest edition of our annual poetry anthology, Situations 22. Featuring the work of Situations staples as well as poets published for the first time, Situations 22 is a must read.
Joel Teron, Harm Reduction Manager, Quoted in Crain's New York Health Pulse
Last week, Crain’s New York Health Pulse published a thorough examination of the effects of the FDA’s ruling to make Narcan legal for over the counter sale. Crain’s spoke to experts across the harm reduction and advocacy spaces, including our friends at VOCAL-NY, and our very own harm reduction manager Joel Teron. Read some of Joel’s insights below:
“Joel Teron, harm reduction manager at the Alliance Lower East Side Harm Reduction Center, said that over-the-counter access to Narcan “reaches an entirely different market,” as people who may be hesitant to access services at harm reduction facilities may be more comfortable walking into a drug store and picking Narcan up off the shelf.
Teron added that it remains to be seen how pharmacies will provide information and resources to people about how to use Narcan. Alliance LES Harm Reduction Center has been providing people with free Narcan and naloxone medications for years, providing training about how to administer the treatment, he said.”
Chief Program Officer Ramona Cummings Speaks with Paper Mag about Narcan OTC Ruling
Ramona Cummings, Chief Programing Officer of Prevention Services at Alliance, spoke with Paper Mag last week about the FDA’s approval to make Narcan over the counter (effective soon.) Ramona celebrated the removal of more barriers to the life-saving medication, and discussed the important role of culturally-competent community providers that offer Narcan as one of many tools in the harm reduction toolkiit, alongside fentanyl test strips, harm reduction counseling, and more.
"Many individuals addressing substance use issues have dealt with a great deal of stigma from providers," said Ramona. "Not just pharmacists, but the medical community in general…The FDA approval is a step in the right direction and an opportunity to open more conversations about the value of harm reduction services, and the availability of choices for participants.”
Alliance for Positive Change Statement on FDA’s Approval of OTC Narcan
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 29, 2023
Contacts: Sophie Crumpacker, sophie@anatgerstein.com, 347-361-7128 // Lauren Mannerberg, lauren@anatgerstein.com, 929-553-7702
(New York, NY)- Alliance for Positive Change issued the following statement in response to today’s announcement by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) to make Narcan, a medication that rapidly reverses opioid overdoses, available over the counter:
“Alliance for Positive Change applauds the Federal Drug Administration’s decision to make Narcan available without a prescription. In New York City, the overdose crisis has reached historic levels—2,668 individuals died of a drug overdose in 2021, an increase of 78 percent since 2019 and 27 percent since 2020. We know that getting this safe and easy-to-use medication into the hands of more New Yorkers will save lives.
However, people who do not have the resources to purchase Narcan will likely continue to face barriers to accessing it. We hope that over-the-counter Narcan will be covered by private and public insurance plans, and that this decision motivates local and federal leaders to invest in programs that provide free harm reduction resources in communities most impacted by the overdose crisis. At the Alliance LES Harm Reduction Center, we are proud to provide free Narcan trainings and kits to equip thousands of people to administer it in the event of an overdose. Community providers like Alliance will continue to play a critical role in providing free, culturally competent, nonjudgmental harm reduction services, including Narcan.
Finally, Narcan is just one tool in a suite of harm reduction options that are often misunderstood or stigmatized. We hope this decision will lead to expanded access to other evidence-based interventions, like fentanyl test strips and syringe exchanges.”
About Alliance for Positive Change
Alliance for Positive Change is a leading multiservice organization that provides low-income New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS and other chronic conditions with access to quality health care, housing, harm reduction, coaching, and our renowned peer training and job placement program that cultivates leadership and economic mobility. Alliance opened in 1991, at the height of the HIV crisis—a welcoming community of transformation and opportunity. Today, we deliver on the promise of Positive Change with services and resources that equip people to navigate systemic inequities and achieve health and well-being. Learn about all the ways we inspire Positive Change at www.alliance.nyc.
Alliance Joins The Bronx Social Justice and Anti-Violence Forums to Discuss 340B Pharmacy Carveout
Alliance’s Program Manager of Criminal Justice Initiative, Eugene Eppes, and Director of Administration, Brooke Montes spoke with host Daren Jaime about how the 340B pharmacy carveout threatens public health, as well as how to make your voice heard before the deadline of April 1.
“Health inquiries were really exacerbated and highlighted during the pandemic, so to take [the pharmacy benefit] from the people who need it, who were the hardest hit from the pandemic,” explains Brooke. “Our very own Senator Rivera of the Bronx has introduced a bill, S5136, and our Health Chairs in the Senate and the Assembly have put a rejection in the one house budget." Supporters are encouraged to contact their legislators and urge them to reject the carveout today.
As deadline approaches, Alliance CEO op-ed reveals dangers of NYS carving out the 340B program April 1
With less than one week to save 340B pharmacy benefit program, our CEO Sharen Duke’s op-ed was published in AMNY Sunday, March 26. A staunch advocate for smart public policy that promotes health access, this is her fourth op-ed since “The Cuomo” carveout was proposed in 2019. She writes:
“On April 1, Community Health Safety Net Providers from Buffalo to Brooklyn will be forced to lay people off, shut down programs, and close buildings leaving thousands without the medical care they need and deserve. Many of those who will be left out in the cold are those most in need…
Why does the state’s Medicaid office want to hurt so many of its residents who rely on these programs? It says it will save money. Experts don’t agree. The experts say the advertised savings just don’t add up. So not only will the new Medicaid plan not save money, but it will leave thousands who need help with no place to go.”
Positive Change Hero: Diana Pizarro
1. Tell us a little about yourself, who you are, what you do, and what brought you to Alliance?
My name is Diana Pizarro, I am 64 years old. I have been working in the business of helping people since I was 9 or 10 years old. As a young girl I used to help my mother’s friends and family that came from Puerto Rico who did not know how to speak English, with translation, filling out forms, applications, and taking them to the hospital and HRA for assistance.
No wonder I am in this line of work.
I was recommended to the Alliance after I was a case manager at GMHC for almost 15 years, serving for several as Treatment Adherence Manager where I provided clients with tools to remember to take their medications like the use of a calendar, a wristband timer to set alarm and a medicine box with the letters of every day of the week.
Now I am a Health Homes Case Manager.
2. Tell me about your current program/service and what problem it solves.
Health Home case management provides resources for people that are diagnosed with chronic diseases, like mental health, Diabetes, Asthma, and HIV, to name a few. Health Home case management assists the clients with linkage to medical services and monitors their good health practice for stability. We also provide resources for individuals and families in need of shelter, support groups etc... Case Managers like me coordinate meetings with other providers, general practitioners, therapists, and others—with the clients’ consent, of course and work towards developing a unique care plan that can assist the client obtain their medical and mental health goals.
3. Right now, do you work with drastically different populations than earlier in your career?
At Alliance, my caseload is even more diverse. In this line of work, you face different challenges based on each client’s situation. Some may need special housing allowances or health needs. I advocate for all my clients to reach their care plan goals. One particular client that was on my case load multiple times was looking for more desirable housing. I was able to help him get an apartment, then he moved away, and he came back, I assisted him again, and then moved again.
4. Is there an achievement or contribution to this program you are particularly proud of?
Helping clients with resources for work, and gaining employment. One person I have worked with trained to become a home attendant in nursing. Another who was not sure they could handle working now works in a restaurant and is thinking of going back to college.
5. How has your program changed during the pandemic?
Virtual services. Learning modern technology and getting access to services. It has been a challenge, especially for our older clients, but fortunately nothing disastrous has happened, like them losing passwords to key services.
6. If you could do anything in addition to what you are doing now, what would it be?
I would donate to organizations like ours, and healthcare institutions that help people with diabetes, cancer, and breast cancer. And I would travel abroad a lot more. I have been to Germany, Paris, and the Netherlands. I would like to see more of the world. Tokyo, Greece, which I am hoping to go to this Summer.