Blog – Page 28 – Bizzell US

9Sep2020

Bizzell Honored by U.S. Chamber of Commerce as Small Business of the Year Award Finalist

Finalists to Be Recognized During Annual Small Business Awards Program

SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 (LANHAM, MD)— The Bizzell Group (Bizzell), one of the fastest growing small businesses in America, has been named a finalist in the 2020 U.S. Chamber of Commerce Dream Big Awards. The Awards, presented by Chase for Business with support from MetLife, celebrate the achievements of small businesses honors their contributions to America’s economic growth.

“Over the last several months, small business owners have faced challenge after challenge. Yet, despite these challenges small business owners never stop innovating, pivoting, taking risks, working hard, and dreaming big,” said Tom Sullivan, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Vice President of Small Business Policy. “Small businesses are a critical and vibrant sector of the U.S. economy. The U.S. Chamber is proud to celebrate the very best in American small business through our Dream Big Awards.”

The Dream Big Awards program includes Business Achievement Awards to recognize excellence in eight categories and reflect the leading businesses in each of the following areas: community support and leadership, emerging, green/sustainable, minority-owned, veteran-owned, woman-owned, young entrepreneur, and small business of the year. This year’s finalists were selected from a record of over 700 applicants.

The Small Business of the Year Award recognizes the success of one small business and honors its contributions to the growth and diversity of the American economy. This award recognizes a small business that exemplifies the spirit of innovation, entrepreneurship, and individual initiative. Finalists for this award exemplify success and leadership in each of the following areas: business growth and performance, business strategies and goals, community engagement, customer and employee relation practices, and innovative business strategies/practices.

“Innovation and resilience are the bricks that solidify our foundation as a small business in America,” said Dr. Anton C. Bizzell, President & CEO for Bizzell. “It is an honor to receive this acknowledgement as we work to ensure longevity in the unprecedented economic climate. I hope for a prosperous tomorrow for all businesses as we persevere through challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Award winners will be announced at the virtual Dream Big Awards program on Thursday, October 15 at 2:00pm ET.

About Bizzell

Established in 2010, The Bizzell Group (Bizzell) is a U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 8(a) certified strategy, consulting, and technology firm that specializes in communications, conference management and logistical support, data analytics, information technology, program management, technical assistance, and training and development. Bizzell’s expert staff and consultants work on health, defense, finance, labor, justice, energy, transportation, education, and global development projects that advance national priorities. Under the leadership and vision of founder, Anton C. Bizzell, MD, the company has grown from a staff of two in one small office, to a thriving firm with offices in Lanham, MD, Rockville, MD, Atlanta, GA and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with on-going projects around the world. Learn more about how Bizzell develops data-driven, research-informed, innovative solutions at: www.BizzellUS.com

About the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business organization representing companies of all sizes across every sector of the economy. Our members range from the small businesses and local chambers of commerce that line the Main Streets of America to leading industry associations and large corporations. For more information, visit www.uschamber.com

8Sep2020

Dr. Bizzell Shares Insights on Substance Abuse in The Philadelphia Inquirer Article

Dr. Bizzell was featured in The Philadelphia Inquirer, the largest newspaper in the United States organized under nonprofit ownership. It has the 18th largest average weekday U.S. newspaper circulation and has won 20 Pulitzer Prizes. In the Philadelphia Inquirer article, Dr. Bizzell is included as a highly distinguished Substance Use Disorder Expert, shedding light on adolescent struggles with alcohol and drugs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The article talks about how pandemic isolation has some teens turning to substance use. Dr. Bizzell shares that social distancing measures and new access to help through telehealth and technology during the pandemic paradoxically have made some aspects of drug treatment and counseling easier to find.

28Aug2020

Dr. Bizzell Featured in Washington Business Journal

Dr. Bizzell shares his journey from physician to a businessman in a new Washington Business Journal series, “My Story,” in which business executives share their personal and professional backgrounds and journeys, their challenges, and their successes. Dr. Bizzell discusses how as an established business leader in the Washington, D.C. metro community and President/CEO of The Bizzell Group, he has defined mentorship as one of the company’s core values. He believes it is his responsibility to build a new generation of leaders, given his past experiences of overcoming racial inequity. Dr. Bizzell encourages future generations to see mentorship as their responsibility and as a solution to fight the racial injustices that too many people continue to face today.

13Aug2020

Mobile Mental Health Apps: Weighing the Pros and Cons

By: Randolph Edmead, MS and Laura LaRue Gertz, MSW, LCSW

As symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression are increasing during the global COVID-19 pandemic, people may be exploring technology-based strategies to relieve symptoms and to supplement mental health care. Increasingly, telehealth is a service covered by insurance providers. In addition, many people are interested in using mobile apps to supplement their care, track and improve their symptoms, and take proactive steps to improve their mental health through strategies such as stress reduction, relaxation, and cognitive behavioral techniques. Yet individuals may also be wondering how to evaluate if a mobile app is useful, evidence-based, and will safeguard their privacy.

Technology-based strategies such as mobile apps for mental health have many potential advantages. Technology has enormous capacity to gather assessment and monitoring data that can provide valuable insights about symptoms, useful strategies and could lead to more effective treatment. Technology can help overcome access barriers for individuals with mobility issues, for individuals living in rural areas or areas with a shortage of providers, and for individuals who have been reluctant to seek conventional mental health services. And now, mobile access is even more important as individuals may be simultaneously coping with increased symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression during the pandemic, while experiencing isolation and reduced access to their usual support systems due to physical distancing.

Although there are many potential advantages of mobile apps to supplement mental health care, there are still many barriers and risks, including lack of effectiveness data; challenges with reproducibility, implementation, and dissemination; concerns about the privacy and confidentiality of data and use or misuse of data; and challenges with integration of technology strategies and data into the treatment plan and the health care system. However, there are useful, accessible strategies that can help people assess the safety and usefulness of a mobile app.

The APA App Evaluation Model is an evaluation roadmap to guide informed decision-making in choosing mobile apps in clinical care. The guideline provides a series of questions, organized by levels, that help consumers and providers decide whether to use a mobile app (Torous et al., 2018). This model does not endorse specific apps, but rather promotes a systematic approach to evaluating apps.

The five levels of the APA App Evaluation Model are:

Access and Background: Assesses background information needed prior to evaluation
Privacy and Security: Considers many aspects of app security and privacy
Clinical Foundation: Evaluates any evidence for potential benefits
Usability: Evaluates how usable the app is for the consumer
Data Integration towards Therapeutic Goal: Examines whether the app’s output can be used in a clinically meaningful way

The PsyberGuide, developed through Northwestern University’s Center for Behavioral Intervention Technologies with funding from the One Mind Institute, reviews and rates apps that claim to treat mental health conditions. The publicly available guide helps consumers make informed choices. PsyberGuide provides app ratings based on three metrics:

Credibility: Evaluates the strength of the scientific research for the app, as well as the therapeutic interventions provided by the app
User Experience: Uses the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) developed by Stoyanov et al. (2015) to assess the design and user interface
Transparency: Evaluates the clarity of the app’s privacy policy regarding data storage and collection procedures of the app and associated servers

Technology will not replace the human connection that is a central part of the care of individuals experiencing stress, anxiety, and depression. But when technology-based strategies are thoughtfully developed, evaluated, and implemented, they have tremendous potential to augment and expand care, to enhance engagement and treatment, and to improve the quality of life for individuals living with mental health conditions.

Randolph Edmead, MS, Vice President of Federal Government Programs. Randolph Edmead has an extensive background managing large teams in the mental health treatment, substance abuse prevention and treatment, policy, and evaluation service areas. Mr. Edmead has over 18 years of experience developing, implementing, and managing the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA’s) Centers for Mental Health Services and Substance Abuse Treatment and Prevention programs; providing curricula and training to SAMHSA and health care providers and staff on leading practices, human resources, accreditation survey support, skills development, and cultural competency; and consulting with healthcare organizations and treatment facilities. Mr. Edmead holds a Master of Science Degree in Clinical Psychology.

Laura LaRue Gertz, MSW, LCSW, Public Health Analyst/Scientific Writer. Laura LaRue Gertz has over 30 years of experience in health and mental health, as a clinician, analyst, writer, researcher, and project manager. She developed literature reviews and reports on evidence-based treatments for individuals with serious mental illness for a federal contract with the SAMHSA Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS). She has also worked on contracts with the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and numerous other U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agencies. Ms. Gertz holds a Master of Social Work Degree and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.

The Bizzell Group (Bizzell) was founded by President & CEO Anton C. Bizzell, M.D., a leading behavioral health expert and former Medical Officer for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Bizzell’s team of public health experts have created and led comprehensive behavioral health prevention and treatment initiatives and education and training programs. Bizzell’s recent work includes systematic, integrated approaches designed to effect lasting change in health and behavioral health care through work with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Department of Defense (DOD). Learn more about how Bizzell advances data-driven, research-informed, innovative solutions to solve complex-real-world challenges: https://BizzellUS.com/

References

Stoyanov, S. R., Hides, L., Kavanagh, D. J., Zelenko, O., Tjondronegoro, D., & Mani, M. (2015). Mobile app rating scale: A new tool for assessing the quality of health mobile apps. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 3(1), e27.

Torous, J. B., Chan, S. R., Gipson, S. Y. M. T., Kim, J. W., Nguyen, T. Q., Luo, J., & Wang, P. (2018). A hierarchical framework for evaluation and informed decision making regarding smartphone apps for clinical care. Psychiatric Services, 69(5), 498-500.

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