NAMI-MI presented the mental health professional award during its 4th Annual Honors Gala

LIVONIA, MI, UNITED STATES, August 16, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Hegira Health, Inc., a top behavioral healthcare provider in Wayne County, congratulates clinical director Melissa Tolstyka for being named the Clinical Professional of the Year by the Michigan chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI-MI). The National Alliance on Mental Illness, the largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to improving the lives of persons living with serious mental illness and their families.

Melissa Tolstyka was honored on Aug. 7 for her outstanding achievements in Suicide Prevention at the 4th Annual black-tie NAMI-MI Honors Gala in Midland, MI. She received the Clinical Professional of the Year award from NAMI's Board of Directors.

Hegira Health's future CEO, Carol Zuniga, said, "We are very proud of the leadership, compassion and innovation in providing suicide prevention training and outreach programs led by Melissa Tolstyka. The award is well deserved. We are appreciative of our community partner NAMI-MI for recognizing her achievements."

Melissa Tolstyka graduated from Oakland University (Rochester, MI), where she completed her BA in Human Resource Development with a concentration in Human Services and obtained the esteemed William Morehouse Award for Leadership. From there, she obtained her MA in Counseling and is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Michigan and is a National Certified Counselor. In 2016, Melissa Tolstyka obtained her Integrated Behavioral Health and Primary Care Certificate from the University of Michigan. In 2019, she became a Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR™) certified trainer through the QPR Institute and subsequently became a QPR Master Trainer. Melissa Tolstyka is also trained in Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) and is a certified Mental Health First Aid trainer.

Melissa Tolstyka is one of the top suicide-prevention thought leaders in Michigan. To learn more about some of Hegira Health's suicide prevention programs, go to www.hegirahealth.org/suicideprevention. Throughout the course of her 20+ year career at Hegira Health, she has implemented integrated health care programs and services, including Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) and Primary Care. Under her leadership, the SBIRT program expanded into seven locations throughout Wayne and Washtenaw counties in Michigan. Melissa Tolstyka has obtained grant funding for SBIRT expansion, the Zero Suicide Model implementation, Integrated Healthcare initiatives, and, most recently, SAMHSA's Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic expansion grant and SAMHSA's COVID-19 Emergency Response for Suicide Prevention grant. On behalf of Hegira Health, Melissa Tolstyka applied to and was accepted into three Integrated Healthcare Innovative Learning Communities, including Chronic Disease Self-Management, Metabolic Syndrome and Primary Healthcare and Wellness. This work led to the development of new health-related protocols benefitting the individuals served. She was the clinical lead when Hegira Health implemented the electronic health record, which included the development training program and the creation of clinical documents and workflows in the system. Melissa Tolstyka provides the clinical and operational oversight to most Hegira Health programs and services.

Carol Zuniga
Hegira Health
+1 248-760-1206
czuniga@hegirahealth.org
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