Taking Healthcare by Storm: Industry Insights with Tara Mayson

In this captivating episode of Taking Healthcare by Storm, delve into the world of expert insights as Quality Insights Medical Director Dr. Jean Storm engages in a thought-provoking and informative discussion with Tara Mayson, Founder, CEO and President of The Hope Dealer Project.

If you have any topics or guests you'd like to see on future episodes, reach out to us on our website. 

This material was prepared by Quality Insights, a Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Views expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the official views or policy of CMS or HHS, and any reference to a specific product or entity herein does not constitute endorsement of that product or entity by CMS or HHS. Publication number 12SOW-QI-ARPA-111524-GK

Transcript

Welcome to "Taking Healthcare by Storm: Industry Insights," the podcast that delves into the captivating intersection of innovation, science, compassion, and care. 

In each episode, Quality Insights’ Medical Director Dr. Jean Storm will have the privilege of engaging with leading experts across diverse fields, including dieticians, pharmacists, and brave patients navigating their own healthcare journeys. 

Our mission is to bring you the best healthcare insights, drawing from the expertise of professionals across West Virginia, Pennsylvania and the nation.

Subscribe now, and together, we can take healthcare by storm.

Hello everyone and welcome to Taking Healthcare by Storm. I am Dr. Jean Storm, the Medical Director of Quality Insights, and today I have the pleasure of speaking with Tara Mason, the founder, CEO, and President of the HOPE Foundation. Dealer Project. Tara is a dedicated advocate for those struggling with substance abuse and families affected by addiction, which touches so many.

Since founding her organization in 2015, she has made a remarkable impact in her community, fostering collaboration and support through innovative programs like Vivid Vision Youth and Community Outreach, with her compassionate leadership and commitment to empowering others. Tara has become a beacon of hope in the fight against addiction.

I am so excited to learn about her journey and the incredible work she continues to do. Tara, thank you so much for joining us today. Yeah, sure. So let's just jump in. How did you come to do what you do? Have you always lived in West Virginia? 

I am born and raised, so I am a diehard Mountaineer. My passion for helping those in recovery was born from personal experiences with my family, friends, struggling with addiction.

I think, Every person in the entire state in the entire country, has been affected by substance abuse in one way or another. But yeah, I have lived here in West Virginia my entire life. My career has always been focused on helping people. Whether it's through, my 15 years with the government or just working with the Hope Dealer Project in general, but West Virginia's tight knit communities and growing the need for recovery services has inspired me to take action.

So it's only up from here. 

Yes, agree. So what inspired you to start the Hope Dealer Project and what were some of the early challenges you faced getting it off the ground? 

It started from just witnessing the devastation that addiction has caused individuals and families, in our community.

I knew that the stigma surrounding addiction often prevents, people from seeking help. We can no longer, leave that in the dark or sweep it under the rug. We have to unlearn those behaviors. So many were skeptical or hesitant at reaching out at first, but once they saw the genuine support, provided by, myself, my team it just grew and here we are today.

That's wonderful. It's reducing stigma is so very important. Can you share a specific story that highlights the impact the Hope Dealer Project has had on individuals or families struggling with addiction? 

Yes. So one of my most moving stories comes from a woman in recovery who joined our program after a year of feeling isolated.

No one, okay. Not only did she regain her sobriety, but she also became an advocate in her own community. So eventually helping others through our peer recovery support program. But watching her go from feeling, hopeless to empowering others is just a transformation that just keeps us going.

It just keeps us going. Once an individual reaches out to us to become. A client, they're a client for life. This isn't a one and done. We get you in detox or we get you in rehab and, good luck to you. No, you become a client for life, because recovery is a journey.

It's not a destination. So they'll always be a part of the Hope Dealer Project family. 

That's wonderful to hear. Peer recovery specialists, they're amazing individuals, so valuable. So as someone who chairs the Naranon family group, what key insights have you gained from supporting families affected by addiction?

So one key insight that addiction affects the entire family. It's just not the individual that's, using the substance. Families often feel helpless, ashamed guilt they need so much support as their loved one is in recovery and understanding that recovery is a family journey has shaped our approach as a whole and supporting both the individual and their families is crucial to their long term sobriety.

If you've ever, encountered a loved one that's struggling with substance abuse, not only are they working their recovery, but families also need to work their recovery. And what I have found with families is You know, say it's a mom with, her child that's struggling with addiction, the searching the premises for drug or drug related paraphernalia type of thing, you become a detective they got off work at five o'clock and now here it is, 5 20 and you're wondering where they are and knowing it's a 10 minute ride home or.

You don't see their social media green light on to show that they're active. They've been offline for, nine, 10 hours. So those suspicions arise. We help them, navigate through those situations and it's truly helped a lot of families. 

I can imagine. So with the launch of vivid vision, youth and community outreach, what have you seen as the most effective ways to engage youth?

and foster that sense of community. 

So while Vivid Vision is still actively engaged in our community we have shifted our focus a little bit from Vivid Vision to the West Virginia Goes Purple initiative, but with Vivid Vision the impact that we were looking to make Is to work with the Children that are affected with their parents substance abuse.

So it could be a family member or a grandparent that is raising this child. And, in order to Allow them to feel that love again. That it's not their fault. We held various different community activities, that would engage them and get them involved and just being a kid, we still do those things.

But our focus right now has been shifted to the West Virginia. Goes purple initiative, which now has governor's endorsement. So the entire state now has gone purple during national recovery month. 

That's just fantastic. So the COVID pandemic significantly affected many communities. How did it impact the hope dealer project and what adjustments do you continue to make and did you make?

in supporting those in need during the pandemic and maybe now in the post pandemic period. 

So the pandemic hit those that were struggling with addiction particularly hard as isolation became a significant trigger for relapse. And we had to pivot quickly, during this pandemic, moving many of our support services to one line and increasing our outreach, through social media and things like that.

We also saw an increased need for mental health. support. So we began collaborating with local therapists and counselors for virtual sessions and things like that, which they were just ecstatic, about doing because just because, our country, shut down during the pandemic for, quite a while they still needed those services, in order to maintain their sobriety.

So it, it all went hand in hand. 

Yeah. Telemedicine and all of that technology is really a Lifeline during that time. So your work emphasizes collaboration. How do you foster partnerships with other organizations and stakeholders to enhance the services you provide? 

So collaboration is essential, to our success.

We foster partnerships by identifying shared goals and creating opportunities for mutual support. For example we work closely with the recovery centers here locally our local government and businesses to promote the Hope Dealer Project as well as our initiative, West Virginia Goes Purple.

And communication and transparency are key. It's just, keeping everyone informed about how we collectively make an impact. So social media, we rely on heavily, our website and holding various different events and activities to, lay that groundwork for resources and things like that, that are available in our community.

Oh, that's amazing. Bringing people who are making a difference, bringing all those people, making a difference together. Very important. So you were recognized as one of West Virginia's wonder women and people's women changing the world. It must've been extremely validating. For all the hard work that you have done, how does this recognition influence your work and the visibility of the Hope Dealer Project?

Humbling. It has actually opened doors for broader outreach and advocacy. It has elevated the visibility of the Hope Dealer Project. Helping us secure more partnerships and resources and things like that. But most importantly, it has shown the people that we serve that their stories are important.

and deserve recognition too. 

Yeah, absolutely. And I'm sure all of those recognitions have empowered other women. So I'm sure you're committed to empowering women. Can you discuss specific initiatives or mentorship programs you've implemented to support women in your community? 

Empowering women is our central mission.

We've launched a mentorship program where women in recovery can receive support from their peers who have gone through similar experiences. Additionally, we host women empowerment workshops focusing on personal growth, career development and leadership especially for those who are working on rebuilding their lives, after addiction.

So whether it's dressing for success interviewing questions and, Q and A's and techniques and things like that. And even exploring some college, credits and courses for them to. Further advance their career development. So a lot of it is just, being able to, allow them to work with peers who have not only been where they are, but who are also walking the walk, they're successful in their recovery.

They've taken college courses. Many have been promoted on their job. So we enjoy receiving all of those accolades because we're walking the journey with them. Like I said in the beginning, recovery is a journey. It's not a destination. So getting those invitations to, their wedding or they're now expecting their first child or they just bought their first home, all of that we love, recovery is possible. It is. Yeah. 

And I can imagine just having you as a role model serves just, it's just probably tremendous for a lot of women. 

I amp them up. I'm going to tell you, get, let's get excited about this. You know what I mean? Just start writing it out. I'm a true person about putting pen to paper, write it out.

It's one thing to just write it out and tuck that notepad away, but when you have to highlight it off and you have an accountability partner who's going to hold you accountable to the things that you have written out, it takes you to a whole nother level. 

I agree. Agree. So what are your aspirations for the Hope Dealer Project in the coming years?

Are there any new programs or initiatives that you are excited about? 

So right now we're aiming to expand the West Virginia goes purple initiative across all 55 counties creating a statewide recovery movement. So we're excited about launching more youth programs, strengthening our communities for our outreach efforts particularly in the rural areas where resources are scarce.

So our goal is making recovery accessible and, to every West Virginian and, aside from that, I want to strategically place a purple ambassador either by region or, by county so that we can roll out this purple initiative, throughout the entire state. So I need to strategically now work on securing purple ambassadors.

Who will be able to, spearhead that and roll it out in their own communities. 

That's great. I love that. Expansion and creating that purple ambassador program.

So you are a full time government employee on top of everything that you're doing with the Hope Dealer Project. So how do you balance your personal life with your responsibilities as a nonprofit leader, and what advice do you have for others who are trying to find that balance and have a dream of doing the same?

So balancing the roles. It's challenging. I'm not going to lie. It's all about transparency here, but I make it work. I make it work by, staying organized and prior to our prioritizing self care. So care is so important. We can learn lead to compassionate burnout type things.

I also have a fantastic team. I've got a team of 15 that also handles the day to day operations for me. My advice though, to others is to lean on your support system. Lean on that support system and delegate when necessary and always carve out time for yourself and family.

I'm a single mom. I have two adult children. I just became an empty nester. So hearing sounds in my house has been a challenge, who is that? There's nobody here but me. But no, seriously, you carve out that time or yourself and your family go to those birthday parties and do things with family, and I delegate like my team were always bouncing all day long.

What you got on your plate. I can take, I've got a couple hours carved out of my day. I can make some follow up phone calls or I can make some follow up emails, so we work together. It balances. 

That's great. It sounds like your team is just really amazing team. Absolutely.

Important. So last question, I ask everyone who comes on the podcast, and I'll tell you it's maybe a little bit charged in this this political climate that we are currently in. If you were in charge of healthcare in the United States, what is the first thing that you would do? 

I would definitely focus on mental health and addiction services, making it more accessible and affordable.

These services need to be integrated into standard health care so that people can get the help that they need without barriers. Whether that's therapy, recovery programs, medication assistance treatment, addressing addiction as a healthcare issue rather than a criminal one is essential to creating lasting change.

We have a hospital actually in Virginia and Winchester, Virginia that just launched this week. It's made national news where they have a, I'm just going to call it a behavioral health and substance abuse. triage to their ed department. So you're not walking into the same ed department where someone is dealing with a trauma, an injury, a broken leg that needs a cast, or, someone that, got a major cut at work and they need some stitches and you're sitting here.

And if you are aware about substance abuse, they can go through what we call dope sick, which is their withdrawals. Seeing those types of injuries or medical conditions that one's going through, it can be lead to trauma. It can lead to them wanting to just walk out and just give up.

So they've created a separate triage area that's connected to their ED department, and that's where they would walk into for behavioral health and substance abuse. They don't have to walk into the regular ED department. So that's huge. I would love for that to just go nationwide because that's a different type of service versus someone that's there for stitches or a cast or an x ray type thing.

Separating that so that they have that path and they can continue that journey and get to where they need to go to receive the services that they need. That would 

be great. I agree. Prioritizing mental health in that way where there's a separate space that is, sacred to treat that those illnesses, it's super important and reducing.

Stigma where it's okay, to receive treatment. I agree a hundred percent. Tara Mason. Thank you so very much for coming on the podcast. I am happy that people like you are in the world making a difference. You are just making a tremendous difference. And I really appreciated hearing your story today.

And I wish you all the best luck with the hope dealer project going forward in the future. 

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for having us. It's been a pleasure. And like I said, this is my passion, so I'm all about, spreading recovery and spreading hope. And as I say in all my speaking engagements, we're the new dealers in town.

We're the hope dealers. We deal hope. I am going to spread that far and wide throughout the entire state of West Virginia. 

And you're doing it. Thank you again. Yes. Thank you.

Thank you for tuning in to Taking Healthcare by Storm: Industry Insights with Quality Insights Medical Director Dr. Jean Storm. We hope that you enjoyed this episode. If you found value in what you heard, please consider subscribing to our podcast on your favorite platform.

If you have any topics or guests you'd like to see on future episodes, you can reach out to us on our website. We would love to hear from you.

So, until next time, stay curious, stay compassionate, and keep taking healthcare by storm.