consulting for the Maryland Department of Health. “Many people were having problems accessing the public health system,” Njoku says. Njoku came to the U.S. from his native Nigeria in 1980, after earning a bachelor's degree in health and physical education. After emigrating, he earned a master's in hospital management from the University of Pittsburgh's School of Public Health, and a DrPH degree In health services administration. Njoku has worked in the mental health eld for the past 20 years, rst as an associate professor of health services management and director of research at Southeastern University in Washington, D.C., and then as a consultant for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and as a health planner for the state of Maryland. When Njoku was getting ABA off the ground, he spent much of his time visiting area hospitals, clinics and health care and social service agencies to make them aware of the range of services ABA could provide to those in need. Over time, ABA developed a solid referral base, and built a positive reputation as a care provider – which also resulted in many “word-of-mouth” and walk-in referrals. “Providing mental health services is a public health challenge, and we don't do it in isolation,” Njoku says. Unlike some community-based agencies, ABA provides a wide range of services on-site and off-site, with staff psychiatrists, therapists and counselors and a recently-added substance abuse program. Another thing that distinguishes ABA is its location in an area of West Baltimore that has one of the city’s highest concentrations of public health challenges – including poverty, relatively high rates of mental illness and substance abuse, prostitution, drug dealing and other crimes. Joel Coonin, a clinical social worker who has been working in the mental health eld since 1952, has worked at ABA for several years. “This is a good agency; I'm quite fond of what they do here,” says Coonin, who formerly worked for the Veterans Administration, and also served as an assistant clinical professor of social work at the University of Maryland. “What I like most about ABA is that they are very thorough; they aren't 'hit and miss.' We've had patients who received care at top notch hospitals who hadn't been successful; they have come here and done well.” 9
”PROVIDING MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES IS A PUBLIC HEALTH CHALLENGE, AND WE DON'T DO IT IN ISOLATION.” – Albert Njoku
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