March 2019

March 12 – Lakewood, NJ – Preferred Behavioral Health Group (PBHG) is completing a major renovation project at their 700 Airport Road Facility, with the help of long-time neighbor Gaming Laboratories International (GLI®), who contributed $30,000 to help fund the transformation of the facility.  “We are extremely grateful to GLI for their generous contribution towards the renovation and expansion of our facility that will augment the advancement and quality of our services,” said Mary Pat Angelini, CEO of Preferred Behavioral Health Group. “Their support enables us to continue to provide services to over 30,000 children, teens, adults, and seniors through more than 70 comprehensive programs. It’s with GLI’s generous donation that we can continue this important work.” James R. Maida, President and CEO of GLI, voiced his support. “Giving back is built into GLI’s culture and we strive to impact and support the health, welfare and educational needs of the local communities where we live and work. We are proud to support PBHG in their mission to meet the needs of local families in Monmouth & Ocean Counties, on behalf of all of our employees.” GLI is a world-class independent testing, certification and professional services lab to the global gaming industry. Their laboratories are found on six continents and they continue to expand their services, with more than 1200 employees around the world. Preferred Behavioral Health Group is a non-profit organization that has served the community for over 40 years.  PBHG provides mental health and substance abuse education, prevention, support and treatment to over 30,000 children, adults, and seniors every year.  Its mission is to deliver quality and compassionate behavioral health services to individual and families all the time. 

March 12, 2019 – Sayreville–Anna Kline, program director for Preferred Behavioral Health Group (PBHG), was presented with the Crisis Intervention Team Behavioral Health Care Provider of the Year award on February 28. Ms. Kline was nominated by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office and members of the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT). The CIT program is an intensive 1-week program designed to help keep individuals with mental illness out of jail and into treatment. Anna is one of the leaders for the Ocean County CIT and also serves as the director of our Integrated Case Management and Justice Involved Services’ programs. The 40 hour training is run two times a year. The CIT program in an international model of collaboration between the community’s law enforcement system and the mental health system, with the goal of providing knowledge about mental illness, crisis resolution skills and access to community based services. In New Jersey, the CIT Center of Excellence was established in 2007 and assists counties in developing their own CIT programs. Ms. Kline has over 27 years of experience working in the mental health field in Ocean County, and has worked with law enforcement throughout her entire career, including serving as a Critical Incident Debriefer with the Ocean County Emergency Response Team. She has been a member of the PBHG staff for 18 years, and also chairs the Ocean County Law Enforcement training collaborative. “I feel very rewarded to represent PBHG in this very important acknowledgement of our contributions to an extremely critical initiative in community education, training law enforcement, and promoting better outcomes for the individuals we serve,” said Ms. Kline. Caption: Anna Kline receives the Behavioral Health Care Provider of the Year from Ed Dobleman, Director of the Crisis Intervention Team of New Jersey.