HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011 September NewsletterStaff Updates: Jennifer Johnson is the Mental Health Housing Program Specialist. Jen was
hired in February 2006 as a Resource Coordinator in the Fulton County remote office, and
she was promoted to Program Specialist in April 2010. Jen oversees five housing programs,
totaling 40 scattered-site apartments. She also is the PATH Coordinator, assisting individu-
als with mental illness who are homeless or in imminent risk of becoming homeless with
security deposit, rental assistance, and other services. Additionally, she is a Resource Coor-
dinator supervisor. Jen is the proud mother of two sons, Landon (4) and Lane (10 months).
She loves spending time with her sons whether it is outside playing on the swing set or in
the sandbox, or inside reading books or making cupcakes. Jen, her husband Scott, and their
two boys reside in Huntington County.
Upcoming Meetings/Trainings:
**Transition/Employment Council meeting: 9/27: Transition/Employment Council meeting at Human Ser-
vices Building at 9 AM.
** Upcoming HCQU Trainings at the Admin Annex from 10 am to 12 pm (contact Marion Rowe):
10/14 Obsessive Compulsive Disorder; 11/18 Influenza
**Wednesday, October 19th and Thursday, 20th: Human Services Training Days at Rhodes Grove Camp
Check us out on the web: http://www.co.franklin.pa.us/Pages/FrankFulMHMRAdmin.aspx
September 14, 2011, Issue 18
Program Updates: What is a Disaster Crisis Outreach Referral Team (DCORT)? DCORT is available to provide
immediate crisis counseling and support to general public during and following a critical/traumatic event. The
local County team consists of volunteer mental health professionals and paraprofessionals from our community
and is accessed through contacting MH/MR. They do not self-deploy. Prior to receiving an 8 hour training, team
members must complete 2 National Incident Management System (NIMS) online courses. The team coordinator
is able to request mutual aid from Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) through PA Office of
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS). Recent deployments have included local schools
having students involved in vehicle accidents, businesses and agencies with staff injuries and/or death, support
during flu shot vaccination sites, and just this week deployments to the flood ravaged areas of PA. Anyone in-
terested in more information can contact Cori Seilhamer at caseilhamer@co.franklin.pa.us
From the Desk of the Administrator: Happy September! I want to use this section for several things this month.
First, I need to make a note here that I cannot take any credit for the design of these newsletters at all! I always get compli-
ments, which I pass on to the “designer,” Jen Lipko. Jen is the secretary for the Admin staff. Kudos to Jen!
Second, we recently held our annual summer retreat and the following was provided to me as a summary: “On Wednesday,
August 31st staff from our agency gathered in Caledonia State Park for a day of team building out of the office and in the great
out of doors…. MH/MR Bingo - - mingling; Scavenger Hunt - - exploring; Getting to know you - - sharing; Bees - - ignoring
(at least trying); Lunch - - eating; Bees - - concerning; Free time - - enjoying; Community service - - giving; Shipwreck activi-
ty - - conversing; Self-defense - - learning; Wrap up activities - - affirming; The weather - - charming; Thank you to Commis-
sioner Keller for joining our wrap up activities!”
Third, the third goal on our strategic plan is “By December 31, 2011, and annually thereafter, Franklin/Fulton County MH/
MR will assist in identifying and coordinating training opportunities involving two or more programs both within the agency
(internal) and within the community (external).” There are far too many steps to this goal for me to list them all specifically,
but this is the goal that has resulted in the Sharing Resources Network that you receive twice a week, with the purpose of
sharing as many training and resources as we can. We are also developing an evaluation tool for use with future trainings in
order to evaluate the effectiveness of trainings we are able to offer. This goal has just placed trainings on the top of all of our
lists—for both County and Provider staff. We are constantly looking for ways to increase our ability to provide resources.
Franklin/Fulton County MH/MR/EIFranklin/Fulton County MH/MR/EIFranklin/Fulton County MH/MR/EIFranklin/Fulton County MH/MR/EI
425 Franklin Farm Lane, Chambersburg, PA 17202425 Franklin Farm Lane, Chambersburg, PA 17202425 Franklin Farm Lane, Chambersburg, PA 17202425 Franklin Farm Lane, Chambersburg, PA 17202
“Heard Across Two Counties”“Heard Across Two Counties”“Heard Across Two Counties”“Heard Across Two Counties”
Monthly Topics:
• Mental Health
• Developmental Disabili-
ties
• Early Intervention