HomeMy WebLinkAboutMH Provider Meeting Minutes 3-11-16Mental Health Provider Meeting
Human Services Building
Friday, March 11, 2016
MH Provider Meeting 1 3/11/16
MEETING MINUTES
Welcome and Introductions
Everyone introduced themselves and their agency affiliation.
Provider Announcements and Updates
› Lincoln Intermediate Unit 12 ~ Hal Johnson
On May 12th there will be an Employment Fair targeting individuals with
disabilities, age eighteen (18) and older. It will be hosted by MH/ID at the
Chambersburg Recreation Center. MH/ID is currently seeking employers in
the county and nearby counties who would be interested in attending the
Employment Fair and hiring individuals with disabilities. Please contact Lori
Young (llyoung@franklincountypa.gov) if interested or you may register by
clicking here. The event is free! There will be a keynote speaker in the
morning along with a chance to network with others. The Employment Fair
will then be open to the public from 12:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. for individuals
with disabilities to meet with employers and complete applications.
The LIU has been approved as a provider for OVR for pre-employment
transition services. If a student is referred for job coaching/shadowing or in
school pre-employment training, LIU is now approved. It is important that
students are connected with OVR to get them ready for adulthood and the
work force.
› Occupational Services, Inc. ~ Deb Thomas
OSI is putting together a booklet called “The Connector.” If anyone has a
business, classified ad, local event, etc. they would like added in the booklet
you can post your ad at www.osinc.org/theconnector or contact Joseph Lahr
at (717) 263-9293 ext. 215 or jlahr@osinc.org. The first ad is free and due by
March 24th. The Connector will go out monthly starting April 2016. For more
information, please contact OSI.
› Healthy Communities Partnership ~ Christy Unger
One of the efforts in the Community that Care focused on the Chambersburg
area called Chambersburg Cares. The meetings are held the first Tuesday of
each month at noon at the Brethren Fellowship Church in Chambersburg.
The goal is to decrease use factors. Targeted behaviors run the spectrum. The
meetings focus on substance abuse, mental health, depression, anxiety,
school dropout, etc. For more information contact Christy at (717) 264-1470
or Christy.hcp@gmail.com.
Two (2) organizations are working together to apply for evidence based
grants. One is Incredible Years Program for parents with children ages four
(4) to ten (10) years of age. It is a therapeutic program with a child and
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parent component. The program will be through Hempfield Behavioral
Services. It is provided in Adams County and a pilot at SCCAP. It is a twenty
(20) week program. The second program is Strengthening Families, which
HCP is applying for. It is a universal program for parents of ten (10) to
fourteen (14) year olds. The program is seven (7) weeks. There is a parent
component and a parent/child component where they work on skills
together. The agencies hope to find out about the grant funding in late June.
› TrueNorth Wellness Services ~ Larissa Jacobson
TrueNorth is providing Mental Health Adult and Youth First Aid training at
the Wellness Conference hosted by Mental Health Association May 6th. The
Youth First Aid is for transitional age. Please contact MHA to register.
Provider Presentation – “I Am the Evidence” ~ Mental Health Association
› Barry Munch and others from the Mental Health Association attended the MH
Provider Meeting to discuss “I Am the Evidence.” The focus is on the stigma
around mental illnesses. As soon as you mention mental illness to someone,
they tend to “back up” as it is a mark/blemish as if something is wrong with
those individuals. One (1) in four (4) people has a mental illness. A lot of
individuals with mental illness do not display anything as they are dealing
with their illness. The more we talk about mental illness the better the
understanding of what it is and how we treat it. Individuals with mental
illness need supports. It is time to stop hiding your mental illness, talk about
it and support those who have it. We need to watch how we talk and the
usage of our language towards mental illness. Many associate mental illness
with such words as crazy, psycho, head problem, etc. These words are hurtful
for those around you. I Am the Evidence raises awareness about how people
can positively impact the lives of individuals with mental health recovery by
honoring human potential, creating opportunities and offering
encouragement. If you notice someone struggling, ask them if there is
anything you can do to help them. They need to know they have support!
› Along with a brief presentation that Barry gave on “I Am the Evidence”, two
individuals shared their stories of their mental illness and their recovery.
› Other services/supports of MHA mentioned were:
Help Line – operates Wednesday, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays
from 5:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. Call 717-264-2916 or 1-866-593-8351.
Depression, Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) – Tuesday night class
from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. for individuals or their families. It is a walk-
in session. Individuals who attend are not screened. Class is for adults.
Senior Reach – this is an outreach program for seniors. Seniors often
mention their loneliness. Senior Reach encourages participants to talk
about anything that is of interest or concern to them. Visits/calls can
be once a week or twice; depending on what the senior wants. For
more information, call 717-264-4301.
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May 20th – 22nd is the Art Show “Reflections of Recovery” at the
Chambersburg Mall for individuals with mental health challenges,
family members or providers to enter. Cash prizes are awarded!
The Leadership Academy starts March 21st. There are still openings! It
is a twelve (12) course class lasting six (6) weeks with the focus on
leadership skills. It gives the opportunity to build skills for individuals
to move out into the community, communicate, networking, time
management, managing changes, etc.
The Wellness Conference is May 6th at King Street Church.
Franklin County Walk the Walk is May 27th. At this event, graduates
from the Leadership Academy will be honored.
Children’s Services
› CASSP Update – Kim Lucas (handouts)
ARC of Franklin/Fulton Counties is hosting a presentation called the Power
of Parents to empower parents with knowledge on the Special Education
regulations and resources. It will be held at the Greencastle-Antrim High
School on Tuesday, March 29th from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. then 6:00 p.m. –
8:00 p.m. Please review flyer for more information.
Shelly Lill is the new Special Kids Network Coordinator for our region. A
meeting is being coordinated for May; still currently looking for a location.
There will be a presentation for children and families. More information will
be sent out closer to the time of the meeting.
In the last three (3) months there have been sixty-one (61) CASSP Meetings.
If anyone has any information, please let Kim
(kmlucas@franklincountypa.gov) so she can share it. If anyone is interested
in having Kim come to their agency to discuss CASSP and children’s mental
health services, please let her know. Kim can present individually or during a
staff meeting.
› TMCA Update – Michelle Mosher
No update from Tuscarora Managed Care Alliance.
› PerformCare Update – Brian Gannon
This is typically the time of the year to plan for the Summer Therapeutic
Activities Program (STAP); however, none of PerformCare’s providers are
providing that service this year. PerformCare is looking at other options that
may be able to run through the summer in future years.
PerformCare is working with a consulting group called MTM Associates to
implement an open access model for clients in Franklin and Fulton counties.
The model will make it much easier for a client to be seen in a timely manner
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for outpatient and psychiatry. This process is just getting started;
implementation takes about nine (9) months.
PerformCare has sponsored ten (10) to eleven (11) clinicians to receive
advanced training in Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to work
with children who have been abused. The training was started a year ago. It
is coming up to the time where the clinicians are ready to take their exam
and receive their certifications.
VisionQuest (listed under LodgeQuest) now has an outpatient office in
Chambersburg and are taking referrals. The psychiatrist is Dr. Manfredi. You
can view the updated provider information on the PerformCare website:
http://pa.performcare.org or contact Brian (bgannon@performcare.org) or
Michelle (mcmosher@franklincountypa.gov) for information.
Gaudenzia’s Drug and Alcohol outpatient facility is now up and running in
McConnellsburg and are accepting referrals. Their information is available on
the PerformCare website.
In regards to outpatient therapy in schools, Steve Nevada discussed an issue
where a commercial insurer was not able to recognize/credential outpatient
in schools in the network as it was stated there are enough providers in the
network. Steve issued a letter of support from the County indicated the
County would be in support of them reviewing it again. This is a barrier we
encounter with that particular service. If anyone is experiencing this issue,
please let Steve (sanevada@franklincountypa.gov) know.
Standing Agenda Items ~ County Announcements/Information
› Reports due since our last MH Provider Meeting
Audited Reports for fiscal year ending June 30, 2015
- Ed Franchi will be contacting providers who still need to
submit their Audited Reports.
Progress Report on Outcomes in Appendix A
Internal Quality of Service Survey
Quarterly Report on Expenditures (October – December)
› Reports due prior to our next MH Provider Meeting
Appendix A for upcoming fiscal year
Budget/Rate Letter for upcoming fiscal year
Staff Roster for upcoming fiscal year (if appropriate)
Unit Assumptions for upcoming fiscal year (if appropriate)
Budget Narrative for upcoming fiscal year (if appropriate)
Quarterly Report on Expenditures (January – March)
› Psychiatric Admissions Reporting Overview (handout)
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Please review the handout for more detail.
Overview: there are fewer days, admissions and persons in 2015 but the
length of stay has increased by almost four (4) days.
There has been move activity at the Holy Spirit Extended Acute Care.
Previously, the County was borrowing two (2) beds from Cumberland/Perry
County but has since returned them. All three beds remain full. There has not
been much activity at Danville. Currently, still occupying eight (8) beds; this
is three (3) over the bed count.
› Sequential Intercept Model
Due to Cori being unable to attend the MH Provider Meeting, the Sequential
Intercept Model will be added to the June Meeting’s agenda.
› Handouts from Steve
Please refer to the handouts for more information. One handout is an
illustration of affected trauma. The second handout is “Risk and Protective
Factors for Mental, Emotional and Behavioral Disorders Across the Life
Cycle.” The poster goes through infancy and childhood, middle childhood,
adolescence and early adulthood. It’s a color coded key to show disorders,
type of factor and sources of risk/protective factors.
New Agenda Items
› SOAR (SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access and Recovery)
SOAR is the SSI/SSDI outreach, access and recovery program. Franklin
County now has seventeen (17) caseworkers certified to do SOAR. The
agencies that have certified SOAR caseworkers are: Service Access &
Management, Supportive Services for Veterans Families (SSVF), Maranatha,
Adult Probation, South Central Community Action Programs (SCCAP) and
Candleheart. Those certified complete SSI/SSDI applications with individuals
who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless and have a mental health
or physical disability. The SOAR process has reduced the amount of time it
takes to receive an approval on the applications from over a year to roughly
90 days. The income received through SSI/SSDI can help individuals access
housing and support systems. If an individual becomes eligible for SSI/SSDI,
they may also become eligible for Medicaid. The County is the lead for SOAR
in this area. Information and outcomes will be tracked and at some point
numbers will be reported. SOAR runs through the end of June. The County
provided funds for startup. It is unknown if ongoing funds will be available.
However, those certified can continue to provide the service on an ongoing
basis. More information will be emailed out when it is received.
› Service Engagement/Compliance with Treatment
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Discussion was held on service engagement/compliance with treatment and
what approaches providers have found successful. Staff has heard from case
managers and others how they find it challenging in regards to engage
individuals into services or compliance. Individuals on an involuntary
commitment order are told they need to comply; they do not always realize
that the compliance starts with the first appointment and the ramifications if
they do not comply. Providers were asked to share what their agency has
found to be effective ways of engaging people and encouraging them to be in
complaint. Providers stated such things as: educating the individuals so they
have an understanding, training staff as an agency operates more efficiently
and effectively with good staff, front desk coverage is the first and last person
an individual sees which can make or break the process and various other
ideas/information was discussed.
› Updating Email Contacts
Just a friendly reminder: please be sure that Erin is aware of staff who should
be receiving notifications, such as provider minutes/notices, provider
reports, contracts, etc. It is important that the contact information staff up-to-
date. If you know of a staff member who is no longer with the agency or a
new staff member coming to the agency, please email Erin
(ednye@franklincountypa.gov) so she can add/delete them from the lists.
The meeting was adjourned.
Next Meeting:
Friday, June 10, 2016 starting at 10:00 a.m. in the Administrative Annex
[218 North Second Street, Chambersburg – former Senior Center room]
Remaining 2016 Meetings:
(All second Fridays of the month beginning at 10:00 a.m.)
September 9th December 9th
Minutes by Erin Nye