In This Issue

DMH Office of Communications and Community Engagement

DMH is Getting Social! 

DMH is on Twitter!

 @MassDMH
 

Commonwealth Conversations

  BLOGS

 This social media platform provides news, updates and serve as a forum for open dialogue about issues related to all 16 EOHHS agencies.

 Click here to read blog posts by Secretary Bigby, Commissioner Leadholm and others

Department of Public Health Blog 

DMH Honors Retired Area Director Ted Kirousis

 
After more than 30 years of dedicated service to the Department of Mental Health and the individuals and families served by DMH, Central-West Area Director Theodore Kirousis retired from the Department on September 23, 2011. To commemorate the occasion, a gathering of more than 100 friends and colleagues, appropriately themed "Singing the Blues," was held in Ted's honor on October 13, at the DoubleTree Hotel in Westborough. Guests were asked to wear something blue in honor of Ted's love of music, especially the blues genre. Live music and sound was provided by Kevin Krivanec, music therapist at Tewksbury Hospital and formerly at Westborough State Hospital. Background music was provided by Kevin Krivanec and Scott Bock, CEO of Riverside Community Care.

Commissioner Barbara Leadholm presented Ted with a service award marking his 32 years with the Department. Steve Cidlevich, Director of Constituent Affairs, presented Ted with a citation from the Massachusetts Senate for his years of service. A citation from the House of Representatives was delivered to Ted personally by Rep. Anne M. Gobi, chair of the Joint Committee on the Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture.

Joel Skolnick, chief operating office of the Metro Boston Mental Health Units at Lemuel Shattuck Hospital and of the former Westborough State Hospital, provided some reflections over his many years of working together with Ted at both the former Medfield and Westborough state hospitals. Scott Bock, on behalf of all who attended and contributed to the event, presented Ted with a gift from Acoustic Sounds, Inc. of Salina, KS to keep Ted well stocked in vintage vinyl and equipment for many years to come.

The emcee for the evening was Cliff Robinson, Metro-Southeast Area Director and long-time friend of Ted's, pictured here with Ted.

Ted expressed his sincere and heartfelt thanks to colleagues and friends for the opportunity to work with such a terrific group of people and expressed his wishes for DMH to continue on with the life-changing work in making a difference on behalf of the many individuals and families served by DMH.

Did you know?

 DMH Values Diversity 

DMH values diversity and recognizes that there are no limits regardless of people's disabilities. 

We want to insure access to our programs and those which we promote to all our workforce, vendor staff, clients and the community.

We ask that all announcements of trainings, workshop or community events that are submitted for publication to the Office of Communications and Community Engagement include the following information:

• Confirm that the location is wheelchair accessible to people with mobility limitations and identify a contact person for further information if needed 
   
• A statement on your notice indicating the following:
  
  "If accommodations such as ASL interpreters or visual aids are needed, please contact name at email address and/or phone by *date."
   
  *The date should be at least two weeks in advance to allow ample time to book an interpreter or prepare materials.

OR

"ASL interpretors will be provided. Please contact name at email address and/or phone by *date if other accommodations are needed."

Any event submission not providing the adequate information and accommodations may not be publicized through DMH communications channels.

Connections Correction 

In the Friends Organization Recognizes DMH's Lucille Traina as "Unsung Hero" article: The second part of the Friends awards ceremonies will be held during the Friends Voices for Rehabilitation and Recovery Fall Forum on Tuesday, Nov. 15 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Center Club, 31 Bowker St., Boston. The forum will include an "Informed Choice" panel, and presentation of the Renata Halter-Riley Award to Margaret Jordan of Human Resources Unlimited. Coffee will also be offered.

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education present video clips of young people talking about nutrition, fitness and healthy weight followed by audience discussion with clinical and policy experts. Discussion of effective strategies for talking with young people about these topics, as well as the new Massachusetts school nutrition law. Organizations attending this event will receive video and print materials to use in education outreach. For more information contact  

Contact Kettie MacLean
 kmaclean@wordscanwork.com
 or 978-282-1663

Nov. 15, 2011

 State of Veterans' Services in the Commonwealth Forum
 Networking at 8:30 a.m.; Program begins at 9 to 11:30 a.m., Gardner Auditorium, State House, Boston.  The program, targeted for service providers and interested stakeholders, will cover many of today's challenges, including consumer and financial issues, access to education, employment, & workforce training, and mental health and suicide prevention efforts. There will be a special panel highlighting programs and practices from across the Commonwealth relative to veterans in the criminal justice system, and we hope to bring together court and public safety officials as additional key first responders to the needs of veterans.

Nov. 15, 2011

Friends Voices for Rehabilitation and Recovery Fall Forum

9 a.m. to 12 p.m., Center Club, 31 Bowker Street, Boston. The forum will include an "Informed Choice" panel, and presentation of the Renata Halter-Riley Award to Margaret Jordan of Human Resources Unlimited. Coffee will also be offered. Click here for a printable flyer which includes the agenda. 

Nov. 18, 2011 

Certified Peer Specialist Role Evolves at DMH

The seminal 1999 Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health highlighted the role of peer-to-peer support in a person's recovery.  Drawing on shared experiences, treatment can be more effective with the involvement of someone with similar perspectives who can, in turn, become a role model and a source of inspiration and hope. At DMH, the role of peers has expanded and evolved as an important one in a recovery-oriented system of care. 

Deanna Bell, pictured left, is a Certified Peer Specialist (CPS) who is the peer liaison at Taunton State Hospital (TSH). Deanna first became aware of the peer liaison role while working at Worcester State Hospital as a nurse.  "I found the role of the peer liaison at Worcester, who is Deni Cohodas, to be helpful to both peers and staff.  I was inspired by her work and became more interested in the role of peer liaison." said Deanna.

Deanna learned of the new peer positions posted in DMH Connections.  She applied and interviewed and was hired for the peer position at Taunton.  After Deanna began working, she was encouraged by her supervisor Jane Musgrave to take a series of trainings to better serve the consumers at TSH.  She completed a group facilitator training, Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance Facilitator training, WRAP facilitator training and training to earn the designation of Certified Peer Specialist.

As a peer liaison, Deanna is involved in many roles. She participates in restraint debriefings, is a member of the Recovery Integration Committee and co-chairs the DMH Statewide Restraint and Seclusion Elimination Sub-committee with Attorney Walter Nunes from the Disability Law Center. She is also a member of the Rehabilitation Department at TSH where she facilitates groups, participates in the vocational rehabilitation program and provides one-to-one peer support as needed.  Deanna also participates in the morning hospital rounds and is often able to contribute a "peer perspective" to the discussion. Deanna says she is very excited to be a Person Centered Planning facilitator also.

Trainers Larry Fricks and Ike Powel join Metro Boston Director of Community Services Patty Kenny.

In September, Deanna joined fellow peer specialists at the Solomon Carter Fuller Mental Health Center for the Peer Whole Health and Resiliency (PWHR) training. This is the first two-day training developed collaboratively by DMH, the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Partnership (MBHP) and the Transformation Center on this topic to provide Certified Peer Specialists with the skills needed to help another peer develop, implement and sustain a whole health goal. PWHR is emerging as an exciting new role for peer specialists. The training was led by Larry Fricks, Deputy Director of the SAMHSA/HRSA Center for Integrated Health Solutions; and Ike Powell, a USPRA Certified Psychosocial Rehabilitation Practitioner (CPRP), certified by Mary Ellen Copeland to train in Wellness Recovery Action Plans. Deanna said she felt that the PWHR training was reinvigorating and reinforced the importance of peer participation and mentoring as it pertains to health and resiliency. 

"It was wonderful to have this peer training, to see others in recovery and to be part of our peer workforce here in the Commonwealth," Deanna said.  "I am always amazed by the talent, perseverance, kindness and professionalism of my peers.  It makes me proud to be a CPS and proud to be a member of this community."

When asked if she's ever had an "A-ha! moment" as a CPS, she said that "every day is an A-ha moment with my peers here at the hospital, when I am trusted to help them on their path to recovery. They teach me as well, we learn from and value each other. It is not a one-way street. I found it very interesting and useful to add to and work on the positive rather than focusing on the negative."

News from the Children's Behavioral Health Initiative (CBHI)

DMH Awarded SAMSHA/CMHS System of Care Expansion Planning Grant for Transition Age Youth and their Families

The U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Center for Mental Health Services has awarded a one year $500,000 System of Care Expansion Planning Grant for transition age youth and their families to the Department of Mental Health (DMH). DMH's Transition Age Youth (TAY) Initiative was among 24 state programs nationwide selected by SAMHSA in this year's round of planning grant awards to expand comprehensive community mental health services for children and their families.

The purpose of the grant will be to develop a comprehensive strategic plan for improving and expanding services provided by systems of care for young adults ages 16-25 with serious emotional disturbances and their families. 

DMH will work with transition age youth, their families and their stakeholders to develop a plan for the creation of a Transition Age Youth and Young Adult System of Care within the Children's Behavioral Health Initiative (CBHI). This grant will support a TAY-led planning effort to determine how CBHI can assist youth and young adults to transition to adulthood and actively partner with their families throughout this process.

"We are delighted that Massachusetts and the Department's Transition Age Youth Initiative was recognized in such a significant way by SAMHSA," said Commissioner Barbara Leadholm. "This grant will help us work with transition age youth, their families and stakeholders to develop a plan to engage young adults within the Children's Behavioral Health Initiative (CBHI)."

Transition age youth receiving mental health services have unique needs that require approaches different from the child/adolescent and the adult systems of care. For the past several years, the DMH Transition Age Youth Initiative has focused on young adults between the ages of 16 and 25 and helped them embark on a positive life path into adulthood and toward the goals of personal stability, community housing and employment and positive youth and family relationships.

A System of Care Expansion Planning Team will be led by DMH Assistant Commissioner for Child/Adolescent Services Joan Mikula and CBHI Director Emily Sherwood. Working with the Parent/Professional Advocacy League (PPAL), Youth Move, the Transformation Center, Consumer Quality Initiatives, Tempo Young Adult Resource Center of Wayside, Central Mass Communities of Care along with UMass Medical Center and Portland (Oregon) State University Research Institutes, the team will design a planning process that:

• Increases TAY voice in policy and planning;
• Increases participation of minority youth in planning and use of services;
• Offers self-assessment and quality improvement;
• Strengthens linkages between child and adult services;
• Builds a knowledgeable and TAY sensitive workforce;
• Expands the capacity of agency information systems; and
• Makes the best use of existing resources through braiding, partnering and/or sharing.   

At the service delivery level, six Community Service Agencies representative of the geographic and ethnic diversity of the state will develop Youth Advisory Groups to help pilot adaptations to better engage and serve transitional age youth. 

The final product will be a comprehensive strategic plan for adapting MassHealth behavioral health services to better serve Transition Age Youth through culturally competent and developmentally appropriate engagement, TAY directed service planning, trauma informed services, and better linkages to the local adult system of care. 

The Executive Office of Health and Human Services together with the Departments of Public Health, Children and Families, Youth Services, Mass Rehabilitation Commission, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development and numerous other stakeholders are committed to focusing resources and strengthening linkages with DMH and CBHI as they redefine engagement and service to the Transition Age Youth population.

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MCPAP Survey Shows High Satisfaction Level Among PCCs

A satisfaction survey released this summer by the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Project (MCPAP) found primary care clinicians (PCCs) shared positive views about adequate access to child psychiatry, their ability to meet the needs of children with psychiatric problems, and their ability to receive a child psychiatric consultation.

According to the survey, 52% of respondents indicated that they are comfortable diagnosing and treating patients with behavioral health issues within primary care. Of those, 71% attributed their comfort to MCPAP services. This was especially true in southeastern Massachusetts, where 83% of respondents credited their comfort with diagnosing and treating patients with behavioral health issues to MCPAP. While survey participants reported they were generally pleased with the service MCPAP offers, written comments indicated that they believe more can be done to improve access to community-based child psychiatry in Massachusetts.

Funded by DMH, MCPAP is a network of regional children's mental health consultation teams designed to help primary care providers meet the needs of children and youth with psychiatric problems, regardless of their health insurance. It provides PCCs telephone consultation with a child psychiatrist within 30 minutes of call as well as training and behavioral health education. Currently, 98 percent of primary care clinicians in Massachusetts are enrolled in MCPAP.

Click here to view a copy of the July 2011 MCPAP satisfaction survey.

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CSAs Again Rank Above National Average in Annual Wraparound Fidelity Measurement

For the second straight year, Massachusetts' 32 Community Service Agencies (CSAs) ranked above the national average in adherence to the principals of Wraparound, according to the Wraparound Evaluation and Research Team at the University of Washington. Wraparound is the care management process for children, youth and families receiving Intensive Care Coordination services. 

Each year, MassHealth, through the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Partnership and Consumer Quality Initiatives (CQI), conducts approximately 600 telephone interviews of parents or guardians of children and youth receiving Intensive Care Coordination (ICC). CQI uses the "Wraparound Fidelity Index" (WFI), one of two national "best practice" tools for measuring fidelity to the Wraparound model.  In addition, supervisors in each of the 32 CSAs use a related tool, called the Team Observation Measure (TOM), to observe and rate care planning meetings for every care coordinator twice a year. Finally, MassHealth's contracted health plans use a tool called the Document Review Measure (DRM), adapted for Massachusetts, to measure fidelity to Wraparound as reflected in the youth's written Care Plan, Crisis Plan and other documents.  All this data is then sent to the Wraparound Evaluation and Research Team at the University of Washington. University of Washington evaluators Eric Bruns, PhD and April Sather, MPH have summarized the 2011 results as follows:

• Continued strong fidelity results, especially for a statewide program - WFI 3 points higher than the national mean (national data includes long-established programs, as well as newer programs; city- and county-wide programs as well as state-wide.)
• WFI scores stay stable, TOM shows small improvement, DRM shows large improvement
• Big improvements noted for: crisis planning, transition planning, team process, team facilitator preparation and documentation of strengths, needs, goals and crisis plans.
• Areas of strength for Massachusetts continue to be: managing the details of the wraparound process, family voice and choice, collaborative teaming and individualized plans with a balance of formal services and informal supports.
• Areas still needing improvement: use of "natural supports" in care plans and full engagement of youth in the Wraparound process.

Join Us for a screening of the film

"Crooked Beauty"

Click here for a printable version of this announcement.

 

 

 This month we feature this screen shot from a video segment of "Mental Health In Your Neighborhood" with host and retired DMH staff Loiuse Carcione as she interviews her special guest Shedrick Gavin. Shedrick recently shared his recovery story with DMH Connections in the September issue. Shedrick will also be a ontestant on this season's Community Auditions TV show! The taping is scheduled for November 20 at the Berklee Performance Center and is open to the public.

 Learn more about Shedrick and hear his music in this interview at: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/18234739

 

Visit the DMH Connections Photo Gallery, available through Shutterfly to see more photo of the new hospital construction progress. 

Visitors can access photos from DMH Events anytime at the DMH Photo Gallery on Shutterfly

www.dmhconnectionsphotogallery.shutterfly.com 

New to the DMH Photo Gallery:

11-3-2011 New MMHC Open House
If you have photos from a DMH event that you would like featured as photo of the month or on the site, please send them to

Michelle Cormier Tallman