Page 15 - Healthcare News Jan/Feb 2023

FACILITY
SERVICES
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023 WWW.HEALTHCARENEWS.COM 15
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES LISTED ALPHABETICALLY
NEW ENGLAND GERIATRICS
103 Myron St., Suite A, West Springfield, MA 01089 (413) 592-1980; www.negeriatrics.com
RIVER VALLEY COUNSELING CENTER INC.
187 High St., Holyoke, MA 01040 (413) 540-1234; www.rvcc-inc.org
SERVICENET
21 Olander Dr., Northampton, MA 01060 (413) 585-1300; www.servicenet.org
SOUTH BAY COMMUNITY SERVICES
140 High St., Unit 230, Springfield, MA 01105
(413) 495-1500; www.southbaycommunityservices.com
THE UNITED ARC
294 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA 01376 (413) 774-5558; www.theunitedarc.org
VIABILITY
5 Franklin St., Northampton, MA 01060 (413) 584-1460; www.viability.org
WALDEN BEHAVIORAL CARE
100 University Dr., 2nd Floor, Amherst, MA 01002 (413) 582-0100; www.waldenbehavioralcare.com
WEST CENTRAL FAMILY AND COUNSELING
103 Myron St., Suite A, West Springfield, MA 01089 (413) 592-1980; www.westcentralfamily.com
Centers
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overwhelmed. Ideally, she said, individuals served would connect with a provider before there’s a mental-health emergency. “People who need help need to be met where they’re comfortable, and the hospital is not where they’re comfortable.”
Jalil Johnson, vice president of Medical Services at CHD, noted that, “in the current system, there is a gap, where people have to be quite ill before we see them. What I’m looking forward to most about the CBHC is a continuum of care. We will be able to meet them in the community and take care of them there. They may need inpatient services, or crisis-stabilization services, or they may need outpatient services, so to be able to stretch that continuum gives me a lot of hope.”
In announcing the opening of the 29 CBHCs at the start of January, Marylou Sudders, secretary of Health and Hu- man Services for the Commonwealth, called the model “a groundbreaking initiative dedicated to creating accessible, high-quality behavioral healthcare for residents, with an integrated care model designed with the unique needs of the patient in mind.”
Sudders added that, “with the implementation of the Roadmap, all Massachusetts residents have access to the behavioral healthcare services they need, through a ‘front door’ to care that will relieve the burden on our hospital emergency departments and simplify the process of receiving treatment for patients and their loved ones.”
CBHCs offer crisis services around the clock for anyone in Massachusetts experiencing a potential mental-health emer- gency and are entirely insurance-blind, meaning anyone can access services, regardless of insurance coverage. Routine outpatient services are available for all MassHealth members and may also be covered by some commercial insurers. The services are three-tiered:
• Mobile Crisis Intervention (MCI) services are for anyone in Massachusetts experiencing a mental-health or substance-use crisis. MCI services are provided by trained professionals who can travel to any location to assess needs, provide immediate assistance, and determine the best path forward. Anyone can use MCI at any time, no insurance needed.
• Community Crisis Stabilization (CCS) is a less restric- tive alternative to inpatient hospitalization for people in need of short-term, overnight crisis care. The programs have home-like, friendly, and comfortable environments that offer a feeling of community while maintaining a safe and secure setting. CCS services may include individual, group, and family therapy; medication management; crisis intervention; and future crisis-prevention planning, and are available to anyone in Massachusetts, regardless of insurance coverage.
• Routine Outpatient Services are comprehensive outpatient mental-health and substance-use services for MassHealth members, also covered by some commercial in- surers. These services are available every day, both in-person at CBHCs and via telehealth, with extended hours. Services include same-day mental-health and substance-use evalua- tion, assessment, and individualized treatment; individual, family, and group therapy; psychiatric medication consulta- tions; peer-support services; medication for addiction treat- ment; care coordination; referrals to treatment; and timely follow-up appointments.
Casting a Wide Net
At CHD’s panel discussion, Dr. Joeli Hettler, chief of Pe- diatric Emergency Medicine at Baystate Children’s Hospital, noted that a youth mental-health crisis has strained her department’s resources. So she welcomes an initiative “that can keep kids out of the emergency department.”
At locations across Massachusetts (visit www.mass.gov/ community-behavioral-health-centers/locations) for a com- prehensive list), behavioral-health professionals are hoping CBHCs do exactly that, providing not only the best care, but care in the best place, wherever that might be. v
Suicide
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forestry, and grounds; working in the kitchen; and more.
Gould Farm reflects a more holistic approach to mental-health issues, in which people develop purpose and learn transferable skills to become more independent.
McKernan told HCN that guests are often referred to Gould Farm if outpatient and/or inpatient treatments, therapy, and medications aren’t working anymore. The sense of community and responsibility helps guests take the next step of gaining control of their life.
In order to destigmatize mental health on the farm, everyone works closely together — even the faculty and staff helping to run the farm. Their families grow up around the guests to make the experience seem more normal.
Words Matter
When it comes to mental illnesses or suicidal ideation, part of breaking the stigma is being aware of the words we use.
“Oftentimes, we’ll hear people say, ‘I’m bipolar.’ But it’s not who you are,” Therian said, noting that ‘I am a person that has bipolar disorder’ is more accurate. “It’s similar to the way we wouldn’t say, ‘I’m high blood pressure.’ It flips that a little bit when you look at it that way.”
Piñero agreed, adding that the work “crazy”
is often used when talking about mental-health services, especially inpatient and outpatient treat- ments.
Please see Suicide, page 30
Comprehensive psychiatric services for residents and their families in long-term living facilities; as consultants to long-term-living facilities and primary-care physicians, NEG clinicians evaluate and treat residents referred to them with a physician’s order; a resident, family, or facility staff member may request services; services are billed directly to the resident’s health insurance; team consists of psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, psychologists, neuropsychologists, licensed mental-health counselors, and social workers; services are free to facilities that contract with New England Geriatrics
Provides services to individuals in Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties; adult, child, and adolescent individual and family outpatient mental-health services and psychiatry with offices located in Holyoke, Chicopee, Easthampton, Springfield, and Westfield; Massachusetts-certified gambling specialists; substance-use services; school-based mental-health services in Holyoke, Chicopee, Easthampton, Amherst, Westfield, and Granby public schools as well as select schools in Springfield, East Longmeadow, Hatfield, South Hadley, and Hadley and on the campus of Springfield Technical Community College; school-based health centers/teen clinics located
at Holyoke High School North, Dean Campus, and Peck School; Children’s Behavioral Health Initiative services; the HIV/ AIDS Project; CONCERN: Employee Assistance Program for local businesses, organizations, and municipalities; programs staffed by bilingual/bicultural professionals
Individual counseling and innovative group therapies for children, adolescents, and adults who are dealing with a wide range of issues, including depression, anxiety, substance-use disorders, physical/sexual abuse and other trauma, relationship and family concerns, school-adjustment problems, pain-management challenges, and obsessive-compulsive disorders; also providing psychological testing, psychiatric care, and medication services; clinics are located in Amherst, Greenfield, Holyoke, Northampton, and Pittsfield
Community-based, behavioral healthcare organization offering a continuum of services including adult behavioral health, substance-abuse counseling, children’s behavioral health, day services, autism services, and early childhood services
The United Arc provides advocacy and support services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families in Western Mass; programs include adult services, positive parenting, family support, and self-advocacy
Accredited by Clubhouse International and driven by a belief in recovery through work, Viability clubhouse programs provide members with a supportive environment to increase their vocational, educational, and social skills; locations include Berkshire Pathways in Pittsfield, Odyssey House in Holyoke, Forum House in Westfield, Lighthouse in Springfield, Star Light Center in Florence, and Tradewinds in Southbridge
Provides a continuum of care for patients with eating disorders; psychiatric inpatient services; medical, behavioral, and nutritional care
Mental-health outpatient clinic providing a variety of services, including geriatric mental health, individual and group psychotherapy, diagnostic evaluations, CANS assessments for MassHealth children under 21, medication management for age 18 and up, consultation with families of elders with dementia, neuropsychological testing for adults/elders, family therapy and consultation; WCFC provides bilingual services, as well as outreach for those unable to make it to the clinic