Regional Support Center


Establish Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute as a Regional Community Support Center to reduce coercive treatment and aggressive behavior and promote trauma informed services

 


 

Status

See Regional Support Center Status

 

Lead Contact: Mary Ann

 

Team Members: Bill, Craig, Doug, Jerry, Lynn, Myra, Pam, Sherry, Steve, ...

 

Proposal Text:

 

IV. Service:

Establish Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute as a Regional Community Support Center to reduce coercive treatment and aggressive behavior and promote trauma informed services.

 

The State Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services Board passed a resolution in 2005 supporting the establishment of the Center of Excellence at Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute. The Partnership established support of the Center of Excellence as one of its goals. Area consumer organizations are additionally very pleased with efforts made by Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute in integrating recovery principles into its service system, resulting in reduced use of seclusion and restraints. All agree that extending the expertise of the Center of Excellence into the community by establishing a Regional Community Support Center would move the region closer to a recovery-based system of care focused on empowerment of consumers.

 

The Regional Community Support Center would transfer the Institute's proven success in pioneering recovery-based inpatient treatment, sharply reducing the use of seclusion and restraints and collaborating with patients with a history of aggressive or violent behavior to reduce that behavior and increase safety for all. Consumers and their families report that the Institute help patients prevent or manage potentially dangerous behavior, including the potential for harm to self or others.

 

As a Regional Community Support Center, the Institute would take the lead in training staff of private hospitals and community mental health and residential providers, enhancing their skills in working with people at risk for aggression or violence. This would remove a serious barrier to community treatment and placement for these consumers.

 

There is increasing recognition of the impact of trauma history on people with mental illnesses and mental health treatment needs. They are among those with high service use and frequent hospitalizations. They are also prominent among people at risk of aggressive behavior and especially self-harm. Specialized treatment developed in the past two decades and new tools such as intake assessments can be very effective in recovery from trauma and avoiding needless re-traumatization.

 

The charge of the Support Center would be enlarged to introduce trauma informed training to the whole region. Training of both staff and consumers in awareness and treatment of trauma will allow many consumers to succeed in treatment and in recovery. NVMHCA urges consideration of the Trauma Champions program, where trauma survivors and practitioners collaborate.

 

Funding Request:

 

A. Program Manager

Funds to establish (1) FTE to serve as program manager for the Regional Community Support Center. Funds for position to include salary, benefits and operating costs.

 

The position will:

 

1) Develop training programs to educate other mental health providers on specific behavioral interventions to reduce the circumstances that could lead to aggressive events and /or physical interventions by providers,

 

2) Create an Advisory Board that includes trauma survivors and others who have successfully managed aggressive behaviors,

 

3) Submit grant proposals to federal agencies and private foundations to solicit on-going funding,

 

4) Collaborate with local universities to establish outcome measures.

 

A. Event

Funds to support a regional kick-off event to educate providers on recovery principles and skills to work more successfully with people at risk for aggression or violence.

 

B. Training

Funds to support on-site or off-site training to mental health providers by a Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute staff team.

 

C. Best Practices

Education on emerging best practices in trauma treatment to incorporate trauma-informed services into the mental health delivery system and better support individual recovery and healing. This could include technical support, training and/or consultation in program development.

 

Budget Summary:

Program Manager and initial kickoff funds $125,000

Education on trauma-informed services 50,000

 

Implementation Dates: July 2006

 

Training Needs:

Needed training to implement this service will include technical support, training and/or consultation in program development; education on emerging best practices in trauma treatment to incorporate trauma-informed services and better support individual recovery and healing.

 

Service Development Contact Person (Name, Phone, Email) Mary Ann

 

Utilization Management Structure:

Specific utilization management structure will be determined by the Regional Recovery Program Director in consultation with the Recovery Workgroup.

 

Planned Outcome Measures:

Expanding knowledge and practices that prompted the designation of the Center of Excellence to public and private providers of mental health services in Region II will result in consumers and family members who are more satisfied with the consumer-provider relationships and services they receive. Providers throughout Region II would progress in reducing their use of seclusion and restraints to demonstrate a mental health system that supports recovery, empowerment and well-being.

 

Peer Provider Opportunities:

The following opportunities are available to peers as part of this service: involvement in planning for, development of and operation of the Community Support Center through involvement in the Advisory Board formed by the program manager.

 

Expected Impact on State Facility Utilization:

The Regional Community Support Center will offer training to providers in private, community and residential mental health settings throughout the region. With enhanced skills to work with people at risk for aggression or violence we would expect that consumers could potentially stay in their own communities longer when in crisis without needing hospitalization, could potentially be discharged to residential settings sooner and stay longer, again affecting the need for utilization of a state facility.

 

 

Meeting Notes:

Regional Support Center Emails

Need to include emails for updating.

[20060918.Support.Center.notes] see Septembers Status above for one person's comments...

20060731 Meeting with Lynn, Notes?

[20060724.Institute]

 

Regional Support Center Discussion

 

Page History:

 

20061222 Jerry

 

20060x Jerry

  1. Jerry changed the long named service area to something shorter Regional Support Center
  2. made links out of the keywords/terms/jargon on this page.
    1. People new to the group
    2. and the general public

may not know what is meant by the terms used in the Proposal, so creating links (which could to changed to the Glossary) or defined on separate pages to help understand and implement this use of public funds.

 

20060919 Jerry

  1. fix typo in comments
  2. Add status section and subgroup first names (our convention from Sharon and the rest of the wiki) from emailed minutes

 

 

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