THE UMBRELLA
Human Service Agency, PO Box 1030, Watertown, SD 57201
www.humanserviceagency.org 800-444-3989 605-886-0123
New
Horizons
Behavioral
Health
Spring 2013
2013 POLAR PLUNGE
Community Services
staff
members
Jessica
Godfrey, Vanessa Breske,
Kristine Hoag, Tina Koch,
and Kate Johnson, along with
Kayla Evens, staff member
from 825 Kemp Avenue
group home, raised $1,026.00
for Special Olympics by
participating in the Polar
Plunge.
Carly Rasmussen, also
a member of the Community
Services staff group, was
TOO
CHICKEN
TO
PLUNGE and could not find
her Cat In the Hat outfit, but
she did get a Too Chicken to
Plunge t-shirt.
THE PRICE IS RIGHT!
Deb Krueger, Community Services Manager
In February, Community
Services staff Nancy Hoops and
Corinna Hedman took 11 people to
the Swiftel Center in Brookings for
the Price Is Right show. It was a
long wait in line to register for the
show, but visiting with everyone and
the excitement of being there made it
go quickly.
After registering everyone
went to Whiskey Creek to eat and
had a great time! Then the group
headed back to the show.
Two
people's names from Watertown
were drawn to bid on prizes, but they
didn't get on stage to play any games.
FROM THE DESK OF THE CEO…
Chuck Sherman, Ph.D.
A new initiative is coming
to South Dakota community
mental health centers this summer.
The Dept. of Social Services,
Medicaid Office, has been
discussing with center directors the
concept of a “Health Home” model
for Medicaid covered people who
have a mental illness diagnosis.
Essentially, how this would work
is as follows: The community
health centers will be asked to help
coordinate the medical services
being sought by this population in
an attempt to reduce the overall
cost of medical care. With support
and coordination provided by staff
from the mental health centers, the
theory is that better and more
efficient use of medical care can be
achieved.
The start of this program is
scheduled for July 1, 2013.
Training will soon take place so we
learn how to best go about this new
endeavor. We will be seeking to
partner with medical providers in
this area of South Dakota so we can
try to improve follow-through of
treatment plans in order to achieve
better outcomes. Those individuals
with
complicated
medical
conditions will be offered an array
of supportive services in an
attempt to better coordinate care and
thus reduce Medicaid expenditures.
This is an exciting and
challenging mission and one which
our professional staff members will
embrace. A secondary benefit of
this effort will be the development
of a closer working relationship with
medical providers.
A greater
familiarity of medical providers and
services will only improve the
quality of care provided by our
mental health center; and a better
service to the people we serve in
northeastern South Dakota.
**********BEHAVIORAL HEALTH**********
MAY IS MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH
Kari Johnston, CFO Behavioral Health
Many people easily recognize physical illness:
weight loss, skin color changes, hair loss. Without
hesitation, they will inquire about the illness, learn
about it, have sympathy for it and easily seek treatment
for it with little or no shame. Mental illness does not
share such luxuries. Mental illness is misunderstood,
often under-diagnosed or misdiagnosed, and thought of
by many as a lack of character or weak self discipline.
Yet, the reality is, mental illness IS a medical
condition. It disrupts a person's thinking, feeling, mood,
ability to relate to others and daily functioning. Just as
diabetes is a disorder of the pancreas, mental illnesses
are medical conditions that often result in a diminished
capacity for coping with the ordinary demands of life.
Serious mental illnesses include major
depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive
compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder,
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and borderline
personality disorder. The good news about mental
illness is that recovery is possible.
Mental illnesses can affect persons of any
age, race, religion or income. Mental illnesses are
not the result of personal weakness, lack of
character or poor upbringing. Mental illnesses are
treatable. Most people diagnosed with a serious
mental illness can experience relief from their
symptoms by actively participating in an individual
treatment plan. Like many medical illnesses, the
key to successful treatment with mental illness is
living a lifestyle of recovery. This entails a
combination of changes and efforts: changes in
diet, exercise, taking medication, attending therapy,
seeking assistance and staying informed.
Do something different this month. Read up
on mental illness, mental health diagnosis or
suicide. Call the Human Service Agency to see how
your gifts of time, talent or treasure might help
someone in need this month. Given mental illness
affects 1 in 4 people, you never know when that gift
might come back to help someone you love.
****************NEW HORIZONS****************
REWARDING EXPERIENCES
For those people who receive services through
HSA Community Services division, working within
the community has become a rewarding experience.
Community Services staff found employment for 28
people in 2012. Employment opportunities doubled
from 2011 to 2012.
Job developing is the foundation of advocating
for people. Staff talks to businesses within the
community about the benefits and incentives of hiring
people with a disability through New Horizons and
the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation.
Often a situation will be arranged with an
employer where a person will work at a site for 30
minutes to 4 hours with the assistance of New
Horizons staff. The person doesn’t get paid when
doing a situational; however, there are advantages for
the employer and the potential employee.
A
situational may be viewed as a working interview.
The employer can observe a potential employee doing
a job with no costs involved; the Division of
Rehabilitation Services covers the worker’s
compensation insurance. The situational also enables
the potential employee to get hands-on experience
with a job and decide if it is a position that they want
to keep. If the person decides it isn’t what they want
to do, staff continues to work with him/her to find
employment that is suited to the individual and one in
which they can be successful within the community.
Once a person is hired, Community Services
staff provides follow along and monitoring services,
along with other benefits. The Vocational Job Coach
meets with the employer on a regular basis to assess
the performance of the employee and to ensure
appropriate services are provided. On-the-job-training
is also provided by Community Services staff. This
incentive allows employers to receive reimbursement
for 50% of the employee’s wages for two or three
months. Job Coaching is also provided through
Community Services. A New Horizons’ staff will
assist the employer in training new hires, reducing the
amount of time the employer would spend training an
employee.
People for whom we provide services have the
same desires, needs, and qualifications as others. They
have experience and skills in many types of
employment;
such
as
assembly,
janitorial,
dishwashing, food prep, bussing tables, light machine
operations, and truck driving. For some people the
hiring process may be the same as for all other
individuals: through an interview.
Tina works about two hours a week at The Roadhouse Cafe. She started out as a
dishwasher and moved up to doing food prep about two years ago. She applied and
was hired in 2004. Tina likes the work she does at The Roadhouse. Tina enjoys
meeting new people and at the Roadhouse she is able to do that. Tina’s goal is to
obtain full time employment in the community.
SPECIAL OLYMPICS SPORTS
Spring is a wonderful time for many Special Olympic Sports: Swimming,
Track and Field, Race Walking, Power Lifting, Soccer, and Volleyball. The
Regional Swim Meet was held April 26th at the Watertown Community Recreation
Center. Pictured on the right is Carla Willette, one of the local swimmers. Carla
earned 1st Place in the 25 Meter Freestyle, 1st Place in the 50 Meter Freestyle, and
her relay team earned 2nd Place.
The Regional Track meet will be held May 3rd in Watertown. Many towns will be here competing
and it’s a wonderful time to get reacquainted with friends from other towns.
State Summer Games this year will be held in Spearfish on May 16-18. State Summer Games is the final
competition for the sports listed above. The local athletes are really looking forward to making a trip out of
town.