The IrIs - NAMI Wake County

The Iris
Vol 27, No 7 July 2012
Editor, Ann Akland
NAMI Wake Contact Information:
www.nami-wake.org
919-848-4490
Support, Education, Advocacy
Common Sense Lost
in Mental Health Policy
From the President’s Desk -- Gerry Akland
For those of us with loved ones who suffer
from a mental illness we far too often find
that what we think makes sense is not what
government agencies provide.
Some of the difference can be explained by
costs – supposedly there just is not enough
money to provide for all the social needs of
Above: Wake County’s Wakebrook Crisis Center
society. Education and public safety must
come first (after providing funds for business
incentives and other really important priorities). But beyond this, two recent experiences, one direct and the
other indirect, help make the point that our social policy is dictated by those who either lack common sense
or perhaps more fairly, they lack direct knowledge that would help influence the actual policy.
The first example is one I read about in The New York Times Magazine, June 22, 2012, written by Jeneen
Interlandi, “When My Crazy Father Actually Lost His Mind.” http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/24/
magazine/when-my-crazy-father-actually-lost-his-mind.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all Ms. Interlandi tells
about her experiences getting her father hospitalized and treated when he became “abruptly and deeply
paranoid.” He became violent and suicidal and police were called. But they were unable to take him
involuntarily to the equivalent of our WakeBrook facility for assessment because he always convinced the
police that he was not of “imminent danger to himself or others.” In the author’s words, “it seemed to mean
that he had to be standing on the ledge of a building, or holding a knife to someone’s throat at the very
moment the police arrived.” He was finally taken by the police for assessment after he grew belligerent and
punched someone in a neighborhood convenience store. The author then goes on to tell of their 5 day wait
for a mental hospital bed and treatment. “During the three months in which my father cycled through the
system, he racked up five emergency room visits, four arrests, four court appearances, three trips to PESS
(like our WakeBrook) and too many police confrontations to remember. He spent 25 (nonconsecutive) days
in a psychiatric hospital and 40 in a county jail. The medical expenses alone, not including the police hours,
jail time or court costs, ran upward of $250,000.”
Continued on page 4
NAMI Wake County
The Iris
Page 2
News in Brief
Adult care homes that house mentally ill people are trying to freeze a state action that puts
their Medicaid payments in jeopardy.
Eighteen adult care homes have asked the state’s administrative court to stop the state Department of Health and
Human Services from determining whether they and their patients are ineligible for payment from the government
insurance program.
BY LYNN BONNER - [email protected]
Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/06/14/2137812/nc-adult-care-homes-fight-medicaid.html#storylink
=misearch#storylink=cpy
A Place to Heal
Among several welcome results now that WakeMed and UNC Health Care have declared a truce in their turf battle is
that Wake County is in line for a new inpatient mental health facility. It would be modest in size – a projected 28 beds.
But especially with the closure of the state’s Dorothea Dix Hospital, the need for such a place is critical.
Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/06/09/2123170/a-place-to-heal.html?story_link=email_
msg#storylink=cpy
NC DHHS Secretary Delia Announces Reorganization of State Medicaid, DHHS Leadership
Team: State Medicaid office will now report directly to Secretary
Raleigh– North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Secretary Al Delia today announced that
he is reorganizing the leadership teams that oversee the state’s Medicaid division.The changes come after careful
evaluation of the Department’s management, said Delia, who was named acting secretary in February. Michael
Watson, DHHS chief deputy secretary, will become the new head of the state’s Medicaid office, the Division of Medical
Assistance (DMA). That position will be elevated to serve on the Secretary’s executive leadership team. Watson joined
the Department in 2009 as an assistant secretary. He is the former CEO for Sandhills Center for MH/DD/SAS, with more
than 20 years of experience and leadership in developing and operating mental health, developmental disabilities and
substance abuse services on a local and regional level. His salary remains $160,000. Watson replaces Dr. Craigan
Gray, who served as director of DMA since April 2009 at a salary of $270,000.Beth Melcher, assistant secretary for
mental health, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse services development since August 2010, will become
chief deputy secretary. Melcher, a licensed psychologist, is the former president of Recovery Innovations North Carolina.
She was clinical director of The Durham Center, and also worked with the National Alliance on Mental Illness North
Carolina as its executive director and as public policy director. Her salary will be $141,797. John Dervin, the secretary’s
senior policy adviser since March 2012, will step into a newly created role as chief of staff. Dervin previously served
as policy adviser for health and human services for Governor Perdue. His salary will remain $84,000. “After nearly
six months in this role, my first priority for strengthening our management team is to elevate the state Medicaid office
to play a more prominent role in the Department’s decision-making process,” said Secretary Delia. “Medicaid is not
a stand-alone division. It touches not only multiple DHHS divisions but also plays a huge part in shaping the state
budget. We need better communications and stronger oversight of this $12 billion program. I believe these changes will
accomplish that.”
The Iris
NAMI Wake County
Page 3
NAMI Walks - Thanks to you - A Big Success
Albert Dixon (L) and Marc Jacques (R)
with Wake Recovery Walkers
Photo by Alexandra Patterson
NAMI Wake Advocate Robert Bullock (R)
walking to raise awareness.
Photo by Alexandra Patterson
Team Name
Captain
Total
Team Name
Captain
Total
NAMI-Wake Mail
Crew
Alden Hanson
$85.00
IFCS Triangle
Mala Ross
$400.00
Cleopatra Carr
$100.00
Wake County CIT
Officers
Angie Mullis
$401.00
Mark Richardson
$100.00
$455.00
$100.00
Wake Recovery
Walkers
Marc Jacques
Marla Schexnider
Sydney Lynn
Nicole Perkins
$110.00
Jan Leonhard
$595.00
St. John AME Walk with
Christ
Sherri Lopez
$145.00
Team Legacy
Lisa Stacey
$775.00
Wake Forest SOS
Carolyn Zahnow
$805.15
Miranda's Team
Miranda Isaacs
$150.00
$163.00
Peggy Wallace,
Mary
Langstrand
$828.00
Valerie Carr
Wake County
School Social
Workers
Tracy Ginn
$175.00
DRG Counseling
Anju Verma
$1,001.00
Life Resources
Tashani Gaskins
$190.00
TBO Walkers
Stacie Young
$1,064.00
Wellness Supports
Wendy Wenzel
$200.00
Maribel RiveraElias, Ron
Blankenship
$235.00
Holly Hill SS/RM
Super Team
Jessica Knudsen/
Jessica Lincoln
$1,340.00
Club Horizon
SASsy Walkers
Lili Gimenez
$1,365.00
Sandra Wilson
$350.00
Amanda's Team
Amanda Robbins
$1,715.00
Robo walkers
Anne & Paul
Robitaille
$390.00
Marianne's
Milestones
Marianne Clayter
$1,899.35
Fellowship Fire
Power
Zelphia Sullivan and
Robert Bullock
$400.00
Dorothea Dix
Spirits
Ann Akland
$3,012.00
NAMI-Wake
Hope Richardson
$3,545.00
Holly Hill Hope
Dr. Rob Turner
$10,335.00
Total:
$32,742.50
NAMI Walks Results are in, but we didn’t need those to know that it was a great success! Thanks to
everyone who participated--volunteers, team captains, walkers, donors, and sponsors!
NAMI Wake County
The Iris
Continued from Page 1 - From President’s Desk
And then she explains the issues with the workers in the
hospitals. “It took a week just to get the social worker
assigned to his case on the phone. Although I had been
sitting right next to my father when we were at PESS,
when he was told where he would be transferred, privacy
laws prohibited the nurses at the new facility from even
confirming, without his written consent, that he had been
admitted. I asked if someone could tell him we called
and have him sign a consent form so that we could speak
with his doctor or social worker. Eventually one nurse
took pity and told us that he had indeed filled out the
form but had granted access only to Barack Obama and
Duke Ellington.”
The story brings to life similar experiences with policies
involving commitment, too short stays not designed
to treat but rather to stabilize, and the impossibility of
getting health care workers to communicate with family
members about their loved one. We have all heard
the ugly words: – “HIPPA prevents me from doing
[anything]”, or so it seems. The exception seems to
be when someone is about to be discharged from the
hospital. Then, social workers often frantically try to line
up the family with regards to housing, transportation, and
future medical appointments so the discharge papers can
be completed. Still others may just release the person
with no family consultation even though there is a history
of verbal or physical abuse. Maybe it is just me, but
there seems to be a lack of common sense in the process
of getting psychiatric hospital treatment and community
care.
And then there is housing...
The second example is a recent meeting I attended
together with a number of group home staff and
UNC instructors who had completed the Group Home
Employee Skills Training (GHEST). We met with Steve
Jordan, the DHHS Director of MH/DD/SA, to learn about
the US Department of Justice (DOJ) settlement being
worked out by North Carolina officials and the impact
this might have on group homes as well as other types of
community living for those with mental illness.
As you probably all remember, Disability Rights
North Carolina asked the DOJ to do an investigation
to determine whether the State of North Carolina was
violating the Americans with Disabilities Act over the
Page 4
issue of housing of persons with mental illness in adult
care homes (assisted living centers). The DOJ found that
the state is not in compliance and, as a result the issue
confronting the state is that Medicaid will not cover
homes with more than 16 residents if more than 50% of
them have a primary diagnosis of mental illness.
According to Mr. Jordan, the State is considering
a settlement that makes more independent housing
available in the
community to
accommodate
SOME of the
8,000 people
impacted by
the DOJ ruling.
Mental health
services would
be provided
as deemed
necessary by
Tennessee has found some solutions
the LMEs/
according to Rose Hoban http://
mentalhealthdisorder.rosehoban.org/ Photo:
MCOs based
on the current Rose Hoban
service definitions which means that only those with
the most severe levels of mental illness with repeated
hospitalizations and/or incarcerations and concurrent
substance abuse would qualify for visits from community
mental health workers at their homes. Forget “case
management” which has benefited so many people in the
past. That will not be an approved service.
My concern is that Mr. Jordan’s description of options
being considered did not include the level of assistance
that many will need to live safely in the community. For
example, many do not know how to shop and cook. They
have not had to worry about medication management
and those frustrating dialogues between pharmacies,
psychiatrists, and insurance companies. Many are unable
to maintain a safe and clean environment. Living within
a budget and making a small disability payment last
all month isn’t easy. For many people with severe
mental illness, it is a struggle just to get out of bed in
the morning. After living in an assisted living center
for years, even those who are capable of caring for
themselves will need help adjusting and relearning.
Continued on page 5
NAMI Wake County
The Iris
Continued from page 4
Some adults with serious mental illness are stable, selfaware, and have the independent living skills to maintain
their housing, to get to appointments, and to do all the
things it takes to live successfully. Some hold down jobs,
are wonderful mental health advocates, and peer mentors.
Many other adults with mental illness receive the support
to live “independently” from their families. Others live
with their families. Many others live in supervised living
mental health group homes or family care homes with
6 or fewer residents where their meals, transportation,
medication management, and access to doctor’s visits are
provided. Still, there are some who are so impaired that
they need 24 hour, one-on-one supervision…care that
is virtually impossible to find in todays economic and
deinstitutionalization climate. Mr. Jordan’s comments
left us wondering whether these small group homes and
family care homes would continue to be supported and
licensed by the state in the future.
Without the appropropriate level of assistance targeted
to the person’s abilities, there is a huge risk that many
will decompensate, become psychotic or depressed—
maybe even violent—and find themselves needing crisis
Page 5
care, becoming evicted and ending up in situations
much worse—perhaps a jail cell or under a bridge. This
is likely to cost taxpayers a lot more than developing
and funding a housing program that meets the needs
of each individual. A reasonable alternative for most
would be to start by living in a group home or family
care home with appropriately trained staff and then
graduating to a more independent level of living as skills
are demonstrated and confidence is built. But according
to the DOJ, that is not a viable solution, because group
homes are considered to be “aggregate living conditions”
instead of independent living in the community. What
happened to common sense solutions?
The above two examples suggest that there is still a need
to advocate for common sense solutions that provide a
good quality of life for those suffering with mental illness
which will also bring peace of mind for their families.
Most laws that impact us are generated by people who do
not understand what it is like to have a mental illness or
to have a close family member with severe mental illness.
Perhaps they are influenced by words of recovery without
understanding what that means and what it takes to have
the services available to make that possible.
If you agree that NAMI Wake needs to advocate for common sense
solutions to housing and community services for people with severe
mental illness, please join us in a new advocacy campaign to ensure
that people removed from Adult Care Homes have needed supports
in place to live successfully including skills training, monitoring
and assessment prior to independent living. If you want to join this
effort, email me at [email protected].
NAMI Wake County
The Iris
Page 6
NAMI Wake Honors Wake County Law Enforcement CIT Officers
at Annual Awards Luncheon
Officer Roger Smith
County-wide CIT Officer of the Year
Knightdale Public Safety Department
Officer Shawn Smith
County-Wide CIT Officer of the Year
Cary Police Department
Congratulations!
Thanks!!
Officer Michael Medlin (L)
Garner Police Department
CIT Officer of the Year
Officer Megan Gray-Daxie (L)
Morrisville Police Department
CIT Officer of the Year
Officer Jennifer Stein (L)
CIT Officer of the Year
Rolesville Police Department
Officer Sgt William Davis
(Not in attendance)
NCSU Police Department
Officer Roger Smith
CIT Officer of the Year
Wake Sheriff’s Department
Officer Bryan Bubacz (L)
Holly Springs Police Department
CIT Officer of the Year
Officer Pamela Formyduval (C)
Raleigh Police Department
CIT Officer of the Year
Officer Teresa Gurley (L)
CIT Officer of the Year
Wake Forest Police Depart.
Officer Crystal Smith (R)
RDU Airport Police
CIT Officer of the Year
Officer James Vitt (C)
CIT Officer of the Year
Wendell Police Depart.
Seventh Annual
Celebration of Courage
October 1 -5, 2012, Rex Hospital Main Campus; Luncheon October 4, Highland United Methodist Church
The annual Celebration of Courage is the primary fund raiser for NAMI Wake County.
Research has shown that individuals living with mental illness do better when they participate in support groups and when they have an involved
and supportive family. The services that NAMI Wake provides help to reduce costs to taxpayers and the community by supporting people
through periods of stress and heightened anxiety which reduces the need for more frequent visits to service providers and to hospital emergency
rooms. Our services are very cost effective since most of our workforce consists of trained volunteers (people living with a mental illness and
family members). Your financial support helps these volunteers find meaning through their very important contributions in helping others who are
working on their recovery.
Visit http://www.nami-wake.org/CelebrationofCourage.html
or contact Ann Akland, 919 848-4490, aakland@nami-wakelorg
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The Iris
NAMI Wake County
Page 9
Groups for People Living with a Mental Illness
Other NAMI Wake Support Groups:
Wake County Affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental
Illness (NAMI Wake) is offering free peer support groups
where people facing difficulties have a safe place to voice
their concerns and explore options for making positive
changes in their lives with others who have similar
experiences. No matter what your diagnosis or issues,
join one of our Free Groups. No need to call. Just come
by and participate when you can. Try different groups
to find one you like best.
Connections Support Groups:
1) Highland United Methodist Church, 1901 Ridge
Rd., Raleigh, NC, Rm 206, 7 -8:30, First 3 Mondays of
each month. More information: Call Marc Jacques for
information, 919-803-5813
2) Garner United Methodist Church, Senior Center,
201 Methodist Drive, Garner, NC., 6:30 - 7:30 pm,
Second, third, and fourth Thursdays of each month. Call
Marc Jacques for information, 919-803-5813
1) St. Bernadette Catholic Church, 1005 Wilbon Road,
Fuquay Varina, NC No meetings in July. Meetings begin
again in August and meet every Thursday from 6 until
7:30pm, Contact Arline O’Hara [email protected] for
more information.
2) Wake County Human Services,.220 Swinburne St.,
Raleigh, NC, Every Friday: 2 - 3 pm, Rm 1151,
Call Gerry Akland, 919-848-4490 for more information.
FAMILY SUPPORT GROUP
Family & friends of people with mental illnesses
Highland United Methodist Church, 1901 Ridge Rd.,
Raleigh, NC., Rooms 202 & 204, 7-8:30 p.m. on the first
three Mondays of each month. For more information
contact Gordon Gogola ([email protected]), phone
919-601-3996
Next Meeting is
Sat, July 27 at 12:00 Noon, Golden Corral, 6129 Glenwood Ave.
This is a social opportunity for people living with mental illness and family members.
Everyone is invited--not just girls--guys are welcome! Lunch is Dutch-treat.
2012 NAMI Wake Board of Directors
President
Criminal Justice Director
Co-Program Director
President Elect & Advocacy Director
Past President & Development Director
Treasurer
Recording Secretary
Gerry Akland
Kathy Driver
Ann Akland
Paul Robitaille
Kathy Smith
At Large
Mary O’Neal
Raleigh, NC
At Large
Robert Bullock
Cary, NC
At Large
Angie Mullis
Youngsville, NC
Raleigh, NC
At Large
William Stanley
Raleigh, NC
Knightdale, NC
At Large
Wendy Wenzel
Raleigh, NC
Raleigh, NC
At Large
Chris Taylor
Fuquay-Varina, NC
Apex, NC
At Large
Louise Jordan
Raleigh, NC
At Large
Anju Verma
Raleigh, NC
ex officio
Crystal Farrow
Raleigh, NC
Knightdale, NC
Membership Secretary
& Operations Director
Tom Hadley
Raleigh, NC
Co-Program Director
Alden Hansen
Wake Forest, NC
Consumer Affairs Director
Marc Jacques
Raleigh, NC
NAMI Wake County
P.O. Box 12562
Raleigh, NC 27605-2562
Nonprofit Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
Raleigh, NC
NAMI Wake County
July 2012
We celebrate YOUR courage
and hope for the future.
We Care. We Act.
Play an instrument
Sing
Dance
Write
Perform
Show your art
Explain a Craft
Whatever
Now is your chance to show us what you can do!
Second Annual NAMI’s Got Talent Show and Pizza Party!
On July 23rd, you are cordially invited to attend and/or perform!
The fun will be taking place at Highland United Methodist Church
at 7 pm in the conference room.
Bring your friends, bring your family, bring anyone you know!
If you are interested in performing in the show, please register to ensure a spot in the line-up.
Make sure to mark your calendar. Be a star or just enjoy the show! Free admission!
Contact: Ann Akland • NAMI-Wake County • (919) 848-4490 • [email protected]