Archive for category: Behavioral Health

Quietly, after more than a year’s worth of planning, Swope Health Services launched a transformational program to improve access to mental health services.

SHS Behavioral Health is now a designated Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic. SHS is one of 15 agencies in Missouri named to participate in a two-year demonstration project, directed by the federal government. There are a total of eight states participating.

The point of the demonstration project? To make it easier for the community to access a broad spectrum of behavioral health services.

“This is all about giving our patients easier access to new services,” said Mark Miller, SHS Vice President of Behavioral Health. “Our goal was to make it seamless, so patients wouldn’t have any disruption in care. Instead, they now see more things they didn’t know they could get from us.”

For example, some of the differences patients can see are:

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  As part of the new designation as a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic, SHS opened a new Behavioral Health Children’s Services Clinic. The center offers new services for children in a newly renovated space.

  The Behavioral Health Children’s Services Clinic at SHS Central, a new space that integrates children’s psychiatric services, therapies and programs, with added security in separation from adult programs. The new space features a bright lobby and reception area, a community conference room, children’s play area plus access to all the children’s services. This new space opened Jan. 16, 2018.

• A new service focused on Children’s Substance Abuse.
• The new Opioid Clinic, launched in Fall 2017.
• A new program focused on Hospital Discharge Coordination. In this program, SHS undertakes outreach to hospitals to coordinate transition of care for SHS patients.
• Enhanced staffing, with the addition of three new Children’s Therapists, five new Care Coordinators and other positions behind the scenes.

Some of the biggest changes actually are occurring behind the scenes, Miller noted.

For example, one part of the new CCBHC program revises the entire financial model, moving from charging a fee for every service to a single rate that covers all the services a patient chooses.

There is an emphasis on value, making sure clients are receiving as much support as they need.

“This model gives us a little more freedom to support our clients,” Miller said. “We’ve enhanced both the quality of care and the access to care.”

Credit: Center On Integrated Health Care & Self-Directed Recovery

SHS has been operating under this new model for about six months, and is reviewing data from the program to assess performance.

The Behavioral Health team is using the data to guide changes and where needed, make additions to the programs.

“With the new qualitative data, we’ve had some ‘a-ha’ moments,” Miller said. For example, based on data, the team has reorganized some functions and realigned some services for maximum impact.

“We are becoming more savvy in decision-making and understanding the impact of our decisions through the data,” he said. “The data helps us respond to community needs and guides how we solve problems.”

Since this is a pilot program, SHS is in a position of leadership to influence the ultimate design of the program. It’s expected that this program will be rolled out across the state.

This experience gives SHS the opportunity to influence related and complementary programs, such as those run by Jackson County or Kansas City, while also expanding access to quality Behavioral Health programs.

“We’re ahead of the curve,” Miller said. “We’ve enhanced the access to our care and we’ve enhanced the quality of our care.”

Dr. Nallu Reddy is in SHS’s new induction room for medication-assisted treatment of opioid addiction.

Swope Health Services is launching a new program to provide medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction.

The program addresses the increasing need for focused medical assistance in breaking the cycle of addiction to pain relievers, whether prescription or illicit drugs.

“There is an opioid epidemic across the country,” said Mark Miller, Vice President of Behavioral Health Services. Nationally, 90 people die every day from opioid overdose, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. And, the American Society of Addiction Medicine estimates that about 2.5 million Americans are addicted to opioids.

The Kansas City metro area ranks roughly in the middle of the pack in opioid prescriptions and concentration, as measured by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“We recognize this is a crisis and people are dying,” said Dr. Nallu Reddy, SHS Chief of Psychiatry. “Our number one goal is to help people stay alive.”

Supported by state and federal grants, the new SHS program will offer suboxone, a prescription medication (also known as naloxone), which helps patients manage an opioid addiction by blocking the opioid receptors in the body.

Anyone who is struggling with opioid addiction resulting from either prescription pain medications or illegal narcotics like heroin is welcome to contact SHS Behavioral Services at our Central Facility (3801 Blue Parkway, Kansas City, Mo.). Walk-in hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday or you can call 816-922-1070 for an appointment. These services may be covered by insurance.

To be admitted to the program, a patient must be healthy enough to take the opioid-blocking medication, willing to adhere to program requirements and committed to the initial two- or three-day induction process. The medication-assisted treatment is complemented by therapy, counseling and transportation services as well.

SHS has three medical doctors certified and licensed to provide the special medication-assisted treatment. Patients are expected to stay in the program for a month and then be assessed for next steps in treatment. Each patient receives an individual treatment plan – some patients may be tapered off the medication and others may need continued access to the medication.

Some background:

• What are opioids? Broadly, the term covers prescription pain relievers, including the synthetic drug fentanyl, as well as illegal drugs like heroin.
• How did we get to an opioid crisis? According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the problems began in the 1990s with the pharmaceutical companies marketing of prescription opioid pain relievers. Providers began prescribing them more at greater rates until it became clear in opioid overdose deaths that the drugs were highly addictive.
• How bad is it? It’s the deadliest drug crisis in American history. The New York Times reported: “Overdoses killed more people last year than guns or car accidents, and are doing so at a pace faster than the H.I.V. epidemic at its peak.”
• How do we address the crisis? Nationally, new programs promote greater access to treatment and recovery, and availability of overdose-reversing drugs. Just this summer, the state of Missouri began the creation of a statewide prescription drug monitoring program.

If you have questions about the program or opioid addiction, contact SHS Behavioral Services at the SHS Central Facility at 816-923-5800. Walk-in hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. 

You know how some people seem to be capable of facing whatever life brings? That’s what it means to be resilient.

Not everyone has the same ability to bounce back from adversity or trauma. Science has proven that some adverse childhood experiences can damage self-esteem and willingness to bounce back. And, the more adverse experiences a person has during their childhood,  the more likely their risk for negative health outcomes later in life like diabetes, heart disease, alcoholism, drug use, depression, obesity and cancer, to name a few.

But there’s also evidence of good news. We are all capable of learning skills to develop resiliency.

That’s the focus of a new program, Resilient KC, a partnership between Trauma Matters KC and the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce.  Resilient KC is collecting Adverse Childhood Experiences and Resiliency scores from people in Greater Kansas City, now through the end of June 2017.

If you are 18 years or older, you can help develop the area’s Resilience Score by participating in a survey about adverse childhood experiences (ACE). By collecting ACE data from the Kansas City region, the program will be better able to provide more resources for people who need help.

“As we continue to learn more about adverse childhood experiences, we understand how they truly impact us into adulthood,” said Jasmin Williams, Project Coordinator for Resilient KC. “Resilience skills can help children and adults overcome adversities. Everyone can learn how to develop greater resiliency. ”

Here are three ways you can participate and learn about your own resilience.

1.Take the survey. Your anonymous answers will be combined with others from adults in the KC region, and with results from 14 other cities across the nation. This study, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson and Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City, will provide data to guide development of new resources and support in the community. You’ll receive a score from the survey and information to understand what the score means.

2.Come to the Resiliency Rally, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 13 at Arrowhead Stadium, to find resiliency resources and learn resiliency skills. This event is organized by Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, along with Sesame Street in Communities, Healthy KC, the Black Community Fund, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, REACH Healthcare Foundation, RideKC, Cornerstones of Care and the Truman Medical Centers.

This family-focused event is free, and includes free food, music and activities. Free transportation is offered from the Don Boscoe Community Center, Greg Klice Community Center and Southeast Community Center, starting at 9:30 a.m. and every half-hour until 1:30 p.m. The last return shuttle from Arrowhead leaves at 2:30 p.m.

The rally features Cookie Monster, from Sesame Street. The first 50 people to attend will get a Sesame Street plush toy and the first 100 will get a free T-shirt.

“We’re expecting a large and diverse community turnout,” Williams said. “We want everyone to get connected to resources and services you can take home and use.”

More than 50 organizations will participate – including the SHS Outreach & Enrollment team. The different organizations offer tools and skills to help parents work with children with experiences involving incarceration, divorce and grief, as well as overall health and wellness.

3. Share your story in the “Our Stories Matter” campaign. You can participate by sharing your personal story on Facebook, Twitter (@ResilientKC) or LinkedIn. Sharing real-life experiences helps raise awareness of the impacts of adversities and trauma on the greater community. It also encourages sharing coping skills and developing ways to build personal resilience.

The SHS Outreach & Enrollment team  will be at the Resiliency Rally, sharing information and giveaways. Come talk with us at the Rally!