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Frontier Health Partners with Tennessee Mental Health
for My Health, My Choice
Frontier Health will partner with the Tennessee
Department of Mental Health to provide a Peer Wellness
Coach from mid January to June 2012 through the $35,000
My Health My Choice, My Life grant to help improve the
health and well-being of Tennesseans who live with
mental health, co-occurring and substance use
conditions.
Frontier Health was chosen as one of seven agencies in the state to
provide the peer led program for each Mental Health
Planning Region in the state.
The Wellness Model includes eight dimensions: emotional,
financial, social, spiritual, occupational, physical,
intellectual, and environmental. Wellness Coaching will
help individuals pursue their chosen wellness goals.
Jessee
Appointed to TDMH
Licensure Review Panel
Randy Jessee, Ph.D., was appointed to the
Tennessee Department of Mental Health Licensure Review
Panel. Jessee, senior vice president of Frontier Health
Specialty Services, directs the organizations Crisis
Stabilization Unit, Crisis Response, Magnolia Ridge,
SAFE House Domestic Violence Shelter and other specialty
services.
As a pioneer in co-occurring treatment, Jessee revised
Frontier Health’s alcohol and drug addiction and mental
health disorder treatment program in 1998, long before
simultaneous services for co-occurring diagnoses became
a treatment trend.
In 2000, he opened Magnolia Ridge Alcohol & Drug Treatment Center
for adults experiencing a substance abuse addiction or a
co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorder.
Magnolia Ridge’s “whole” client approach treating both
disorders at the same time led to its being a state
pilot program in early 2001, less than a year after
opening.
The program received several state awards and expanded to include
the women’s facility, Willow Ridge.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness
Month
There are nearly 40,000 new victims of domestic
violence in Tennessee shelters each year. In Virginia,
51,652 people in crisis situations contacted domestic
violence programs.
In Fiscal 2011, Kingsport’s SAFE House had 130 new clients and the
division of Frontier Health served more than 12,000
victims of domestic violence since it opened in 1982.
A 1998 Commonwealth Fund survey notes nearly one-third of American
women (31 percent) report being physically or sexually
abused by a husband or boyfriend at some point in their
lives.
Each year, more than half a million American women (588,490 women
in 2001) were victims of nonfatal violence committed by
an intimate partner. It doesn’t just affect children in
the home; sometimes it affects children in the womb. As
many as 324,000 women each year experience intimate
partner violence during their pregnancy, according to
the National Network to End Domestic Violence.
“Domestic violence is your problem,” said Tina Johnson, SAFE House
program director. “Three out of four people know someone
who was affected by domestic violence. One in four women
and one in nine men are victims, and each year 1,200
victims die. Two million injuries are suffered by women
and there are 600,000 injuries among men.”
During Domestic Violence Awareness Month, SAFE House held its 3rd
Annual Flowers on the River — a tribute to domestic
violence survivors, victims and families Friday, October
07, 2011, at Netherland Inn Park.
SAFE House provides safe, confidential shelter, a 24-hour crisis
line, transportation services, counseling and legal
service to domestic violence victims and their families,
and a weekly support group for women and children who
are victims of family violence. Flowers for the event
were provided by Rainbow’s End Gift and Floral. The
shelter is in need of cleaning supplies and personal
hygiene items for victims. For more information about
services at SAFE House, or to offer donations or
support, call (423) 246-2273, 2-1-1, or (423) 467-3714.
Break the Silence,
Stigma of Widespread Illness
There is no illness more widespread or one that
contributes as much to the burden of illness in the U.S.
than mental illnesses. In October is Mental Illness
Awareness Week, it’s an ideal time to break the silence
and stigma that surround it.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) find that
about half of U.S. adults will develop a mental illness
during their lifetime. One in four adults experiences a
mental disorder in any given year, and one in 17 lives
with a serious mental illness like schizophrenia, major
depression or bipolar disorder. By 2020, mental and
substance use disorders will surpass all physical
diseases worldwide as major causes of disability.
Perhaps it is natural that most people associate public health
crises with physical illnesses. Yet here again, a CDC
report released in September found that cardiovascular
disease, diabetes, obesity and other chronic diseases
are associated with mental illness. The report found
that treatment of the mental illness also can reduce the
effect of chronic diseases.
The good news is that treatment works. According to the National
Advisory Mental Health Council, the treatment success
rate for bipolar disorder is a remarkable 80 percent.
The recovery rates for other serious mental illnesses
follow suit: major depression (65 to 80%), schizophrenia
(60%) and addiction (70%).
Sadly, almost 40 percent of people with mental and substance use
disorders never get treated. Those who seek treatment
typically do so after a decade or more of delays, during
which time they are likely to develop additional
problems. A survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration found that of the 2.5
million adults with mental and substance use disorders,
only slightly more than 11 percent received treatment
for both disorders.
Effective mental health and addiction treatments also reduce costs.
A Surgeon General’s report finds that $1 invested in
substance use treatment has a return of $7 in cost
savings on hospitalization, unemployment, school dropout
rates, and crime and criminal justice costs. After all,
people in recovery work, pay taxes, buy homes and
contribute positively to society. Without adequate
treatment, people with mental illness often end up in
emergency rooms, homeless or in jail, all of which end
up costing taxpayers more money in the long run.
Does a Drug Dealer Lurk in Your
Medicine Cabinet?
Many teens falsely believe that taking
prescription drugs to get high is safer than using
street drugs and many parents tragically find out when
teens overdose or even die after taking them from
someone’s medicine cabinet. Be aware! Prescription drugs
are dangerous and even lethal when they are not
prescribed for you and/or are not used as directed by a
doctor.
National Recovery Month in September is a great time to sit down
with teens and talk about the dangers of prescription
drugs. It’s also a good time to properly dispose of
unused and out of date prescription medications. To
properly dispose of unwanted prescription drugs, there
are several events held regionally. For assistance in
between events, use the Johnson City Police Department
disposal box permanently installed next to the records
window.
The National Institutes of Health says only a third of parents
discuss the risks of abusing prescription medicines with
their teens. “Parents are a teen’s best defense against
drug abuse,” said Eric Greene, Division Director of
Frontier Health’s Virginia Adult and Substance Abuse
Services. “One in five teens has taken a drug that was
not theirs to get high or to deal with problems. Teens
are abusing pain pills, stimulants, and tranquilizers.
Sadly, they take these drugs right out of the medicine
cabinet — at home, at a friend’s house, or when visiting
family.”
Frontier Health Early Childhood Nets Star of Excellence
Frontier Health awarded a Star of Excellence to
its Virginia Early Childhood Developmental Services
program for exceeding state averages by 23 percent for
basic skill development and age expectations of children
who receive services related to their developmental
delays and/or disabilities.
Early Childhood Development provides specialized services for
infants during the first three years of life. The Early
Childhood results were reported in a statewide outcome
report from the U.S. Dept. of Education Virginia Office
of Special Education Programs and the Infant & Toddler
Connection of Virginia. Frontier Health’s Early
Childhood program partners with Infant & Toddler
Connection of DILENOWISCO to provide services.
Individualized family service plans are created for children who
have developmental delays so they are more able to reach
their fullest potential. Families who receive support
and information can better encourage their child’s
development. Children receive an evaluation and
assessment at no charge to their families.
Voices for Change Book Features SW VA Foster Children
The Voices for Change exhibit traveled Virginia
capturing the attention of the hearts of Virginians. On
behalf of those teens, and the nearly 8,000 other kids
in Virginia’s foster care system, four groups came
together and created the project to inspire change.
Several teens from Frontier Health's VALUES Therapeutic
Foster Care won inclusion in the Voices for Change book
and exhibit.
Often, teens who are aging out of foster care into the adult world
do have a voice and it’s in their own words and by their
own hand. What began as a powerful exhibit of raw
emotion became a book.
“Voices for Change, the Creative Vision of Virginia’s Foster
Youth,” sponsored by the Virginia Poverty Law Center,
Voices for Virginia’s Children, Faces of Virginia
Families, and Art 180.
The teens in Frontier Health’s VALUES Foster Care include a 19 year old
from Big Stone Gap is featured on page 23; 15 year old
in Jonesville is featured on pages 50-51; an 18 year old
from Jonesville is featured on page 55; an 18 year old
from Duffield is featured on page 59; a 15 year old from
Jonesville is on page 64; and a 16 year old from Norton
in page 72. Some of that art is currently at the Fine
Art Center of New River Valley in Pulaski.
Therapeutic or Treatment Foster Care is specialized foster care
with the foster parent receiving training, support,
additional pay, and guidance for the care of the child.
These foster parents are willing to make a difference in a child's
life and aid the child in returning home, being adopted,
or remain in foster care. Therapeutic Foster Parents are
from all walks of life and many different backgrounds.
For more information about VALUES Foster Care, call (888) 443-1804.
For more on the latest Voices for Change book, visit
http://www.vakids.org/pubs.htm.
Frontier Health Receives Funding for Disaster
Services
Frontier Health received a short-term Immediate
Services Program grant to provide 60 days of free
disaster related services including coping advice for
adults and children, information on normal reactions to
experiencing disaster, disaster resource connections
including clean-up information, short-term supportive
counseling and long-term counseling referrals.
The grant is authorized under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act), and
is funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It
is administered through a federal partnership between
FEMA and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration Center for Mental Health Services.
The goal of the program is to reach large numbers of
people affected by disasters through face-to-face
outreach to shelters, homes, and other locations.
The teams assess the emotional needs of survivors and make
referrals to tradition behavioral health services when
necessary. They also identify tangible needs and link
survivors to community resources and disaster relief
services. They provide emotional support, education,
basic crisis counseling and connection to familial and
community support systems.
Sullivan House Teens
Clean up Dumpsite, Need Help with Discarded Tires
BLOUNTVILLE—The, “No Dumping,” sign was
ignored.
Passersby littered the property directly behind the sign off a scenic
country road with about 30 discarded tires, broken
glass, shabby furniture, broken tables, dead Christmas
trees and other disease bearing trash.
The Sullivan County property became a breeding ground for
mosquitoes and other pests while potentially hazardous
materials leached into the ground.
After a staff member witnessed a woman toss trash out of her
vehicle, eight teen-age boys and Sullivan House staff
Tony Varvoutis and Chris Price decided the danger to the
community and environmental risks were too great.
On a recent Sunday afternoon, they ignored the blaring
sun and labored away. “I’ve never seen a group of boys
work so hard on one project. I am so proud of their
efforts,” Varvoutis said. “They never asked me for
anything other than a Gatorade. They worked in teams to
push themselves and get the job done. They even competed
to collect the most trash.”
The one-square block where the trash was dumped was on both sides of the
Cross Community and Youth Center roads and includes the
area where kids wait for the bus every morning. The boys
cleaned up both sides of the road and along the driveway
for the facility. “Our boys are hard workers,” he said.
“If you give them a task they just get busy and it helps
them learn they can help.”
Now, the trash bin overflows with the trash and
discarded items but the tires sit beside the bin. The
boys hope someone will volunteer to pick them up for
recycling. One teen said, “We’d like to see them used
for a playground or something.”
Not only did they succeed in restoring the beauty to the area and making
the bus stop safer, they achieved community service
hours that put them closer to achieving the 30 or more
hours needed during their three to five month say in the
Sullivan House program.
They provide community service at places like Small
Miracles Therapeutic Equestrian Center and No-Kill
Animal Shelters. They also participate in summer
community litter and river clean-ups and send cards to
service men and women overseas.
Sullivan House is a group home for males 13 to 18 who are referred by
Juvenile Courts in Bristol, Kingsport and Sullivan
County. Youth may be delinquent, unruly or chronically
truant from school.
The program helps build positive goals and better family relationships as
they learn tools to be successful. The Sullivan House
Program is funded by Sullivan County, who contracts
directly with Frontier Health to operate the program.
Frontier Health has managed the program since 1985.
“The program focuses on what the boys personally need to change as they
build their confidence and character so they can
overcome adversity after they leave our program,” said
Sullivan House Residential Manager Brynn Burger. “This
helps them become successful, contributing members in
their communities.”
Burger showed how these teens are often written-off by
most people after facing charges in Juvenile Court, “but
they just need someone to set expectations for them and
hold them to it even if it is a task like cleaning up a
littered part of Blountville,” she said.
“They excel if they are given structure. Some of these kids have the
potential to be great leaders, teachers and community
figures. They just need someone to push them and give
them consistence and positive reinforcement.”
She said she tells the boys, “If you flip a burger then flip a burger
like no one else and if you become President of the
United States, then do that like no one else. As long as
you are doing your best, you have reason to be proud!”
Family Links Respite Program Receives PeyBack Foundation
Grant
Family
Links Respite, a program of Frontier Health, received a $5,000 grant
from the PeyBack Foundation.
The
PeyBack Foundation was established in 1999 by Peyton
Manning to support programs that provide leadership and
growth opportunities for at-risk children in Indiana,
Tennessee, and Louisiana.
This
grant will fund the FLR Summer Camp Scholarship, as well
as special trips and activities for children with severe
emotional disturbances who receive Family Links
services. The activities provide a much-needed break for
parents and help the children served by Family Links to
develop positive behavior and social skills.
This is the first time Family Links Respite has received
a grant through the PeyBack Foundation. “We are thankful
for the PeyBack Foundation’s support for our program.
This grant will help provide the children in our program
with the chance to enjoy new experiences and develop
life-long skills,” said Lisa Christian, Family Links
program coordinator.
Family Links
provides short-term respite services for parents and
caregivers of children 2 to 15 years old with severe
emotional disturbances or mental illness. The program
works with families to improve behavioral issues and
social skills. Family Links serves children in the
Tri-Cities area. If you would like more information
about Family Links respite services, call (423)
232-2719.
Eating Disorders Coalition,
Frontier Health Helps Put
New Face on Teen Awareness
Frontier
Health staff Colleen Weems at Science Hill High School, Kristy
Lamberson at Indian Trail Middle School, and Lee Hughes at Unicoi
Elementary School, worked with the Eating Disorders Coalition of
Tennessee — Northeast chapter, to put a new face on teen eating
disorders awareness. Presentations were also made by Hughes at
Chuckey Doak High School.
The week-long program YES! (Youth Education and Support)
Team educates youth about eating disorders, and helps
them develop healthy body image, build friendships, and
support each other. Frontier Health staff worked with
coordinated school health staff, counselors, and
teachers in several schools to assist with programs
designed to prevent the development of eating disorders.
The events were held in 31 schools in five regional
systems, with staff from each school tailoring the
curriculum to "fit" their school. Digitally touched up
photos of teachers and others helped students decode
media messages. The enhanced photos helped students see
how beauty can be, "manufactured," in the media. Teens
often use these drastic media changes to gauge
themselves. The program also helped students realize
that how they talk with each other can impact self-image
and to discourage them from weight-and shape-related
teasing.
Students used the Wall of No Shame to leave personal
messages that affirmed their own positive self image.
Indian Trail also collected blue jeans for Anna’s
Closet, dedicated to the memory of a former student.
Mirrors were covered for a brief period to emphasize how
many times students look in the mirror, or how they
measure their value by physical appearance. "Get Real
Barbie," a visual display of how unrealistic the Barbie
doll proportions are, was displayed in some schools.
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