Alegent Press Release - First Community Mental Health and Chemical Addiction...

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First Community Mental Health and Chemical Addiction Planning Session Successful

Release Date: 04/12/2006

Council Bluffs, Iowa - Recently, through the efforts of Alegent Health's Mercy Hospital Foundation, Alegent Health Mercy Hospital was awarded a $125,967 Mental Health and Chemical Addiction Community Planning grant from the Iowa West Foundation. Plans to use that money to form a community-wide planning group were put into motion when Mercy Hospital hosted an extensive group of Pottawattamie County mental health care providers, chemical addiction providers and community members for two and a half days of focused meetings on February 22 - 24. The group participated in a unique accelerated decision making process called the Right Track. Participants included educators, members of the judicial system, faith-based organizations, mental health agencies, hospitals and clinics, community members, consumers, and chemical dependency treatment programs.

Alegent Health's Right Track Decision Accelerator (DA) facility brings together stakeholders in a space constructed expressly for the purpose of dialogue, decision making and planning. For two to three days straight, stakeholders immerse themselves in topics at hand, engage in a curriculum of innovative thinking and consensus building, and emerge with a shared vision and horizon plans. By focusing on problems as small groups and then discussing results of those sessions as a large group, tangible goals are set.

By the close of the Iowa West Planning Grant Right Track DA session, tangible goals were set for the next six months. The main areas of focus as they pertain to mental health and chemical addiction services will be governance, access, funds, innovations in chemical addiction treatment, building a networking system, identifying gaps and creating new services.

Mike Anderson, Vice President of Alegent Health Behavioral Services, commented, 'What an exhilarating experience. This DA brought together the greater Council Bluffs and Pottawattamie County community to share a vision about timely, accessible, affordable and stigma-free mental health and substance abuse education and treatment for all its citizens. From the energy, passion and enthusiasm displayed during the DA, I know this vision will be achieved.'

Ron Diimig, Supervisor of Student Services at Council Bluffs Schools, added, 'The DA process has been an exciting way to focus the combined energies and expertise of individuals and organizations in our community. Together, we can make a difference with substance abuse and mental health issues which will improve not only the quality of life for individuals, but also improve the quality of our community.'

One of the main goals of the community-wide planning group as it pertains to the areas of focus is to develop an action plan. The first step in the action plan is to develop a governance structure. By selecting one common governance structure for mental health and chemical addiction programs, interested individuals will be brought together in a coordinated network - improving communication and identifying opportunities to increase the efficiency of care.

The community-wide planning group has designated Pottawattamie County as a 'Community of Promise.' As a 'Community of Promise', the planning group will create easier access to mental health and chemical addiction treatment. They will also build readiness and capacity to achieve an expanded continuum of care and prevention services.

'Any time a large group of providers come together to discuss a common service and learn more about each other's programs, it is a positive experience. The process utilized many of the best facilitation models and led us through them in a short period of time to start development of a plan that better serves our community. We look forward to strengthening our collaborative efforts with other agencies to improve service delivery,' said Nancy Schulze, Vice President Iowa Professional Services.

The planning group will continue to communicate with the community as goals are achieved and future plans are formulated. At the end of the first six month planning period, a comprehensive, county-wide plan will be presented.