CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

Integrated health homes helping those with mental illness

Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier (IA) - 10/5/2014

Oct. 05--CEDAR FALLS -- Benjamin Patrick Harris is a recovering schizophrenic. His Christian faith has helped him through some hard years, but in the last few months he and hundreds of other people with mental illness have found a powerful source of community and support in a new program at the Black Hawk Grundy Mental Health Center.

It's called the integrated health home program, and it's one of three in the region aimed at helping people with serious mental illnesses take control of their lives and realize their health goals.

With today marking the beginning of national Mental Health Awareness Week, Black Hawk Grundy Integrated Health Home Director Christi Mason took some time to reflect on the program's success.

"Since our inception in April, we have enrolled 500 members in the Integrated Health Program," Mason said.

As one of those members, Harris is doing much better than he was just a few years ago. He enjoys going on walks as part of the integrated health home's health and wellness initiative, and he often brings friends along from outside the program who he thinks could use the boost.

"Our goal is to provide our members with the support they need to live healthier lives," Mason said. "We help them identify needs, provide services and resources to meet those needs and empower them to set small goals to become healthier, both physically and mentally."

Harris, 36, moved to Cedar Falls in 2009 after he was assaulted in his apartment in Cedar Rapids. Four men pistol whipped him, then robbed him. He lost his eye as a result, though it has since been replaced with a glass one virtually indistinguishable from the real thing.

Though a terrible incident, Harris' sense of humor shines through in the retelling of that life-changing day.

"Not only am I schizophrenic, I'm a schizophrenic with one eye," he laughed.

Things have turned around for him since those days. He has a really good roommate, and his disorder is mostly under control now -- he takes just one low-dose pill once before bedtime.

He also has the consistent support of Brian Hereen, a peer support specialist with Black Hawk Grundy's integrated health home program.

"We have a real good relationship," Hereen said. "Every peer support specialist has suffered from mental illness. So we haven't walked in their shoes, but we understand their struggles with anxiety if they're in crisis."

The integrated health home also has a nurse manager and a care coordinator available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to help members like Harris coordinate their various services and doctors appointments.

The area has two other integrated health homes like the one at the Black Hawk Grundy Mental Health Center. One of them is managed by Pathways Behavioral Services of Waterloo and Waverly, and the other is a pediatric integrated health home overseen by the Lutheran Services in Iowa office in Waterloo.

Residents of Black Hawk and Grundy counties are eligible for free integrated health services if they are on Medicaid and suffer from a serious mental illness. Examples of a serious mental illness include psychosis, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, major depression, biploar disorder, delusional disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Children with serious emotional disturbances -- any mental health factor that has an impact on their day-to-day lives -- are also eligible.

Pathways has enrolled 300 members, while Lutheran Services has enrolled 172 children. Jan Pratt, director of the integrated health services program at Lutheran Services, is hoping to attract new applicants. Mason said there are about 2,000 people -- 1,300 adults and 700 children -- who qualify in Black Hawk and Grundy counties.

"It's a unique approach to integrating mental health into every avenue of a child's life," Pratt said.

Thanks in part to the integrated health home program through the Black Hawk Grundy Mental Health Center, Harris is enrolled in vocational training and is on the path to realizing his goals. He's hoping to get a steady job soon so he can purchase his own home someday.

"It's going pretty good for me," Harris said. "I really can't complain, but sometimes I still do."

Those interested in signing up for integrated health services can contact the Black Hawk Grundy Mental Health Center at 234-2893, ext. 301; Pathways at 235-6571; or Lutheran Services at 233-3579.

___

(c)2014 Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier (Waterloo, Iowa)

Visit Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier (Waterloo, Iowa) at www.wcfcourier.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services