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Variety of services available for those in mental health crisis

Newton Daily News (IA) - 10/28/2015

Oct. 28--Mental health used to be primarily in the realm of the medical community.

As managed care, insurance and indigent patient care has become more complicated and costs have skyrocketed, mental health care has fallen more into the hands of smaller agencies, care organizations and volunteers. There are a number of agencies and others in Jasper County charged with helping the county's mentally ill recover and lead productive lives.

Some facilities, such as Capstone Behavioral Healthcare, have a staff aimed at addressing a number of short-term crisis or transitional mental health needs, while others, like Clearview Recovery, Inc. of Prairie City, target specific at-risk elements of the population.

Capstone Director Julie Smith said she makes appointments about six weeks into the future, but will see clients during business hours if they have a mental health emergency that doesn't involve medical care. She said the Jan. 1, 2016 transition that will put Iowa Medicaid billing and eligibility in the hands of four managed-care companies might be a tough one at first, but those four companies have incentives to solve problems and succeed.

"I'm hoping that will make things a lot simpler," Smith said. "The two elements that might help things go smoothly is that, one, Iowa isn't the first state where these companies are taking over Medicaid, and two, they will provide all services required to be provided by the state."

Scott Pritchard, director of Clearview, said his facility is full, with a waiting list.

"There is a lack of beds -- especially for any adults or juveniles who have a history of violence, as some places won't take them," Pritchard said. "State government needs to get involved, as there's a lack of psychiatrists, too, and these shortages tax the entire system, from us to emergency rooms and jails."

Capstone's assistant director, Renae Northcutt, said knowledge in the county about the function of her facility and other organizations is important.

"It's necessary to have a buy-in from the community," Northcutt said. "Some people think we only help the sickest of the sick, but we have about 2,000 people in our system, and their severity changes as often as rules and regulations change."

Here are a list of some mental-health-related organizations and agencies, businesses and government agencies within the county. All facilities are based in Newton unless specified:

Capstone Behavioral Healthcare: For more than 20 years, Capstone has been providing services in mental health, chemical dependency counseling as the designated mental health center for Jasper and Marion counties. Capstone provides psychiatric care and medication management using a staff of three psychologists, one psychiatrist and two physician's assistants with a third PA to be added early next year.

Capstone also has licensed mental health counselors and clinical social workers who provide mental health and substance abuse treatment to clients who are either funded by private insurance or county approved funding sources. Clients typically live independently, but group-home and apartment living is sometimes provided in cases of higher acuity.

Optimae Life Services: The Newton facility of the 21-county organization offers individual therapy and peer-support group sessions, as well as field trips and other activities. There are six therapists, two psychiatrists and many volunteers in Newton.

Skiff Medical Center: Skiff Medical Center is Jasper County's only hospital and emergency-services facility. Many patients are sent to Skiff if in crisis that either requires medical treatment or if they have a court-ordered commitment for mental-health hospitalization. While Skiff does not have any psychiatrists on staff and county funding no longer pays for the hospital to use Capstone's psychiatrist, a new "Tele-Health" video conferencing assessment service might solve the issue of getting patients assessed by a mental-health professional.

House of Mercy: The Newton location's outpatient services include substance abuse and mental health treatment for children, adolescents and adults.

Clearview Recovery, Prairie City: The all-women's recovery residential treatment program allows mothers to stay with their children while in treatment.

Now in its 11th year, the 48-bed treatment center is contracted to provide services to Medicaid clientele statewide and is are staffed around the clock. Lengths of stay typically range between six and nine months.

Elements include exposure to the 12-step recovery process, parenting classes, learning job or training skills, improving self-esteem and slowly becoming able to deal with life on life's terms. There is a focus on children as positive motivators for a strong recovery program, during and after treatment.

Central Iowa Community Services: A regional funding and administrative arm of state government that incorporates 10 counties, including Jasper, formed for the year than began on July 1, 2014. Jody Eaton, who is also the county coordinator, happens to be the CEO of the Central region.

CICS draws spending authority from state legislation and funding from its 10 county governments through a 28E agreement. Its stated Fiscal Year 2016 goals are to implement supported employment, improve access to outpatient services, increase the provider network, collaborate with providers on recruitment of professional staff, implement tele-psychiatry at jails and local emergency rooms, assist with permanent supported housing, legislative review and educating the community on mental health issues.

NAMI Jasper County: As the local chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, NAMI-Jasper County helps with peer support, community education and helping fund programs like "Mental Health First Aid" and helping train law enforcement on dealing with the mentally ill.

Contact Jason W. Brooks at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or jbrooks@newtondailynews.com

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