Taking my dog to the “emergency hospital” this weekend reminds me of my favorite video… “It’s a Dog’s World”. Coleman Professional Services has used this video for our customer service training with our employees for years. Maybe you have seen it. The video gives a wonderful example of comparing the healthcare industry to the animal care industry. The dog, injured in a fall get’s immediate medical attention with minimum wait; the man hurt in the same accident gets a rude reception, nurse and doctor with long waits and poor service.

Arriving with my poor sick dog on Sunday afternoon to this thriving animal hospital (24/7) my wife and I were so impressed with their quick responses (three receptionist), a nurse came out to my car with a caring veterinarian to help diagnose my pet’s problem. Even while paying the bill, the receptionist would not let the phone ring more than two times! Now let’s look at the Public Behavioral Health Industry and compare the differences these days. Underpaid staff, burned out with poorly trained employees and administrators/funders pining the phrase… “do more with less”.  

Of course the difference is in how we pay for human being versus animals. We all know that many animals go without good medical treatment and are euthanized in APL clinics across the county. Many of these local clinics are financially suffering (at least in my part of Ohio). However, many people don’t hesitate to pay for our beloved pets with their earned income. What is the push back when paying for healthcare? I don’t think the costs are that much cheaper for my dog versus my visit to the emergency department. We must seek solution to this issue and improve the quality of behavioral health service. Leadership should find these meaningful solutions by working together with a common vision of helping people who suffer from mental illness. These are goals that can be accomplished.

Nelson W. Burns, CEO

The Ohio EMR Consortium with Qualifacts is close to completing its first phase of membership. What an exciting time for non-profit behavioral health organizations to partner and implement an electronic medical record. These organizations include Coleman, COVA, Integrated Services, The Center for Integrated Psychiatry, Community Solutions and The Main Place. Close to 200 additional users will be able to access and coordinate electronic health records through a SaaS technology model. My role will be to facilitate the coordination of this consortium under three key user-groups areas; Executive Planning, Clinical and Compliance Review and Finance with Technology.

Coleman Consultation has the tools and experience with the coordination of staff training and project management support. Present leadership will implement a plan to achieve effective coordination with the six non-profit organizations. As we take these important steps, I am going to document this progress and encourage others to comment as we go along. Isn’t it time to take action with electronic medical records and quit just reacting to our business environment?

Do you sometimes feel as if your brain is running on empty?  There are some simple things you can do to pump up your problem-solving abilities, fight forgetfulness and think more clearly and creatively.  Studies of athletes indicate that imagining a tennis serve or ski run between competitions can boost performance.  By “practicing mentally”, you may build mental “muscle” by sparking the brain connections needed during the real thing.  Focus your attention to help remember “where” you put something!  If you tend to misplace your car keys, for example, say to yourself, “I’m placing the keys on the shelf by the hallway mirror”.   Research suggests that as you age, you can reverse a decline in thinking abilities by becoming more mentally active.  Suggestions:  learn a new language, study a new subject, play games like checkers, and do crosswords and other puzzles. Evidence also shows that people in their 70′s and 80′s who stay healthy can expand their brainpower and easily match the mental abilities of a 30 year old.  You can continually work on boosting your brainpower by keeping physically active, managing stress and maintaining a positive attitude.

In conference with Coleman’s EMR (Electronic Medical Records) partner; Qualifacts, Inc. (www.qualifacts.com) the Ohio EMR consortium is getting its legs. We have eight behavioral health organizations close to joining the partnership by the end of June 2010. I have enjoyed conversations with many of the CEO’s in addressing some key issues; they include financial software, vocational services application, and the important philosophy of hardware/software vs. the SaaS model of electronic content management (ECM). Many of you might know SaaS as the “cloud”.

 Most importantly the discussion of capital investments versus monthly “user fees” plays a major role in any executive deciding on what model to embrace. An organization should be better off in paying for monthly subscription fees rather than the hardware, software, software maintenance and I.T. salaries. Understanding that every organization is different, these models can be compared over the realistic time period of when technology will change again. My vision for Coleman Professional Services (www.coleman-professional.com) is to have an EMR that provides for more effective clinical services for the customers we serve, to attract potential employees on our modern applications and to be technological ready for the next advancement of the electronic “health” record: the next wave!  Nelson W. Burns, President and CEO.

I am mad.  Okay, maybe “mad” isn’t the right term… perhaps, “discouraged” is a better term.  Several times in the last few weeks, I have read or heard reviews of unrelated books and movies.  In each, words used to describe a character, suffering from a diagnosable mental illness, were insulting and sophomoric.  I feel certain that the authors of those reviews would use kinder, more appropriate terms to describe a person with a biological disease such as cancer or Parkinson’s.  Maybe they do not realize that mental illness is every bit as much a biological disease as cancer, Parkinson’s, or asthma.  Just as we as a society have gradually become sensitive to demeaning nouns and adjectives for people of different races, genders or sexual orientations, we need to be careful about how we refer to those around us suffering from a behavioral health disorder.  Let’s leave the terms, which are offensive when used to describe a person, to describe things.  Despite what the kid’s “sticks and stones” poem says, words not only can and do hurt, but they perpetuate stereotypes and stigmas.

Ms. Dalia Puskorius (Kent Therapist) sent me a great article entitled “Multicultural Critical Theory. At B-School?” (N.Y.Times, 1/10/10). In brief, the article addresses the importance of Business Schools to teach “critical and strategic thinking” and not just “silo-type” subjects like accounting and marketing. They define critical thinking as the manner “…to imaginatively frame questions and consider multiple perspectives.”  This is a wise and thoughtful article for the business schools to consider and embrace.

Strategic and critical thinking in our system is an important process to address. We all understand how many of our behavioral health services are inter-related to each other and (most importantly) to the people we serve. Much can be said about how governments and private organizations are co-dependent on each other’s success. We also need to examine how our different systems (prisons, schools and hospitals) need to more effectively coordinate with each other. Critical thinking is that process by which we observe cross functional operations and try to understand how each are affected by the other. As the article addresses, there are multiple perspectives to examine and to follow in order to understand the relationships.   

We read in the papers that the recession is over and things are slowly returning to normal.  That may be true in some sectors, but we are still waiting to see the proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel” in the funding for behavioral health and rehabilitation services.  In fact, in Portage County, we have received bad news from one of our principle funders, the Mental Health and Recovery Board of Portage County, after its funds were reduced by the state.  They will be cutting our funding by 5% immediately for a total cut of $214,527.

What does that mean for Coleman in Portage County?  While the specifics are yet to be determined, careful study and tremendous thought is going into how best to make the necessary cuts to our budget while maintaining the high quality of services we provide.  There will be staff cuts, and a reduction of services provided, though the details are yet to be announced.

Looking ahead is even more daunting.  According to Hal Farrier, Executive Director of the MHRB of Portage County, “We also may not have seen the last of the state cuts.”  His staff believes they may need to cut as much as another 20% for next year’s budget. 

For those of us at Coleman in Portage County, it’s easy to be upset with our Mental Health and Recovery Board.  We should remember, though, that they absorbed the lion’s share of the funding cuts (to the tune of $1.6 million since January) and have made difficult cuts to their own budget.  We should instead keep the lines of communication open with our state leaders.  We must impress upon them the importance of funding for mental health and rehabilitation… not just once, but every chance we get.  This is true not just for Portage County, but for all our counties, as they are all facing similar budget issues.

So where does this leave us?  In his message announcing the budget cuts to the Portage County Staff, Nelson Burns, CEO of Coleman Professional Services said, “Our vision addresses Coleman’s desire to provide services to individuals and families regardless of their ability to pay.  We will not abandon this important vision.  Maybe we can call this a ‘bump’ in the road or a ‘detour.’  I hope you join with me in remaining strong in our vision and our quest to grow and diversify our revenue so we can help those who are not eligible to pay for services.

We appreciate you all joining with us to support Coleman and its vision as we make difficult decisions during these difficult times.

Coleman Data Solutions, in an effort to increase branding and generate new revenues in our target markets of education, health care, nonprofits and government, has recently been approved as a preferred vendor for the Ohio Management Council, Technology Solutions Group (MC-OECN) and achieved membership in the Ohio Health Care Association (OHCA).  Staff members exhibited at a conference last month and will be attending three this month to meet and greet potential new partners and clients.  Should you have contacts at the executive level in the industries of education, health care, nonprofits or government, please contact Debra Prioletti at 330.644.8899 with contact information!   

Do you sometimes feel as if your brain is running on empty?  There are some simple things you can do to pump up your problem-solving abilities, fight forgetfulness and think more clearly and creatively.  Studies of athletes indicate that imagining a tennis serve or ski run between competitions can boost performance.  By “practicing mentally”, you may build mental “muscle” by sparking the brain connections needed during the real thing.  Focus your attention to help remember “where” you put something!  If you tend to misplace your car keys, for example, say to yourself, “I’m placing the keys on the shelf by the hallway mirror”.   Research suggests that as you age, you can reverse a decline in thinking abilities by becoming more mentally active.  Suggestions:  learn a new language, study a new subject, play games like checkers, and do crosswords and other puzzles. Evidence also shows that people in their 70′s and 80′s who stay healthy can expand their brainpower and easily match the mental abilities of a 30 year old.  You can continually work on boosting your brainpower by keeping physically active, managing stress and maintaining a positive attitude.

Tackling Depression & Surviving Suicide Loss
A Quarterbacks Inspiring Story: Eric Hipple, author, former Detroit Lion and former FOX sports analyst, talks about recovery after depression and a suicide in his family.

Presented by the Portage County Suicide Prevention Coalition
Tuesday, Apr 28 6:00p to 8:00p
at Kent State University KIVA, Kent, OH

Free admission. Resgister for free CEUs: call 330-678-3006 or email Deborahn@townhall2.com.

Co-sponsored by the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation, Mental Health & Recovery Board of Portage County, Coleman Foundation, KSU Office of Safety & Sercurity, Delta Tau Delta and Townhall II.

Eric Hipple is a former NFL quarterback whose ten year career was spent entirely with the Detroit Lions. His accomplishments include 2 playoff bids and a divisional championship. In addition, he was named Most Valuable Player for the 1981 season. His jersey hangs in the Canton Hall of Fame. He’s ranked 5th in all-time career passing yards in the Detroit record books.

Since his retirement from the Detroit Lions, Eric has been a professional motivational speaker. Eric’s public speaking work shifted to topics of depressive disorder awareness and treatment, and to suicide prevention in 2000, after the tragic death of his 15-year-old son to suicide.

Eric currently serves on the board AAS (American Assoc. of Suicidology) and Michigan’s Mental Illness Research Association (MIRA), a fund-raising organization that gives grants to further brain research. He works at the Univ. of Michigan’s Depression Center as Outreach Coordinator.

Eric has recently authored a book ” Real Men DO Cry ” it chronicles his life as a NFL Quarterback from youth to his current position and his struggle with suicide loss and his own depression. His story is one of hope and recovery and uses education as well a practical advice to help others live and enjoy life again.