|
Vol. 1, No. 4
October 2010
MFS CHRONICLE
UNITED WAY CAMPAIGN AT MFS:
MORE THAN HALFWAY THERE
The current United Way campaign at Monadnock Family Services is more than halfway there, according to a report October 21 by the committee coordinating the campaign at MFS.
Geraldine Liebert, MFS campaign co-chair, said at a meeting of the coordinators that the MFS campaign was at 57 percent of its $11,000 goal and that so far 57 percent of the staff had participated.
Geraldine and her coordinators – Lorna Pillsbury (64 Main, Walpole, Winchester and Emerald House), Ellen Denoncour (93rd Street), Kathy Baird and Judy Hoffman (Vernon and Washington streets), Chris Selmer (Adult Care Center, Jaffrey) and Kathy Baird (Eastern Region Office) – reviewed the status of the campaign October 21 with Mary Delisle, the Campaign Coordinator for the Monadnock United Way and Rick Baron, the loaned employee from the United Way working with the MFS campaign.
Liebert and her campaign co-chair, Gigi Batchelder, worked with the coordinators for kickoffs at each of the MFS work sites. At the Eastern Region Office in Peterborough, those staff who filled out pledge cards were eligible for drawings that included gift certificates to Peterborough area eateries. Three of the winners – June Winey, Jim Wood and Melissa Maurer – elected to put their gift certificates together to buy lunch for the ERO staff.
Geraldine and the campaign coordinators are asking people who have not already made a pledge for this year’s campaign to do so before October 28. All those who submitted pledge cards by then will be eligible for drawings at which a day off with pay will be presented to four lucky winners.
In addition, the campaign committee plans a 50-50 raffle – in which you can buy a ticket for a $1 or six tickets for $5 and the winner will receive 50 percent of the total take for the raffle – the other half will be added to the agency’s United Way contribution.
 UNITED WAY KICKOFF IN PETERBOROUGH. MFS staff in the Eastern Region office, left to right, KELLY PENNA, JIM WOOD, MELISSA MAURER, FAVID COTE, SUE HOWARD, JUNE WINEY and MARY SEEBART, who attended the United Way campaign kickoff in Peterborough.
UNITED WAY KICKOFF AT 93rd STREET. MEG BROADHEAD, second from left, traces the history of the United Way at the campaign kickoff at 93rd Street. Listening are, left to right, LAUREN WILSON, ERIC HEDIN, MIKE CANCELLIERI and CALEB WELLS.
 A NOTE FROM JAYME
Fall is here -- the leaves are changing, the weather is changing, and MFS is changing. After 2 ½ years of unrelenting change you may be asking, “Aren’t we done yet?”
I hear your frustration and wish I could tell you that any day now all will be well and we can settle in to a new comfort level. But it would be wrong for me to reassure you in that way.
Let me begin by mentioning that with the audit complete, there are only two items, identified in the audit, remaining to be changed. One primarily affects the board but the other will involve each and every one of us. It has to do with improving the sensitivity of managers and supervisors in their roles and improving two-way communication between you, the staff, and management.
I have begun interviewing consultants who will work with us to create a system of two-way communications that will bring lasting, permanent change to our culture. We want to make certain that we have sensitive and supportive managers at all levels within the agency.
As a first step toward this process, I will begin attending your staff meetings during the first two weeks in November. During those visits I want you to ask me specific questions on any topic and I encourage you to share your ideas, concerns and general thoughts about the management and supervision in the agency.
FISCAL STATUS
Monadnock Family Services has only this year completed the arduous task of repairing its internal problems. When I was hired in 2008, the agency was in financial crisis requiring us to borrow money regularly to meet payroll. That was the result of longstanding ways of doing agency business that was not sustainable. The immediate fix, two years ago, was to drastically make across-the-board salary cuts. We finally restored those cuts to you this past July.
No sooner had we stabilized our internal issues than we faced budget cuts from the state. From October, 2009, until the present, the state has cut our budget by more than $700,000.
Despite the budget cuts, MFS has not reduced the level of service to our consumers. In fact, we have begun serving more consumers than ever. Last month (September 2010) we had a record-breaking month in Medicaid billing -- the single largest month in the agency’s history.
MFS responded to state budget cuts in January of this year by cutting seven upper management positions that required us to double and triple up responsibilities for the three executive managers who remained. Those remaining managers were pushed beyond what would have been ideal but their situation was necessary for us to survive the budget cuts without reducing service to our consumers.
And yet, it is a testament to the commitment of every one at every level at MFS that despite those budget cuts we found ways to serve our consumers. In fact, we serve more consumers now than we did two years ago as a result of all of us working together.
As we prepare to do our best now going forward, several middle managers have been put in position to better support your efforts.
Earlier this fall, an audit of the Bureau of Behavioral Health itself (yes, this is the year of audits), revealed to Governor Lynch and the legislative leadership that the mental health centers in New Hampshire had received more than their fair share of budget cutbacks and would not be able to withstand any further cuts this year.
WHAT’S AHEAD
Recently, the state informed us that 2011 will be a year of planning, designing, re-organizing and changing the Medicaid reimbursement system for mental healthcare in New Hampshire. All ten community mental health centers in the state will be joining in this effort.
In short, it will be instituting what amounts to managed care for the state’s mental health care system.
At the December meeting of the MFS board, Roland Lamy, head of the association of NH mental health center CEO’s, will present a preview of the upcoming challenges and the role the centers will play in dealing with them. This process will require involvement by all mental health center boards, leadership, staff, support staff, billing and consumers. The turn-around and dissemination of information will need to be quick and concise. Indeed, at every mental health center every one will need to be at the “top of their game.”
In summary, there is no doubt that we will all be ready to represent our region for the changes coming next year to the mental health system of New Hampshire. Thankfully, we are financially solvent, have restored base salaries and are providing quality care everywhere in our system, including Emerald House.
We have marshaled our forces to sustain us in this effort to be the best mental health system serving people in the Monadnock region. I am confident we can face the future, confront our challenges and continue to inspire hope in the people we serve.
Jayme Collins
MARY LAVALLEY, left, and SUSAN BERNSTEIN of Baby Time
BABY TIME IN THE HANDS OF TWO WOMEN THERE TO HELP
In the 10 years that Susan Bernstein and Mary LaValley together have overseen Monadnock Family Services’ Baby Time program, they figure they’ve worked with more than 500 new mothers along with their infants and families.
The new moms and families often face extraordinary challenges in their lives – mental illness, homelessness, domestic violence (physical and sexual) and developmental disabilities.
Baby Time work involves community partnerships with Cheshire Medical Center, Home Healthcare and Hospice, Monadnock Developmental Services, the volunteer center at MFS and the state department of Health and Human Services and the state Division of Youth and Family Services.
Through the years, they’ve dealt with new moms as young as 14 and as old as 39. And often, they’ll see moms more than once as their families grow.
Four years ago, the program moved from cramped facilities on the second floor at 64 Main Street to its present location at 30 Washington Street in Keene, which they agree makes the new location a “welcoming and nurturing” site for expectant and new moms.
Susan and Mary work closely with Cheshire Medical Center, particularly its Hubbard Women’s Health Center, which refers new and expectant moms to Baby Time. Twice a month, in collaboration with the Women’s Health Center, either Susan or Mary participates in discussions of pre-natal care with expectant mothers. This includes information about Baby Time and if a mother likes what she hears she can participate in Baby Time.
In addition, Linda Hakala, a pre-natal care coordinator at the Hubbard Women’s Health Center at the hospital, comes to the Baby Time office every other Friday to meet with pre-natal moms and their families to discuss issues relevant to their condition.
Baby Time programs feature structured curriculums such as Parents As Teacher, a nationally developed guide, and participation in a statewide program called Home Visiting New Hampshire. These curriculums assure that Susan and Mary cover the points new parents need to know to be effective.
They spend one to two hours twice a month with each of their moms and their families -- paying particular attention to the new fathers, as well-- from before the baby is born through the baby’s first birthday. At that point, they’ll often refer the family for further services to an MFS case manager or MFS’ Family Time program. Yet, Mary noted, there are families “ready to fly” when they finish with Baby Time and are on their own.
Susan, who earned a degree in early childhood education at Castleton State College in Vermont, later worked in Head Start, early childhood education and at one point she owned and operated her own licensed Happy Times Preschool in Brattleboro. She has been with Baby Time for about six years. She has a 17-year-old daughter in high school.
Mary, who earned an education degree at the University of New Hampshire, later taught kindergarten in Franklin, New Hampshire, and worked nine years in special education before taking time off to raise her five children (her youngest now is in her second year of college). Mary came to Baby Time 4 ½ years ago.
Both women see a total of at least 50 mothers every year. And there’s always more need than their program can often provide – homeless families in need of more diapers, bedding, clothing, even toilet paper -- and they often find themselves digging into their own pockets. Occasionally, community members, aware of their client’s needs, will drop off blankets or other necessities to help.
As holiday time rolls around, there’s always a need to help families who otherwise might be facing a bleak Christmas. And Mary and Susan ask if you have any items that might be useful for a child or new mom to call them at 357-6372.
PSYCHIATRIST WITH EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE
APPOINTED CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER AT MFS
A medical doctor with extensive experience as a practicing psychiatrist, administrator and psychiatric faculty member in Massachusetts, Maine, Virginia and Ohio has been appointed chief medical officer for Monadnock Family Services (MFS) in Keene.
Jayme Collins, chief executive officer of MFS, announced the appointment, effective October 16, of Dr. Frederick A. Agisim as the agency’s chief medical officer. He will oversee the clinicians and psychiatrists who provide mental health counseling and treatment to the more than 5,000 adults and children served every year by MFS.
“Dr. Agisim’s extensive experience in the field of psychiatry brings to our agency a level of clinical expertise that will help us face the challenges that lie ahead. We are fortunate to have attracted Dr. Agisim to our agency,” Ms. Collins said. “He’s come to know us as a result of working with us as a staff psychiatrist beginning in May and assuming a role as our interim chief medical officer in August.
“He has been a welcome addition to our senior management team and we are delighted he is joining us on a permanent basis,” she said
He has been certified in psychiatry since 1983 by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and certified since 1979 by the National Board of Medical Examiners.
PROGRAM TO HELP PARENTS COPE WITH CHALLENGES OF PRE-TEENS
A program to help parents of fifth graders as they enter the pre-teen world with their children will be offered beginning this month in Keene.
The program, called Guiding Good Choices, teaches parents how to be sure that they are providing their children with the most protection as they move into their pre-teen and teenage years and how to ensure that their family stays close and strong as the children learn how to handle the challenges of their growing independence.
A series of five sessions will be offered beginning this month at the Keene Middle School (starting October 18), the Keene Housing Authority (beginning October 20), the Jonathan Daniels Elementary School (beginning January 19, 2011) and the Fuller and Wheelock Schools combined (beginning March 9, 2011).
The parents and children will attend the third session together to learn and practice special skills for handling peer pressure. Child care and a light supper will be provided with no charge.
The series is sponsored by the Parent Outreach Project at Monadnock Family Services (MFS). More programs are in the planning stages throughout the Monadnock Region.
Space will be limited and parents are encouraged to contact Jeff Drake at the MFS Parent Outreach Project, 603/357 6372, extension 114, or e-mail him at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
for more information.
MFS IN THE NEWS
The Monadnock Ledger-Transcript, published in Peterborough, devoted a full page in its September 28th issue to volunteers in the Monadnock region. An article by volunteer Jill Blakeman talked about her volunteer role with the Monadnock Adult Care Center in Jaffrey, directed by Chris Selmer of Monadnock Family Services. On the same page, Kathy Baird, program coordinator for Monadnock Family Services’ RSVP and Volunteer center at Vernon Street in Keene, wrote about the extraordinary level of volunteerism provided by the people who live in the Monadnock region. A rate, Kathy wrote, that is above the state average for service.
The Monadnock United Way monthly newsletter, Access, featured the fact that MFS presented its president, Kathy Harrington, with the Monadnock Family Services Community Partner Award at our annual meeting September 15. In presenting the award, MFS CEO Jayme Collins said, "MFS has had many partners through the years but one that has been steadfast has been the Monadnock United Way."
The Keene Sentinel featured the presentation of Army Colonel Chris Philbrick, head of the Army’s Suicide Prevention Task Force, in a Page One story the day after our annual meeting. Channel 8, the community access TV channel, videotaped Colonel Philbrick’s presentation at the new Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in downtown Keene, and played it several times during the week of September 27. Channel 8 is available to Time Warner subscribers in Keene, Marlborough and Swanzey.
 READY FOR KEENE’S PUMPKIN FESTIVAL. MFS staffers, left to right, Joyce Aguiar, Cindy Henault, Patricia Mackey, Gigi Batchelder, and Linda DeSantis prepared pumpkins for display at Keene’s annual festival October 16.
WHERE THOSE UNITED WAY DOLLARS GO WHEN THEY REACH MFS
You’ve heard often during the United Way campaign here that Monadnock Family Services is the single largest benefactor of United Way funding in the Monadnock region.
Most of the United Way funding supports programs that are not part of our clinical services – with the exception of acute care – and are the result of a long-standing policy at MFS to be an umbrella organization for programs in need of a home.
Gigi Batchelder, the MFS comptroller, says MFS receives each month $23,313 from the Monadnock United Way and when it arrives she immediately allocates it to the specific programs for which United Way funding has been authorized. These programs are:
- Parent Outreach
- ARK
- ActingOut
- Many Options
- Adult Outpatient (acute care uninsured)
- Adult Care Center, Jaffrey
- Substance Abuse
- RSVP/The Monadnock Volunteer Center
As Peter Skalaban, our Chief Financial officer, explains, “MFS has to subsidize all of the programs that receive money from UW. In total, the United Way funding represents 14.3 percent of the total expenditures of the UW-supported programs. Even with the UW funding these programs are budgeted to lose over a quarter of a million dollars in fiscal 2011.”
UPDATE
In an interview with Barbara Hunt, the official greeter at 93rd Street, for the September issue of The MFS Chronicle we asked her how many phone calls she logged every day. She wasn’t sure so on a recent Wednesday, she kept track of her calls and says she logged 185. On a day after a weekend or a holiday, she says it's closer to 200.
|
