Macon County Mental Health Task Force Minutes - March 28, 2008 Members present - Ronnie Beale, Jim Bruckner, Robert Holland, Jane Kimsey, Paula Ledford, Kathy McGaha, Mike Neidig and Don Sandoval Invited Guests - Rhonda Cox, Tammy Keezer and Judy Kuehn of Smoky Mountain Center Welcome and Introductions - Ronnie Beale welcomed everyone to today’s meeting and asked everyone to introduce themselves. Mr. Beale introduced the representatives of Smoky Mountain Center and thanked them for attending today. Mr. Beale welcomed the other public attendees and thanked them for attending today’s meeting. Approval of Minutes - Kathy McGaha made a motion to approve the minutes. Mr. Holland 2nd the motion, with a unanimous vote for approval. Action Items: Jane Kimsey asked for clarification of the posting of minutes and other information on the Macon County website. Mr. Beale and the task force members agreed the minutes and information should be posted on the county website. The heading for Mental Health will be put under the navigation bar. Also included will be a link to the Smoky Mountain Center. Ms. Kimsey will contact Chris Casses about setting this up. Ronnie Beale next asked Mary Widenhouse to report on the upcoming Consumers/Advocates Forum. Ms. Widenhouse passed out a handout for the task force members to review. Mr. Beale questioned whether it would be better for the consumers to meet just with the co-chairs instead of the whole task force. After a group discussion, the task force members agreed on the consumers meeting only with the co-chairs, who will then report back to the task force members. The co-chairs will use a set of basic questions. These questions will give the consumers a chance to share their experiences and the problems they encountered with the mental health system in Macon County. Ronnie Beale next asked Rhonda Cox and Tammy Keezer of the Smoky Mountain Center to respond to the letter sent to SMC earlier this year. Ms. Cox and Ms. Keezer passed out folders containing several handouts for the task force members to review. Ms. Cox and Ms. Keezer started with the first handout which contained the questions that our task force had sent SMC. Ms. Cox and Ms. Keezer read and reviewed the answers that were provided. Ms. Cox and Ms. Keezer said a more detailed report is upcoming that will provide more in-depth answers and information. The other handouts consisted of graphs and charts reflecting unduplicated individuals served in each county in the SMC region, a list of providers and their services, and the number of service units provided to Medicaid eligible persons. Ronnie Beale stated that the task force members had agreed that one representative from the Smoky Mountain Center needed to be added to the task force. Ms. Keezer said they will talk with their CEO, Tom McDevitt, and determine who the representative will be. Mr. Beale said he will put the appointment recommendation on the agenda for the April 14th, Board of Commissioners meeting. Rhonda Cox and Tammy Keezer announced that SMC is proposing a new drop-in mental health center for Macon County. The center would be recovery oriented and offer support services and educational programs. Ms. Keezer said this type of center is not offered in other surrounding counties. Ms. Cox also said in April, a domestic abuse intervention program will be offered for perpetrators of domestic violence. Ronnie Beale said the next topic for discussion was the jail program. During this discussion, Mike Neidig was asked to leave the room. The task force members first reviewed and discussed the substance abuse education component of the jail program. Mr. Bruckner made a motion for Sheriff Holland to present this proposal and request funding for the education component from the Board of Commissioners at their April 14th meeting. Don Sandoval 2nd the motion, with everyone in agreement. Next, Jim Bruckner explained the Jail Diversion Program. Mr. Bruckner stated that a meeting was held last week with Sheriff Holland, Brian Welch, Tim Holland, Steve Puckett, Rhonda Cox, Tammy Keezer, Tom McDevitt and himself. This program will link inmates with appropriate care and services once they leave the jail. Mr. Bruckner stated there will be more meetings for this group to further discuss this program. Another recommendation from the Jail Diversion Program meeting, was for Judy Kuehn of Smoky Mountain Center to meet weekly with the jail nurse. During these weekly meetings, they will review the assessment tool used at booking, develop any necessary protocols and/or screening tools, and design a flow for fully assessing inmates. The next meeting will be held on Friday, April 11th. The meeting will start at 8:00 AM in Meeting Room A at the Health and Human Services Building. Minutes recorded by Rhonda Blanton.