Macon County Mental Health Task Force
April 24, 2008

Members present - Ronnie Beale, Jim Bruckner, Robert Holland, Tammy Keezer, 
Jane Kimsey, Paula Ledford, Kathy McGaha, Mike Neidig, Don Sandoval and Andy
Shields

Welcome - Ronnie Beale welcomed everyone to today’s meeting and thanked them
for attending.

Approval of Minutes - Robert Holland made a motion to approve the minutes.
Jim Bruckner 2nd the motion, with a unanimous vote for approval.


Action Items:
Jim Bruckner and Jane Kimsey reported that the consumer interviews have been 
completed. Mr. Bruckner and Ms. Kimsey said the interviews went very well and
a lot of information was gathered.  Mr. Bruckner and Ms. Kimsey reviewed the 
questions that were asked of each consumer.  Mr. Bruckner and Ms. Kimsey next
reviewed a handout that summarized the results of the interviews.  The handout
listed areas of concern that were identified by the consumers and also offered
suggestions for improvement.  
The concerns listed were:
> Lack of Communication/Coordination
> Lack of Psychiatric Services
> Lack of/or ineffective Crisis Services
> Lack of Convenient Services
> Lack of Workforce

Ronnie Beale stated that one concern he had was the ability for a citizen of 
Macon County to easily acquire information and be able to use the system to 
obtain mental health services.  Mr. Beale asked Tammy Keezer what methods 
Smoky Mountain are currently using to make this information available to the
general public.  Ms. Keezer said currently Smoky Mountain has the 1-800 number
available.  Ms. Keezer said information is also spread by the use of posters,
newspaper ads, magnets and information in the phone book.  Ms. Keezer said 
future plans include a billboard advertisement in all seven counties, 
specifically with the 1-800 number.

Tammy Keezer said future plan considerations include a drop-in center for 
Macon County.  This center would be staffed by a clinician and other support
staff.  Ms. Keezer said this center would be open during normal business hours
Monday-Friday.  Ms. Keezer said this center could handle patient assessments 
and make referrals.  

Tammy Keezer also stressed that it is very hard to recruit mental health 
professionals for this area.  Ms. Keezer explained that this has been an 
ongoing problem and some positions, even with heavy advertising, have been
hard to fill.  Ms. Keezer said recruitment of mental health professionals is 
a national problem as well as locally.


Paula Ledford passed out copies of two handouts of information from Jackson 
County.  Ms. Ledford stated she had just received this information and had not
had a chance to review and study the handouts.  Mr. Beale suggested possibly
forming a sub-committee to further study the Jackson County information 
in-depth and also look at models from other counties.  Mr. Beale said the 
sub-committee could consider how these models could be used for Macon County
and make recommendations for our best solution.

Sheriff Holland stated that he had presented the Jail Substance Abuse Program
to the Board of Commissioner during their meeting on April 14th.  Mr. Holland
informed the task force members that the Board members had approved this 
program and agreed to fund it for the next 14 months.

Ronnie Beale told the task force member he had asked the Teens In Action group
to make a brief presentation at the Board of Commissioners meeting.  Three 
students from this group explained how they had formed and what they hoped to 
accomplish as a group.  The Board members approved funding for two students 
groups (one from Franklin and one from Highlands)  to attend the Teen Institute
in Tennessee this summer.

Jane Kimsey next asked the task force members to consider the agenda and 
schedule of the upcoming meeting dates for the Mental Health Task Force. 
After a group discussion, the following dates were agreed upon:
> May 16th - Review the draft presentation of the Task Force Report for the 
  Board of Commissioners
> May 30th - Finalize the presentation of the Task Force Report for the Board
  of Commissioners

The next meeting will be held on Friday, May 16th.  The meeting will start at 
8:00 AM in Meeting Room A at the Health and Human Services Building.

Minutes recorded by Rhonda Blanton