Building on Our Strengths for a Healthier Tomorrow

(The following comments are from 2010-2011 Tri-County Board Chair Terry Edwards and CEO Tom Cranshaw and were published in the 2011 Annual Report. The complete report is available here.)

As we began our 21st year as a freestanding community mental health center, we were respectful and in awe of the accomplishments that were celebrated at our 20th anniversary. We celebrated our Hall of Fame with such community luminaries as Harry Cleberg, Charles Garney and Sandra Ferguson to name but a few. We celebrated our provider network model that permits us to maximize access to quality and compassionate care over the 1,400 square mile area of Clay, Platte, and Ray Counties. We celebrated effective partnerships with local hospitals, health departments, safety net providers and the legal and judicial systems.

While celebrating our proud past, we lamented that our distressed economy heightens personal anxiety and depression. Challenging funding sources inhibited our ability to serve as many of the growing needs of the Northland community as we would have preferred. Unfortunately, we also became increasingly aware that the consumers we are privileged to serve have many multiple co-occurring disorders of mental illness, substance use and chronic physical ailments.

Environmental Overview

A recent environmental scan reinforced our community’s behavioral health challenges and opportunities.

• Mental and substance use disorders are projected to surpass all physical diseases as a major cause of disability.

• One-fourth of all adult stays in community hospitals involve mental or substance use disorders.

• Individuals with serious mental illness, on average, only live until 53 years of age.

• Five-percent of our community account for almost 50 percent of our health care costs.

• An investment in early treatment and prevention for behavioral disorders yields up to a 10-to-1 savings in health costs, criminal judicial costs and lost productivity.

• Returning mentally ill consumers back to work saves public funding, reduces the need for mental health care and leads to a more productive society.

The findings of this compelling environmental scan are reinforced by a recent behavioral profile of the Northland depicting, for grade levels 6 through 12, that 10  percent of our youth feel hopeless for the future. Another 10  percent seriously considered attempting suicide. A remarkable 28 percent had been bullied on school property. 18  percent consumed alcohol and 10  percent smoked.

A Time For Change

These societal observations show that refusing to change is not an option. We must do more for more consumers and we must do it more cost-effectively. In the Northland, we need to embrace change while building on our current and historical strengths. Indeed, “strength-based service” is becoming our new focus. Our commitment to excellence is summarized on the prior page and reflects the many strengths on which Tri-County has to build. Likewise, the entire health and human services field has strengths on which to build, be they hospitals, safety net providers, public administrators, or the judicial system.

For our part, Tri-County is pledged to build on our strengths of prevention and treatment of behavioral disorders and to expand to a broader focus of wellness and healthy outcomes. A Healthcare Home is one such vehicle being pursued across the State of Missouri whereby mental health centers can identify health care needs and coordinate medical, behavioral, and related social services in a way that recognizes the needs of the whole person (not just the mental health of a consumer).

We are hopeful that this Healthcare Home model will be successful in improving the quality of life of the individual, the family and the community. We are also hopeful that this model can help to rationalize quality, compassionate care in a manner that is person-centered while saving costs for the community.

Tomorrow Is Here

Sometimes, it feels like a brave new world. Other times, it feels like a scary new world. But we are fortunate in many respects. We are blessed with a visionary Board of Directors committed to serve the community with compassion and restraint. We are blessed with a strong core of community stakeholders, funders, public officials and community leaders. We are blessed with an effective team of quality providers and dedicated associates. The Northland has been blessed with a cadre of health and mental health professionals who are dedicated to collaboration  to meet the human services needs of the Northland.

If individually and collectively we keep our focus on the needs of the community and build on our respective strengths, we will together bring a healthier tomorrow to the Northland.

Return to Article Index | Return to Newsletter Index

---