Posted: 11/23/04
County board hears about new mental health initiative
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
Services for people with mental health challenges in southeastern Minnesota are undergoing some significant changes.
Lynn E. Skinner explained them to the Houston County board in a whirlwind 30-minute presentation on November 16.
Skinner is the project coordinator for CREST Initiative, a program that is working to shift services for mentally ill people from state institutions to smaller housing options like apartments, adult foster care, and small board and lodge homes.
(CREST stands for Collaborative Resources Evolving Services Treatment.)
Speaking at the boardís monthly meeting with human services personnel, Skinner talked about goals and changes for mental health services in a 10-county region around Houston County.
She was accompanied by Julie Hanson, executive director of Hiawatha Valley Mental Health Center, which is based in Winona and has a satellite office in Caledonia.
Hanson said the goal of the changes is to maximize state and federal money while allowing mentally ill people to remain close to home.
The goal is to get more bang for the buck, said Skinner, who is based in Rochester and works for the Minnesota Department of Human Services. She and Hanson have been working with Houston County on it for 15-18 months.
Commissioner Kevin Kelleher said he was leery of state initiatives.
ìAnd the state saying theyíll pick up the rest,î Ann Thompson added.
Skinner assured them that adequate funding was mandated by law. ìThey are required to cover these bases one way of the other.î
Kelleher said it was important to have local input. Skinner replied that the county human services director would be able to do that.
What about severely mentally impaired people, Kelleher asked.
People who are violent or very difficult can go into 16-bed facilities or intensive residential facilities that are equipped to handle them, Skinner responded. Some local hospitals are equipped to handle them too, she said.
Allowing people to stay in their local communities is important, Skinner stressed. Chronic conditions can be managed with the right maintenance, and these people can contribute to their communities, through things like their jobs, churches, and family connections, she said.
Houston County Human Services director Beth Wilms said that Skinner would help in other ways, like training sheriffís department workers. ìLynn is here for our use and I think we should definitely tap into her knowledge.î
About the redesigned plan
The CREST Initiative has four components: in-patient, out-patient, housing, and community support for housing.
The plan that Skinner gave the board lists four expectations:
ï Increase consumer choice;
ï Decrease hospitalization;
ï Improve crisis response;
ï Provide transition from state to local providers.
There will be intensive residential treatment facilities in Austin, Owatonna, Rochester, and Winona. There are three service hub centers in the region in Owatonna, Rochester, and Winona. There will also be one secure hospital in Rochester that will have 16 beds and provide services like the St Peter Region Center presently does.
In-patient treatment will be done in facilities with 16 beds or less. Sixteen or fewer bed means the county can receive medical assistance funding, which is critical, both Hanson and Skinner said.
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