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Office News and Updates | June 2024 |
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Letter from Leora
June has come and gone, and it’s starting to feel like summer! With the temperatures heating up, and half of the year in the rearview mirror, I am reflecting on all of the progress we’ve made so far.
We had a successful legislative and budget session, which allowed us to maintain our staffing after withstanding crisis levels, and expand our programs into new arenas. We were able to open both of the new forensic wings at our Fort Logan hospital, re-open admissions units at CMHHIP and we opened many of our Mental Health Transitional Living Homes, which you can read about in this newsletter! Our staff have been working incredibly hard to serve our patients, and I am proud to report that the waitlist has hit sub-300 for the first time in a long time.
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Though we have a long way to go, we are making steady progress on getting Coloradans the care they need in the most appropriate setting, in a timely manner. I am hopeful that we will be able to accomplish even more before the end of this year. Thank you, as always, for being with us on this journey.
— Leora Joseph, director of OCFMH
Updates from Offices
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CMHHIFL
We would like to recognize and congratulate Anthony (Tony) Raddell for his 40 years of service at Colorado Mental Health Hospital in Fort Logan. Tony has worked in the Staff Development Office for the past 18 years ensuring new and current employees receive the required training necessary to do their jobs. Tony is liked and appreciated by all with whom he works. He will be greatly missed. Tony’s last day is June 28.
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CMHHIP
During June, the adolescent unit (ABTU) had many exciting Friday Fun Days. The month was packed with activities such as tie-dyeing shirts, enjoying popsicles and yard games, making paper mache volcanoes, and snacking on rice krispie treats. These events played a key role in building stronger bonds of trust and rapport among patients and staff.
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Mental Health Transitional Living Homes
Happy Summer! It’s hard to believe that we are already halfway through the year. We have had a busy month within the MHTL Homes Division. We opened both of our Northglenn homes and began admissions on June 4. We have one more home opening in Lakewood on July 2, with admissions planned for that same week. With the opening of these homes, we will have officially opened all Level 1 MHTL Homes, totaling 60 beds!
We are getting closer to determining opening dates for Level 2 MHTL Homes. We have projected dates for opening some of these homes in the Fall (state-run and contracted). As we gear up to open our state-run homes, we have been actively interviewing for the leadership positions for those homes. Our team will see rapid growth over these next several months and throughout the year.
Inspiration Corner:
Our clients have been very engaged in gardening this season. At the Silver Maple home, one of our clients has been carefully caring for a jalapeno plant, which was yielding a single jalapeno for which this client was nurturing (to the point that she hugged the jalapeno one day). This client checks on that jalapeno plant multiple times a day. One morning, she was surprised to see her precious jalapeno MISSING! When she went inside the house, she found that another one of the clients was eating it (raw). Apparently, it was delicious and the client who had been nurturing that single jalapeno was happy that someone was able to enjoy the fruits of their labor. There are now three more small jalapenos growing on the plant as well, for which this client is excited to watch grow.
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Forensic Support Team
In May 2024, the Forensic Navigators provided care coordination to 933 incarcerated individuals, and had 1,952 collateral contacts with community, jails, and court stakeholders.
Partner spotlight:
We appreciate all of our Bridges Liaisons in El Paso County, but Julie Gittens is a constant that brings a calm demeanor and a knowledge that only comes from being with the program since the very beginning. I appreciate Julie because she is an effective communicator and works hard for her clients, but also can listen and offer suggestions for scenarios discussed in our team meetings. She is a great team player!
- El Paso FST Team
Jail-Based Restoration
The average length of stay for clients in the past month is:
- 104 days for restoration to competency
- 221 days for charges dismissed
- 36 days for transfers
- 97 days for on bond
- 222 days for bond-outpatient clients
The below bed utilization percentage considers patients physically in programs and outstanding bed offers. The percentage of bed utilization for May is as follows:
- Arapahoe RISE: 98.8%
- Boulder RISE: 100%
- DRTU: 98.8%
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Court Services
Court Services completed over 450 reports in May.
Outpatient Restoration
Outpatient Restoration Outcomes for May 2024:
- Case Dismissed: 20%
- Found not restorable by court: 34%
- Restored to competency: 28%
- Services stopped by court: 5%
- Transferred to hospital level of care: 11%
Update from the Length of Stay Project: A total of 130 cases were reviewed as of May 31.
- # of cases opened: 115
- # of cases actively following: 32
- # of cases resolved: 82
Breakdown of cases
- Mental health/SUD-related barriers: 81
- Cognitive barriers/IDD barriers: 34
Return to Competency*
- Have not returned: 93.3%
- Returned in less than 3 months: 1.1%
- Returned in 3-6 months: 2.2%
- Returned in 6-12 months: 2.2%
- Returned in 12-18 months: 1.1%
- Maximum Days without return: 519 Days
- Average Days without return: 262 Days
* Return to competency refers to the number of individuals who, after having engaged with this program, have returned to the competency system since case resolution.
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From the Frontlines: Commander Bill Wade
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In an effort to recognize the incredible contributions of our staff, we are launching a monthly staff spotlight titled From the Frontlines. This month, we are featuring Bill Wade, the Commander of the Department of Public Safety at the Colorado Mental Health Hospital in Pueblo. |
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Job Opportunities
Join the people who help people!
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