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November 20, 2020

In this issue ...

• A simple, responsive and meaningful system
• Centering consumer voices
• Chelsea Holcomb named director of Child and Family Behavioral Health
• Oregon monitoring suicide data in COVID-19
• Safe + Strong Helpline launches

A simple, responsive and meaningful system

By Steve Allen As we prepare for Thanksgiving and a very different-looking holiday season, I’m thinking about the amazing work our caregiving community has done this year. The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a huge toll on all of us. Each of us has a story to tell about how our lives have been adversely affected by the upheaval in our day-to-day routine while we work to serve others. From businesses shuttering and job loss to balancing work from home and even homeschooling our children, Oregonians have had to muster all our resilience. Caregivers who usually take time off to visit loved ones are not only staying home this year, but many are also being asked to take on more duties or work extra shifts, due to the rise in case counts and the increasing number of people who need mental health or addiction services. Please remember to find time to take care of yourselves. We will feel the impacts of the pandemic for some time. Resources are available for caregivers as well as for the general public. Please reach out if you need help. Thank you, again, for the support you give your families and your fellow Oregonians. In program news, on Tuesday, Nov. 3, Oregonians sent a resounding message with the passage of Measure 110: They want to see addiction treated rather than punished. My hope is that this will connect people who need help with appropriate care, and we will be able to offer the supports needed to break the chains of addiction. We are currently working on fulfilling the requirements of the measure, including setting up an oversight council and establishing a fund to pay for the new recovery centers that will provide needed services. OHA will be working closely with the Legislature on the funding, staffing and program details, and with stakeholders to help inform our implementation plans. Stay tuned for more details as we have them. In September the Oregon Secretary of State Audits Division released its report Chronic and Systemic Issues in Oregon’s Mental Health Treatment System Leave Children and Their Families in Crisis. The audit provided a list of 22 recommendations that we have begun to implement, with an intentional focus on engagement with Oregon consumers, BIPOC and tribal communities. By following those recommendations, we intend to fulfill our promise to consumers and families: to deliver a system that is simple to access, responsive to who people are and what they need and that leads to meaningful improvements in their lives. You can read the full audit as well as the list of recommendations and my response here. Again, thank you for all you do, and I wish you and your families a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

Centering consumer voices

The Oregon Health Authority is committed to ensuring that people with lived experience have a strong voice within the state’s behavioral health system. For too long, decisions have been made without enough involvement from the people impacted by them – especially tribal communities and communities of color. For the behavioral health system to be effective, decision-making must be led by the people who use the systems and supports.

The Office of Behavioral Health is committed to partnering with the people who use services to co-create solutions and design a behavioral health system that works for all Oregonians. Here are some ways that people with lived experience and their families can be involved in the work OHA is doing:

• Attend a meeting of the Oregon Consumer Advisory Council (OCAC). These public meetings are currently held via Zoom. The next full council meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 9, 1-4 p.m. For more details, see the OCAC webpage.
• Join the weekly workgroup, led by Office of Consumer Activities (OCA) Director Brandy Hemsley, where people with lived experience can work on short-term projects related to behavioral health strategy and policy.
• Set up a one-on-one phone call with Behavioral Health Director Steve Allen during his consumer office hours. To reserve a time, please contact his assistant by emailing jason.a.ferreira@dhsoha.state.or.us.
• Participate in online “office hours” with OCA Director Brandy Hemsley every Tuesday from 9 to 10 a.m. You can join the meeting using your computer, tablet or smartphone or join by phone at 669-254-5252; enter meeting ID 1604896077#.
• Attend the monthly community dialogue meetings with Behavioral Health Director Steve Allen and OCA Director Brandy Hemsley. These meetings take place via Zoom and are accessible to people who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing, with live ASL interpretation and real-time captioning.
• Sign up for the OCA email list to receive updates on the work of the Office of Behavioral Health and hear about opportunities to engage with us.

Chelsea Holcomb named director of Child and Family Behavioral Health

Chelsea Holcomb has been named the Director of Child and Family Behavioral Health. She came to OHA in 2017 to manage the Child and Family Behavioral Health unit and was active in the mental health field for 20 years before that. Holcomb’s professional career includes intensive community based mental health, crisis response, evidence based practice treatments and system of care and wraparound services. She holds a special passion for children experiencing both intellectual and developmental disabilities in addition to mental health challenges. Holcomb is committed to championing effective and efficient statewide behavioral health services, supports and safety for Oregon’s children, young adults and their families, with the input of consumers, stakeholders and providers. Holcomb and her team have been working on important changes to the Child and Family Behavioral Health unit. You can read about the new policy vision here.

Oregon monitoring suicide data in COVID-19

In March when the COVID-19 pandemic started, OHA convened a team of subject matter experts to address immediate needs for suicide prevention, intervention and postvention (SPIP) in Oregon. The SPIP team meets weekly to monitor data from various sources to study the suicide rate in Oregon in order to provide information to providers that will ensure proper access to care.

While the data is preliminary and it is premature to draw conclusions about it, so far we are not seeing increases in the number of suicides for the first nine months of 2020 when compared to the same time period in 2019. Oregon has also not seen an increase in the number of suicides during the first nine months of 2020 when compared to the average number of suicides between 2016 and 2019. Until data is finalized and becomes available, it is premature to identify any changes since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, OHA and partners across Oregon continue to work together to apply best practices for suicide prevention. A new monthly suicide surveillance update is available here on our website. The statewide summary shows:

• After a sharp decline in all visits to emergency departments and urgent care centers (EDs and UCCs) in March 2020, total visits have gradually increased. The third quarter of 2020 shows the number of total visits is similar to those that occurred at the same time in 2019.
• The number of suicide-related visits to EDs and UCCs decreased in 2020 compared to the same time period in 2019 for the first and second quarters. The third quarter of 2020 shows the number of suicide-related visits are similar to 2019.
• The number and percentage of suicide-related calls to the Oregon Poison Center in 2020 is similar to 2019.
• The Lines for Life call volume has increased annually since 2016; the increased number of calls in 2020 aligns with this trend.

SPIP team lead: Jill Baker, LSC, youth suicide prevention policy coordinator jill.baker@dhsoha.state.or.us.

Safe + Strong Helpline launches

Oregon-based nonprofit Lines for Life and OHA have launched the Safe + Strong Helpline at 800-923-4357 (800-923-HELP). The line offers free, 24-7 emotional support and resource referral to anyone who needs it – not only those experiencing a mental health crisis.

The Safe + Strong Helpline is a response to the need for emotional support around disasters like COVID-19 and wildfires, and was funded by the CARES Act. Callers are routed to a counselor who can provide emotional support, mental health triage, drug and alcohol counseling, crisis counseling or just connection.

OHA has also expanded its Safe + Strong education and outreach campaign to include behavioral health resources. A behavioral health landing page offers mental and emotional support information and resources as well as guidance for how to have conversations with loved ones who may be struggling.

Resources:

• Safe + Strong Helpline: 800-923-4357 (HELP).
• Safe + Strong: https://www.safestrongoregon.org/.
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255.

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