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Jefferson Center program earns statewide honor

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Contributed by: gary chandler on 10/16/2008

Colorado's community mental health system served a record 84,500 people across the state last year. During that same time, 15.1 percent of Colorado's residents reported receiving some form of mental health treatment from public and private providers.

Mental health leaders from across the state honored leaders and programs that have shown great innovation to address some of the industry's most pressing concerns. One of these innovative programs strives to keep people healthy, while the other award-winning program has helped one health system retain its employees, which is critical to the stability of the center and the communities it serves.

"All of Colorado's community mental health centers and clinics are award-winners in my eyes," said Colorado First Lady Jeannie Ritter, who delivered the keynote address at the Colorado Behavioral Healthcare Council's (CBHC) annual conference. "I am inspired to hear the word 'recovery' everywhere I go. Thousands of people are recovering and leading better lives thanks to this innovative and effective system."

Jefferson Center for Mental Health earned the Golden Light Bulb award from CBHC -- an award that recognizes excellence in clinical innovation. Jefferson Center's wellness now! Program was designed with consumer involvement to provide numerous wellness classes and services focusing on quality behavioral health education and prevention for total integrated health. It is helping serve more people with mental health needs, while enhancing the recovery of Jefferson Center consumers.

Southeast Mental Health Services earned the Golden Abacus award, an award that recognizes impact and innovation in the non-clinical arena. To minimize the costs associated with employee turnover; this healthcare system developed an employee orientation process that has increased employee voluntary retention significantly. The orientation program strives to build trust within the organization, inspire pride in the work and create enjoyment among co-workers.

In addition, Linda Gabel, chairperson of the board of directors for the Larimer Center for Mental Health (LCMH), received the Outstanding Board Member award. Gabel is the director of business operations for Colorado State University's residential services. The devastating mental illness that went undiagnosed and then misdiagnosed in her adult son ended in tragedy when he took his own life in 2005. Turning this tragedy into opportunity, Gabel draws on her son's strength to advocate for accessible mental healthcare today.

"We all have a stake in serving unmet mental health needs in Colorado," said George DelGrosso, executive director of CBHC. "People with untreated mental illness consume much more medical care than the average individual, which drives up the cost of healthcare for everyone. This unmet need also is driving up costs within the criminal justice system, and lowering productivity in the workplace."

CBHC is a nonprofit membership organization that represents Colorado's statewide network of community behavioral healthcare providers (including 17 community mental health centers, two specialty clinics, and five behavioral health organizations). Members contract with the State of Colorado and others to provide comprehensive, community-based behavioral and psychiatric services to more than 84,500 people across the state. CBHC members provide a network of skilled therapeutic and community resources to meet the mental health need of individuals and families. Thousands of people, once isolated and disabled by mental illness, are now leading productive and satisfying lives thanks to Colorado's award-winning community mental health system. For more information, go to www.cbhc.org.

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gary chandler

lakewood , CO

gary chandler has posted 104 stories and 0 comments since joining on 4/26/2006. gary chandler 's average story rating is 5.

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