Quality Oklahoma Team Day 2010 Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Entries
Sorry, No Vacancy Oklahoma County Crisis Intervention Center Team Members: Angela Houston, Brandon Schader, Pat Hess, Roxanne Cleveland, Vivian Ceberg, Armand DelaRose, Gail Chapman, Kelsey Deckard, Keith West, Quincy Brown, Kent Mathews Partners: Griffin Memorial Hospital Pharmacy Staff The Oklahoma County Crisis Intervention Center is committed to maximizing treatment bed availability and maintaining efficient operation.  Emergency stabilization/evaluation can mean operating at a level with little margin for bed availability – becoming 100% full was not always a good thing.  Operating with too much margin means being financially inefficient and having underutilized bed availability.  Operating with too little margin means having staffing problems, having critically limited bed availability, and potentially being a source of cascading facility overflows.  Using a previously successful change model, a weekend treatment project was initiated – requiring minimal expenditures of funds.  After six months, bed availability has improved, staff workload has become more manageable, and clients feel better with the services.  Did we mention it cost us almost nothing to do it?	Gail Chapman, Toni Higgins, Pete Reed and Kent Mathews
	Toni Higgins accepted the ‘Going the Extra Mile’ Award, one of the top honors presented at the awards ceremony, as well as the Governor’s Commendation, on behalf of the agency’s crisis center
ODMHSAS Retirement Recognition Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Team Members: Terri White, Durand Crosby, Carrie Slatton-Hodges, Steven Buck, Caletta McPherson, Angie Patterson, Donnita Heck, Debra Mankin Showing that the agency values our employees and appreciates their years of service is instrumental to improving employee morale and retaining good employees.  The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Executive Team and the Human Resource Management Division developed a program to effectively recognize all retiring employees.  For the employee’s retirement celebration, members of the Leadership team will travel across the state to personally recognize the retiree, tying the individual’s achievements to the department’s values, goals and mission while presenting the employee a certificate of appreciation, an acrylic award and depending upon number of years of service, a Governor’s Commendation.  The Employee Retirement Recognition Program has shown to be a success; becoming an important part of the department’s culture.	Debra Mankin and Pam Mulvaney
B.E.S.T. Employee Recognition        Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Team Members: Terri White, Durand Crosby, Carrie Slatton-Hodges, Steven Buck, Caletta McPherson, Angie Patterson, Gretchen Geis, Tammy Anderson, Donnita Heck Our Building Excellent Services Together (B.E.S.T.) initiative arises from our desire to become the best provider of mental health and substance abuse treatment services in the state and nation.  This concept requires that we develop a quality workforce of employees who take pride in the services they provide.  An important component of this goal is to therefore ensure that we have high employee morale.  However, maintaining positive employee morale during a time of statewide budget cuts is not easy. Our solution was to implement a multi-faceted employee recognition program. By establishing different ways to recognize the outstanding work that our employees are performing has helped establish a sense of teamwork, pride, and increased overall morale.	Donnita Heck and Angie Patterson
	Durand Crosby accepted the Governor’s Commendation on behalf of the agency
Transforming the Jim Taliaferro Community Mental Health Center Evaluation Unit Jim Taliaferro CMHC Team Members: Jim Regan, Victor Wilkerson, Jill Melrose, Mike Strickland, Ellie Cruz, Randy Kauk, Judy Wallace Jim Taliaferro Community Mental Health Center utilizes modern process improvement techniques with creative planning and hard work to enhance the quality and cost effectiveness of its Evaluation Services unit in such a way as to eliminate inappropriate admissions and increase the length of stay by patients to its inpatient unit.  This role change reduced crowding, wait times, and provided better integration with law enforcement agencies by creating a staffing plan that reduces cost and increases coverage during peak admission hours while providing better patient and staff safety and increasing overall consumer and employee satisfaction.	Jim Regan, Judy Wallace, Ellie Cruz and Steve Graham
	Jim Regan accepted the Governor’s Commendation on behalf of Jim Taliaferro CMHC
Defining the ODMHSAS Grants Management Business Process Framework Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Team Members: Richard Bowden, Dan Alcorn, Ray Bottger, Linda Lechtenberg, Kevin Marble, Sheila Tillery Partners: Steven Buck, Michaelle Statham, John Hudgens, Steven P. David, Ph. D. The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS) Grants Division utilized an internal performance improvement process to conduct a detailed analysis of those functions critical for effective grants management.  Using Enterprise Architecture Software and a designated Grant Team to create the Grants Management Business Process Framework, ODMHSAS increased its effectiveness in applying for Federal grants.  Grant funds awarded awards increased by 25%, or $5,031,942.  That increase was directly attributed to developing the GMBP Framework.  Communication and grant team participation improved, workflow and processes are now clearly delineated, more succinct grant applications are being submitted, and the flow of grant funds into Oklahoma greatly increased.  More importantly, these improvements have resulted in more and better services to our consumers.	Sheila Tillery
	Sheila Tillery accepted the Governor’s Commendation on behalf of the agency
Recovery University Griffin Memorial Hospital Team Members: Kathy Otis-Davis, Jamie Featherston, Stan Ardoin, Debra Davie, Kim Kueteman, David Saltzman, Durand Crosby, Terri White, Carrie Slatton-Hodges, Caletta McPherson, Steven Buck Grounded in the belief that individuals can and do recover, Griffin Memorial Hospital strives to provide an environment that increases the opportunity for consumers to gain information and understanding of psychiatric illness, substance abuse disorders and treatment as well as a chance to learn and practice skills that will enhance their lives in the community.  To move from belief to action, Griffin Memorial Hospital developed the Recovery University treatment mall.  This facility enhances options for individuals we serve o receive evidence based curriculum in an educational setting.  The development and success of Recovery University is the focus of our Quality Team Day project.	Dr. Jamie Featherston and Kathy Otis-Davis
	Dr. Jamie Featherston accepted the Governor’s Commendation on behalf of Griffin Memorial Hospital
Bienvenidos Project: Improving Services and Access to Spanish-Speaking Oklahomans Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Team Members: David Harris, Michaelle Statham, Debra Tower, Tania Rubio-Rosas Partners: Vilian Madrigales, Jeanette Cordell, Janys Esparza, Mariel Perez, Elizabeth Salinas, Grant Muse, Charlotte Neely, Nubia Gallegos, Eden Zurlent, Cindy Garcia, ELA Latino Project Capstone Team This project builds upon recommendations from the ODMHSAS Executive Leadership Academy’s (ELA) Latino Capstone project.  The purpose of the Capstone project was to provide informed recommendations to improve access and delivery of mental health and substance abuse services for Spanish speaking (SS), Spanish Preferred (SP) and limited English proficiency (LEP) members of the Hispanic/Latino community in Oklahoma.  The Innovation Center provides staff support to the Transformation State Incentive Grant (TSIG) and was tasked with leading the effort and a project implementation team was developed in September 2008.  “Team Bienvenidos” concluded that improving access and delivery of services requires a multi-level and multi-faceted approach that utilizes input and support from a diverse group of shareholders.	David Harris
	David Harris accepted the Governor’s Commendation on behalf of the agency
Collaboration, Cooperation, Conservation and Commitment Griffin Memorial Hospital Team Members: Sheila Webb, J.B. Fancher Partners: Kelly Botten, Oklahoma Health Care Authority Staff at Griffin Memorial Hospital (GMH) identified a process to meet the federal and state mandated requirements for payment of medical services provided to patients of Institutes of Mental Disease (IMD) and to reduce state expenditures relating to these services. Griffin Memorial Hospital, a large state operated adult inpatient hospital and Children’s Recovery Center, an adolescent and children’s state operated hospital are both facilities under the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.  GMH staff coordinated with OHCA staff and private providers throughout the state to identify reduced payment agreements for Medicare, Medicaid and indigent clients.   These efforts allowed two state operated facilities, Griffin Memorial Hospital and the Children’s Recovery Center, to reduce expenditures for these services and utilize the savings in other areas of the facility. Through these efforts, a combined savings of $83,908.15 in 10 months has been achieved.	J.B. Fancher and Sheila Webb
	Sheila Webb accepted the Governor’s Commendation on behalf of GMH
Developing Cultural Awareness Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Team Members: Terri White, Durand Crosby, Carrie Slatton-Hodges, Steven Buck, Caletta McPherson, Angie Patterson Our workforce is comprised of people from all over the world. With this new multicultural make-up comes diversity in areas such as communication style, attitude towards conflict, approach to time, managerial styles and a plethora of other cross-cultural differences. Cultural awareness helps us remember to honor beliefs and sensibilities that are not necessarily our own, so that as we interact with people from other cultures, no unintended breach of good manners or conversational blunders occur. Unless we become aware of cultural diversity in its many forms, we can harm relationships simply for the lack of understanding. By implementing our Cultural Awareness Initiative, we are building bridges of trust, respect and understanding across cultures and are fostering productive interactions with fellow employees and consumers.	Marva Williamson and Robert Blue
	Robert Blue accepted the Governor’s Commendation on behalf of ODMHSAS
White Pages Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Team Members: Thomas Ferguson, Tony Kunnel, Jeff Jones, Kevin Marble The White Pages application is a natural progression and extension of the centralized human resources system.  It benefits any user that requests public available information on an ODMHSAS employee.  Figure 1 illustrates the uniform display and access of all employee information in this centralized system.  With an agency of over 2000 employees and duty stations throughout the state of Oklahoma, this application will minimize the time required in locating and requesting pubic employee information.  This application could be ported to use the latest mobile technologies.  If the application were to be used in a mobile application, the information could be used for emergency preparedness.  An active strategy for DMH is to interface the White Pages data with other applications like HR, Emergency Management Team system and Microsoft Outlook through a unified Microsoft standard called “Active Directory”.  This will allow for single change to affect multiple systems and allow users multiple paths to get to the same accurate data.	Eric Nickel
Essentials in Supervision Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Team Members: Durand Crosby, Donnita Heck, James Bond, Sherry Kollmann, Katie Cox, Doye Johnson The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS) Essentials in Supervision training is a customized program that serves the needs of the supervisors of our agency.  The “mobile” program brings a full day of specialized content to each statewide facility to meet the professional development needs of our agency supervisors.  The program blends the content and development needs of the agency with core competency needs for each individual supervisor.  The collaborative learning environment and excellent facilitation proved to provide a high qualitative return on investment for those that participated and the agency as a whole.  At the same time, through the Essentials in Supervision program, ODMHSAS successfully increased our level of supervisory credit compliance by 17% from 2008 to 2009.	Sherry Kollmann and Doye Johnson
	Sherry Kollmann accepted the Governor’s Commendation on behalf of ODMHSAS
Preventing Suicide: Healthcare Systems Making a Difference Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Team Members: Gary Parker, Jessica Hawkins, Julie Geddes Suicide is the second leading cause of death for youth and young adults (10-24) in Oklahoma.  Studies have shown that many teens are seen by their primary care physician within 6 weeks of their suicide attempt or completion.  Often, health care providers, who see an average of 30 to 40 patients a day, tend to believe these children are experiencing typical teenage “growing pains” and do not directly ask them if they are depressed or suicidal.  The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS) developed a partnership with Oklahoma City’s Mercy Health Center to implement suicide prevention training to healthcare staff.  The innovative partnership has yielded life-saving results that are being replicated in other states.	Jessica Hawkins and Julie Geddes
	Jessica Hawkins accepted the Governor’s Commendation on behalf of ODMHSAS
Mental Health Services in the “Oklahoma Frontier” Northwest Center for Behavioral Health Team Members: Trudy Hoffman, Richard White, Teri Reid, Rita Reeves, Sean Couch In rural northwest Oklahoma, licensed mental health professionals are at a premium.  These licensed clinicians are needed to complete services that must be performed only by licensed professionals, such as client assessments and treatment plan reviews.  To stretch these services, the Northwest Center for Behavioral Health (NCBH) implemented the telemedicine network at two locations – Enid and Guymon.  This technology allows licensed clinicians to conduct mental health services via a secure Internet connection with a two-way audio and video.  From August 2008 through February 2010, this program generated cost savings of over $8,500 in vehicle usage and lost staff productivity.  Using telemedicine technology in lieu of travel has also yielded nearly 170 additional hours for licensed mental health professionals to deliver services directly to our consumers.	Richard White and Teri Reid
	Trudy Hoffman accepted the Governor’s Commendation on behalf of NCBH
Enhancing the Drug Court System: Implementing Management Strategies Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Team Members: Jack Kelly, Nisha Wilson, Kimberly Cain, Joseph E. Yosten, Susan Hughes, David Wright, Nancy Warren, Richard Underwood, Lorrie Byrum In an effort to improve Oklahoma’s drug courts, the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS) Specialty Court Team developed an electronic case management system to improve staff communication and record keeping, drug court monitoring, and drug court outcomes. Specific drug court protocols were developed to aid with the monitoring of drug courts to ensure accountability and compliance with state statute and ODMHSAS policy, and to increase systemic integration of drug court best practices.  The Specialty Court Team began developing management strategies in early 2009 with implementation initiated in June 2009.  Since the implementation of these strategies, Drug Court Teams have responded favorably as evidenced by ODMHSAS surveys reflecting a much improved and efficient system of monitoring Oklahoma’s drug court programs.	Jack Kelly, Lorrie Byrum, Susan Hughes, Kim Cain, Nisha Wilson, Nancy Warren, Richard Underwood and Joe Yosten
	Jack Kelly accepted the Governor’s Commendation on behalf of ODMHSAS
Oklahoma’s TeleHealth Network Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Team Members: Terri White, John Hudgens, Karen Frensley, Sean Couch, Christopher Tarpley Partners: Northwest Center for Behavioral Health, Mental Health Services of Southern Oklahoma, Carl Albert Community Mental Health Center, Family and Children’s Services of Tulsa, Indian Health Services, Associated Centers for Therapy of Tulsa, Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs, Carter County Courthouse, Integris Health Systems, Shadow Mountain Behavioral Health, SKC Communications, and TANDBERG The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS) has successfully implemented a statewide treatment delivery system through the use of video-conferencing technology (TeleHealth).  This technology allows our providers to deliver mental health and substance abuse services to Oklahomans in rural communities who, without this technology, would be at a significant disadvantage due to a lack of access.  This technology enables ODMHSAS to provide those underserved areas with these essential services.  This has resulted not only in hundreds of thousands of dollars saved, but in an increase in the overall quality of care delivered.  Through this network, Oklahomans who were unable to receive services due to geographical, economic and workforce barriers are now able to receive the care that they deserve.	Chris Tarpley and Sean Couch
	Sean Couch accepted the Governor’s Commendation on behalf of ODMHSAS
e-CRW Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Team Members: Carrie Slatton-Hodges, Durand Crosby, Richard Bowden, Wendy Larsen, Jenny Walsh, Mark Attanasi, Kevin Marble, Tuong Thai The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS) developed an internal electronic Contract Request Worksheet (e-CRW) process that combined two hard copy forms, a series of tasks, and multiple tracking systems into one efficient electronic package. Every services contract initiation and amendment requires numerous approvals and process actions in a specific order to maintain fidelity of the Department of Central Services (DCS) and the ODMHSAS purchasing rules. The e-CRW system removes duplicative actions and enhances resource efficiencies. From April 2009 to September 2009, the workgroup team studied, analyzed, built, and implemented a full contract processing system. As a result of the e-CRW project, ODMHSAS reduced average approval processing time by 53% and is building a one-stop resource for all ODMHSAS contract activity.	Wendy Larsen and Tuong Thai
	Wendy Larsen accepted the Governor’s Commendation on behalf of ODMHSAS
Creating Transparency Through Improved Communication Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Team Members: Terri White, Durand Crosby, Carrie Slatton-Hodges, Steven Buck, Caletta McPherson, Angie Patterson, Gretchen Geis, Tammy Anderson, Jeff Dismukes, Pam McKeown, Courtney Wright The State’s recession is creating widespread anxiety among state employees.  Continuing budget cuts and discussions of potential job losses has resulted in increased fear and anxiety.  More than ever, employees need prompt and honest communication to help alleviate their fears.   ODMHSAS determined that the best method to lessen anxiety and to improve morale was to be transparent about our budget reduction decisions. Therefore, we established several internal communication methods designed to give employees a more accurate and complete picture of the changes we were undertaking.  This includes in-person meetings at each facility, allowing us to communicate directly with employees, and giving them the opportunity to ask questions about their concerns.  This has helped employees stay focused on providing optimum care for our consumers.	Pam McKeown and Courtney Wright
	Durand Crosby accepted the Governor’s Commendation on behalf of ODMHSAS
SARD Technical Assistance: A Continuous Quality Improvement Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Team Members: Armisha Harrison, Elaine Long, Caletta McPherson, Kelli Reid, Shoko Baker, John Hudgens, Carol Ladd Partners: Provider Certification Division, SARD Field Services Coordinators, PC Program Field Representatives Over the past several years, the ODMHSAS Substance Abuse Recovery Division (SARD) has transformed its way of assisting Drug and Alcohol Treatment programs in the State.  The SARD established a formal process to deliver technical assistance to the certified and contracted treatment programs to help maintain their state certification as well as compliance with substance abuse treatment contractual requirements.  As a result of the process, the SARD has been able o keep track of all technical assistance delivered, identify the most prevalent needs among treatment providers concerning the certification and contractual compliance, and develop training materials to ensure the programs have useful resources.	Shoko Baker
The Medication Clinic: “Producing Cost Alleviation with Affordable Medication” Central Oklahoma Community Mental Health Center Team Members: Chris Olson, Wanda Wilson, Sue Soldolski, Cindy Megallanez, Quinisha Oatis, Dr. Ken Gray, Dr. FeLing Yeh, Dr. Tazeen Maududi, Kay Seaton, Debbie Henderson, Christa Seedorf, Kayleen Thomas, Dr. Ed Hill, Dr. Asha Raju, Dr. Jacob Bannett, Dr. Nicasio Gutierrez Partners: Geron Jones, Kyle Boston, Sharon Tonseth, Elizabeth Daily, Matt Jeffrey, Patricia Tran, Vincent Morrison, Will Moore, Judy Fitzpatrick, Shawn Thompson, Libbi Rose, Scott Zerby, Gayle Caldwell, Jennifer Fikes, Jeremy Harris, and 24 nursing homes The medication clinic at Central Oklahoma Community Mental Health Center (COCMHC) produces cost alleviation for the agency and the individuals served through new and innovative practices that provide affordable medication.  Doctors, nurses, and other staff use a combination of resources including personal experience and critical thinking skills to continuously provide clients with access to affordable medication necessary to marinating a healthy lifestyle.  Ultimately, the medication clinic team contributes to the end goal of cost-effective prescription medication via medication education, the Prescription Assistance Program, medication donations, and medication samples.  The passionate work done by the wonderful people associated with the medication clinic at COCMHC had proven to be valuable to both the individuals it serves and for the organization through cost savings.	Alli Valentine, Victoria Weichel and Tina Stiefmiller
Annual All-Staff Day of Training: “Ensuring Staff Preparation with a Full Day of Education” Central Oklahoma Community Mental Health Center Team Members: Teresa Capps, Yoko Chatagnier, Leslie DeHart, J.B. Fancher, Larry Gross, Edwin Hill, Lydia Hilton, Jerry Mayfield, Michelle Newman, Chris Olson, Cindy Schultz, Ann Smith, Tina Stiefmiller, Lyn Walker, Louis Ward Partners: Donnita Heck, James Bond, Pam Champeau, Jennifer Freer, Robert Goldsberry, Warren Harden, Doye Johnson, Julie Jones, Sherry Kollmann, Cynthia McClarence, Monica Riefer, Jason Riggs, Candice Sparks, Nancy Williams The Annual All-Staff Day of Training is an event created by the Executive Management Team of Central Oklahoma Community Mental Health Center in Norman, Oklahoma.  The individuals who make up this team consist of program directors and supervisors within the agency.  Due to the identification of problems related to staff training and development, individuals participating in the Executive Management Team collectively work together to provide a day where all staff training needs can be met.  In addition to providing the staff who work for Central Oklahoma Community Mental Health Center the opportunity to accomplish all required trainings in one day; the All-Staff Day of Training allows the agency to conserve both time and assets that would otherwise be spent on the production of external training resources.	Tina Stiefmiller accepted both Governor’s Commendation awards on behalf of COCMHC
Consolidated Claims Process Training Rollout Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Team Members: Van Rhodes, Jacki Millspaugh, Wendy Larsen, Mark Reynolds, Tracy Leeper, Robert Harper, Shalonna Daniels, Partners:  Kathy Dalle, Joni Jones, Karen Sanders, Erin Meyer, Marvin Dale, Elisa Kaufman, Pam Raisley, Chris Hunt, Jeff Mims Substance abuse treatment providers are targeted for extra assistance in converting the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS) system to the new Consolidated Claims Program.  ODMHSAS, in partnership with the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA)  and two of its contracted agencies, offered an all out effort to not only educate substance abuse treatment providers in the multiple step claims process, but to make them feel comfortable about the process.  Teleconferences, on-site provider training plus numerous traditional training opportunities were used to meet this goal.	Van Rhodes
Where Are They Now? – Improving Residential to Outpatient Continuing Care Engagement Rose Rock Recovery Center Team Members: Judith Beck, Brenda Grizzle, Chris Herrera, Robert Mitchell, Janie Hogue, Susan Schwab, Teri Debough, Lesa Barnett, Amanda Pipins Partners: RRRC Staff, the Network for the Improvement of Addiction Treatment Rose Rock Recovery Center, and Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services operated residential behavioral health program, identified that approximately half of the consumers completing residential treatment were not attending scheduled continuing care appointments with an outpatient provider within fourteen days of discharge from the facility.  Staff interventions to increase outpatient engagement included insuring releases of information for the outpatient provider were signed prior to discharge, phone call reminders to the consumer the day before the outpatient appointment, and motivational enhancement regarding the importance of participating in outpatient treatment.  The result of the interventions showed a significant sustained increase in outpatient engagement within 14 days of discharge from 50% pre change to 89% post change.	Cheryl Steddum, Jamie McLain and Janie Hogue
	Jamie McLain accepted the Governor’s Commendation on behalf of RRRC
Effectiveness of Individual Competency Training: Evaluation of Referral Process and Various Treatment Approaches Oklahoma Forensic Center Team Members: Jennifer L. Russell, Shawn Roberson, Samina R. Christopher, Scott Orth, Leslie Leathers, Deborah Burkowski, Peter Rausch, Rachele L. Floyd, Alicia Irvin Competency restoration for consumers at the Oklahoma Forensic Center (OFC) includes psychiatric medications and/or group therapy/training. Additionally, individualized competency training (ICT) with a pre-doctoral intern from the psychology department is available to consumers identified as requiring additional and individualized attention. ICT typically consists of six sessions focusing on specific symptoms and/or deficits precluding competency. Utilizing existing data the success rate of this program was analyzed in order to provide recommendations to maximize its effectiveness in order to not only maximize its benefit to consumers, but also for better utilization of agency resources. Results led to this program being dismantled and revamped in an effort to increase its effectiveness, eliminate lengthy training and referral processes, and optimize delivery of department resources.	Shawn Roberson accepted the Governor’s Commendation on behalf of OFC