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Video-1: youtube.com/watch?v=nlvZ6vnxLgY

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Hello, my name is Ingred Vaka Bolaro and I am the associate vice president for a center for family services of Mars and Sussex counties. The Sussex County Mental Health Task Force and Community Providers would like to welcome you to today's presentation. No judgment, just

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help navigating emerent services. If you have ever felt confused about where to go and have questions about mental health and substance misuse, you're not alone. We're here to provide you with an overview of new and existing services to

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meet the emergent needs of Sussex County residents. We have a panel of presenters from various local organizations that will speak about their services and we'll answer some questions at the end. Let's begin with Kathy Solomon who will

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present on 988 lifeline and Bridgeway MC court program. Kathy is a supervisor for the mobile crisis outreach response team program also known known as MCORP. She's currently working towards her lensure in clinical mental health counseling.

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Previously, she worked as a crisis counselor for the 988 Lifeline as well as a manager of call center services at the Mental Health Association in New Jersey, where she oversaw the 988 suicide and prevention lifeline, the

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peer recovery warmline, New Jersey mental health cares, and the New Jersey connect for recovery lines. She is here today to share additional information about 988 and MC court. Welcome Kathy. Thank you so much, Ingred, for the warm

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introduction. Good afternoon, everyone. As Ingred shared, my name is Kathy Solomon, and I'm happy to be here to provide an overview of 988 and MC Court services. The 988 suicide and crisis lifeline has three pillars in the lifeline continuum

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of crisis services. They are someone to call which is 988, someone to respond which are the MC courts and somewhere safe to go the crisis receiving stabilization centers or CRSC's which are community-based facilities that

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provide immediate short-term support for people in crisis. So, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is an emotional support lifeline that can be reached by dialing or texting 988 or by heading to 988 lifeline.org

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to chat. 988 also provides video phone services to individuals who are deaf or heart of hearing which can be accessed through the web portal also found on 988 lifeline.org. The service is available 24 hours a day,

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7 days a week, 365 days a year. And the line is staffed by call specialists that are trained to deliver support telephonically through video, chat, and text to all populations, including

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children, adolescents, and older adults. An important message I'd like to share with you today is that 988 isn't solely for people struggling with suicidal thoughts, but for people experiencing all manner of crises, like those seeking

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emotional support in response to a recent breakup, job loss, or breakdown of a relationship with a friend. resources for mental health services like counseling and peer support group listings such as NA or AA meetings that

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take place in your communities to request help for yourself or to receive assistance on how to approach a loved one that may need assistance to address their substance use and/or alcohol addiction. a lending hand with

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case management services like applying for SNAP benefits, rental assistance, finding local food banks, as well as free legal aid services. And now I'd like to discuss MCORT. So, as Ingret shared, MCORT stands for

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mobile crisis outreach response teams. MCOR partners with the 988 lifeline and can only be requested right now through 988 to deliver inperson face-to-face emotional support and linkages to

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resources that the communities that are in the communities of the people that we serve. MCORDs consists of a team of two. A crisis intervention specialist with a bachelor's degree or higher who has extensive experience working within the mental health system of care as well as

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a peer support specialist who has obtained their credentiing as either a certified recovery support practitioner, a peer recovery specialist or a national certified peer specialist. The addition of a peer support specialist or PSS is part of what makes

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EMCORT so unique because our peers are exceptionally equipped to deliver unique assistance through the lens of their own lived experiences with a mental health, substance use or co-occurring illness. And they help our person see success in

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recovery personified. Within an hour of receiving the referral through 988, we are at your door. After the initial outreach, the CIS and the PSS follow up with the person served every 24 hours over the course of 3 days

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to ensure that the crisis has been mitigated and that they have been connected to the resources that we provided. And we can also warm transfer when requested so the person serve continues to feel supported even after

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we've completed the visits. MC courts are available throughout the state with Bridgeway's MC court program serving five counties which include Sussex, Morris, Somerset, Hunteran, and Warren. We offer translation and video

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support as well for persons with English as a second language. And similar to 988, MCOR operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Thank you for listening.

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Thank you so much, Kathy. Our next presenter is Denise Maruzi King from Atlantic Health System. Denise is the Atlantic behavioral health coordinator at the Western Region Crisis Atlantic Health Psychiatric Emergency Services

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and Screening Department. After graduating from Lock Haven University with a BS in Health Science and a BA in psychology, she began working at St. declares while pursuing her master's degree. Denise worked on the CCIS unit

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before transitioning to their psych emergency services and screening department as a screener. In August of 2013, she began working in psychiatric emergency services and screening at Mutton Medical Center. She worked as a screener and sat on the advisory board

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for the Sussex County VOTE. In 2023, Denise transitioned to the department of psychiatry and became the clinical liaison at Newton Medical Center. During this time, she provided assessment and service coordination for patients that

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were medically admitted at Newton. In January of 2026, Denise accepted the coordinator position for psych emergency services and screening, overseeing both Newton Medical Center and Hacketttown Medical Center. Welcome, Denise.

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Thank you Ingred for such a lovely intro um introduction. Um as Ingred indicated I am the coordinator for psychiatric emergency services and screening here at Newton Medical Center and also psychiatric emergency services at Hackinack

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Hacketttown Medical Center. Emergency services is located here at Newton Medical Center in the emergency department. The service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days out of the year. We do have a hotline that

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rings directly into the department. It is answered by the screeners working that shift. That number is 973383973. When someone presents in the emergency department to be seen by Psycho Emergency Services for an assessment, they do need to be medically cleared by

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our ER department first. Once that medical clearance is completed, they will then get referred to psychiatric emergency services and the individual is then assessed by a screener in the department. The purpose of this

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screening is to determine level of care needs. Three recommendations could be made. An inpatient level of care need, an acute partial or IOP level of care need, or

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outpatient services. Once the assessment is completed, the screener will speak with a psychiatrist on the telephone, discuss the clinical presentation concerns, and potential recommendations. If an impatient level of care is

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recommended, the department will work on facilitating that admission. We like to keep our people local here at Newton Medical Center. But if there is not a bed available, then the department will do a bed search to find um the closest

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bed pos. If a bed search um results in a bed being secured somewhere else, the patient would then be transferred to that facility by ambulance. If an acute partial or an IOP level of

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care is recommended, we do have the ability to schedule an intake with that department here at New Medical Center. Um, so the patient will be discharged home with an intake appointment to come

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to our center for mental health and meet with the staff of the acute partial IOP program to begin services there. If an outpatient level of care is recommended, the patient will be provided with multiple um community

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resources in order to um be connected to services. At the time of discharge, um every patient will leave with discharge instructions and we do go over a safety plan with all patients. The following

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day, they can expect a follow-up call from one of our clinicians just to check in, see how they're doing, see if there's any further questions or any additional services they might need. The second portion of our department is

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the screening service. The screening service, again, just like psych emergency services, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days of the year. It is also located in the emergency room.

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Mobile outreach may be requested or recommended. We do have family members who call to talk to us about issues and and the screener may recommend coming out and doing an assessment in the community. The qu in um in that moment

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we do bring the police with us um merely for the safety of the patient and also for the screener. and the screener will come out, meet with the patient in the community. That could be in their home. It could be um you know any anywhere um

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in the community and at that time they're assessing to see if the patient needs to be brought back to the hospital for further evaluation and treatment. If it's determined that they could uh benefit from further evaluation, they

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will be asked to come back to the emergency room. And if they're willing to do that, the police assist us with coordinating transportation to the emergency room. Should the patient or or consumer um decide that they do not want

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to come back to the emergency room and the screener um consults with a psychiatrist via telephone and determines that there is a concern for safety to either themselves or others, they can authorize the police to transport the patient to the emergency

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room at Newton Medical Center. Um whether they want to go or not. Um that form uh gets filled out. It gets provided to the police and the police will then coordinate transport for the patient to return to the emergency room. Once they arrive in the emergency room,

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the assessment is very similar to that of the psychiatric emergency services. We will continue to gather um information from the consumer. We will call um family for collateral information. If they are engaged in any

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type of outpatient services, we'll reach out to their service providers just to get some more collateral information to determine um what the next steps will be. This assessment is for commitment, which is hospitalization against a a

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consumer's wishes. um they do need to meet criteria of being a danger to themselves, others or property. Um we also have the arrive together program. This is a fairly new program that's been in existence a little over a

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year. It's a program that was developed by the state to connect individuals to mental health resources. It aims to join local law enforcement with agencies and with psychiatric emergency services. So

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the police can respond to an incident in the community and send a referral to our psychiatric emergency services. We do have an arrive together clinician who receives those recommendations. They will then reach out to the consumer

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and just advise that they were referred to us by the police and just talk to them and try to gather further information to see if there's any resources that we can assist connecting them with. Every referral that we

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receive from a police department does um have a 30-day follow-up phone call whether they choose to accept services or not. Thank you very much. >> Thank you so much, Denise.

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Next, we have Nicole Luhanic from Center for Family Services, our crisis receiving stabilization center, which is also known as CRSC. Nicole is the program director for the Crisis Receiving, and Stabilization

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Center. She's a licensed professional counselor with a background in crisis intervention, psychiatric emergency services, and community-based behavioral health. Nicole has experience developing and implementing crisis response

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programs focused on rapid access, stabilization, safety planning, and linkage to appropriate community support. She is currently helping lead the launch of the CRSC, which will serve as a 247 resource for

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adults experiencing behavioral health or substance use related crisis. Nicole, >> thank you so much, Ingred. One moment while I share my screen. All righty. So, we are the um CRSC

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crisis receiving and stabilization center and we will be providing services to Morris County and surrounding areas. Um, and so today I'm just going to give you a brief overview of what our services are. And um, just important to

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note, we will be located in Dville, New Jersey, and we're planning on opening this summer if all things go as planned. So what is the CRSC? Um, it is a 24/7 365 voluntary nonhosp crisis center for

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adults 18 and over who are experiencing a mental health or substance use related crisis. Ultimately, we're really letting the consumer define what their crisis is when they're presenting to us. A really important part of our services is that we operate under the

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understanding of no wrong door access. Meaning any individual can be referred for any reason by themselves, um hospitals, outpatient providers, mobile crisis, 988, any kind of community

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agency, um friends and family, and uh law enforcement as well. They can have um any insurance, they can have no insurance, it doesn't matter because insurance is not a barrier to our services. And as long as they are

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wanting to be there voluntarily, even if they're not a Morris County resident, um even if they're not a New Jersey resident, we are going to be seeing them and providing them with care. So, as mentioned earlier, uh the 988 crisis continuum, we are that final

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piece, the somewhere safe to go. So, we're kind of closing out that continuum of care and really making sure that if somebody needs to be in a different environment, we can provide that. what we provide at the CRSC um we provide

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what's so lovely about it is that when an individual presents they are going to be given services immediately um we're giving them that rapid clinical assessment um as well as ensuring that we're able to keep them safe deescalate

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safety plan we're able to provide medication support um whenever it's needed and a really nice feature of our program is that people can actually stay with us. So, they're able to um be there for 24 hours while they're receiving care in our services. So, they can stay

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overnight and we can get them linked to their resources and on their way the next day. Um we will be working with all community providers, um inpatient, outpatient, anything you can think of. we are really going to have a vast amount of resources that we can link

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people to in a short amount of time to make sure we have that warm handoff because we really want to make sure that anybody who's coming in gets to that next step and that we can confirm that. Um, another important piece of our services will be our follow-up services.

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So, after somebody comes into our doors and gets services, we will make sure that we're following up with them for um 7 days after they leave. will call them, check in, maybe send some text messages if they're open to it, making sure they get to those appointments, and then

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making sure that they don't need anything else. Um, somebody might say, "Hey, no, I'm I'm still really struggling." And we would say, "Come back." Um, just because you were there for 24 hours once does not mean that you can't come again. So, our doors are

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always open. Um, and we will never turn anyone away. our staff. We have a wonderful team of um licensed professionals and non-licensed professionals, a really great multid-disciplinary team that's going to be available 24 hours. So,

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here's a list of our staff. We will have our licensed clinicians who will be engaging assessments. Um our peer specialists, they are one of the most important pieces of our program. We consider ourselves a peer in and peer out program because nobody gets it like

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a peer. Somebody who has that lived experience. Um we'll have our behavioral health technicians who will be helping with millu support safety needs. Our service coordinator who will be ensuring that warm handoff and follow-up services. And then finally our APN and

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our RNs um will be there to provide screenings and then also the medication management piece. So each one of these professionals will be on our team 24/7 365. So when should you consider the CRSC? Um

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I feel like that's a question that we we often get. And so individuals again do have to be 18 and over. They could be experiencing emotional distress, anxiety, um depression, grief. This could be somebody with suicidal thoughts

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who doesn't need a me uh medical attention immediately. For example, somebody who said, you know, I I did take some pills. They would probably need to go to a hospital cuz we aren't a medical facility. And same thing with substance use. They can absolutely be

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struggling with substance use crisis. Um but if there is a little bit of um suspicion of an overdose, we would like to see them get medically cleared first. Um because again we we aren't a hospital setting even though we have that

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wonderful nursing piece. Um agitation or behavioral health dysregulation and just really anybody who needs a safe space to stay and some quick stabilization as long as they're willing to be there and they do meet that voluntary piece.

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And then what our facility looks like. So it's a big open facility. Um, it's a living room style, which means that uh it's meant to be inviting and warm and help people feel like they can relax. We will have the capacity for 22 adults.

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Um, they will be spending their time in some really nice recliners and we have some nice social areas. They'll be able to take showers, do their laundry, receive some meals and snacks, um, and engage in different things like group therapy. um and just really working on

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kind of getting themselves ready for those next steps after their stay with us. Um so finally, this is our our location. Like I mentioned before, we're located in Denville, um 20 Vanderhof Avenue, which is right off of 80. Really nice

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access right off and on to 80. Um and there's my contact information if you have any questions or need anything. Um, and as we get near our opening, I'll be sending out community uh resources as well as inviting people to come and and check out our center as we near our

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opening this summer. So, thank you so much. >> Thank you so much, Nicole. We're very excited for this uh center to open up. >> All right. Next, we have uh Christina Mazio, also from the Center for Family

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Services who will be speaking about the crisis diversion home. So Christina is the clinical coordinator for the crisis diversion home. She currently holds her LSW. She has seven years of experience in the field with a focus on trauma and

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interpersonal violence. Previously, she worked in residential care, in community family work, outpatient counseling, school-based traumatic grief groups, and as a clinical forensic specialist conducting traumainformed forensic

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interviews following allegations of physical and sexual abuse. Her background in trauma, crisis intervention, and working with individuals during some of their most vulnerable moments has helped support the development and opening of the

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crisis diversion home. Welcome, Christina. >> Thank you so much. Um, I'm going to just share a flyer while I talk about the program. Great. So, the crisis diversion home, is it able to be seen full screen.

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>> You may want to zoom in just a bit. >> Is it okay? I wasn't sure if we were able to be seeing full screen or not. Okay, that's not working. Okay, how do I fit? Is that better? Yes, that's >> okay. Awesome. So, the crisis diversion

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home is located in Hacketttown, New Jersey in Warren County. It is a five bed and five client facility that is suited for adults ages 18 and older, both male and female. The program provides a comprehensive structured group home environment where clients can

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stay for up to 30 days. Each client will receive comprehensive assessments designed to identify their strengths and capacity as well as their future placement needs. For admission into the crisis diversion home, individuals again must be aged 18

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or older and they must have recently experienced a mental health or behavioral health crisis and are voluntarily seeking support. The program is designed for people who can safely participate in a short-term residential setting and are able to self-administer

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their prescribed medications. Some situations that would make someone ineligible for admission would include those under 18, those who would need inpatient detoxification services or those who need psychiatric hospitalization due to immediate safety

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concerns such as risk of harm to themselves or others or behaviors creating the unsafe environment. Uh the program is also not designed for individuals whose primary needs are related to significant neurocognitive conditions such as dementia, traumatic

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brain injury or organic brain disorders. Every single referral will be assessed to ensure that clients are given the appropriate level of care and we will refer out if you know we are not the best fit.

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So, our services will be completely voluntary and the program will accept referrals and warm handoffs statewide. So, not only Warren and Sussex County, but actually statewide. And we are prioritizing referrals from crisis receiving stabilization centers, the uh

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mobile crisis outreach response team. But we can also receive referrals from designated screening center, early intervention support services, hospitals, psychiatric facilities as well as the community directly. Okay. So, as far as a waiting list,

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given that we are only five beds, we will be utilizing DMH bed enrollment data system, which will give us access to real-time information regarding potential clients in need of placement. And beds will prevent the formation of a wait list until all vacancies in the

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state are already occupied. The CDH will accept clients as soon as vacancies are made available. And if a referral is received from a state psychiatric hospital, the CDH will place the accepted client into an available vacancy as soon as possible,

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both in all cases within 21 days of CDH receipt of the referral. Uh the intake process for clients will include an orientation to the program and will provide the client with an explanation of their rights while in the program as well as the grievance

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procedure. uh they will be provided with the names, addresses, and phone numbers of individuals they can contact if they feel they need assistance in any other aspects. Assessments will begin at admission and are reviewed with the client weekly to see where the client is struggling the

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most. And these major assessments will be given then weekly throughout their treatment to continuously assess um what their highest need would be at that time. As far as the house structure, the crisis diversion home has uh crisis

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intervention plans in place for those that are experiencing increased distress and/or states of active crisis which we will then be calling um the crisis screening center that can come out and we can coordinate with our other

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team members here within the home. We are completely hands-off facility. The use of physical, chemical or mechanical restraints is strictly pro prohibited. So everything is verbal deescalation. The clients will have recreation time each week and daily. The calendar of

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these activities will be posted monthly. And then in-house services they will receive are case management, peer support, nursing, medication, individual therapy, group therapy. Um and they receive everything inhouse. So they don't have to leave. However, we

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want to create that sense of community as well. So if clients interests and time allows, we would like to go into the community as well. So if someone let's say has a religious preference and we are able to accommodate, we would like to take them to those services so

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that once they are discharged and back in normal life, they feel supported and ready to go. Um a large chunk of the day however will be those group therapies. So they are led by myself as the clinical coordinator. It will be led by medical staff as well as the other wellness

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professionals. Um clients are strongly encouraged to participate in all of these groups and activities and then they are also encouraged in the recreation as well. So with the proper consents in place, clients will continue their outpatient

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appointments as scheduled. Staff will assist with scheduling follow-up visits and coordinating transportation both during their time at the house and after if needed. The CDH will have an APRN and a nurse on staff that will complete check-ins and medication reviews with each individual

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client weekly or bi-weekly as the client feels. The CDH will provide consultation regarding diagnosis, medication, side effects, and possible interactions to ensure the best quality of care. Clients of the CDH will be responsible

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for self-administration of both over-the-counter and prescribed medications. staff will assist clients as needed to facilitate that proper medication administration. So that would look like we will hold on to the staff, the staff holds on to the medication in

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the office to ensure that the clients don't have unlimited access to medications or trading among other clients, but we will make sure that they are appropriately taking it and noting any side effects or reactions they may have so that medication can be taken

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safely. Discharge planning will be collaborative and will begin at admission. It will utilize the same tools, strategies, and approaches to create, you know, that decrease in symptomology throughout the client's day. And decisions to discharge a client are made jointly between the client and

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the treatment team. Client must demonstrate stabilization of mental health and behavioral symptoms and be compliant in taking their medication as needed. uh staff will work with the client to determine an after an afterare plan and for successful discharges provide

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appropriate linkages and referral to other resources and again with that proper consent staff will engage with the client's providers for up to 30 days after discharge and staff will offer the client transitional services to ensure their continuum of care is minimally disrupted including

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help with overcoming external environmental barriers and scheduling appointments. Follow-up contacts will be occurring every seven, 14, and 30 days post discharge completed by the case manager and they will handle any

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upcoming things at that point as needed. So that is at a very quick glance about the CDH. >> Thank you so much, Christina. All right, our next um presenter is Michelle Walsh from the Mental Health

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Association, Early Intervention Support Services, EISS, and the Wellness Hub. Michelle is currently the director of the Wellness Hub and Community Wellness Center in Sussex for the Mental Health Association. She holds an LCSW and has

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worked in various roles at MHA for the past 19 years, including running a homeless outreach program at Newark Penn Station for the New Jersey Transit Police, PATH, partial care, assisted outpatient treatment, and involuntary

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outpatient commitment. She has been proudly in the field for 21 years serving those with severe and persistent mental illness and co-occurring substance use disorders. She leads her programs with a passion for reducing stigma and providing quality and

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compassionate care. Welcome, Michelle. >> Thank you, Ingred. Um, so like Ingred said, I'm a super passionate person and I lead all of my programs that way. And so right now the program I'm talking about and part of our acute care system

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is the wellness hub. Uh we in the field like to call it early intervention support services or EIS. That really is a meaningless title. We call it the wellness hub because um that means more to us. Um so what we are is a mental

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health urgent care. So if you think about a mental health urgent care just like you would think about a physical health urgent care, right? There are a lot of reasons why you would go to an urgent care nowadays. Uh maybe your PCP or your primary care doctor doesn't have time to see you and you have the flu,

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strep throat, right? So you can go in so you can be seen right away. Maybe you think your child broke their arm and they you do not want to go to the emergency room. Um there's so many examples I could give you. So, if you if you flip that to mental health, right, there's a lot of things that could be

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going on and everyone that's talked so far has talked about those things. It could be severe and persistent mental illness, right? Maybe you or your family member has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, other mood disorders, and you've been struggling a long time.

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Anyone can walk right in here. So whether you're struggling like that or this is the first time you've been struggling with anxiety, depression, grief, um maybe you've just had a baby and you're struggling, we are here as a walk-in center. And so really how we

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were funded was that we're supposed to have zero barriers to access our services. And so what you do is you just walk in our door. Our office looks very similar to any kind of other office, right? It's very comfortable. We call it

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a therapeutic living room. And so we have different sitting areas. It's very comfortable. There's a lot of space. It's very bright. Um, and what we do here is you'll meet with the staff right away. And then we kind of do a little assessment. And that's just gathering information with

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you and seeing what you're interested in, why you're here, what you're struggling with. That might mean that you're looking for medication, right? Maybe you're looking for uh refills on your medication and your provider can't see you. Maybe you're looking for new

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medication. The medications you've been given in the past haven't worked for you. Maybe you've never talked to anyone about medicine and you're ready. You're you know what you're feeling is you're struggling enough that you're ready to talk about medications. So, we would see you as you walk in for

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either medications, like I said, or therapy. We have fully licensed therapists here. We also have a team of case managers, so we could help with all of those linkages. Whether you're struggling with housing, financial, anything you're struggling with, we're going to sit down and someone on the

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team is going to help connect you. Um, and so we work very much as a team. We're here for a very short time. And so what we're supposed to do is see someone for a period of 30 days and then link you on to the next service. in a beautiful world where everything works

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out. You move on to your next site and you're in treatment with your new therapist, with your new medication provider, and everything's going well. Um, but we know that linkages don't happen very quickly, very often, especially in a place like Sussex County where there's just not that many

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resources. And so, we are going to stay with you treating you until you can make those linkages that are successful. We like to call it a warm handsoff. But what we're going to do is make sure that you don't lose any of that care. We don't want to see people get into

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treatment, start feeling better, and then drop out of that treatment. And so, um, in that thought too, if you were coming here and you've been linked, you can always just come right back. You come back in as a walk-in. So, we try to make it as easy as possible. We also

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provide transportation, so there's absolutely no reason why someone can't get care here. We're going to bring you here. We're going to bring you home. We're going to treat you no matter what insurance you have or if you don't have insurance at all. And most of the

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programs you're going to hear of from today do the same, right? Because now we know there's so many barriers that we set up to people getting the care that they need, so desperately need that people weren't accessing care. So now this is why we have programs that are

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open 24/7 that are providing housing that are just there to support you. And so the wellness hub is here to support. All you have to do is walk in the door or call us and we're here for you. We're 973841850.

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Also through the mental health association in Sussex County, we have a family support program called intensive family support services. IFSS and they're here to support any friends or family members and so they do support groups here at the wellness hub. They

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meet one-on-one for counseling with family members and provide all other kinds of support. We also have a community wellness center which is right here where we're located but in a different location. And they are a wellness center that you just drop in.

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There's lots of things going on, games, community meals twice a week, um just general fun to be had. So, if you have any questions, you just give us a call, but we're here to support you. Thank you.

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>> Thank you so much, Michelle. And our final presenter is Katie Walker from the Center for Prevention and Counseling, addiction recovery support services for family, friends, and individuals. Katie is the director of recovery support

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services at the center where she supports a team of peer recovery specialists and case managers who provide direct services to individuals with substance use disorder. Katie is also a person in long-term recovery

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since 2008 and a certified peer recovery specialist. She previously served on the advisory board for the New Jersey Coalition for Addiction Recovery Support and is currently a member of the professional advisory committee for the New Jersey Division of Mental Health and

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Addiction Services. She is here today to share information about substance use services available for individuals and families in our community. Welcome Katie. >> Thank you for the introduction. So, the Center for Prevention and Counseling has

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served the Sussex County community for over 50 years through a wide range of substance use services. Our main office is located on Spring Street in Newton with free programs and services available throughout the county. We serve all ages through a variety of

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prevention initiatives designed to strengthen protective factors and reduce the risk of developing a substance use disorder. Community members can participate through several uh local coalitions, family focus programs, and other wellness events. To get involved,

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call our main office at 973 3834787. For individuals who are actively using substances, we offer harm reduction services that focus on safety, health, and connection to support. This includes nlloxxone distribution and overdose

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prevention training, syringe access and disposal to prevent the spread of disease along with peer support, counseling, and case management to promote healthier lifestyles. Community members can simply walk into 61 Spring Street in Newton between 9 and 4 Monday

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through Friday or call our 247 helpline at 844722-5327. Free Narcan test strips for fentinol, xylazine, and other drugs, as well as wound care supplies, hygiene kits, can also be accessed 247 at vending machines

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at several locations throughout the county. For adults and adolescents beginning their recovery journeys, we provide counseling and outpatient treatment for substance use and co-occurring disorders, as well as legal support. We work with Medicaid, have funding for

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uninsured Sussex County residents, and offer affordable self-pay options on a sliding scale. We also offer anger management classes and a specialized program for youth referred from school or court. To learn more or schedule an appointment, please call our main office

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during regular business hours. Individuals and families in any stage of recovery can participate in a variety of support groups, sober social events, and educational workshops through our recovery community centers on Spring Street in Newton and Main Street in

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Sussex. For one-on-one peer support, treatment placement, and assistance with connecting to other services, walk into our main office or call our 247 helpline to get started. In partnership with Newton Medical Center and local law enforcement

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agencies, we provide 247 response to the emergency department and police stations for people experiencing issues related to substance use. We offer ongoing support and streamlined access to treatment, medications for opioid and alcohol use disorder, and other

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community resources. We also conduct targeted outreach through home visits for residents following a recent overdose. The easiest way to connect with support is to call or text our 247 helpline, which is answered by a small team of

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certified peer recovery specialist and licensed counselors. We provide compassionate support, guidance, and information about available services and treatment options. To learn more, please visit our website, centerforprevention.org, or feel free to contact me directly.

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Thank you. >> Thank you so much, Katie. All right. Thank you to all of our presenters today for such valuable information. I think we all learned a lot and there are so many things that are going to be coming and we are very excited for these

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services. So at this time what we'd like to do is for all of our panel to put their cameras on and we will be having a few questions asking a few questions um to the panel and we'll get started with those if uh Cindy could begin that process.

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>> Sure. Uh, what is the difference between mobile crisis outreach response team and the psychiatric emergency services mobile outreach? How would someone know whom to call? That's a great question that we often

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are asked um with MCORT and as many of my fellow panelists here have shared, there is no wrong door. However, the main difference between PES and MC court is that PES can be contacted directly while MC court can only be contacted by

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calling 988 first. So that means that typically if someone reaches out to 988 seeking emotional support and the call specialist feels like they would be a good candidate to receive supplemental in-person support that they will then

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reach out to them. They'll ask them of course and because it is a voluntary service before EMC court is dispatched we also call the person and ask if they are still interested in services. Also PES works very closely with the

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police department. So they will often arrive with a a law law enforcement in tow um while M court consists of the um peer support specialists and the crisis intervention specialists.

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I'd also like to add that um you know a mobile outreach is usually in response to some type of dangerousness whether it be to themselves, others or property. Um so when we come out that's what we're

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assessing. Is there a risk involved? and if so, um, getting the consumer back to the hospital for further assessment. >> Thank you. Next question. How is a crisis diversion home different from inpatient psychiatric hospitalization or

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a group home? So, the CDH is on its way to opening and what makes it so special and different and why we're excited about it is that unlike inatient care, the crisis diversion home is voluntary and it is not locked and we are still providing

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that 247 care as well as the clinical services and structured programming. Unlike a traditional group home, it is not long-term and it is short-term just to stabilize a crisis. What happens if someone needs increase

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in care while at the crisis diversion home? >> So the client's safety is always the priority. If an individual's needs change and they require that higher level of care, the treatment team would assess the situation and coordinate the appropriate intervention or transitions

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to ensure that they get that level of support that they need. >> And last question, what happens after discharge? Can someone return to the crisis diversion home if needed? >> Absolutely. So, discharge planning begins pretty much at admission and it

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is individualized to each client's needs with the goal of connecting the clients to ongoing supports and services in the community. So, follow-up care and check-ins will play a part in that. But if an individual experiences another crisis in the future, they can

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absolutely return to the CDH if a bed is available and they continue to meet that eligibility criteria. Because we are a short-term program, individuals would need to complete the complete the full discharge process and enter a new referral intake process for readmission,

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but that is always an option. They can come back. >> Thank you. Two more questions for the crisis receiving the stabilization center. What happens if the crisis receiving and stabilization center is at at capacity and someone presents for

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help? >> If somebody presents for help and we are at capacity, uh we will still be making sure that we assess that individual um and figure out which which step is going to be best for them. So that could look like us um potentially working with

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local hospitals or referring to another one of our CRSC's because there are several other ones in New Jersey. Um or just figuring out what other kind of um provider that we could link them with in that time. And last question, what happens if the

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crisis receiving and stabilization center determines someone needs a higher level of care such as inpatient psychiatric treatment? So, just like most programs, we'd be working with the designated screening centers um and petitioning for the

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involuntary commitment. Um and if it's a medical need, then ultimately we would be transporting them through ambulance to a higher level of care to get those needs met. Thanks. >> Thank you, Nicole. Thank you for those

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questions. I think our next piece is we would like to put up a slide with everyone's contact information. So, please feel free to reach out to any of the presenters um that spoke today if you would like more information. Everyone is more than willing and able

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to take your questions, walk through scenarios or do warm handoffs. Um so again, we would like to thank you for being here today. We hope that you were able that we were able to provide you with some really valuable resources and

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um thank you all. Take care everyone.