In this issue ...
W-2 Tax Forms Available Now
Spring 2017 Training Series Set
Renewed Funding Advances CAHS Prison Work
Heart Health Month Activities Listed
CAHS Participates in Ascension Parish Career Fair
Behavioral Health Collaborative Hears About Work Flow 
Welcome, "Batman" Paxton Santora

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What's Happening At CAHS
 

W-2 Tax Forms Available Online

W-2 forms for the calendar year 2016 are now available in Louisiana Employees On-line (LEO) for all active employees who elected by Dec. 31, 2016, to self-view and print their W-2s on-line. To access your forms, click here to log into LEO, using your User ID and password, and then follow the instructions to view and print your W-2.

For employees who did not elect the online LEO self-view and print option, their 2016 W-2 forms were mailed Jan. 31 to their addresses on file as of Jan. 1, 2017. Duplicate copies of W-2s may be printed from LEO.

Questions?
Tony Square, Human Resources Supervisor 
Email: Tony.Square2@la.gov
Phone: (225) 922-2710

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Spring 2017 Training Series Set
CAHS employees may attend either or both of the following sessions at no charge

Place / Time: Government St., Bldg. 2, Room 200, 1 - 4:15 p.m.
Topic:  “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Causes, Course, Comorbidities, and Treatment Modalities/Strategies”
Presenter: April C. Foreman, PhD, Licensed Psychologist
Overview: Dr. Foreman will provide a trauma-informed introduction and overview to the causes, bio/psycho/social impact, and course of PTSD. She will review different modalities of treatment for PTSD, discuss the impacts of common co-morbid conditions on treatment planning, and discuss strategies for treatment planning.

 

May 3  Earn 3 Ethical CEUs  Register here
Place / Time: Government St., Bldg. 2, Room 200, 1 - 4:15 p.m.
Topic: “When Clinical and Social Justice Ethics Collide”
Presenter: Joseph V. Keegan, LCSW-BACS
Overview: This training will focus on complex ethical issues that can arise in clinical practice and that have social justice implications. The training will present examples and the class will use ethical decision making to generate potential solutions, based on competing values.

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Community Outreach At CAHS
 

 

Under the EBR contract, CAHS Peer Support Specialist Sam Washington and Social Worker Joi Bates, LMSW, help inmates and prison staff with discharge planning before release and help with case management after release. Those efforts connect participants to outpatient behavioral health treatment and to the local 12-step recovery community (Narcotics Anonymous & Alcoholics Anonymous).

The Wilson Foundation grant provides funding for Peer Support Supervisor Tonja Myles, Peer Support Specialist Ivan Toldson, RAC, and Behavioral Health Professional Angela Smith, MRC, CRC, who work with inmates to develop behavioral healthcare plans prior to their release.

Last year, thanks to both initiatives, CAHS helped link more than 360 individuals with ongoing outpatient behavioral health and substance-use care, housing, transportation, and job leads.

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Get Active: Heart Health Month Activities

Heart disease is a leading cause of death for both men and women. People with mental illness die of heart-related and other chronic illnesses 25 years sooner than individuals without a mental health diagnosis. To help prevent heart disease and increase awareness of its effects, CAHS is offering the following activities during the month of February:



The "DASH" Diet
DASH = Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension
Gonzales Mental Health Center
Friday, Feb. 10, 9 - 10 a.m.
Thursday, Feb. 23, 1 - 2 p.m.
In the lobby of GMHC, Paula Dunn, RN, will set up displays, have activities, and will answer questions about the benefits of the DASH diet on weight management, blood pressure control, and cholesterol.

"Love Your Heart"
Margaret Dumas Mental Health Center, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 9:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Center for Adult Behavioral Health, Friday, Feb. 17, 9:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Shannon Southall, LPN Care Coordinator, will offer fun and games to teach strategies for taking care of your heart.

"Hands Only" CPR
MDMHC, Monday, Feb. 20, noon - 1 p.m.
CABH, Wednesday, Feb. 22, noon - 1 p.m.
GMHC, Thursday, Feb. 23, noon - 1 p.m.
Blood pressure screenings, demonstrations of “Hands Only” CPR, educational materials, and door prizes will be provided in these sessions.

Free Pedometers and Water Bottles
 Entrances of Government St., Bldg. 2, and MDMHC
Wednesday, Feb. 8, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
At the entrances to both buildings, Peer Support Specialists will provide free pedometers (and instructions), water bottles, water, and tips about healthy eating.

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CAHS Participates in Ascension Parish Career Fair

Jennifer Virga, LCSW, Social Worker at the Gonzales Mental Health Center (above right), represented CAHS at a district-wide career fair, held Jan.18 for students and their families at the Lamar Dixon Expo Center. More than 100 organizations and presenters provided information about various career fields. Jennifer shared her experiences as a social worker and talked with students and their families about various educational and career choices within the field of behavioral health.

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Behavioral Health Collaborative Hears About
Work Flow Challenges in Health Care

Updates Provided About Flood Response and Recovery

Attendees of the Behavioral Health Services Collaborative meeting, Jan. 20, heard about the importance of developing work flow in primary care settings as behavioral health services are integrated. The group also heard updates about the ongoing response and recovery efforts, stemming from the August 2016 floods.

Representatives of the Louisiana Public Health Institute, based in New Orleans, talked about their work, helping health care providers improve access and delivery of behavioral health services in the process of integrating with primary health care.

Taslim van Hattum, LCSW, MPH, LPHI's Portfolio Director of Family / Behavioral Health, and Meagan Relle, MPH, MBA, LPHI's Behavioral Health Manager, described the institute's approaches that focus on quality improvement, care coordination, electronic health record optimization, behavioral health screenings, integrated care teams, and trainings to strengthen knowledge and encourage use of evidence-based practices.

Van Hattum and Relle (pictured above, l-r) stressed the importance of gauging success not only by business measures, but also by the client's experience, such as reducing or eliminating wait times, expediting referrals, coordinating medications, and improving communications among health care providers. 

Attendees also heard updates about behavioral health integration from Lee Tynes, MD, of Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, who said a pilot clinic of integrated care could be operational by late spring. Harold Brandt, MD, Medical Director of the Baton Rouge Clinic, said his organization continues to build consensus among providers to integrate care. 

OPEN Health Care Clinic CEO Tim Young reported that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with CAHS has led to 87 Open Health clients receiving behavioral health services from CAHS. Of those clients, 53 were referred for psychiatric evaluation, and 34 others received in-house counseling.

"I think co-location with Capital Area Human Services is the key, along with a warm handoff among health care professionals," he said.

The Collaborative attendees also heard updates about flood response and recovery efforts from Louisiana Spirit, Catholic Charities, and the Crisis Intervention Center. 

Ann Wilder, LPC, said Louisiana Spirit teams have provided 6,700 individual counseling sessions, 1,000 group sessions, and have had 17,000 visits with flood survivors, including 2,000 total interactions with the elderly and children.

She said Louisiana Spirit continues to work on transition plans for about 1,000 survivors who are still living in hotels. "Housing and transportation are the biggest needs among survivors," she said.

Lisa Lee, Program Director of Catholic Charities, said 164 case managers have worked with 1,000 households so far, and the organization expects to help at least 10,000 households over the next 24 months. She said Catholic Charities works with local building experts to offer free repair estimates, and coordinate with case managers to advocate for help with rebuilding.

Elizabeth Unaeze, Operations Coordinator of the Crisis Intervention Center, said "The Phone" crisis line has seen a 20% jump in calls, and they are expecting another 20% increase, as they see increases in stress which leads to more cases of violence and domestic abuse.

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Save the Date: 2017 Health Summit


Click here for more information and to register
March 24, 9 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
C.B. Pennington Jr. Building Conference Center
6400 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge

This day-long summit, presented by the Louisiana Center for Health Equity, will bring together leading voices and organizations for improving health in Louisiana. CAHS Executive Director Jan Kasofsky, PhD, will facilitate a panel presentation on behavioral health. Attendees can expect a day of focused expert panels and discussions on the evolving healthcare landscape, proven policies and models for improving health and healthcare. Registration includes lunch and a reception.

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Please help us welcome these new employees:
Mallory Breland, Social Worker, School Based
Elizabeth Johnston, Social Worker, School Based
Yihong Zheng, MD, School Based

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Welcome, Paxton, to the CAHS Family

Brittney Santora and her husband, Daniel, welcomed their first child, Paxton, on Dec. 14 at 6:44 p.m. He weighed 8lbs. 9oz. and was 21.5 inches long -- big enough to take on The Joker in his adorable Batman outfit. We wish them all the best!

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