LOUISIANA Community Mental Health Services Block Grant ...

levels of emotional and physical pain. Emergency Department waiting times dramatically increased.
As a response to this problem, in some regions, hospitals have begun offering some on-site medical
services at the mental health clinics to patients who do not have transportation; and nursing staff is
often available for general nursing consultation and referrals. The interruption in services that
Louisiana experienced following the 2005 hurricane season has been addressed. Medical services
now surpass pre-Katrina, pre-Rita levels in some areas.
Some clinics continue to integrate primary care activities into their main clinics along with smoking
cessation programs, diabetes screenings, and hypertension and cholesterol screenings in the parish
Public Health Units. Wellness Clinics and Medication Management Clinics are becoming
commonplace in Regions/ LGEs. Some regions have specialized health programming for senior
citizens; for instance in Region 5, eye exams and prescription assistance are offered. Assistance with
hearing aids and dentures are other services offered in some Regions.
SUPPORT SERVICES
FY 2011 - ADULT PLAN
Support Services are broadly defined as services provided to consumers that enhance clinic-based
services and aid in consumers‟ reintegration into society as a whole. Louisiana‟s public mental
health system is grounded in the principle that persons with serious mental illness can and do recover.
OBH has taken an approach that is consistent with the President’s New Freedom Commission Report
emphasizing that mental health care is consumer and family driven. The Office of Consumer Affairs,
created in 2004, has strived for an array of services and supports that enhance, empower, and promote
consumer recovery throughout the community. The full-time director of the office is a self-identified
consumer. Currently, the Office is focusing on issues of client choice and inclusion through
initiatives that will enable choice, empowerment, and in certain instances, employment. With a
focus on choice and inclusion this office continues to actively work towards the development of peer
support programs, resource or drop-in-center development, coordination of a statewide advocacy
network, and other initiatives that encourage consumer and family independence in all aspects of
care. For example, in Fiscal Year 2010, Louisiana has continued to develop and implement a Peer
Specialist Employment Program for consumers funded initially by Block Grant dollars. Recovery
Innovations, formally META Services, was identified as the curriculum provider for the initial
implementation phase. As a result of this training initiative, 101 mental health consumers have been
certified as Peer Support Specialists, 52 of whom who are now employed across the statewide system
of care.
Additionally, the Office of Mental Health was awarded a grant to implement Wellness Recovery
Action Planning (WRAP), under the auspices of the Copeland Center for Wellness and Recovery.
As a result, 69 consumers have been trained as Certified WRAP Facilitators and are now teaching
classes that empower adult consumers to dictate their individual life roles and goals. As further
evidence of Louisiana‟s commitment to these programs, additional trainings in WRAP and Peer
Support will be offered in the coming year, thereby increasing the cadre of recovery specialists the
state can employ in its workforce. Peer Support Specialists are being used in the clinics; for instance,
in Region 7 Peer Support Specialists are making „engagement calls‟ to clients providing
encouragement to attend aftercare appointments, are actively facilitating groups and serve as a
welcoming “bridge” for clients seeking services for the first time.
PART C LOUISIANA FY 2011 PAGE 119
SECTION III: ADULT PLAN – CRITERION 1
COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY-BASED MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES -- SYSTEM OF CARE & AVAILABLE SERVICES