Well it’s my turn again! The “new and exciting items” (or at least new) are all related to changes and growth in our Minnesota Adult Programs.
We are working to develop an Adult Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) program in Winona County that would serve Winona, Houston and Wabasha counties. ACT is an intensive outpatient wrap-around program for adults with serious and persistent mental illness, much like CSP in Wisconsin. The state is looking to expand Adult ACT providers and the only provider in all of Southeastern Minnesota is currently Olmsted County, and they only serve clients that live in that area. We are working to schedule a meeting with the DHS contact person in charge of the statewide expansion. Phone calls with her to date on this subject have been encouraging. Preliminary budget estimates on this project have also been positive. We will continue to work through the details to determine if ACT is a good fit for us as we grow our programs and revenue in Minnesota.
The search continues for land for a replacement Intensive Residential Treatment Services (IRTS) facility. Our current IRTS is Hiawatha Hall, which is an old Victorian house that is not well-suited to serving the needs of the individuals who stay with us. The counties in SE Minnesota have made getting a replacement facility with expanded crisis bed capacity a centerpiece of their long term Adult Mental Health Initiative plan. An RFP related to this project was issued by the state, so I have been working on this with Jamie Schloegel in Development and Darci Roesler, our Adult Services Coordinator. Unfortunately, the grant cannot be used to purchase land or build a new facility, so we are trying to be creative on other things we could use the funding for in our current facility that are related to the grant goals of health and safety improvements.
I’m also pleased to announce that we have found a new Supervisor for Hiawatha Hall. Craig Putz assumed the position effective February 8th. Craig has been a Senior Mental Health Practitioner at Hiawatha Hall. Prior to that position, he was a Supervisor/Case Manager for our Adolescent Day Treatment program here in Winona. Many thanks to Craig and Darci and all the other wonderful HH staff who were patient with us as we got this position filled. The staff have pitched in many additional hours and covered extra duties or tasks while we searched, and many will continue to do so while we look to backfill Craig’s position. So my thanks go out to the exceptional staff at Hiawatha Hall who all came together during a time of unusual turnover and extreme staff shortages!
Things have been busy here in Minnesota, but at least there is never a dull moment. We love it when we get folks from “the other side of the river” to come visit us here, so please stop in if you are passing through!
Marci Hitz, MSW, LISW
Director of Programs, Minnesota