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215-345-5327
NAMI Bucks HELPINE: 1-866-399-NAMI (6264)
to NAMI PA
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call JoAnne
Davis, Team Leader for PACT 215-343-7696 |
PACT UPDATE:
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Article from NAMI Pennsylvania Chester County Newsletter dated March
2004:
New Hope when Traditional MH Treatment
Fails
By Christine M. Holst
Mental health consumers who have not benefited from traditional psychiatric treatment programs can hope for alternative services, as comprehensive as hospitalization, with the freedom of residing in the community. Thirty years ago in Wisconsin, NAMI set the national standards for an effective program, called PACT (Program for Assertive Community Treatment). Since September 2002, Bucks County's Lenape Valley Foundation Services has successfully started and mastered PACT. Statistics in January reveal that 47% of their 43 clients are living independently. And at the same time, none of their clients are in jail, in homeless shelters, or homeless.
However, PACT continues to follow and support clients who may find themselves in jail, in homeless shelters, or homeless. Hospitalizations are reduced by an estimated 70% for those participating in the Bucks County program. One patient enjoyed spending the holidays in the comfort of the community as opposed to a standard holiday stay in the hospital. Another patient was discovered to experience an acute episode of mental illness on a cycle of once every seven years. With this information, the PACT team (including the patient) prepare and are aware of the inevitable situation. The goals of PACT are to lessen or eliminate the debilitating symptoms of mental illness each consumer experiences and to prevent or minimize recurrent, acute episodes of the illness.
Statistics are collected regularly to assess that these goals are being met.
Reb Brooks, Ed.M., Licensed Psychologist and practitioner on the PACT staff at Lenape Valley Foundation, presented an overview of the program at the Feb 19th NAMI PA Bucks County general meeting held at St. Mary Medical Center in Langhorne, PA. He compared PACT to other programs by explaining what it is not.
First, it is NOT for everybody. Consumers with a primary diagnosis of a severe and persistent mental illness, like schizophrenia, schizo-affective disorder, bi-polar disorder, & major depression, are eligible. It is NOT a linkage or brokerage case management treatment program. Nearly all of the consumer's needs are met by the PACT staff. The staff is comprised of a team leader, lead clinician, psychiatrist, psychotherapist, substance abuse specialist, registered nurse, vocational specialist, secretary, and other staff as needed, including a peer specialist. Note that the psychiatrist is NOT the team leader. This poses a significant difference from traditional treatment programs and enables each staff member the freedom to contribute ideas to the consumer's treatment plan. PACT does NOT accept admissions on a crisis intervention basis. It takes two to three months to process an applicant's application. In the meantime, the In the meantime, the applicant and family must rely on other services to provide for psychiatric needs. The PACT staff conducts a thorough assessment of the applicant to ensure that person is right for the program. Data gathered for assessment is used by staff to make recommendations for a suitable treatment plan for the consumer whether or not the applicant is accepted. PACT is NOT solely a medical model.
The consumer engages in his or her treatment plan, which is highly structured and typically six pages in length. The treatment plan is an on-going monitoring tool used for determining daily, weekly, and monthly services. The plan covers a 6-month period and is used for on-going assessment. For example, if a consumer requires banking assistance, a banking plan is defined. If the consumer runs short of cash and requires an unscheduled trip to the bank, the request may likely be denied when the treatment plan entails learning budgeting skills. The plan may be revised as frequently as needed, depending on the dynamics of the client's needs. Vocation is an important aspect to PACT. Sitting at home staring at four walls daily is NOT believed to be conducive to mental health. Clients are taught to maintain a normal household, like dusting and vacuuming one day of the week, cleaning the bathroom on another day, going shopping on another, and so forth. Competitive employment, as opposed to a structured, sheltered workshop, is a vocational goal. The purpose of employment is for use in treatment, rehabilitation, and recovery. PACT does NOT use a linkage service like the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR). The vocational specialist engages the client and the community to establish appropriate employment, which may entail starting out as a volunteer worker until the capacity to sustain employment is achieved. The staff is mobile except when they meet as a group for one hour daily at the office to discuss each client. To stay within the time constraint, discussion is generally limited to services a client received since the last meeting and will receive before the next meeting. No one is overlooked. Every staff person knows each client and clients know each member of the staff. Phone coverage is available to clients 24 hrs per day, 7 days per week. A strong advisory committee ensures staff adheres to the requirements of PACT, much like a franchise. This permits success of the program for all constituents.
Other speakers at the general meeting, Jeanette Castello and Charles Bechtel, were two of three primary organizers for introducing PACT to Bucks County. It took them two years of research, networking, and promotion to bring PACT to their community. Their efforts were in response to a need for services identified by their county. The cost for maintaining a client for a year is comparable to a year of a partial hospitalization program. After successfully securing startup funding for the first year, the program is now funded through Medical Assistance. Private insurance does not pay for this kind of program in today's culture. Bechtel, Brooks, and Castello are so pleased with the effectiveness of the program that it is their desire to see more counties adopt PACT.
For more info. on PACT and to contact these individuals, call the Lenape Valley Foundation in Doylestown at (215) 345-5300. To express your interest in bringing PACT to Chester County, call NAMI PA Chester County at 610-430-0177.
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Lenape
Valley Foundation Program
of
Assertive Community Treatment (PACT) is Operational in Bucks
County
The Lenape Valley Foundation Program of
Assertive Community Treatment (LVF PACT) opened the doors to their first clients
in September 2002. As the first
PACT in Pennsylvania, this comprehensive method of providing treatment to
clients in Bucks County is a unique and welcome addition to services provided
for individuals with severe and persistent mental illness.
Each month in our newsletter and on this
website, we will
attempt to include a personal perspective from a member of the PACT team or
possibly a client in the program who may be interested in sharing his or her
thoughts on being a part of this program. The
following are comments from our LVF PACT psychiatrist, Denise
de Guzman Senyk, M.D.: “The
reason that I am thrilled and honored to be part of this groundbreaking PACT
team is that it truly represents the spirit and mission of NAMI.
The unyielding desire of one individual to improve the lives and
treatment of our neighbors, friends, and family with a serious brain disease has
led to community, county, state and national support for the development of a
program with a long, evidence-based history of positive outcomes.
All it takes is one person such as Jeanette Castello, and her fellow
supporters in Bucks County NAMI to stand firm and follow-through with NAMI's
mission and message that we cannot ignore the continued need for comprehensive,
evidence-based treatment and mental health system support for our clients and
their families to lead fulfilling lives, while successfully managing devastating
psychiatric diseases. My favorite
motto that I share with our PACT team staff members is to ‘never give-up’;
there is always a way to help and provide excellent service to our clients.”
We are truly fortunate to have such a dedicated, enthusiastic
psychiatrist on this PACT team here in Bucks County!
In an effort to share the good news about
PACT, members of the PACT Advisory Committee gave three presentations during the
month of October regarding our new program.
First, Jeanette Castello, Chairperson of the PACT Advisory Committee,
spoke at a PACT session at a NAMI Cambria County sponsored event entitled
“Addressing Obstacles to Treatment” on October 8th at
the University of Pittsburgh, Johnstown. During
a panel discussion on assisted treatment at this conference, Joe Rogers, from
the PA Southeastern Mental Health Association asked why there is only one PACT
in Pennsylvania and stated there should be PACTs in every county in our state.
Second, at the NAMI Bucks County Rally for Mental Illness Awareness on
October 19th at the Bucks County Courthouse in Doylestown where
Jeanette spoke about PACT and at which our PACT psychiatrist, Dr. Denise Senyk,
participated and was available for questions about our program.
The third presentation was made at the NAMI PA Conference held at the
Hilton Valley Forge in King of Prussia, PA on October 25th . The presentation was given by Jeanette and Charles Bechtel,
Recording Secretary of PACT Advisory Committee, on the advocacy work which
enabled Bucks County to have the first PACT in our state.
We would like to extend a special thank you to former Team Leader, Joe
Rizziello and our psychiatrist, Dr. Denise Senyk for their very informative
presentation on PACT at this conference.
Their session included providing answers to the many questions from those
who were present.
Attendees
at all of the presentations were very interested in learning more about the
structure of PACT which includes treatment provided by a multidisciplinary team
of professionals, a staff to client ratio of 1:10, 24 hour/7 days a week crisis
availability, and services provided to clients directly in the community where
individuals in the program live, work and enjoy leisure activities.
Look for other counties in Pennsylvania to follow our lead and implement
this research-proven, cost effective program that is endorsed by NAMI National
and in a report from the U.S. Surgeon General on Mental
Health.
We are happy to announce that the second in Philadelphia in the beginning of this
upcoming year and it will serve a homeless population of individuals with mental
illness. We extend to them our
support and best wishes as they begin the implementation process for their
program.
Plans are being discussed for an Open
House for the LVF PACT.
The date and time will be posted in our next newsletter and on our web
site by going to PACT Program.
We hope you will join us as we welcome the new PACT team and celebrate
the opening of a program that emphasizes rehabilitation and recovery.
If you are interested in finding out if
someone you know who lives in Bucks County might be eligible for PACT services,
please contact contact JoAnne
Davis, Team Leader for PACT 215-343-7696.
email address is
joanne.davis@lenapevf.org
PACT HAS ARRIVED IN CENTRAL BUCKS COUNTY
After advocating for PACT (Program of Assertive Community Treatment) for over a year, members of NAMI Bucks County and NAMI Bucks County Families-In-Action announced that PACT, endorsed in the U.S. Surgeon General’s Mental Health Report,
officially opened its doors for the first time to clients in Central Bucks County
in September, 2002. As stated in NAMI’s PACT Advocacy Guide, “PACT is an effective, evidence-based, outreach-oriented, service delivery model for people with severe and persistent mental illnesses. Using a 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week, team approach, PACT delivers comprehensive community treatment, rehabilitation and support services to consumers in their homes, at work and in community settings.”
The Lenape Valley Foundation’s (LVF) PACT program serves up to 50 clients. While the main office is located at 678 Louis Drive in Warminster, Pennsylvania, approximately 75% of all services that the multidisciplinary team provides will be in the community, where a consumer in the program lives, works or goes to school, and enjoys leisure activities. “The PACT team meets a client’s many individual – and ‘round-the-clock’ – needs by providing a full range of psychiatric medical care, substance abuse treatment, social and rehabilitation services. Consumers in PACT receive nearly all services from the PACT team, not from multiple, loosely linked mental health, substance abuse, housing, and rehabilitation agencies. Whether a client needs help remembering to take medications, going to the dentist, dealing with a problem at work, finding a roommate, managing money, grocery shopping, doing the laundry, or handling anger and despair, a PACT team member is there.”
An appropriate referral to the LVF PACT program will be at least eighteen (18) years old, a resident of Central Bucks County, eligible for medical assistance, willing to voluntarily engage in the program and meet the “Diagnostic Criteria” as stated in the “Lenape Valley Foundation PACT Programs Admission Criteria.” Eligibility information can be found on the Referral Form which can be obtained from
JoAnne Davis, Team Leader for PACT 215-343-7696.
email address is
joanne.davis@lenapevf.org
We hope to introduce the members of the multidisciplinary PACT team to you and continue to update the progress of this program in
the future.
Lastly, the LVF PACT Advisory Committee, which consists of family members, consumers and interested members of the community, extends a warm welcome to all the members of the LVF PACT Team. We also wish to thank Gloria Mazza, for her consultation and training of the LVF PACT Team and Advisory Committee this past August. There are too many people who helped to establish this program in our county to be able to mention now, but, as stated in many articles over the last year and a half, we give our undying gratitude to Debbie Allness, co-author of the PACT manual; Elizabeth Edgar, Director of NAMI Assertive Community Treatment Technical Assistance Center; Michael Fitzpatrick, former NAMI PA Regional Director; and Bern McBride, Program Director for Bucks County Behavioral Health; for all of their support and advice during the years of advocacy for this program. Without their help, LVF PACT would not be available in Central Bucks County today.
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of Bucks County
Pennsylvania
