“This is our first attempt to really on a county-wide basis provide services to seniors,” Royer said.
One program will put therapists into doctor’s offices frequented by the most vulnerable seniors. Those therapists will provide counseling and referrals to psychiatric care when needed.
“The senior population generally doesn’t seek out mental health services,” Royer said. “Probably the best way to provide services for seniors at this time is through their primary care physician.”
Another program will count on in-home care workers to determine when elderly people may need a visit from a therapist. Someone will then visit them in their home and see if they are becoming too isolated, which is a big problem for the elderly, Royer said.
The two programs combined will cost roughly $1 million, half paid by the mental health board and half by the Council on Aging. They will each employ two therapists, a supervisor and psychiatric services and treat up to 70 people a year.
A third program helps Mental Retardation and Developmentally Disabled clients stay in their homes. This program is aimed at MRDD clients ages 16 to 25 whose caretakers may be struggling with the client’s mental illness.
The program brings in therapists, psychiatrist, caseworkers, “whoever it looks like has to sit around the table to meet this person’s needs,” said MRDD program manager Debbie Gulley.
The $200,000, grant-funded pilot program aims to help 10 people a year for the three years it is planned.
But Gulley said mental illness is prevalent in the MRDD community, and there are five times that number in need of such services.
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2175 or jsweigart@coxohio.com.
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