Ignore the Professional Mental Health Providers, and They'll Go Away

There used to be a statement on the door of the Oral Surgeon at Grady Hospital in Atlanta : "Ignore your teeth, and they'll go away"

Ignore your professional mental health providers, and they'll go away.
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Marsha V. Hammond, PhD Clinical Licensed Psychologist

affiliated (because I have to be as associated w/ NC Mental Health Reform) w/ Direct Care, LLC which is an Endorsed Provider under WHN LME.

July 9, 2008

Dear Bob Carey, Vice Chair of Western Highlands Network (WHN) LME CFAC:

You stated in an e mail that went out to several dozen people, the following:

"In my opinion they have at least one major flaw (re: The proposed rules for the Client Rights Oversight Committees were printed in the North Carolina Register on 7/01/08. Go to www.oah.state. nc.us/rules/ register/)- it does not prohibit contract providers from being members of the LME committees. It would seem that contract providers would have an almost 100% potential conflict of interest position as they would be almost always dealing with clients rights protection compliance issues concerning themselves, their competitors, or their contracting agency (the LME).

Mr. Carey: I am an independent biller to Medicaid and Medicare & hopelessly unable/ unwilling to negotiate WHN LME's paperwork for my one state funded client who receives therapy.

That paperwork is of course mandated by NC DHHS. There are about 10 forms to fill out in order that a client begin to receive therapy. Did you know that?

If that was not bad enough, WHN LME changed one of its forms last fall; by the time the paperwork had moved from the receptionist at WHN LME network to the person to approve the services, the paperwork was no longer OK; it had to be revised.

Its simply not worth it.

Since the providers have no voice as re: this mental health reform in NC, something you seem to want to encourage, and since the provider's professional organizations like NC Psychological Association, look the other way, might I suggest that in order for you to salvage some of your professional providers, you know, the well trained doctoral ones, you might attend to their complaints.

I hope that my interfacing w/ you, a representative of the WHN LME CFAC is not going to be like my interfacing with the SMC LME CFAC.

For further information about the non-functioning across the state of the CFAC's please see my NC mental health reform blogspot, documenting problems in NC re: mental health reform since April, 2007:

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http://madame-defarge.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, July 02, 2008
What happened to the LME CFACS : the failed experiment that was written into law and ignored
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I have had one state funded client under SMC LME also. (I am not interested in going beyond one; the purpose of one client is in order to test the waters and the waters are foul).

Today that client called me and told me that her drawing blood on herself had progressed back to the place where she was carving into her own flesh. There is no one to take care of her as associated with SMC LME pushing all of the state funded clients into Meridian Behavioral Health Service, run by retired SMC employee Joe Ferraro.

Meridian does not go out to her trailer; I do. Meridian does not take her calls late at night; I do. Meridian does not answer her e mails; I do.

I have sent her back to the ACTT team which referred her to me 2 + years ago. We were making good progress. I have walked her thru applying for medicaid; she is in appeal; that is very slow going.

If you want all of the well trained providers to move completely out of the state funded system and god help us if the LME's get ahold of Medicaid, then just keep it up, this talk about how the providers should have no input into NC mental health reform.

I understand your point about conflict of interest and it is a good point. However, if you do not listen to us in any manner, to my mind, it is the same as Tom McDevitt last week, as documented by Smoky Mountain News, telling the SMC LME board that he wanted to put into place a stipulation that the board members could not act in such a manner that would disallow the LME from moving forward.

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See: Turmoil surfaces at Smoky Mountain Mental Health board meeting (week of 7.2.08)

http://www.smokymountainnews.com/issues/07_08/07_02_08/fr_turmoil_surfaces.html

"...It defined detrimental conduct as “the intentional misrepresentation of facts casting negative light on the board of LME, deliberate acts to undermine or impede the success of the LME board,” followed by several other sentences.

“It seems like it prohibits anybody from saying anything negative about the organization,” Cowan said. “I think that’s so subject to misinterpretation, like you couldn’t make a legitimate constructive criticism without being accused of trying to undermine the organization.”
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This is what you suggested that smacked of that same attitude:

" It would seem that contract providers would have an almost 100% potential conflict of interest position as they would be almost always dealing with clients rights protection compliance issues concerning themselves, their competitors, or their contracting agency (the LME). "

Sincerely,

Marsha V. Hammond, PhD: Licensed Psychologist: NC


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pertinent information:

Consumer & Family Advisory Committee, Western Highlands Network... families in shaping the development and delivery of public mental health, developmental disabilities ... Vice-Chair: Bob Carey rcarey@yancey.main.nc.us ...
www.westernhighlands.org/cfac.htm - 13k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this