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The new Memphis Mental Health Institute

Great energy and excitement surround the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities (TDMHDD) these days.

New programs and new facilities have recently been launched, grant money has been awarded and the innovative ideas of the TDMHDD are being recognized on a national level.

At the end of September, Commissioner Virginia Trotter Betts traveled to Memphis to cut the ribbon on the new Memphis Mental Health Institute. The ceremonial opening signified the culmination of many groups overcoming numerous hurdles to create an ideal situation for the city of Memphis.

LeBonheur Children’s Medical Center wanted to grow and expand its services, but the campus was landlocked. The hospital approached the state to discuss purchasing the land on which the Memphis Mental Health Institute (MMHI) sat at the corner of Poplar and Dunlap.

Based on the way things had always been done, it would have been difficult … if not impossible … for a non-profit to buy a state-run facility and demolish it. However, as Commissioner Betts pointed out, times have changed.

“I think this is a really good example of Governor Bredesen governing in a new ‘Third Way,’” she said, referring to his inaugural speech when he called upon leaders to “put aside stale and predictable debates,” and instead find “new ways to reach common ground and move our state forward.”

Betts said that everyone involved agreed that the work of LeBonheur was vital and that it would benefit Tennesseans for the medical center to be able to expand. It would also become an opportunity for a new, better MMHI.

With that “can-do” attitude, she and other state officials began looking at alternative sites for MMHI, ultimately choosing to locate in the Memphis Medical District and Biotech Center.

Partnering with Methodist Healthcare System, The MED, UT Health Science Center and Shelby County government, the public/private collaboration culminated in the September 24 dedication of a state-of-the-art facility. In its new location, MMHI is ideally situated adjacent to The MED’s ER, facilitating the easy transfer of patients between the two facilities as need dictates.

“Everything isn’t necessarily black or white … we can find new, innovative ways,” Betts said. “This is a huge win/win for Memphis.”

Betts was quick to point to partnerships and collaborations as the root of many TDMHDD success stories.

“We really wouldn’t have a public mental health system or substance abuse program without our community partners,” she pointed out.

The commissioner added that her department really values having a community provide for its own residents because it brings a needed element of cultural competency and familiarity to the equation.

Another recent cause for celebration was the announcement that Tennessee was selected for a $14.5 million Access to Recovery (ATR) grant. Tennessee was one of 40 states to apply for grant funding and one of only 18 chosen. More remarkably, the state is one of only 10 to be awarded the grant for a second time.

In 2004, Tennessee received ATR-1 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The first grant brought together both secular and faith-based providers to make available treatment and/or recovery support services to 12,800 Tennesseans, which significantly exceeded the goal of reaching 8,520 residents.

“Our ability to attract quality, faith-based providers I’m sure made us very attractive to receive that grant,” Betts noted.

With this second round of ATR funding, the commissioner said an emphasis would be placed in three key areas.

“First, we’re going to be much more focused on getting clientele as they leave the criminal justice system,” she said. “If people have substance abuse problems and are in jail or the Department of Corrections, their chances of being re-arrested are 90 percent if they don’t get help (for their substance abuse issues).”

Second, she continued, TDMHDD is going to focus on the development of intensive case management, which will allow individuals to achieve and maintain recovery.

“The third thing I think that made our grant request outstanding is we really want to do culturally competent care, which means we want to really pay attention to the choices of the client,” Betts said.

She pointed out that any chronic condition — whether it is substance abuse, diabetes or hypertension — requires work on the part of the person with the illness. Compliance is always an issue.

“By choosing your own case manager … deciding if you want a faith-based program or a secular one, that will really make a big difference in whether or not you carry through,” she stated.

In late October, the department also found out that it had been awarded a $2.5 million grant from the national Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to work with youth in eight rural Tennessee counties who had been removed from their homes or were at risk to be removed due to a parent or caretaker abusing methamphetamine or other substances.

Partners for Family Strengthening and Preservation seeks to provide intensive intervention services in the child’s home to try to keep families together. If the child has had to be removed to foster care, then providers will work to lessen the trauma and intercede at the first signs of depression or other mental health issues.

“One of the things that happens if you have a substance abuse problem or are recovering is that you lose a lot of life skills. Parenting is one of those skills, and that’s why children are neglected,” Betts explained.

Bedford, Cannon, Coffee, Franklin, Grundy, Lincoln, Moore and Warren counties will benefit from the ACF grant. Adults in those same communities are already being served by TDMHDD to try to break the cycle of addiction and substance abuse.

Betts, who has made “Recovery and Resiliency” the theme of the care model her department envisions, has also been recognized on a national level for her work in the mental health and developmental disabilities arena. After representing the Southeast for two years on the board of directors of the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, Betts was installed as vice president of the organization in July of this year.




December 2007

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