November 06, 2002
Clic ¡Portiani» (Dbseruer________
Page A6
Mental Health
Services Take Cut
continued
L
from Front
localize access for needy neighborhoods.
“I consider that to be the standard o f care,” said Peter
Davidson, clinical director for Multnomah County’s men
tal health and addiction services.
So with the seed money, the preexisting clinics ex
tended their hours into the evening and weekends.
Davidson said the goal was to keep police out o f the mental
health system, keep crisis clients out o f the hospitals and
reduce the volume o f non-crisis calls to the mental crisis
hotline. Before the walk-in clinics opened, he said it wasn’t
uncommon for people to call the crisis line or check into
a hospital when they were not really suicidal.
“Why did people have to call the crisis line or go to a
hospital just to get help after six p.m. in our $85 million
system? We need to get rid o f this notion that mental
health care is only provided during banking hours,”
Davidson said. “Mental illness doesn’t go away at five
p.m., but our mental health system did.”
Then why after only a year o f services is Multnomah
County disbanding its local access philosophy? In October
a private non-profit provider called Cascadia Behavioral
Health Care was awarded a $4 million contract from the
county to run a 24-hour access clinic at 43rd and Division in
addition to operating the crisis lines and a mobile outreach
unit that can be dispatched to provide residential services.
Now the system has been streamlined again, but
Davidson said the other clinics are still required by their
contract to provide walk-in services even though they will
no longer receive Specialized funding. Clinics must con
tinue to operate at their current capacity but must fund the
costs out o f their regular budgets. Davidson insists that
CCMH will be in violation o f their contract if they divert
new clients to the Cascadia Center at 43rd and Division.
Becca Uherbelau, communications director for County
Chair Dianne Linn, maintained that any diversion o f cli
ents would be a violation but agreed that the contract
language may be confusing.
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(AP) — A con artist has been
visiting Spanish speakers in the
Portland area and offering English
classes at a library or community
college for a small fee.
When people show up for the
classes, they learn they have been
fooled.
Police think at least 43 people
have lost more than $850 - and fear
the numbers are much larger.
The man has charged $20 for the
nonexistent classes. The relatively
small sum can prompt victims to
skip the hassle o f reporting the
crime. It also makes detectives think
it is not worth their time to investi
gate, police said.
Witnesses have given similar
descriptions o f the man, who has
g iv e n th e n am es o f A rtu ro ,
Armando and Pedro Gonzales to
his victims, police said.
Generally, the con man is de
scribed as in his 30s, about 5-foot-
10 and 170 pounds, police said.
In most cases, he asks the per
son to fill out aone-page form when
he takes their money.
Pol ice suspect the cons are com
mitted by the same person or group
ofpeople, said Lt. Michael Rouches
ofthe Hillsboro Police Department.
The Center for
Community
Mental
Health.
M ark
W a s h in g t o n /
T he P ortland
O bserver
photo by
The contract reads,
‘Contractor is required
to include a no ap
pointment necessary
option for new clients
and the c o n tra c to r
must also make avail
able no appointment
necessary for urgent
care services for the
c o n tra c to r’s au th o
rized clients, however
nothing w ithin this
agreem ent prevents
the contractor from
—Joe Hromco, director of
providing urgent ser
clinical operations for
vices to unauthorized
Tualatin Valley Centers
___________________
clients.’ ‘
“So the only differ
ence is there is no funding stream,” Uherbelau said.
Officials at Tualatin Valley Centers, the private non
profit providerwho acquired CCMH in March ofthisyear,
disagree with the county on the contract language. And
they are curious as to why the county would fund
Cascadia’s center at 43rd and Division to provide 24-hour
services and sti II require other providers to offer crisis care
without any funding.
“The way the funding is set up and the contract is
worded, we have a responsibility to our clients when they
are in crisis,” said Joe Hromco, director ofclinical opera
tions for Tualatin Valley Centers. “But people who are not
our clients are not our responsibility and we are supposed
to send them to the southeast center. By doing this we lose
our community connection and what was a walk-in clinic
becomes a bus-to clinic.”
Mary M onnat, CEO for Tualatin V alley C enters said
she w ould do w hatever she can to keep her clinics in
com pliance w ith the county contract. But she has her
concerns with the new design configuration. C ascadia
com petes with T ualatin V alley C enters and M onnat
w onders how patients will be assigned to outpatient
treatm ent after their release from the C ascadia. W ill
crisis casew orkers refer clients to C ascadia clinics or
w ill they d istrib u te them even ly am o n g st o th er
providers?
Marc Schorr, directorofcom m unications forCascadia,
said in his nine-years o f clinical experience he has never
seen any shortage o f clients. He said Cascadia already
handles 80 percent o f all Oregon Health Plan clients and
he would be glad to personally take down the names o f any
other providers who would be interested in receiving
referrals from the crisis center.
“Public mental health care is not like private practice,”
Schorr said. “ For us it’s more about getting out resources
than hogging clients.”
At the heart o f the m atter, M onnat said her main
concern is for the people o f the north and northeast
neighborhoods w ho have com e to depend on CCM H
for its services. She w orries that instead o f going to 4 3 ,d
and Division, they may go to Legacy Emanuel Hospital
instead. M onnat has plans to hire an em ployee to do
outreach for CCM H. Ifthe clinic m ust turn people aw ay
when they arc in crisis, she hopes the outreach p ro
gram will get them hooked into services before a crisis
occurs. And if there is an em ergency situation, M onnat
hopes people will get to 43"* and D ivision.
“The county says they will provide bus tickets and
transportation vouchers.” Monnat said. “But the ques
tion remains, will they travel? We hope they w ill. W e’re all
in it together. We just want to make sure nobody slips
through the cracks."
I —
.
"
. .
V By doing this
workaholic
we lose our
community
connection and
what was a walk-
in clinic becomes
a bus-to clinic.
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