S moke S ignals
july 15, 2014
Karn leads Behavioral Health in rebuilding effort
By Ron Karten
Smoke Signals staff writer
The Tribe’s Behavioral Health
unit is rebuilding “from the ground
up,” says recently hired Behavioral
Health Director Sharon Karn, 59,
a psychiatric mental health nurse
practitioner.
Karn was hired as department
lead and arrived at the Tribe in
late May.
She says her philosophy is tak-
ing a holistic approach to working
with patients. The trend in the field
is to treat behavioral issues with
an integration of services, moving
psychiatry into the medical model.
Karn is building a program that
includes both behavioral and medi-
cal specialists.
“We have to function as a team,”
she says.
The team approach means es-
tablishing key players, reducing
turnover and getting the right
professionals to pull together.
“We have some really good people
in place. We have huge support
from our administration. It’s kind
of a new day.” Success, she says,
gets back to the simple notion of a
job well done.
The stronger the team, the better
the chances that people will get
their issues addressed.
For people who don’t need direct
services from the department, “We
provide them with the tools they
need to get back on track,” says
Jeffrey Lorenz, Health Services
executive director.
Karn’s duties also include pre-
scribing medications.
With 37 years experience in the
field, Karn says she keeps a fresh
attitude by concentrating on “men-
tal health not mental illness.”
For many years, behavioral is-
sues were taboo among the general
public, she says. As a result, there
are many roadblocks to care with
patient fear being a big one.
There is a genetic component
with behavioral issues, Karn says,
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Sharon Karn is the new director of the Tribe’s Behavioral Health Program.
but many issues beyond the genes
are at play.
Poverty and alienation may be
both causes and results of behav-
ioral problems. That can mean no
job, no close relationships or no peer
group support. Add the difficulty of
gaining access to care, such as the
cost of transportation, medications,
ongoing support or treatment, and
the stigma of behavioral problems
for individuals and their families
all contribute.
Difficulties mostly beyond the
individual and community include
a lack of research in the field.
“If you compare our advances
with what they’ve done in cardiol-
ogy, it’s night and day,” she says.
A lack of resources in the field
and a system already maxed out
trying to fill the current need con-
tribute.
The Tribe, however, has poured
resources into the program to ad-
dress basic issues.
“I have reorganized and now
have our psychiatric mental health
nurse practitioner running the
department and supervising the
entire Behavioral Health team,”
says Lorenz.
The Behavioral Health unit has
one practitioner (Karn), four coun-
selors and a receptionist. The case-
load goal is “at least five patients
per counselor per day,” says Lorenz,
“and that will grow as we rebuild
the Behavioral Health reputation
both internally and externally.”
The Behavioral Health unit aims
to get to patients before they have
major issues. When support is
given early, individuals, their fami-
lies and the community see better
outcomes.
The effort includes “lots of educa-
tion and awareness skills, helping
people find new ways to adapt to an
ever-changing world,” says Karn.
When services come too late,
individual self-esteem suffers, of
course, but an individual’s prob-
lems also affect family and com-
munity.
“When there is alcohol, drug
abuse and domestic violence in
the community, children see that,”
says Karn. Unaddressed behavioral
problems bring in money problems,
police and social services.
“There’s a big thread that runs
through it,” Karn says.
Karn is licensed in Florida, Wash-
ington and Oregon. Previously, she
worked at the Spokane Veterans
Affairs Medical Center before join-
ing the Tribe’s program. She is cur-
rently working toward a doctorate
at Duke University.
She has worked serving the
homeless and uninsured in a pa-
tient-centered medical home. She
participated in psychotropic drug
research and worked in a clinic af-
filiated with the Mayo Clinic.
Toby Karn, her husband, is a mort-
gage banker working for Dallas,
Texas-based PrimeLending, a na-
tional mortgage company. Her step-
daughter, Betsy, runs her own public
relations firm in New York City.
“We’re a big hockey family,”
she says. “My husband plays in
Sherwood, My brother is a Na-
tional Hockey League coach and
my nephew was drafted by the New
York Rangers.”
Born in Oklahoma where her
grandmother was Cherokee, Karn
is tracing her Native American
heritage.
She also has spent more than
30 years fly-fishing. She is a gar-
dener, hiker and avid reader. Two
miniature dachshunds, Goalie and
Puck, run around the family house
in McMinnville. n
WIC to visit Youth Education Building
Pregnant? Breastfeeding? Does your family include a child under the
age of 5?
You may qualify for the Women, Infants and Children program. With
WIC, people can receive answers to nutrition questions and access fruits
and vegetables, whole grains, eggs, milk, cheese, juice, cereal and more.
A WIC representative will be at the Youth Education Building on the
first and third Tuesday of the month between 9 and 11 a.m. Walk-ins are
welcome.
For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 503-623-8175,
ext. 2297. n
Ad created by George Valdez