Continuity of Care
When client treatment begins in an inpatient setting the initial focus is stabilization, typically through medication and symptoms management. This stabilization period lays a foundation for the individual and helps return them to their baseline. Once an individual reaches their baseline, advanced inpatient treatment can begin and new skills and coping strategies can be learned. This combination of stabilization and treatment prepares the individual for discharge into the community, many times to the care of a community provider. MMLV has identified that one of the primary limitations for overall client success is their ability to experience a “continuity of care.” Often times the treatment being provided in the hospitals is not being supported by mental health providers in the community. Therefore over time, a client who transitions from the hospital to a community provider will often cycle back through the hospital process despite preventable measures that could have taken place. In more extreme cases, the same client will cycle back and forth between the hospitals and providers several times throughout the year. The constant recycling of clients between the hospital and community providers pose many problems that include undoing the treatment completed by hospital professionals, as well as unavailable resources for treating new clients. MMLV seeks to create a new approach founded on the continuity of care between hospitals and providers. This gives the client the best opportunity to improve their quality of life by taking the care they received in the hospitals and continuing it out in the community. MMLV would agree that providers often have good intentions in taking care of clients, but many providers simply lack the material to maintain the treatment and skill-building necessary to increase client independence. Therefore the providers' focus becomes basic (maintaining medications, appointments, and food supplies). While it is important to meet the basic needs of an individual, structured and detailed skill building is required to facilitate client independence. Our program seeks to raise the standard that providers are held to. Some of the topics that MMLV feels are essential to the "continuity of care" concept include medication management, understanding diagnosis and symptoms, setting goals, basic wellness and nutrition, stress management, coping strategies, and social skills. The skill-building curriculum that we offer is a compilation of textbooks, lesson plans, and worksheets that are being utilized in the Nevada educational system. This curriculum will be under the direction of the company's managers and contracted licensed professionals (LCSWs and professional educators). This allows our skills trainers to utilize professionals and guided material to facilitate structured training. In addition to our own curriculum, MMLV provides individual and group therapy and is eager to collaborate with the community psychiatric hospitals to bridge the gap in client treatment programs. MMLV believes that "continuity of care" is essential to client success and is dedicated to meeting that need. When a client fulfills his/her tailored program they will have acquired the skills necessary to transition into independent living. MMLV understands that client independence varies for each individual. Some will reach complete independence with managing daily activities and pursuing personal/professional goals while others may continue to require minimal services.
2. Skills Training as well as Therapeutic Services
At the core of MMLV’s focus is a progressive two year skills training program designed to maximize client independence. Given the number of skills topics available, MMLV has determined that a two year time frame is adequate for an individual to learn the necessary skills to transition into independent living. The training is structured from start to finish utilizing licensed personnel, company skills trainers, professionally published material, individualized skills plans, and reoccurring assessments to help assist the individuals with their independence. Understanding that every client learns at different paces and works differently, we tailor our skills training plans to meet the needs of that particular individual. The goals upon entering the MMLV program are to implement daily structure and develop a tailored skills training plan. During the first 30 days the individual is adjusting to his/her new environment. The first goal is to teach the individual the concept of daily structure. MMLV uses a “daily agenda” to help teach the individual how to effectively structure his/her day (appropriate times to wake up, complete hygiene routine, eat meals, schedule appointments, participate in groups, etc...). The second goal for MMLV is to create an individualized skills training plan that is comprised of a variety of areas (medications, diagnosis, symptoms, appointments, hygiene routine, cooking/cleaning ability, social interactions, etc...). The assessment period will identify the individual’s current level of independence (strengths and weaknesses) to develop the skills training plan. Psychosocial Rehabilitation and individual/group therapy is also identified in the initial assessment, which is a much needed part of the process to help observe and identify how the client is doing.
