Agency Report on the Wasatch Mental Health Agency - Essay Example

"Agency Report on the Wasatch Mental Health Agency" is a stunning example of a paper on the health system.
The Wasatch Mental Health Services is a  facility that has a reputation for serving the community. The agency was founded in 1967 to "provide quality mental health care for all individuals within Utah county" ("Wasatch Mental Health). The agency provides services and programs to children, teens, and adults. The services are provided in the following modalities: inpatient, residential, day treatment, case management, outpatient, 24-hour crisis line, outreach, follow-up, referral screening, consultation, education, and prevention (Wasatch Mental Health Embracing Wellness "About Us").

            The main priority for the agency is to provide mental health services to those children and adults who have "serious and persistent mental health illnesses" and for children who are "emotionally disturbed" (Wasatch Mental Health Embracing Wellness "About Us").

2. Clients Served

            The clients served are severely mentally ill children, youth, and adults. There are also emotionally disabled individuals moderately impaired individuals and their families and those who are acutely mentally in. In other words, this agency takes care of the most severe cases of mental illness in the community.

3. Treatment Services

The Wasatch Mental Health agency provides a variety of services to children, youth, and families. They attempt to cover a variety of mental health issues within these programs. They basically have two types of services: Those that are state-mandated and additional services.

4. State Mandated Services

These include inpatient, residential, day treatment, screening and referral, 24-hour crisis line, homeless outreach, consultation, education and prevention, and day treatment. Each of these programs is based on the needs of the community.

            There are several children and family services that include specific programs for youth, transition, school-based, and respite services.

            Adult services are geared more towards supporting adults who have challenges with mental health and substance abuse programs. As an example, Wasatch House uses a clubhouse approach to working with adults. They provide peer and staff support, job training, and an overall supportive environment.  Members of the clubhouse and staff come together to run the program. The clubhouse is for people who have lost their purpose or confidence in themselves and will help them improve the quality of their lives. (Annual Report 25).

            They also have a pre-school program called Giant Steps. It is a program for pre-schoolers with Autism. The program serves children ages three to five years old and it runs from August to June. They also provide parent education classes on thee levels: Beginning, advanced, and transition. They include a parent support group and a sibling camp. These services assist the entire family to help them improve their knowledge and assistance for children who fall into the Autistic Spectrum.

5. Structure of Staffing

There is the staff that heads each of the programs. As an example, the adult program, the giant steps, and each of the wellness programs have their own program managers. They are governed by the Utah County Commissioners (Authority Board). There is an executive director, an advisory board, care managers, fiscal and administrative services, human resources, and then two division directors and a medical director.

6. Sources of Funding

            Some of their funding is secured by the Friends of WMH Charitable Foundation. They are a 501 (c) 3 organization so they can receive charitable contributions from the community. Other sources of revenue include:

Medicaid (49%)                                              Medicaid fee for services (3%)

Treatment contacts (9%)                                State/Federal monies (25%0

Insurance/personal payments (2%)                Residential contracts (4%)

County monies (5%)                                      Other revenues (3%) 

Most of their expenditures are for personnel (79%) and 11% of their expenditures are client-related (Wasatch Mental Health "Annual Report").

7. Philosophy and Purpose of Agency

The Wasatch Mental Health has both a vision and a mission statement as follows:

Vision Statement

            Wasatch Mental Health envisions the day when mental illness is clearly understood and accepted as a treatable illness, the reality of recovery is fully embraced, and where individuals with mental illness have equal access to quality treatment, opportunities to work and make a positive contribution to their community, to have access to affordable housing, and to enjoy freedom from stigma and ignorance. (Annual Report 4).

Mission Statement

Wasatch Mental Health will make a positive difference in the lives of individuals who experience mental illness, by providing excellence in state-of-the-art services and recovery principles, and a commitment to champion awareness of the reality, commonality, and effectiveness of treatment for mental disorders" (Annual Report 4).

8. Affiliations