Connections April 2009 Pdf

SPRING 2009

Welcome to the Connections Newsletter 2006, we introduced the Connections program.

Nicole Lavy, V.P. of KYUMH Community Based Services

Welcome to our first edition newsletter for the Connections program. Since it’s inception in 2001, the Community Services Department of the Kentucky United Methodist Home has grown significantly. We are proud to offer a vast range of programming. In May

Funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Rural Health, the Connections team will address education and counseling needs on risk conditions common to the Commonwealth. This includes Mental Health issues, Diabetes, Heart Disease, Smoking and Substance Abuse as well as Obesity. Connections provides health education and human services to children, youth and families in central Kentucky where the need for these services exceeds the resources available to meet them. We have established partnerships that will enable us to serve the health care needs of

SIGNALS Makes “Connections” at Bellevue School

Bellevue Staff: Terry Wilson, Paddy Johnson, Misty Kirby, Ed Brown and Signals Author/ Connections Educator Lane Stonecypher. JSOCC (far right)

Pictured left to right: Karen, Lane and Natalie

the families in a comprehensive, integrated and effective way. Services are delivered by three full-time staff. Natalie Holt, Karen Alexander and Lane Stonecypher. The staff are diverse in their talents and offer over 30 years of experience. Karen and Natalie are program service coordinators and Lane is the community group educator.

Inside this issue

The Connections Rural Healthcare Initiative recently provided • Client Stories Bellevue Learning Center in Richmond, Kentucky with a teen sub- • Web Resources stance abuse prevention, intervention and therapeutic education • Healthy Tips program called SIGNALS (Setting Important Goals Now Against Life- designed to inform the students about risk levels for developing a threatening Substances). problem. The students learned about the dangers of alcohol, tobacco and The Bellevue students attended other drug use. The interactive the prevention class every Friday materials included screening tools throughout February.

Providing a Helping Hand… Connections clients Rhonda and Tim began services soon after moving to Anderson County. With many medical problems, no means of transportation and a very low income, both Rhonda and Tim needed a connection to resources in the community.

Natalie Holt, MA, LCPA Connections Service Coordinator

During the initial meeting with the family, Rhonda explained that she and her husband were in great need of medical services. Rhonda had been having pains in her lower abdomen for several months and was unable to afford the cost of a medical examination. Tim had a history of severe thyroid problems and needed help finding a specialist. Connections program coordinator, Natalie Holt made weekly

home visits with the family, developed a case plan and helped the family meet their needs. Among these services, Connections provided transportation to several medical appointments, established a primary care physician for the family, provided in-home mental health counseling and assisted Rhonda in receiving SSDI benefits and a medical card. Connections also provided nutritional counseling. “Connections helped us so much.” Rhonda states “I had been trying off and on for about 18 years and I wouldn’t have gotten my disability or medical card if it weren’t for Connections. “My medical needs are met now.”

Healthy Tips For Spring Copied from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Dietary Guidelines for Americans, http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/document/html/chapter4.htm

For most people, greater health benefits can be obtained by engaging in physical activity of more vigorous intensity or longer duration.

Specific Populations: •

Children and adolescents: Engage in at least 60 minutes of physical activity on most, preferably all, days of the week.

•

Pregnant women: In the absence of medical or obstetric complications, incorporate 30 minutes or more of moderate-intensity physical activity on most, if not all, days of the week. Avoid activities with a high risk of falling or abdominal trauma.

•

Breastfeeding women: Be aware that neither acute nor regular exercise adversely affects the mother's ability to successfully breastfeed.

•

Older adults: Participate in regular physical activity to reduce functional declines associated with aging and to achieve the other benefits of physical activity identified for all adults.

Online Resource Center Every Issue we will Connect you to new and exciting web sites to explore. If you would like to include sites that you like, send us a note and we will pass them along to our readers:

Kentucky substance abuse rehab services: http://www.hopelinks.net/drug-rehab/kentucky.html

Partnership for a fit Kentucky: http://www.fitky.org/

Kentucky Diabetic Network: http://www.kentuckydiabetes.net/

Kentucky Cancer Consortium: http://www.kycancerc.org/

Please share the sites with family, friends and colleagues…

“If you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it”

Kentucky Department for Mental Health and Mental Retardation:

Thomas Fuller

http://mhmr.ky.gov/cmhc/default.asp?sub23

“One Step at a Time, Pat’s Story” “Why does life have to be so hard?”, was the question Pat, a Connections client often asked. Feeling overwhelmed with multiple health problems she faced daily, Pat gladly accepted the support she received from the Connections program. Initially, Pat was referred to the program for assistance in getting dentures. As a result of poor oral health, she was forced to have all of her teeth pulled. Soon after, her self-esteem began to decline and she stated that she didn’t even want to go out in public at times because she didn’t have teeth. During the Connections program intake, Pat shared with the case manager Karen Alexander, other health problems she had been dealing with for the past several years. In addition to oral health issues, she was dealing with back problems, a recent diagnosis of pre-diabetes, complaints of chronic stomach aches, and managing a mental illness diagnoses. Pat’s support system was limited.

Karen Alexander, MA Connections Service Coordinator

This is where the Connections program was able to assist her,

by linking her with medical specialist to address her direct needs and offering transportation to and from her appointments. Regarding her oral health care, the Connections Program was able to connect Pat to a local community program that assists qualified residents of Madison County in getting a full set of dentures for free. She soon received her full set of dentures through the program. Pat and Karen Alexander often reflected on how life can bring multiple challenging situations all at once, but to face them, we must take “one step at a time”. Today, Pat is now connected with the medical/mental health services she needs and manages to attend her regular appointments. Because it is imperative for Pat to receive continuous health care, the Connections program was able to refer her to a long term program that will offer support services for her specific needs.

http://kyumhcbs.blogspot.com/ Nicole Lavy, MSW, CSW

Karen Alexander, MA

Vice President Community Based Services P.O. Box 749 Versailles, KY 40383 [email protected] 859-509-4309

Connections Service Coordinator Community Based Services P.O. Box 749 Versailles, KY. 40383 [email protected] 859-509-4315

Natalie Holt, MA, LPCA

David Lane Stonecypher, JSOCC

Connections Service Coordinator Community Based Services P.O. Box 749 Versailles, KY. 40383 [email protected] 859-509-4308

Connections Educator Community Based Services P.O. Box 749 Versailles, KY 40383 [email protected]

SPRING 2009

Mailing Info Here

859-509-4313