Mental health board wins certification
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COLUMBUS - The Mental Health and Recovery Services Board of Seneca, Sandusky and Wyandot Counties was awarded the highest level of certification available through the Ohio Association of Community Behavioral Health Authorities for its overall operations Tuesday.
Nancy Cochran, executive director of the local board, accepted the certification at a ceremony in Columbus. The independent association of county alcohol, drug addiction and mental health boards awards three-year certification to boards in compliance with more than 140 standards.
"We are the 23rd board out of 53 (in Ohio) to be certified, Cochran said. "This is our first time to be certified."
The verification process was developed by the peer certification committee of the state board to bring consistency and accountability to the local board system.
Goals include promoting community confidence and public support through better accountability; enhanced local delivery of prevention and treatment services for children, adults and families affected by mental illness and/or addiction; providing objective evaluation of a board's performance; and stimulating ongoing self-directed evaluation.
"We're proud of the board staff for attaining this designation," said David Tischler, chairman of the local board. "They work extremely hard with limited resources to ensure that the members of our community who need behavioral health services receive them in an efficient and quality manner. It's a difficult job, but they are doing it and doing it well."
"My staff and board do a great job," Cochran said. "We have limited resources, but we try to do everything. We try to do our best for the consumer."
The OACBHA survey report cited the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board of Seneca, Sandusky and Wyandot Counties for strengths in the following areas:
n Efficiency of their staff-to-area-served ratio.
n Perseverance of the board to obtain successful levy passage in Seneca and Wyandot Counties.
n High satisfaction with staff and the Executive Director.
n Board is well integrated into the fabric of the community as evidenced by collaboration with numerous community partners for the creation of a health assessment for each of the counties it serves.
"While boards meet these standards in daily operations, written documentation is critical as a means of continuity of leadership and accountability," Cochran said.
"The board has been able to demonstrate compliance with these 142 standards."
She said her goal is to get a mental health levy passed in Sandusky County soon.
Cochran said mental illness and drug abuse are underlying causes to many other problems in the local community, but treatment is possible and can be successful.
