ACT Expands throughout NHS
NHS opened its doors for Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Team services in Wilmington, Delaware in September 2013. This program supports individuals with mental health issues in a community setting, providing them with ongoing supports to be successful in their everyday lives. The ACT program in Delaware is one of multiple ACT programs that NHS operates across the company.The ACT Team in NHS Allegheny County was recognized at the Community Care Behavioral Health Organization's Second Annual Advanced Practices in Decision Support Centers Conference in March 2014. The program received an Achievement Award acknowledging the teams' key roles in the shared decision-making work recognized by the 2013 Gold Achievement Award from the American Psychiatric Association. The teams currently engage their nearly 200 consumers in the use of the Common Ground application, developed by Pat Deegan, PhD & Associates. The web-based program encourages individuals that receive services from NHS Allegheny ACT teams to participate in the use of Personal Medicine, Shared Decision-Making and the creation of a Power Statement to direct their treatment in a person-centered, self-driven manner, to ultimately improve their psychiatric care, personal recovery, and overall wellness.
NHS in Louisiana continues to expand ACT and Wraparound services throughout the state. Within the past year, ACT was provided to almost 640 individuals in the areas of Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Alexandria, and Shreveport by approximately 80 employees. Almost 60 employees provided Wraparound services in the metropolitan areas of New Orleans and Baton Rouge for approximately 540 families.
