Announcing the CSB of Middle Georgia’s New Service Area
Our agency has been in discussion with Ogeechee Behavioral Health Services
and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities since 2014 regarding the blending of Ogeechee BHS with the CSB of Middle Georgia. Further, Amy Tribble, CEO of Ogeechee BHS, and her staff have been collaborating with our agency since that time with the idea that this dynamic, collaborative partnership would become permanent at some future point.
About 18 months ago, DBHDD asked that we provide a tentative date of when the two agencies would become one; and because both agencies were involved in a number of extensive initiatives, a date of July 1, 2017, was agreed upon as a tentative target point. July 1, 2017 is now upon us, and the work to make this happen has continued over these past 18 months at lightning speed. We have accomplished a great deal in these months, and still have a number of important details to sort out before every “loose end” is fully complete. However, in light of the impending target date, a few announcements are in order:
- Amy Tribble will be assuming the role as Chief Operating Officer for CSBMG, responsibilities which begin officially on July 1st. Her contact information for now will remain the same. She will continue to maintain a major leadership presence in the 6 counties that Ogeechee currently serves, and she has been participating with our Executive Management Team for about a year as well as being engaged in the work of a number of our standing committees. In addition to maintaining her CEO responsibilities during the past three years, Amy has handled the responsibilities of our collaboration to blend the agencies by accepting the role of Transition Coordinator for this massive project. She has done a remarkable job in keeping everything moving along to meet the deadlines. These words do not adequately describe the enormity of the project, nor can they describe the tenacity, perseverance, and dedication that Amy has exhibited throughout this process. She has been a gracious partner who has provided untold hours of additional time to make sure that our collective goals, and those of DBHDD, are met.
- Keith Moran will remain as CFO for CSBMG. Keith assumed this role for Ogeechee BHS in October 2016 when Amy’s Business Manager retired.
- Dr. Thomas Rumble will remain as Medical/Clinical Director for CSBMG.
- Lisa Montford, LPC, CPCS, remains in her role as Practice Manager and Deputy Director for BH Services for CSBMG.
- For our Ogeechee Division, we have successfully advertised and recently hired a Director of Clinical Operations and Business Development, with an employment date of August 1st, 2017.
- Dan Barnard, LPC, will remain in a Senior Clinical Supervision role on both the I/DD and BH side for Ogeechee. He will also be assuming the responsibilities as the Lead Supervisor for the Hephzibah Crisis Home.
- Donna Miller, LMSW, will remain as the I/DD Director for our Ogeechee Division, and Cynthia Shipman will remain as the Interim I/DD Director for our Dublin area counties.
The blending of our organizations, and subsequent redrawing of the CSB of Middle Georgia’s catchment area has been an example of true teamwork, grit, and determination. We will continue in the short run to be a work-in-progress as we sort out some of the important details that will keep our agency moving forward. We are excited about beginning a more aggressive approach to clinical operations in our Ogeechee Division as we work on launching a number of new service initiatives during FY 18. The first of these will be the addition of two (2) new ADA Case management positions coming to the Ogeechee area in August 2017. Additional recovery initiatives are being considered for Ogeechee’s Lighthouse program (Peer and Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services) and Braswell House (Substance Abuse Step-Down Program) in the near future. Other areas of interest are Accountability Court possibilities and other community services that would broaden and strengthen the service array for our 16 county area safety net.
A number of key Focus Areas for the CSB of Middle Georgia for FY 18 are listed below.
CREATING, MAINTAINING, AND IMPROVING UPON A RECOVERY-FOCUSED SERVICE ENVIRONMENT
IMPROVING COMMUNICATION BETWEEN STAFF
INCREASING NEEDED SUPPORT FOR CLINICAL SERVICES
REVAMPING PROCESSES TO ENCOURAGE MORE PERSON-CENTERED SERVICES
IMPROVING CUSTOMER ACCESS IN OUTPATIENT SERVICES BY REMOVING BARRIERS TO SERVICE
CONTINUATION OF CUSTOMER SERVICE TRAINING INCLUDING IMPROVED WAYS OF HONORING CUSTOMERS’ TIME
ENHANCING EMPLOYEE MORALE AND INITIATING INCENTIVE PLAN OPTIONS
As we move forward into FY 18 and beyond, please check our website for announcements, initiatives, and accomplishments as we blend our two agencies, our cultures, our staff and service options, and our hearts. As always, our main objective remains to serve those in need of BH and I/DD services in a recovery-based system of care. Our aim is to be the “Provider of Choice” for Bleckley, Dodge, Johnson, Laurens, Montgomery, Pulaski, Telfair, Treutlen, Wheeler, and Wilcox counties through our Dublin headquarters, and for Burke, Emanuel, Jefferson, Jenkins, Glascock, and Screven counties through our Swainsboro Division.