Please join me in congratulating Danielle Wright, Anita Speed, and Pamela Williams as our newest CSBMG Peer Specialists! Pamela Williams is our newest CPS-Y and both Anita Speed and Danielle Wright are our newest CPS-P.  These ladies do an awesome job for the CSBMG Child and Adolescent Program.   Congratulations, again, on this outstanding accomplishment!

“There is tremendous power, tremendous healing in giving voice to stories of recovery,” says Cassandra Price, director of DBHDD’s Office of Addictive Diseases (pictured above).

Please click on link below to check out some of these powerful stories:

Stories of Recovery Have the Power to Heal

Six of our SOAR Clubhouse kids participated in filming a  video with the GBI to help with Suicide Prevention. We were one of two CSBs asked to participate.  Please check out the full video below:

Youth Suicide Prevention: “Georgia’s Children in Crisis”

Please join me in congratulating Joanna Crews as our newest CPS-Y for CSBMG, and our first for our Ogeechee Division!  Joanna attended the training in January 2018 and was notified this week that she had passed her test.  We are proud of you for this accomplishment!

Community Service Board of Middle Georgia strives to be on the fore front of what is expected of us in every direction.  We are proud to announce the new and up-coming integration of Valant as Electronic Health Record (EHR).  Valant uses cloud base technology.  For those of us who are not so “tech savy”, it simply means that the software for this EHR platform uses a secure link to the internet.

Another exciting thing pertaining to Valant will be the unification of records across our 16 counties. This will help our organization be more efficient in accessing records and all other information that is needed for the individuals that we serve.  From the initial visit, to the daily notes, to the authorization and billing for our services will be managed through a seamless system.  Capability of E-Signatures, ability to create groups, manage rosters, and track attendance at a glance are just a few enhancements with this new EHR.

Valant is being tailored specifically for the needs of our program.  We have a team that is working and meeting weekly to build the system for the needs of the CSB of Middle Georgia, as well as to confirm and reaffirm this software to be user friendly for our program in every aspect. This project has been ongoing from the ground up for over a year.  Clinicians have been able to weigh in on aspects of the clinical side of the record; and billing/authorization information has been shared from the support side of the house.  Physicians have had input, but will be called upon to provide other expertise as we continue to move forward with the development of the new system.  Our target for go-live with Valant is early to mid-2018.

-R. Hullander 1/2/18

What: Family Support Group

Where: SOAR Clubhouse- 1008 Hillcrest Parkway Dublin, GA 31021

When: 1^st and 3^rd Tuesday of each month from 5:00 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. Our first meeting will be December 12, 2017. We will have only one meeting in December due to holidays.

Purpose: For parents to gather for support and advocacy skills to help their children prosper.

Community Service Board of Middle GA is proud to announce that we are starting-up a parent support group. Our focus will be to give the parents an outlet to share with other parents who have children with behavioral health challenges. The group will be led by our Certified Peer Specialist-Parent, Shawanda Pittman. A Certified Peer Specialist- Parent (CPS-P) is a parent who has lived experience through their own child having behavioral health struggles.

We want this to be a relaxed atmosphere where parents don’t feel judged but become empowered with knowledge on helping their children grow and become self-sufficient. We will have refreshments and door prizes! Contact number: (478) 484-4563

Please join me in congratulating Bridget Burns Connell for completion of all requirements for Licensed Professional Counselor!  This is a major accomplishment, and one to be celebrated.  Bridget has worked for the CSB of Middle Georgia, both on the Dublin campus and at the Eastman Annex.  She has worked in the Access Unit as well as in providing counseling services to those we serve.  Bridget  now works primarily in Eastman as a therapist to our Adult and Child and Adolescent clients.

Congratulations, Bridget, on a job well done!