Vol1 | January | View Archive

The Kim Foundation, in collaboration with individuals, organizations, and healthcare providers throughout Nebraska, is pleased to bring you a monthly e-newsletter addressing mental health care.

We will provide you with access to valuable resources, connections to individuals and agencies working toward behavioral health reform, insight into successful programs offered in Nebraska, and updates on the latest news and events.

If you have comments, questions, or information you would like to share through the electronic newsletter, please email us at info@thekimfoundation.org.

For more information on mental health issues in Nebraska please visit www.thekimfoundation.org.

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Senator Jim Jensen Educational Scholarship Applications Now Being Accepted

Dr. William Marcil Recognized as a “Hero in the Heartland”

Lincoln/Lancaster County LOSS Program at Work

Lutheran Family Services At Ease Program

Not Alone Radio Program February Schedule

Applications Now Being Accepted

Applications are now being accepted for the Annual Senator Jim Jensen Educational Scholarship. Recognizing former Senator Jim Jensen for his tireless efforts to advocate for behavioral health reform in Nebraska, the Senator Jim Jensen Educational Scholarship has been established by The Kim Foundation in his honor.

The scholarship is designated for consumer leaders throughout Nebraska and provides financial support for their attendance at a national mental health conference of their choosing. It is anticipated that attending an educational conference of this magnitude will provide consumers with exposure to the latest advances in mental health care and recovery principles and empower consumers to bring these new, innovative ideas back to Nebraska.

The scholarship is awarded annually to a consumer who has significantly contributed to the advancement of behavioral health transformation and recovery in Nebraska. To be eligible for the award you must be a consumer of mental health services, a resident of the state of Nebraska, and actively promote recovery principles.

Please click here to download an application form today. Applications must be received by March 1, 2010. The scholarship recipient will be announced in the spring of 2010.

Dr. William Marcil, supervising psychiatrist for Creighton University’s Magis Clinic, has been selected by the American Red Cross Heartland Chapter as a “Hero in the Heartland”. Nominated for his work with the Magis Psychiatry Clinic, Dr. Marcil will be recognized in the Good Samaritan category at an upcoming awards luncheon in March.

Dr. Marcil has played an active role in the work of the clinic since its opening in 2007. Currently the only clinic operating in the Omaha area where one can receive free psychiatric care and medications with no waiting time, Dr. Marcil serves as the clinic supervisor as well as a mentor to student volunteers at the center. Dr. Marcil is credited as the one essential keystone of the clinic and praised by his nominators for his unfaltering presence, non-judgmental attitude, and the life changing difference he has made in the lives of others.

Congratulations Dr. Marcil on this well deserved recognition. Thank you for your work!

About the Magis Clinic:
The Magis Clinic serves individuals who are homeless or medically uninsured in the Omaha community and recently expanded its services to include children and adolescents in need of mental health care. The psychiatric sector of the clinic operates out of Omaha’s Siena Francis House and is open every other Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Patients are served by Magis Clinic student volunteers and are seen on a transitional basis until they can be registered to receive services from community providers. In addition, psychiatric medications are made available to patients through donations or from the HOPE Pharmacy in Omaha.

For additional information on the Magis Clinic please visit http://medicine.creighton.edu/magis/.

The Lincoln/Lancaster County LOSS (Local Outreach to Suicide Survivors) Program officially launched July 1, 2009 and since that time has provided support to numerous individuals and families in the Lincoln/Lancaster County community.

Through the program law enforcement chaplains are called to the scene of a suicide by the local law enforcement agency. Once it is determined that a suicide has occurred the chaplain then contacts a designated LOSS team leader. The LOSS team, consisting of one mental health professional and two individuals who themselves have lost a loved one to suicide, are then dispatched to the scene accordingly.

Team members are present to serve as a first response to the newly bereaved. The LOSS team offers resources, support, and serves as sources of hope, working to reduce the trauma experienced from the suicide.

Since its recent inception, the LOSS Program had responded to nine calls for assistance. In addition to providing immediate support, team members also provide follow-up contact with surviving loved ones helping coordinate access to services within the community and reminding survivors that help is available.

Research has established that survivors of suicide can be at up to nine times greater risk of attempting/completing suicide themselves. Through programs such as LOSS, survivors of suicide are not only more likely to seek help for their own emotional response to the suicide but are also at a significantly reduced risk to attempt/complete suicide themselves.

Members of the LOSS team have completed training focused on issues surrounding suicide as well as draw upon their own personal experiences in offering resources and support. Team members strive to normalize grief for the survivors and serve as a role model for healthy adjustment to suicide loss.

Work is currently being done to expand the LOSS program to the Omaha metro area.

For more information on the LOSS program please contact Dave Miers, co-chair of the Nebraska State Suicide Prevention Coalition, at (402) 481-5165 or via email at dave.miers@bryanlgh.org.

Former U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel recently appeared in Omaha to lend his support to Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska (LFS) At Ease program. At Ease is a relatively new program offered by LFS that provides behavioral health services to active military, veterans, and their loved ones.

Senator Hagel served as the keynote speaker for a fundraising and awareness luncheon held on January 25. He commented, “Less than 1 percent of the U.S. population is in military service, and all are volunteers. These men and women are the building blocks and foundation for the next generation. We must take care of them, as we need them back in society. When men and women go through horrific experiences, they manage it. They should be thanked and they should be helped. The government structure and circuits are overloaded. We need to bring private and public partnerships together; we need to blend our resources. The world is completely interconnected. We are woven into one fabric, and our capacity to solve problems together has never been greater. These important partnerships are interconnected with At Ease, and I’m privileged to be a part of it.”

The At Ease program provides confidential, individualized counseling and treatment to active military members, veterans, and their loved ones through a combination of individual and group approaches. Services may include families/couples and peer-to-peer support groups as well as educational opportunities which address topics such as PTSD, war zone stress reactions, trauma-related guilt, anger management, and coping strategies for managing everyday life situations. The program supports and encourages additional partnerships with community providers and when appropriate, staff members coordinate services with other community agencies and refer clients to area resources. Services through At Ease are offered regardless of ability to pay.

The At Ease program is coordinated out of the Lutheran Family Services’ Bellevue office, but veterans and their loved ones may also be served at LFS locations in Blair, Fremont, Plattsmouth, Papillion, and four Omaha-area locations. Additionally, Telehealth sessions can be used to accommodate veterans and/or their loved ones living in greater Nebraska.

For additional information on the program, to request multiple brochure copies, or to make a referral, please contact the At Ease program at the LFS Bellevue location at (402) 292-9105 or via email at AtEase@lfsneb.org.

Remember to join The Kim Foundation and KCRO channel 660 AM for Not Alone, a live talk radio program focused on behavioral health and recovery.

Airing every Tuesday from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., Not Alone hosts guests from throughout Nebraska addressing a variety of topics. The schedule for August includes:

• February 9 – Region 2 Behavioral Health System
  Kathy Seacrest, Regional Administrator with the Region 2 behavioral health system will discuss the Regions role in administering services, support, and programs through the behavioral health system of care for residents in its area.
• February 16 – Consumer Support Groups
  Representatives from various organizations will discuss consumer lead and directed support groups available throughout Nebraska.
• February 23 – Hoarding
  Experts in the field of hoarding will discuss many of the complex issues surrounding such behavior as well as help that is available for hoarders and their family members.

Listeners outside of the broadcast area can access the radio program through KCRO’s website at www.kcro.com.

For more information on Not Alone or the Mental Health Minutes, please visit www.thekimfoundation.org.