Holly Jerome is seeing firsthand how far resilience and a positive attitude can carry a team.
But she wonders — after the dust settles — whether it will have made a difference.
In late February, the staff at Southeast Kansas Wellness, a part of the statewide Health Home program, learned they likely will lose their jobs June 30.
On top of that, the state fire marshal evicted the crew from offices in the basement of the Medical Arts Building earlier this month.
Rather than see any form of sadness, or even anger, Jerome instead saw a room full of smiles. Of determination.
“It shows the type of people they are,” said Jerome, SEK Wellness program manager. “The resilience of this staff is amazing. From knowing this program is coming to an end, and knowing they have to pack up and move on one day. They pulled up their bootstraps, showed up for work the next day in work clothes and asked what we needed them to do. They were willing to work out of their cars if we needed them to.”
IT’S BEEN A tumultuous 2016 for Jerome and SEK Wellness executive director Nathan Fawson and their crew of 10.
As part of the Kansas Health Home program, SEK Wellness is among the programs that will disband June 30 because of state budget cuts. Since its formation in 2014, SEK Wellness has served more than 700 Medicaid clients in southeast Kansas, 150 of whom reside in Allen County.
The program serves what Jerome and Fawson describe as a vital link between mental and physical health services.
“It’s critical because everything affects the other,” Jerome said. “If you’re really depressed, you probably don’t feel good. And if you don’t feel good, you’re probably very depressed.”
Fawson, whose chief role is executive director of the Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center, said the connections between the two are well documented.
“The population we serve are those individuals with a serious mental illness,” he explained. “Now, through experience, we’ve learned the vast majority of the cases also have a physical or chronic condition that needs attention.”
That’s where SEK Wellness came in.
A team of registered nurses and social workers helped provide a holistic approach to serving its clients. Services ranged from doing as little as explaining to a patient what his doctor just diagnosed to putting them in touch with specialists or other support organizations.
“Another service we’ve provided naturally through time has been connecting our clients with primary care physicians, and helping strengthen and coordinate those relationships,” Fawson said. “That allows that primary care doctor to provide additional support to them in their time of need as well, so they’re not as dependent upon us.”
Such an effort also leads to fewer expensive, unnecessary emergency room visits. Or, if a long-term illness such as diabetes is looming, early intervention may prevent surgery.
