Austin, Texas – Integral Care’s CEO David Evans will receive the National Council for Behavioral Health’s 2019 Visionary Leadership award. This award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in the behavioral healthcare field, improving the lives of individuals living with mental illness and addiction disorders and helping them live full lives in their communities. David Evans has over 40 years of experience as a leader in the fields of behavioral health and intellectual and developmental disabilities, serving as Integral Care’s CEO for 25 years.

 

Since 1993, David Evans has led Integral Care as the agency grew from 400 employees to more than 900 employees who serve our community at over 45 locations. Under his leadership, Integral Care has launched innovative healthcare policies and practices, including tobacco cessation, housing as a healthcare intervention and integrated health care.

 

“I am honored to receive an Award of Excellence from the National Council. I also accept this award on behalf of Integral Care, our Board of Trustees, and our dedicated staff who work every day to improve the lives of adults and children living with mental illness, substance use disorder and intellectual and developments disabilities. Together, we’re implementing best practices and building innovative partnerships across schools, medical research, public safety and criminal justice – all of which improve outcomes for people in our community and move us toward our vision of Healthy Living for Everyone.”

– David Evans, CEO of Integral Care

 

David Evans is an unwavering champion of creating opportunities for people experiencing mental illness, substance use disorder and intellectual and developmental disabilities to live in the community – not institutions. His entire career, across multiple states, has been dedicated to this singular goal. Mr. Evans has been recognized by NAMI Austin for his work promoting dignity and inclusion of people living with mental illness and called a Healthcare Hero by the Austin Business Journal. He also holds the prestigious ACMHA Feldman Award for Lifetime Achievement for mental health leadership and health policy.

 

The award will be presented on March 26, 2019, in Nashville, TN, during the Awards of Excellence Celebration in conjunction with the National Council Conference – NatCon19. Hailed as the nation’s premier behavioral health conference, NatCon19 will convene more than 5,000 behavioral health professionals to discuss solutions and outcomes that transform health care.

Mental health issues and substance use disorders (SUDs) rarely occur independently. Why then, are they so often addressed separately, without a more coordinated system of care? Treating the whole person is always the most effective strategy.

Read more in our monthly newsletter, Transparencies.

As the Texas Legislature heads back into session, a major focus will be funding for the new Austin State Hospital (ASH). The reimagined state hospital isn’t just a new building, it’s a redesign of the mental health delivery system. An effective redesign would mean that our mental health system would have the right services that prevent people from being hospitalized and could also help them return to the community with the appropriate supports following a hospitalization.

 

Read more in our monthly newsletter Transparencies.

The 86th Texas Legislature is right around the corner – set to begin January 8th. In gearing up for this session, we’d like to take a look at some of the valuable legislation that came out of the 85th session, progress made during the year and a half interim, and the anticipated issue areas coming up in January.

Find out more in our monthly newsletter Transparencies.

A report from the Children’s Mental Health Crisis Task Force recommends that to improve care for children the community needs to remove the stigma associated with mental illness, offer more crisis intervention options and better coordinate care.

Read the report here.

Integral Care is closely evaluating the various emerging technologies as well as how they may allow us to improve access, measure outcomes, develop best practices, and control costs. How do they work, what’s promising but unproven, and where are the possible drawbacks? Find out in our monthly newsletter Transparencies.

Last week, Integral Care hosted a Community Forum on Rebuilding Health and Well-Being After Trauma. It was an impactful event featuring Dr. Elisa Borah of UT’s Steve Hicks School of Social Work, Seanna Crosbie of Austin Child Guidance Center and Dr. Valerie Rosen of UT’s Dell Medical School. The panel also included someone with lived experience who courageously shared her story. Our experts shared information about direct and indirect trauma and resources that support recovery.

 

 

To build upon the information shared at the forum, we recapped the event in our new podcast – This is Integral, which explores topics that are integral to the health and well-being of our community. Please join Integral Care’s Dr. Kathleen Casey, Director of Clinical Innovation and Development, and David West, LCSW, LCDC, Integrated Care Clinic Practice Manager, as they discuss key takeaways from the forum. They’ll share favorite moments from the panel and talk about Integral Care’s approach to supporting individuals impacted by trauma.

 

Please find resources from our panelists below.

 

Austin Child Guidance Center

Seton Behavioral Health Care Restore Program

Trauma-Informed Care Consortium of Central Texas

Veteran Couples Connect Program

Veteran Spouse Resiliency Group Program

 

We look forward to seeing you at our next Community Forum in the spring.

Integral Care recently launched a collaboration with Crisis Text Line, a national organization that provides free, 24/7 crisis support via text, increasing access to crisis care for people in our community who prefer texting to talking. Since 75% of texters are under 25, the text line is an additional tool that helps youth and young adults who may be struggling. Here’s how it works:

 

• An individual texts TX to 741741.
• A trained Crisis Text Line counselor receives the text and responds quickly – within 5 minutes.
• The Crisis Text Line counselor helps the individual stay safe and healthy using active listening and suggested referrals – all through text message, using a secure platform.

 

Crisis Text Line counselors are volunteers who go through rigorous training. A paid professional with an advanced degree in counseling, psychology or social work closely supervises them, monitoring every conversation. Additionally, supervisors have experience in crisis intervention.

 

Crisis Text Line is an anonymous service, which means they don’t know the location of the person reaching out for help. However, if a texter is at imminent risk of suicide, including ideation, plans, means or timing within 24 hours, a Crisis Text Line supervisor can activate emergency response and identify the location of the individual. Crisis Text Line will contact local law enforcement or EMS to perform a safety check on the individual. In this situation, local law enforcement or EMS might refer to Integral Care or involve our Mobile Crisis Outreach Team. Nationally, Crisis Text Line contacts law enforcement or EMS an average of 20 times per day.

 

Integral Care continues to provide immediate crisis support over the phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week through our 24/7 Crisis Helpline at 512-472-HELP (4357). We are proud to partner with the Text Line, so that people who prefer not to pick up the phone have access to the support they need, when they need it.

Mental health crises are costly for individuals and our local systems. They can be draining emotionally and financially, and can result in life-threatening situations. A mental health screening is the first step to linking at-risk individuals with treatment options before a mental health issue becomes a mental health crisis.

 

Read more in our monthly newsletter Transparencies.

Suicide is preventable, yet it is one of the leading causes of death in our state. It affects all of us – regardless of race, ethnicity, age or gender. September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, an opportunity to promote awareness and share resources to help save lives.

 

Read more in our monthly newsletter Transparencies.